At Home With The Galow's

Our Love Story

2012-02-14T11:03:00.004-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

We won't be doing much celebrating today besides going to Addyson's class party. I have managed to throw a new recipe in the crock pot and will make a red velvet cake this afternoon. It will be perfect spending the evening with my two precious kiddos and my sweet hubby.

Today since it's a day full of love, I thought I would share mine and Jason's story of how we met. It's a story we will never forget!

The night I met Jason I was waiting tables at a local steak house. I was pulling a double shift and got the pleasure of waiting on him and his friend. They had come in from working late to enjoy dinner and a few beers.

When they were finishing up I set their ticket on the table and signed it with my name as I always did. Jason thought he was being funny and asked if my boyfriend misspelled my name often. He noticed I was wearing an engagement ring. I told him no, that my fiance had passed away a couple of months ago. He was mortified and left a note on the bottom of the ticket asking to make it up to me by taking me to dinner.

I took the note without thinking about it. I really didn't have plans to contact him. A few of the girls I worked with pressured me to call him because he was so nice and thought it would be good for me to get out a bit.

One night I was out with some girls and decided I would just call him. It was about 11 at night when I called and woke him up. He now had my number and the ball was in his court. He called the next day and we made arrangements to go out one night after work.

We met up that Thursday after my shift at a local pool hall. We hit it off from the start. Our date lasted until 3 in the morning. Neither of us wanted to get into anything serious and agreed that we could just hang out every now and then.

Before we knew it we were spending a lot of time together. After eight months we were engaged. We planned to have a year long engagement, but while making wedding arrangements we were overwhelmed by opinions, costs, stress and all that comes with planning a wedding, so we decided why wait? So we made arrangements to elope.

We exchanged vows together on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 1:15 p.m.We didn't tell anyone until after we got married. It was a shock to everyone. I will admit that it was a very special moment to say our vows to one another in such an intimate setting. It's a day neither of us will forget.

We have caught a lot of flack for rushing into marriage. But when I am with Jason it works! I have and will always believe that God sent Jason into my life at the right moment. Jason is my best friend. I can't imagine life without him. I feel so blessed to have spent the last six and a half years with him and look forward to many more!

There are some pretty neat coincidences that come along with our relationship. For instance it could be possible that your soul mate has the same last 4 digits as you of your social security number. At least Jason and I do. It weird!

We have also found out that our families were connected long before we were! Jason's sister Michelle used to work in Galveston with my Uncle Bryan and his Aunt Marilyn worked with my Aunt Tammy. Some may call it a small world but its those little things.

It reminds me of the story about a mattress that was sold in a garage sale many years ago and brought back into the exact family it left. I will have to sit down with my in-laws and get that full story. :)

Our love story began with a tragedy, but it goes to show you that God does have a plan. Even when you think nothing good can happen, God happens!

Happy Valentine's Day to my best friend, my soul mate, Jason!

I love you so much and am so blessed to have your unconditional love.

Welcome!

2012-02-13T20:48:00.026-06:00

Today I am linking up with Neely over at A Complete Waste of Makeup. She has a fun link up party going on to get your blog out there and I thought it would be fun to join in. I know two posts in one day! I'm on a roll! :)

Howdy! I'm Jessyka!

Our Family

I'm a mid-twenties wife and mom to two precious kiddos, Addyson and Oscar. I stay at home and care for my family. I always knew that I wanted to get married and have a family, it was my only goal in life. Cheesy? Eh. I love my job and wouldn't change it! I have been married to my husband, Jason for six and a half years. We have a pretty amazing love story. I may share that tomorrow for Valentine's Day. :)

I started this blog as a way to record happenings and milestones for our kids. I try my hardest to keep it about family, but sometimes I post recipes, projects, etc. It's just a hodgepodge of our lives. I'm an all over the place kind of girl, so you never know what you will get.

Random things about myself:

I have selective OCD. It's weird.

I am a very sarcastic person and most of what I say should be taken with a grain of salt.

I always put my foot in my mouth. It's a special talent! ;) I can't help that my mouth is faster than my brain.

Tragedy has struck me more than once, but I am a stronger person because of it. I love life and will never take it for granted.

I love wine! I'm a cab girl.

I make up my own words a lot. My husband loves to make fun of me for it. A common phrase Jason uses is "My Wife".

