The Eggspress News

Best of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:18:00 +0000

Her.

Ellie Vivian.

She was the best thing that happened to her big brother Cole this year. The best thing that happened to us all.

Then Comes Paper Will Have a new Look Soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:09:00 +0000

I have been putting off designing the new website for First Comes Love, Then Comes Paper. I was actually having trouble with the branding side of things. I have a few new projects up my sleeve, including collaborations with an event planner, a collaboration with a fellow Momma, and a few of my own projects. Mix that in with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and the birthdays of 2 of the. most. special. people in my life, and well, that just doesn't leave a whole lot of time for the website.

So this past week I got to do just that. And since not a lot of people read my personal blog, I thought it was just the place to show off what I have come up with so far. I am still looking for a web designer who is able to code it. My favorite one hasn't responded with a quote, and another one responded and wanted to take half of the credit for my branding (which is a problem since this conflicts with one of my new projects) and he/she also wanted to have the freedom/liberty to "design a new template based on the concept". Uh, how about not? And just to show fairness, I may have not completely understood his email but I my instincts told me to run. Run far, far away. So I'm still on the hunt. Stalling until I hear from Michelle.

But alas, the unveiling:

Curious to know your thoughts. Ideas. Suggestions.

Texas Girl Through and Through

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:44:00 +0000

I'm fixin' to tell you something about being Texan. Texan doesn't mean that I'm not educated. I may say "ain't" and "y'all" and call you "Sweetie" or 'Honey" and I might "bless a lot of hearts" and I might even "piddle around". I'll greet you with a big "Howdy" or "Hey Y'all". All soda pop is "Coke" and if I ask for "sugar" it means I want a KISS. I'm polite and say "Ma'am..." and "Sir". And if you hear a Texan say, "Oh, hell no!!" you'd better run. If you're proud to be a Texan then click 'LIKE' tab on my status. Then go up yonder and copy & paste to your status. :-). And P.S. if you don't know where yonder is then you ain't from Texas :)

Got this from a friend's Facebook status. Had to steal it!

2011 Chaotic Bliss

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Wow! What a year! So many blessing bestowed upon us this year. So very much to be thankful for. Ellie-Bear is growing up so quickly. I am loving this chaos. It is my bliss. After a few tries, she's finally accepting grass as a part of her life. This photo was taken Nov. 5.

Ellie is standing on her own for short periods of time. Mostly when she's playing with something and preoccupied. Today, she took a single step. Then she fell. Gosh, where has my squishy, cuddly baby girl gone!?

Today was a special day in so many ways. I was presented with an unbelievable opportunity today over what was only supposed to be lunch with a new friend. Funny how things all just fall into place beautifully when we walk in His graces and quit trying to plan and control things.

My mom also came over today and left Ellie a very special gift. This little outfit belonged to my sister when she was a little girl. I cannot wait for Ellie to wear it proudly.

Cole is also growing so fast. He doesn't need me anymore to help him shower, or dress, or comb his hair, or brush his teeth or put his socks and shoes on, or put his seat-belt on and off. He doesn't even need me anymore for basic math. My sweet sweet boy can count to over 100, he can add numbers up until 20 (although that #15 is a tricky sneaky little number). He even insists he does "school work" every night.

Well, Little Man is insisting we watch some Christmas movies together right now. We love to watch Hallmark movies. He LOVES this time of year. What a special treat that it is such a special time for him already.

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 05:44:00 +0000

Dear Cole,

You used to get so mad when I would call you "Silly Goose". I have caught myself calling you that and then immediately have defaulted to "Goose" in hopes it just slips right past you and I don't get the whole "Mom, I am not silly!"

You haven't noticed and it's kinda become habit. So now you're just Goose. I rather like it.

Love,

Mom

Lighning McQueen, Sandwiches, and Tears - That's a Mouthful!

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:44:00 +0000

Dear Cole,

I am about to confirm something you thought all along about your Mama,...I am cru-azy!
Granted, it's very late. I am very tired and I am trying to tidy up for another day filled with love, and giggles, and cuddles from you and your sister. I looked inside your lunchbox to clear out the leftovers from school and marveled at how this silly little Tupperware box featuring Lighning McQueen made you smile.