I weigh myself almost daily thinking I will lose weight when I have done nothing for weight loss.

I want to visit Alaska and Australia.

I enjoy visiting microbreweries with my husband.

I LOVE the beach!

I watch way too much reality TV and spend entirely too much time on Pinterest.

I can live a life without chocolate.

So there you have it. A little about our blog and my crazy self. I hope you enjoy reading. Stop by often! I enjoy comments, so let me know you stopped by!

Happy Monday!

Blogger App!

2012-02-13T10:26:00.002-06:00

I just found out there was an app for blogger! I'm pretty excited! I hate having to email my photos from my phone to myself and then put them on blogger. I'm sure there is an easier way, but I'm not very tech savvy.

I can now blog straight from my phone. That means I can blog while waiting to pick up Addy from school, in the doctors office or anywhere for that matter. The possibilities are endless. I can just post pictures from our days. That means you will get more pictures! Maybe this will help me blog more. I did say maybe. :)

This is my first blog from my phone! So excuse any typos while I learn this new technology!

And because I want to try out adding photos, here is one of my precious boy for you to enjoy!

Yes, We Actually LIVE in Our Home!

2012-01-31T14:03:00.001-06:00

I have been reading this blog called Real-Life Homes. Karen is the owner of the blog and started it to remind us mom's that most of the photo's of peoples homes we see online are usually staged. I love reading this blog and seeing that I am not the only mama that can't keep a room clean for more than ten minutes!

I am always curious about how other moms keep their homes so clean all the time. Maybe they have a play room and that is where all toys stay no matter what.(We don't have one.) Maybe they lock their kids in their rooms so they can't mess anything up. That's what I would have to do in order to keep a clean and tidy house all the time!

So I wanted to show you that this is how my house looks on any given day.

This is our living room. The top of the end table is off because we are refinishing them.

This is looking into the kitchen from the hall. The bar takes on all clutter.

The kitchen/dining. Our table stays clean because its closed off!

This is Addy's room. Sigh...

And Oscar's Room. Even bigger Sigh...

The kids/guest bathroom. I try to keep this pretty clean.

The Master. There are usually clothes hanging all over the treadmill, but I am working on laundry. I do use my treadmill though!

The Master Bathroom. There is NO counter space and is always full with my stuff.

Please tell me that you use your doorways to hang clothes.

The Laundry Room. Its fairly clean today!

So this our house. We live here and it gets worse than what you just saw. I stay home all day and still have a messy house! I spend time cleaning and doing laundry, but I also spend time taking my kids to the park and going for walks and teaching them. Sometimes its hard to handle the messiness, but the time spend with my family is definitely worth it!

Luke Bryan Date

2012-01-28T16:08:00.073-06:00

Today our tickets to see Luke Bryan at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo came in! I am so excited to see him, he's such a cutie, and spend some time with my hubby!

See what I mean. :)

I am trying to have a date for us each month, so this is our March date. I have a pretty special evening in mind for February, but I will share that later. ;)

And because I didn't do a post of its own here is what we did in January. Instead of a date night our date was a weekend getaway at deer camp. We had a blast! We took a 4 wheeler ride over the entire Galow property. (Its been split up but is still owned by other family members.) Did some shooting. Shooting a gun is a great way to get rid of some frustrations! We really enjoyed spending time together. It ws so nice to get away! A special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for staying with them.

We always look forward to our dates and am excited to see what all we do this year.

Thanks to Shannon's blog for the great idea.

My First 5K!

2012-01-27T13:17:00.002-06:00

If you know me you know that I don't run! Ever! I am on a mission to lose about 50lbs. That seems like a lot! I have done pretty good so far. Although I am only down about 4 pounds, it better than nothing. I have been walking anywhere from 2-5 miles a day and eating healthy.

I decided to run a 5K so that I have no reason not to exercise. There's logic there I promise! So I decided to sign up for my first 5K today! I sure hope I can do this. As I mentioned earlier, I AM NOT A RUNNER. I didn't even run in high school. But I am determined and you know what they say when a woman is determined... I don't really know what they say, so use your imagination.