I chuckled at how excited you were to take a sandwich to school today because you got to use it. Then I opened it up and was pleasantly surprised to see how much you had eaten. I was proud of you Little Man. You ate well today. And I got teary-eyed seeing your little bite marks in it.

I thought back at this afternoon and how I just might have seen some evidence of that sandwich on your face all afternoon. I couldn't account for what the smudge on your face was but I was ok with it because it meant you were having such a good time you didn't even bother to wipe it away. I imagined you eating that sandwich with both hands, and the sides of it touching your precious little cheeks as you bit straight into the middle of it.
Silly. Crazy. Weird. Emotional. I know. But I don't care. I take pleasure in these moments where I get to be so utterly and unabasheldy thankful for the life that is in you.
I love you all the way to Jesus. And the only love that is greater than that is His. That's a whole lotta love Goose.

Love,
Mom
(Mother as you have recently started calling me-this has to stop soon-but not too soon because I secretly ~~like~~ love it)

A Passion-Filled Life

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:08:00 +0000

When I met Will, we were in high school. I remember sitting on a picnic table with him outside my house. We had only been dating a month or so. I don't quite remember my thought process at the time but I remember just blurting out: "I think you should know that I plan to go to college and I plan to be a stay at home mom. So I need to know now if that is going to be a problem?" There was silence and I was afraid I might have just scared that boy away.

Seven years later, I married that boy. Five years after that, I had my son. I was living my dream. I was the college educated stay at home mom I always dreamed of being. But still, I felt my life was lacking something. So we decided to have more kids. Infertility became a struggle for us again and I needed something to occupy my mind. So one Mother's Day, my husband bought me the Adobe Creative Suites. And so during the day I played mom, and at night until the wee hours of the morning, I played designer. Little by little I started designing for others. Little by little I started making money.

Four years after my son was born and by the grace of God, we had our daughter. She wasn't even a week old when I felt pulled to go back to work {from home, and while she napped}. I had gotten a taste of entrepreneurship and passion-filled work. I had stepped into my potential and it felt great. But I was seeing a transformation I wasn't sure I was ready to make. Who had I become? I was abandoning the ideals I had had as a young girl sitting on that picnic table with her sweetheart. And what was worse was that it was by choice. Dirty truth be told, I felt that by making that choice willingly, I was abandoning my children.

It took me a long time and a lot of praying to to be okay with growing me. This quote kept going 'round and 'round in my head for months and everyday I wondered where I would be today if a week ago, a month ago, a year ago, I had taken a leap of faith.

I wondered what would happen if I committed myself to a life of passion-filled work. I wondered what impact that would have on how I raise my children. Would I be happier for it? Would they be happier for it? So this past month, I took a huge leap of faith. I decided to put all my pennies into Making Things Happen for my business. For my family. I packed my bags, said goodbye to my Littles and my Big, and I headed to Pensacola, Florida to meet some ladies who were doing some extraordinary things in their life.

I have been hard at work planting the seeds to make some BIG things happen in my life. Some of it has already happened. Some of it is a work in progress. I can't wait to share some more about my experience at the Making Things Happen intensive. I can't wait to share some of the things I am working on. But most of all, I can't wait to show my children how to live a passion-filled life.

Sot translated

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:12:00 +0000

Cole: "Mom, I want sot."
Me: "What's sot?"
Cole: "You know, the white stuff in the kitchen."
Me: "Bring it to me and show me."
Cole returns,...
Me: "Oh, "salt"! You can't have salt for a snack."

all the way to Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 03:05:00 +0000

March 11th. Conversation between me and Cole.

Cole: "I love you big as the moon!"

Me: "I love you too."

Cole: "I bet I love you more than you love me."

Me: "no!"

Cole: "Yes. I love you all the way to Jesus!"

Wow. That is a big love!

"Got Milf?"

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:01:00 +0000

I blog-stalk a seriously hilarious woman named Sarah Maizes, She's an author, comedian, and single mother of 3. She just wrote the book "Got Milf?" and she made this trailer. I thought it was funny and wanted to share the love. Hoping I can get my hands on the book for our Austin trip next weekend. Yippee!

First Swim of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:12:00 +0000

We decided to take advantage of this beautiful weather today so we took a dip in the pool.

Cole: "I'm a sharf."

Will: "Shark. Sharkkk"

Cole: "Oh. I'm a sharp."

Sharp was the knife conversation 3 days ago. The knife was "sharf" too.

Posted via Blogaway

Cole-isms

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:51:00 +0000

As you can see from the picture above, it is ~~spring~~ Summer here in South Texas. It is also barely March. We treated Cole to some outdoor water fun n Friday. He loved it. At the end of that water hose rainbow there is "honey". Cole informed us of that. We were confused too but quickly realized that what he meant to say was "gold". So now he calls it "honey and cookies". We were confused again until we realized that what he meant to say was "milk and cookies". Well, at least that's what we think but the boy has a mind all his own. His nickname for Ellie a few weeks back was "Wachili". We are still confused by that one.

Will was sitting down on the ground playing with Cole. Cole stood up with his back to Will and said "Dad, I'm going to timber." And then he just let himself fall. Thank goodness Daddy has cat-like reflexes!

Sadly, our son's vocabulary also consists of "nursing", "pumping", and "pacifying".

Cole has had to be my little helper when Ellie is screaming in the car. He usually givers her her paci. She doesn't like it much. Sometimes she'll tolerate it. After repeated attempts to "pacify" Ellie, Cole sighs, puts his arms behind him and matter-of-factly and proclaims "Let her cry."

I asked Cole if Mommy worked. His reply, "Um, I thiiinnk not." Pause for some thought. "Yes. You work but at home. You don't go to like,..." And then he forgot what he was trying to say and walked away.

When he puts up a fight to go to bed at night, he'll say, "I don't want to sleep in my bed, or Ellie's bed or the crib." So that leaves Mom and Dad's bed. If I want a nice peaceful night, he gets the bed until we get in and carry him out. And let's just say the nights are very peaceful.

When he wants to try to convince me of something, he'll say, "won't that be a good idea?" Such as "Hey Mom, after school, if I eat all my snack and lunch, maybe we can go get an ice cream. Won't that be a good idea?"

Sometimes he'll walk into a room and say to me "Hey there cowgirl!". I love it.

Most of all, I love it when he says "Sure."

Roll over.

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:46:00 +0000

Ellie rolled over yesterday! Twice! At 2 months, 1 day. She only does it when she's really really mad and crying though. Which lately has been quite a lot. She's a little congested and I think that has been the cause. We see the Dr. again tomorrow. Another 2 hour wait. Lovely.

She's 8 weeks old and it seems that the 6 week mark was when things really started happening. She has started in with cat naps. My least favorite part of it all. It totally sucks. Just when I get in the groove of things she wakes. But she smiles a whole lot! It's so cute! I love it how happy she gets when she sees me. She has started sleeping in 6 hour stretches. Well, one 6 hour stretch. But she's a late sleeper. We can usually get her to sleep until 9. Sometimes 10. I don't know what I would do without our swing. Always bought me 2 extra hours of sleep in the morning with Cole too. It's awesome!

I can't believe how big she is. Now when I pick her up she doesn't seem so delicate. She's sturdier now. Bittersweet. Can't wait to talk to her in a year or two but I miss the cuddly little newborn stage. You know the one. The one where they sleep 18 hours of the day and nurse or poop the rest.

Also, got the weirdest visit from my aunt. Super weird because I am exclusively nursing. Not a single missed feeding. Ever. So why the visit? I ~~kinda~~ totally feel cheated.

Work is getting increasingly more difficult now. I'm throwing a few ideas around but waiting to see what the next month will bring. They change so much and i am not sure if it's an irritated throat or tummy or just her age.

The perfect Puchero

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:21:00 +0000

Monkey Hear, Monkey Tear

Yes. We have a sensitive one on our hands. She's just like her Mama.

I was holding her after I had just nursed her and Cole had been asking for candy. We said no. He started crying. She started doing what we call in Spanish "pucheros" which translates into a "pout" or "grimace or distortion of the face which precedes crying". Below is a perfect example of a puchero.

Looks painful (for her) but gosh do we LOVE it when she does it!