So I am running/jogging/walking/crawling in the Armadillo Dash here in CS on Sunday March 4th. If all goes well I am planning on doing the Blue Bell Fun Run in April. If for nothing else the ice cream at the finish line! :)

So wish me luck. I am pulling out all stops and have even prayed that God make me a runner, because if I am able to run the entire 3.1 miles, it will only have been by the grace of God! :)

Addy Loses Another Tooth

2012-01-24T10:38:00.025-06:00

Last night while we were getting the kids for bed, Addy lost her 3rd tooth! She was so excited. And now the same tooth on the other side is loose. She will most likely lose that one by the weekend. At this rate the Tooth Fairy is going to be broke!

I just love this face! That smile can light up a room!

One Word

2012-01-17T08:00:00.008-06:00

Lately I have been reading different blogs and have stumbled upon Ali Edwards. Curious, I went to her website and began browsing. What an incredibly passionate woman! She has accomplished much of the things I strive for. Scrapbooking has always been something I wanted to do, but never felt creative enough to start. Ali makes this process easy. But that's not what this post is about.

This post is about One Little Word. Ali started this as an alternative to a New Year's Resolution. I decided to join in on this project after reading her reasons and seeing how a single word can impact your life.

I chose a word that will live under my surface for the next year. I will keep this word present with me throughout my daily life this year and reflect upon it often. Hopefully by the end of the year, this word will have made and impact on me and might teach me a thing or two I didn't already know.

The Word I Chose Is:

DEFINITION:
Patience: quiet, steady perseverance; even tempered care; diligence: to work with patience.

I chose this word because patience is definitely a quality I lack. With all the changes in our lives lately, like selling our house and intending to buy another and ending up renting, even though renting serves as a purpose. It is still exhausting and trying to have patience is hard. Not to mention the other half a million things that are going on currently that help stray my patience.

While looking up the definition of patience I came across these quotes and verse that I plan to hang on my bathroom mirror and keep with me as a reminder.

"A man who is a master of patience is a master of everything else." George Saville

“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them– every day begin the task anew.” ~ Francis de Sales

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:16

I just love that verse! I know that the day will come when I undoubtedly know the perfect patience God wants me to have.

I am linking up with Layla over at The Lettered Cottage. Head over to her site by clicking the photo below and check out some of her other readers words.

A Crazy Addiction

2012-01-16T17:56:00.000-06:00

Every now and then Jason and I will load up the kids and go for a little drive. We don't go anywhere really. We just drive around and check things out.

Lately we have loaded the kids up and gone on drives looking at houses. I know! I know exactly what you are thinking. Our plan is still the same. We are staying where we are, but we just can't help ourselves.

This weekend we took the kids to the park and then went on a little walk in the neighborhood and while walking our interest was sparked at the homes that were for sale in that area. So we walked back to the park and let the kids play and Jason walked home to get our vehicle so we could take a drive.

I don't know exactly how a walk and playing at the park can make you want to drive around looking at houses, but it did and so we did. There is one builder that leaves his houses open that are for sale, so we walked through a few of his.

The kids made a game out of it. Jason would get out and check the door to see if it was open and the kids would wait, excited, for Jason to give us the thumbs up. Once we got the thumbs up they would scream and jump out of the car. They enjoy looking at houses too.

The picture below is of the twelve brochures we picked up. Are we crazy people for enjoying looking at houses? For fun!.

I really enjoy it, crazy or not. We would love to be homeowners again, but being completely debt free except for a mortgage is our goal. And we are sticking to it!

Erin Condren Life Planner

2012-01-11T16:07:00.006-06:00

Back in October I bought a $50 coupon code for $25 off of Zulily for the Erin Condren website. Last week I decided I wanted to order an Erin Condren Life Planner so I went to her site and used my code. I basically paid shipping for my order!

I am so excited that it showed up at my door yesterday! I am already addicted to it!

So you are probably wondering what an Erin Condren Life Planner is, well allow me to explain. The word LIFE is an acronym that stands for Log, Inspire, Fill and Enter. And well you know what a planner is. This planner is layed out to make life easier and to help you keep organized. Jason thinks it a glorified calendar and in a way it is. He doesn’t understand how amazing it is. I have had other expensive planners but none like this one. Never will I purchase another from any where else!