Ideal Motherhood

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 01:07:00 +0000

Every morning I feel renewed and refreshed. I've had the longest stretch of sleep I'll have all day. A whole 5 hours. I sit there and I rock my little bundle. A whole 7 weeks old. The house is quiet. The Hubs has left for work and Toddler is still asleep. And as my Baby Girl nurses, she pauses to look up at me and I get a smile. A smile! A smile that says "I think I love you even in all your morning messiness." And this makes my heart smile a really big smile. I am filled with new hope for the day. I think that I may even be able to live up to my idea (or ideal) of motherhood.

I start planning my day. There will be hot showers, hot breakfasts, some silly dancing with the littles, and maybe a stroll to the park if we aren't exhasuted from all the awesomeness the day has brought us.

I run to jump in the shower. I place a very content baby into her bouncy. And that's pretty much it.

I set myself up for failure from the get go. She hates being in a dirty diaper. I should have changed her diaper first. Now I'm half shaven and I can't remeber if I used conditioner but I know I didn't have time to rinse it out. No way I'm going out like that!

There's always tomorrow I guess.

Posted via Blogaway

Nana plays dress up

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:26:00 +0000

This is what happens every time Nana comes to visit. It's the only time Ellie gets to wear her nice clothes and accessories.

And this is what happens as soon as she leaves. I just can't keep up with all this foo-foo girliness. Poor baby girl!

Posted via Blogaway

Posted via Blogaway

Expressing Motherhood - Milk Hoarder

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 06:17:00 +0000

I have issues,...milk issues. These issues run so deep I don't even know the root of them. All I know is that I have to breastfeed. Perhaps I fear that it is all I have to offer that is natural, or that this may be the strongest bond I'll ever have with my new baby, or maybe I put all of my fear of failure into this. I don't know. I can't even begin to comprehend it, so I don't even try. I just embrace it.

I had some issues with production with Cole. At least I think I did. I am starting to rethink all of that this time around. Perhaps I was a little uptight back then, with Baby #1. I actually used to take a medication called Motillium that I had to go into Mexico for. It was expensive too. More expensive than formula feeding in fact.

This time around, I am a breastfeeding champ. That's right. I said it. My milk produciton is in overdrive. In fact, Ellie is growing about 51 grams a day as compared to the average 30! Yes,...at her 1 week check up she was where the pediatrician might have expected her to be the following week. He said my milk was gold.

But I work hard, very hard to keep it that way. I have yet to give Ellie a bottle. And when I am not breastfeeding, you may or may not find me pumping. And I don't pump with the intention of ever feeding it to her, I pump to stay ahead of the game. I have this fear of my milk production not being able to keep up with my growing baby. So I pump every chance I get. And if you ring my doorbell, you may or may not find me in this condition:

Expressing Motherhood featuring Shannon Noel from Expressing Motherhood on Vimeo.

You may not want to stop by unexpectedly for a few months:)

Slowing down

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 07:42:00 +0000

"From much further down the road but with a great deal of understanding, you won’t ever regret taking your time."

- Christa over at Carry It Forward

It's been a while since my last post. As usual. But I have a really really good excuse. Her name is Ellie. Ellie Vivian. And she's just gorgeous. Just look at this precious little creature.

We are smitten by these 8 lbs 20 inches of life. So much more clarity this time around. I am really enjoying the demands a newborn calls for.

Such a glorious time in our lives right now and I am relishing in it. Spending more time rocking this sweet baby girl and cuddling one loving baby boy that it's keeping me from blogging. And that's one thing I am not sorry about.

**Photo taken by the fabulous Melissa Rodriguez. I've raved about her before. She just doesn't disappoint!

Something to talk about.

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:36:00 +0000

Ok, if you're a loyal reader, you are privy to some excting news and pictures. I won't post these preggers pics on facebook but I will blog about them.

I went to the Drs. office today and people gasped when they saw me. They even talked about how big I was in Spanish. Guess they didn't realize I spoke Spanish. Then when I turned around from checking in, they actually lifted their bottom off their chairs to get a glimpse of the belly. Guess I'm bigger than I thought. But I'll let you be the judge. Here are some pics my sister took of me today at 38+ weeks as I was getting ready to go to the Drs.

Can't wait to share her arrival soon! I'll keep you all updated!

Inbox Oldies

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:33:00 +0000

I think I'm nesting,...but I've been doing it for a month or so now. Just expecting this sweet baby girl to come early. She's a holdout. She seems to be just fine where she is. I, on the other hand, just can't wait and I'm not even sure why. As you can see from the previous post I am having a very hard time letting go and sharing Cole, perhaps sharing myself with one more little being. I also know the lack of sleep that is in store for me. I actually remember the lack of sleep more than I remember nausea in both my pregnancies and the nausea was bad, as you can tell from this post.

So the point of all that was that I am on a cleaning/organizing trip these days. My house looks like crap-except for Ellie's room but my attic looks fabulous! (Ok, house not too bad but it has been constant work to keep up with the stuff I kept pulling down from the attic. )We had a huge garage sale and then donated boxes and boxes of stuff to Goodwill. What a relief! Well, my attic was clean so I decided to hit up and clean my email account. Apparaelty, I am an email hoearder. Check it out, still have over 3,000 emails to look over! Can you say overwhelming?!

But I am actually glad of it because I am coming across some emails that take me back to these moments in time, my thoughts of these moments in time and I just think they are so special. I have to be careful though because the last time I did the whole email cleaning out thing, this happened.

I didn't blog or document my pregnancy with Cole and then I came across an email I wrote about it and it gave me a glimpse of those days, how I looked and how I felt.

Date: 11/21/2006
Subject: Preggie Eggie Pics

"I promised many of ya'll pictures of me during my pregnancy so here goes. I took some tonight and realized they sure made me look big but I am hitting my 7th month on Friday and have actually only gained 10 lbs. so the camera adds 10 lbs.!!! I look so much like my sister as she went through her months. The sizes and shapes and bellies and everything has been exactly the same. It's crazy, except she got lucky and skipped the nausea. Anyhow, I am also sending a link where you can see the sono of Thomas Cole and his most recent pictures..

Hope you enjoy and we'll talk soon. Oh, BTW sis has dilated 2 centimeters as of last Wednesday but still hanging in there. It will probably happen as the turkeys are coming out of the oven!!!! I will keep you posted..."

First of all, no one calls me Preggie Eggie anymore :( AND I now think it is sooo silly that I would think people would care about my preggers pics enough for me to send them a whole email about it. Also, I referred to Cole as "Thomas Cole" because we weren't sure then what we would call him on a daily basis. "Cole" won out I guess.

Every Little Ounce of You

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:20:00 +0000

I wrote this at 4 am one morning and there it sat, in my drafts. I wanted to read it and reread it to make sure there was nothing I would forget to say to my son who was an only child. Whose status as such would soon change. But I see that I will always have somthing more to say , something more to write to him. But I have a lifetime to do that.

Dear Cole,

We have been so wrapped up in life that even though I have been writing letters to you in my head for weeks, I haven't had the time to write them on paper for you. Which was something I have been wanting to document for you. The days when it was just us and you. And the days keep passing us by, life keeps passing us by and pretty soon, there will be two of you.

And so here I am, much later than I wanted to be here, telling you, telling the world through sobs and tears, just how very special you are. Just how much magic you alone have brought into our lives.

You are so excited right now awaiting on the arrival of your baby sister, Ellie. You kiss my belly. You ask me every chance you get, "What's Ellie saying?" I usually reply something along the lines of "She says she loves you", "she says she can't wait for you to hold her", "she says stop tickling her". And it's never enough. You want more. You are fascinated by her. Your reply is always "And what else?" So I indulge you, and I tell you more of what I think she might one day be saying. And you smile. You smile oh so big. Because you love this little girl so so much and you don't even know her yet. And it makes me feel so good about the little man you have become.

It doesn't bother you at all that I can't carry you, or rock you, or run after you. Because even before you could look at her and see her in all her cuteness, you loved her. You loved her when pieces of me had to be given to her. You loved her when I had to stay in bed because I was sick. You loved her as I lay in bed, too nauseous, and dizzy to make you breakfast. You loved her as you watched tv alone eating your cheesestick and apple sauce lunch just waiting to rush to my rescue as I ran to the bathroom. You loved her as you patted my back as I crouched over the toilet and said "You're ok Mommy. You're sick because Ellie is growing." You loved her as you handed me water and a wet towel to put on my forehead. You even loved her when I wouldn't let you lay in bed with me at night because I was nauseous and I said you talked too much which made me dizzier. You loved her without conditions. Without strings. Without even having really known her.