I loved that I was able to put our family picture on it and personalize it with our names on the front. This life planner will literally contain everything that has to do with my life as well as the activities for the kids and work schedule for the hubby. There are so many features about this life planner that make it worth every single penny!

Some of my favorite features about this Life Planner are:

• I love that the tabs are labeled with each month making it simple to go from month to month

• I love that there is a full month calendar and then there are the weekly pages with plenty of room to write down appointments, record diet, exercise, to-do lists, and goals

• I love that it has a two-sided folder to hold those loose things

• I love that it has a clear plastic zip lock pouch for pens, coupons, or whatever you could think of using it for

• It has blank lined pages for notes and blank plain pages to sketch or write notes

• An important date section so you can write in birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

• I love the event stickers and the plain stickers to use at my convenience

Do you see? This is truly an amazing planner. If you write down everything and like to be organized, this is the planner for you! I don’t feel like I explained it well enough. I attempted to take these pictures of it. I am NO photographer. I have the camera just not the skills! Ha!

The front of the planner.

Lined pages, goals, to-do list

Record morning, day, and evening activities

I also ordered theses matching notepads. Perfect for writing notes to the teacher!

BONUS: I had no clue this was included, but it has sample stickers and get together cards to use. I know I will be making another order in the near future!

If you want to check out more of the Erin Condren collection you can click the Erin Condren logo at the top and it will take you to her site.

***In NO way was I compensated for this post. This is my individual opinion of the Erin Condren life planner.

Family Pictures

2012-01-06T14:40:00.002-06:00

Each year we have family pictures taken for our Christmas cards. We love to have Brandi, owner and photography of Brandi Tejeda Photography, capture pictures of us. Brandi and I met in Navasota and have become friends over the past few years she has been taking photos of us.

I love her work and love the way she captures the kids’ personalities in the photos. I love that we are always comfortable and doing our own thing and she captures around US! I could go on and on about her photography, not to mention how she home schools and is a super mom, but I will show you her work again this year.

Without further ado…. here are some of my favorites!

2012

2012-01-04T15:09:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!!

It's hard to believe that a new year has already arrived! I always thought it would be forever until 2012 arrived, but it is here! My little brother graduates this May! Whoa! I feel old.

My 101 in 1001 is still in progress! I need to update it, but life seems to get in the way of blogging sometimes. No New Year's Resolutions will be made since I am still working on my 101 in 1001. You can check it out by clicking goals at the top of the page.

I have to say that a lot of it is pretty simple. It's allowed me to make time for just me or just me and my hubby or just being able to spend a day with the kids. I have tried many new recipes and ventured out more than I normally would.

Now that Pinterest has become a part of my everyday life, I could start a whole new 101! There's an idea. Maybe that will go somewhere one day.

This year is going to be full! My Oscar is going to start kindergarten, Addy will be a first grader, and I will be a free mama! All of this won't happen until August, but what am I going to do with my time? That is going to take some thought.

So do you have any big plans for 2012?

My only wish is for a healthy and happy family.

Happy 2012!!!

Christmas Day!

2011-12-30T14:18:00.001-06:00

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! I know we sure did. We are blessed beyond belief!

Christmas morning was so much fun! Jason and I woke up before the kids and waited for them to wake up. We were in our room and we hear these loud squeals coming from Addy and then she started yelling Santa came! Santa came! It was priceless!

Through all Addy's squeals Oscar woke up and we opened presents. Santa left Oscar a train table and trains and Addy a leapfrog explorer and a big teddy bear.

They loved their Santa gifts and then started opening our. Addy and Oscar each got a new Bible and two outfits. Addy also got the fur real walking dog and Oscar got a lightening McQueen car and track. He was thrilled!

This picture is PRICELESS!

Jason got a fire pit from the kids along with the wood and stuff to make s'mores, a new pocket knife and a under armour shirt. I got some new Pandora charms, a wireless keyboard and mouse and the cocoa latte drink mixer that I wanted. Our neighbor had one and I fell in love. Its the neatest little thing.

We had a ton of fun and enjoyed spending the morning with our family.

For lunch we went to my parents. As soon as we got there we ate and then opened presents. I love how this time of year is consumed around food! We certainly ate our share and there is never a shortage!

I took these pictures along with many more but definitely wanted these recorded.

Oscar and Pawpa

Addy and Grandma

My Grammy and Poppy

Spending time with family is what the holidays are about. I am so blessed to get to spend them with mine and Jason's family and I love that our families get to see our children grow.

Christmas Eve!

2011-12-29T13:14:00.000-06:00

This year we spent Christmas Eve at Jason's parent's new house in La Grange. We were very excited about starting a new tradition at their new home. I know they are so proud to be settled and have all their children home for the holidays.

The kids were excited to give Grandma and Grandpa their Christmas present. This one was hard to keep a secret. I think they are in love though.

That is Tucker, Grandma and Grandpa's new teacup chihuahua. He is so precious. Addy didn't want to put him down. She was constantly by him the whole time. If it were up to her we would have a farm. I see a zoologist in her future.

After we ate the kids opened presents and we visited a while and then headed to church for the Christmas Eve candle light service. It was a very nice service and then we all parted ways. Santa had a lot of preparation for Christmas morning. :)

Santa's Wonderland

2011-12-29T11:29:00.003-06:00

Almost every year our family visits Santa's Wonderland. We love going and seeing the magic of a Texas Christmas.

The kids love coming into Santa's Town with snow blowing all over to play in!

The light trail is amazing and Santa's Town is full of fun! There is so much to do. You can just sit by a cozy fire and listen to the entertainment, enjoy browsing shops or grab a bite to eat in Marshall Frostbites Food Village.

This picture is the best part of the tail of lights. Its a great reminder of the TRUE meaning of Christmas.

There is plenty of fun for the kids. There are pony rides, a petting zoo, photos with Santa, face painting and more!

Our MUST do is to take the hay ride through the lights, but not without purchasing some freshly popped kettle corn and hot chocolate! So if you want to know how to do Santa's Wonderland right, that is my best advice! :)

We had the best time hanging out as a family and enjoying all the magic of Santa's Wonderland. Our last stop of the evening was to see Santa. Jason and I had planned to take a family picture with Santa because Addyson has refused to see him. But much to our surprise we got in to see him and her and Oscar were sitting on his lap before Jason or I could get our jackets off. I was so impressed! This is the first EVER picture with Addyson and Oscar with Santa!

If you are interested in more information about Santa's Wonderland you can check out their website at http://www.santas-wonderland.com/.

** Santa's Wonderland has no idea who I am and have in no way endorsed this post.

A Birthday Celebration!

2011-12-18T10:28:00.000-06:00

Through all the tragedy this past week, my nephew, Emory had a birthday party. We went over Sunday afternoon and celebrated with him.

Emory Dawson Broussard turned 8 years old on December 16. These kids are getting too big!

He asked for a bearded dragon for his birthday and that is what he got. I am content looking at it from afar, but I can't say that I enjoy reptiles. Just not my thing. Emory is certainly enjoying him though.

This is Rango, the bearded dragon.

We had a good time and the kids enjoy playing with their cousins.

Prayer Request

2011-12-14T13:27:00.000-06:00

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2011-12-04T08:47:00.004-06:00

I've said it once and I will continue to say it,

Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday!!

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year! There is just something about the sweet cinnamon and clove smells, the cold nights spent drinking hot chocolate with way too many marshmallows, sitting next to the fire reading Christmas stories, listening to traditional Christmas music, the time spent with family and friends, the celebration of Jesus' birthday, decorating the Christmas tree, going to parades and local Christmas activities. I could keep going. There is so much wonderfulness during the Christmas season! It just warms your soul!

I love it! I love it! I love it!

Every year we put our Christmas tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving. I am not sure what is up with so many people putting their trees up before Thanksgiving, but I can't bring myself to do that. I am traditional and have to wait until after Thanksgiving. I think that should be a law! Even for retailers!

Putting up the Christmas tree this year was a lot of fun! My step mom, Max came over and helped! I know the kids enjoyed decorating the Christmas tree with their Mimi! I enjoyed it too! I just wish the kids would leave the tree alone! It is taking everything I have not to redo it! Every time I turn around the kids are moving ornaments around. Ugh! Anyone else have this problem?