But this is you. My sweet little man. Our everything. Our reason for existing.

I am struggling here to capture these moments in time. These moment when it was just you and me and Daddy. These long days we spent getting to know one another. Uninterrupted, yet interrupted constantly by phone calls, and emails, and visits, and laughs, and joys, and sadness, and disciplines, and long car rides, and short car rides, and silent trips to school , and trips to school full of Christmas music or the La La La song (New Soul). You learned how to press the pause button on the DVR yesterday, and that is just what I would like to do. Pause time. So that I may never forget how magical our time together and alone has been.

I took the picture below of you on December 2, 2010. Amidst a chaos of activities. We were at the Houston Zoo with Uncle Mark. You were having the time of your life. Uncle Mark was racing you around the zoo in the stroller. I was smiling in between ligament pains from a growing belly, trying hard to keep up with you. Stopping to rest every few steps and breathe through the pain. Daddy was here and there. Back and forth between you and me. And I asked you to pause so I can get a picture. And I ran to give Uncle Mark the camera.

I love this picture already. That you let me take it. I will always look back upon it and say: That was the shirts I had to trick him into wearing. Those were the days he refused to wear anything but blue jeans. That was our last trip as a family of three. He was on his last last weeks of being three. Daddy was not happy to be taking so many pictures but he was still smiling, and there I was, my tummy and my heart heavy, 31 weeks of new life snug inside me, trying – and failing – to stop time.

I love you. Every blue jean strand of you. Every car of you. Every year of you. Every little ounce of you.

Thank you my precious boy. Thank you for letting me have you all to myself for four years. I'm ready to share you now with your sister.

Love,
Mom

A New Year's Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 07:55:00 +0000

I have been plagued these last few days of all that I hoped this new year would bring. And I quickly felt defeated by my own hopes, and my own failures. Because what I had resolved to do just today, was overshadowed by a trip to Target to get Ellie-Bear a bookshelf for her room, lunch with Mimi and Bop, a visit from Nana as she helped prepare and sew a bed skirt for the nursery, and allergies that had me sneezing all morning until I finally took a Bendaryl which then had me sleeping off what was left of the day.

The email I had intended to send, the shipped orders I had intended to check on, the blog post I had hoped to jumpstart Chic Farm off with for 2011, the late thank you cards I had intended to write, and the new design I had hoped to work on didn't make the cut. And I felt overwhelmed all of a sudden. And afraid of all the failure 365 days of lists would bring me.

But as I passed by Ellie's room, I caught a glimpse of my sweet boy in his baby sister's new twin bed, holding his green "Ellie"phant, lying right next to her crib. And all my fears subsided. He was happy as a clam, anticipating the arrival of his little sister. And I knew then, that the past year, that my whole life had been a complete and utter success. And that it had gone according to plan, and a to-do list had been accomplished and fully checked off,...it just wasn't the one I had written.

"Bury every fear of the future, of poverty for those dear to you, of suffering, of loss. Bury all thoughts of unkindness and bitterness, all your dislikes, your resentments, your sense of failure, your disappointment in others and in yourselves, your gloom, your despondency, and let us leave them all, buried, and go forward... [He] hold[s] the year in [His] Hands - in trust for you. But [He] shall guide you one day at a time. Leave the rest with [Him]. You must not anticipate the gift by fears or thoughts of the days ahead. And for each day [He] shall supply the wisdom and the strength."

- God Calling by Two listeners

Houston Bound!

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 21:05:00 +0000

Lots has happened and I have neglected my blog. Wanted to spend some time to update this weekend but Mom, Sissy, and I decided at the last minute to head out to Houston for the Nutcracker Market! Too too excited! So maybe when we return on Monday I can blog. Maybe.

Picture from www.HoustonBallet.org

Where's my gum?