I didn't get any pictures of the decorations going up. Just as well, because my house was a total disaster! I love getting all the decorations out and putting them up, but then I don't want to clean up the mess. Thank goodness my hubby just let's me do my thing and then takes the boxes back to the garage to return to the attic. I think he just doesn't want to get in my way and get griped at. :) Yes, I should be in the Christmas spirit, but when putting up decorations, I tend to get a little OCD. You know, just a little. :)

I didn't do as much as I have done in the past, because December is jam packed full with all kinds of activities! This is the first year I have had a child in school and boy did I not realize all of the activities that go on! It is a lot of fun though.

Here are some pictures of this year's Christmas decorations. I hope you enjoy them. If you haven't starting putting out out your Christmas decor yet, I hope that your are inspired!

I am working on the gaudy traditional Christmas tree. You know the one that you know when every ornament was made or bought and the special reason behind it. That is what I think of on a Christmas tree, so that's what I am going for.

I love my apothecary jar! You can put anything in it for any holiday. I think it needs a bow at the top. I may add some red and green ribbon since I have so much gold everywhere. The Christmas season is the only time I really like gold. And that picture next to the jar is my daddy. I know he is watching over us. Boy is he missed, especially during the holidays!

And here is the fireplace. I love it. I think it needs something, but I still love it. I have more decor out but I am going to link up with Kelly's Korner later next week, so I will post it then.

To Clean The Car Or Not?

2011-12-01T13:28:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Oscar and I had some errands to run so we were out most of the day. We ate lunch at Chuy's and I let Oscar bring his root beer with us. I had to run into Macy's so I stuck his root beer on the floor board. There were no unused drink holders out of the 7 in the car! Really? I knew I wouldn't forget it was there.

So we leave and I forget the root beer was there until I turn! Yep! Root beer everywhere. I can handle all the trash on the floor, the popcorn that spilled weeks ago and all the toys that are all over the car, but not the stickiness of a drink everywhere! Except for the gunk build up under the car seats, I can't see that!

That meant that I had to FINALLY clean out my car. A year ago when we bought it I swore I would keep it clean. Well, I just need to STOP swearing!

Once I got Addy from school, we came home and I got to work on the car. I started at 3:30 and finished about 6:30. It was a 3 hour mess! I scrubbed and wiped windows and vacuumed. It looks pretty good now. I just need to clean the mats and somehow figure out a way to clean the gunk out of the little crannies where the seats lock in. Oh and have the carpet shampooed. Now that makes it sound like I didn't really clean it, but I did. I promise!

Now Etta Pearl, that's my cars name, looks real nice! Yes I named my car. I have named them all! Don't you name your vehicles?

Here are some pretty embarrassing pictures. Someone please tell me your vehicle looks like this sometimes or all the time! Please! I beg!

This was the car contents! I even found and onion I knew I purchased a few weeks ago at the grocery store and couldn't find and six pair of my kids shoes. Yes, SIX, 6, S-I-X! I know! Oh please excuse the garage mess.

A New Christmas Tradition- Scripture

2011-11-30T09:05:00.001-06:00

With all the hustle and bustle of fighting crowds in stores and not being able to find those certain gifts, we all get a little Scrooge in us during the Christmas Season. We get caught up in all the things that have to be done and tend to forget the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Christmas is a special holiday! We get to be with family and friends and carry on old traditions and make new ones! This is my FAVORITE holiday of them all! I love finding new traditions for my family and this is one that your family can do as well!

While I was browsing on Pinterest, I came across this tradition. Why have I never thought to do this? Every day beginning Dec. 1, you and your family read a scripture/passage together through Christmas Eve. You can read the scripture or passage before school, before church, in the evening before bed, at the dinner table, you can always make time to read scripture.

These scriptures would even be perfect for an Advent Calendar. I have been doing some research on Advent Calendars and think we might do one next year, even though we aren't Catholic or Lutheran. (Well, Jason was Lutheran, but converted when we got married.)

I love to share bible stories with my family and what better time to do it than during the Christmas Season! The site I got this from also recommends continuing to read scripture together throughout the year. I know this is something our family slacks on. We have even slacked on getting to church most of the time. No excuses! But that's another post. ;)

Click here for the link to the list of scriptures on Tip Junkie's blog. I hope you and your family enjoy making a new tradition as much as my family and I do!!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T10:22:00.002-06:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

This year we had planned to go to my Aunt D.J.'s house, but two days before Thanksgiving Oscar came down with a fever and wasn't holding anything down. I thought it would pass over 24 hours, but it didn't so we had to cancel and stay home.

Of course I wouldn't let my family go without a Thanksgiving meal, so I had to go to the grocery store for our feast. I DO NOT recommend going to the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving! It was a MAD house! It was very frustrating, but HEB had managers and helpers on those busy isles to help you get what you need. I simply parked my buggy at the end of the isle and told them what I needed and they brought it to me! Yes, that happened! It was amazing! One of the many reasons I am ~~in love with~~ OBSESSED with HEB!

So I cooked our Thanksgiving feast and we ate and then napped. Oscar's fever kept spiking and I got sick and Jason had to work. It was wonderful! I attempted to watch the A&M vs UT game, but had to go to bed. When Jason got home he caught the tail end of the game and told me the sad news. UT defeated us on the last game together. It is always a lot of fun to watch the Aggies and Longhorns face off, especially in our family since its so divided. It been a fun tradition and hope that they will come together again in the future!

So that was our Thanksgiving holiday. Sorry no pictures. I cooked and lounged in my pj's all day along with the rest of the family. We missed seeing all of our family, but enjoyed just being home with one another and giving thanks for all we have, even the sickness! ;)

Admittance Is The First Step!

2011-11-15T20:15:00.001-06:00

(This picture came from Pinterest, but had no link with it. )

My name is Jessyka and I am a Pinterest addict!

There, I admit it!

I don't believe I have ever talked about Pinterest in a blog before. It has become my new obsession, literally, and all I want to do is share it with anyone and everyone!

I really just want for you to become as obsessed with it and get absolutely nothing done, because you can't walkaway from the computer, or put your phone down, YES there is a Pinterst App, because you might miss a pin!

It is that addicting! So much in fact, I have a whole board dedicated to Pinterest addicts called Pinning Love! :)

What is Pinterest, you ask? (Please don't confuse my answer with the actual definition.) Pinterest is an amazing social type network that has taken craft projects, recipes, photography shots, home decor ideas, and so much more and put them all in one spot! You "pin" ideas on to boards, think of it as virtual cork boards.

I have recently started to actually use Pinterest. I have pinned so many ideas that deciding which project to do first was one of the hardest decisions of my life! Really! I will share my recent projects soon! I promise!

If you have not joined Pinterest, you really should! You don't even have to thank me. Really. Leave a comment with your email address if you would like an invite to join. It's like a secret little world. ;)

Christmas Ornament Exchange

2011-11-07T21:46:00.000-06:00

Yes, I realize it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I was reading a friends blog and saw she posted about this and thought I would join in too!

Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday! There is something about celebrating Jesus' birthday with family, friends, new and old traditions and of course all that yummy food! My favorite tradition is finding new ornaments for our tree and decorating it with my family. I am so excited to participate in this ornament exchange to add another ornament to our tree!

You can participate too by visiting: http://walkwithmebyfaith.blogspot.com/
and clicking on join and then filling out the short form. Registration for the exchange will end on November 14 and on November 16 you will receive the information to whom you will exchange ornaments with. Then you mail your ornament by November 30 and wait to receive yours!

Super fun and easy! So don't get left out!

50's Day

2011-11-01T16:15:00.000-05:00

Today was Addyson's 50th day at school and to celebrate they had a Sock Hop and dressed up in 50's attire.

With the help of my BFF Ashlyn, a poodle skirt came to life!

Isn't my little 50's girl a cutie?!?!

Addyson and her friend Callan posing after school! They are too adorable!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T16:09:00.000-05:00

Since we are in the middle of moving Halloween wasn't really on the brain. Friday I rushed around town to get supplies for Addyson's cat costume and for a poodle skirt, since Tuesday is 50's day at school. As I rushed getting a few things for Addyson, I completely forgot about Oscar.

Saturday I went to Wal-Mart and found a Spiderman costume. Thank goodness he loved it and was content with it. I'm usually a planner, but Halloween barely happened for us this year.

Each year the Navasota Police Department put on Treats on the Streets, a safe alternative to trick or treating door to door. Local businesses and organizations set up booths downtown and hand out candy. This worked out great for us. Especially since Halloween ended up being on a weeknight. We were able to get home early enough for dinner, baths and bed.

I will leave you with a couple of pictures.