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:30:00 +0000

Cole: "Mom, I swallowed my gum"

Me: "You know you're not supposed to swallow your gum! Why did you swallow it?"

I turn around to find this....

Me: "Um, I'm pretty sure you didn't swallow it."

Cole: "I don't have it anymore."

Me: "Yes, you do. It's in your hair. and on the seat. and on your hands."

**sigh**

The Power of Prayer, Pure and Simple

noreply@blogger.com (Will and Vannessa) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 01:48:00 +0000

I do not deny that I am the Queen of Indiscretion. There are no secrets when it comes to me. I bare all, even when I shouldn't. And there are times when I am remorseful to have shared some big challenges and failures of my own, but I do. And I fear I always will. But one thing I have learned is that sometimes through my humility, someone is helped. So, yesterday I bared my soul with you. With the world. To see, to scrutinize, to criticize, and hopefully, to inspire. That was the email I had emailed a very select group of individuals who have helped me through some very tough times. Some people who have brought me closer to God. Some people I knew would help me through this one as well. And after much deliberation, and having seen His hand in it all, I wanted to share it with you. To give you hope.

It has only been 2 days since I sent that email out. And if only you could see the beauty that I have seen in those 2 days, you would be amazed. Awed. Inspired. Just as I am. Just as my man is. I am ever so thankful for this blessing that is losing our only income. It sounds crazy. I know. It is. But my faith never wavered and somehow, through adversity I was able to be the rock that my husband needed me to be. I was able to be the Wife that I always dreamed to be. So I will continue to share some very intimate moments in our lives right now. Moments between a husband and a wife. Moments worth telling the world about.

My husband was devastated. One can only imagine the burden on his shoulders to be the sole breadwinner and to not be able to provide for your family. But all I could feel was calm. And the only fear I felt was not being able to emulate that serenity onto my husband. What if I wasn't able to provide the comfort and support he so desperately needed? So immediately, I prayed. And I cried. And then I sent an email out. It said this exactly.

I sat down and I listened. I stood still so the world could move me. And it did.

*Email from AG: "Have confidence that you are exactly what he needs and go with your heart, it will lead you where you need to go."

*Email from DG: "I'm very sorry that Will could be possibly losing his job, but at the same time I am very excited for what's in store for him!" - "Your prayers for Will will be crucial throughout this trying time also. Your prayers for your husband are the most important than anyone else's prayers for him, even his own mother's.

*I looked on my desk at a prayer card I had sitting there for weeks and it read "Lord, give my husband patience to wait for Your perfect timing." -Stormie Omartian

*I sat to open a daily prayer book and the prayer for the day was "...So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord." -Psalm 31: 24

* At the end of the day my husband came home a new man, filled with words of encouragement from his friends and loved ones from the Lord. He was open to meet with the husband of a dear friend of mine, one of my email recipients, TO. He is a minister for Cowboy Church. And I thought what a blessing it was to see my husband so hungry for His word. I had prayed about that.

*A friend of mine, KF came over to check some pants for Cole to see about patching them up and I was reminded about my prayer for my husband for the year. It was written a few months back. It had to do with his work. That God would show himself and lead us in the right direction. Should he stay or should he go. My prayer was being answered.

*Will gets a Facebook message from JE titled Old Friend. "Been a long time since our Sunday school days Willie. How are you. Hope things are fine."

*Cole pulls out the Bible and insist I read it to him. Will and I are talking. He starts to cry to read it to him. I open it up at random to read. Will and I continue to talk. He asks me what the ribbon in the book is for. I explain it is a bookmark. So I read it to him where the page is marked. It is Daniel 2:18 "Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh. Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon." -Will was given 30 days to perform a miracle in his job as a Lending Officer or be either fired or choose to resign.

*So very thankful of the spiritual awakening going on in my husband's life, I opened the daily prayer book at the end of the day yesterday and again, He spoke to me. He spoke to my husband. "I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance." Job 42:6

This is just an inkling of what had transpired yesterday. There were calls about job opportunities, and a certain little toddler boy who just seemed to know his Daddy needed some extra special love and attention. But some things I just have to save for ourselves. To mull over and rejoice in;)

I don't know what His plan is for my family and the waters seem treacherous right now. But boy am I excited for our future!!!!