A Call to Higher Places

What comes after?

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 02:43:00 +0000

It will be two weeks come friday we said goodbye to our sweet girls. Seems like yesterday I was packing up all their toys, clothes, and special things that they had accumulated in 11 months. That drive to drop them off was silent and tear filed. I tried to keep my tears at bay as we gave last hugs and prayed silent prayers that their life would be filed with love and Gods protecting hand. I pray their transition to living there full time was easy and that they bond fast with their family.

And as I hear a phantom girl cry from the other room. (Does that happen to anyone?!) Or as I'm folding a load of laundry that somehow ended up having one last girly sock that got left behind ... Or even as I'm walking thru the isles of HEB thinking this is to easy.... I pray for my sweet kids that have all been reunited with their family. Pray that they are doing well... Cared for... Loved....

But God has given me much to fill my life with these days to make these days less hard in missing my girls. He knew what I needed even though it has all seemed crazy to me. His timing and his will for our life's. Making me stronger. Leaning on him. Resting that he knows my heart.

I'm ready to go find a quiet camping place with our boys and take a few days off to enjoy just us. I'm thankful for what he has given me so far and am reminded daily that I am blessed. Very much..

Soon.

Its comes to a end again....

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 20:43:00 +0000

This last two weeks has been draining in so many sorts of ways. Court finding out that this was the final last 2 weeks we would have our foster girls. The transition process of going back and forth between our home and bio family and all that brings. The struggles our boys have been having in dealing with that. Can't believe that this is the ending so far to another 11 months of caring for these sweet girls. I know my God does ALL things good. And I'm resting in Him. I may now know why he has chosen our family to not adopt any of our children up to this point. But maybe around the corner he will shed light on his plans for us.

We given a home to 10 little children in almost 2 years time. And when my 4 year old son asks "Mom is my other sister gonna come back soon now?" It breaks my heart. Who knows. Maybe they will but we don't know Gods plans.

When people ask how we are doing its so hard to explain. The heart of a foster parent is truly unique. I don't know how I came to be this way but I am forever thankful that he has helped me grow in more ways than I could imagine. He stretches me thin and holds us tight.

I pray my girls grow to know him. That they are safe and loved. How one could love another persons child so much is beyond my imagination but he makes it happen.

We will love on them for 4 more days....and let them go knowing we loved them.

Homemaking and Homeschooling...

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 01:06:00 +0000

Ever make your own yogurt? Or Greek yogurt? Super easy! I use to make yogurt all the time until we were hit with our dairy intolerance so I stopped. But then I started consuming ALOT of Greek yogurt on my THM plan and that starts to add up price wise!

Here's a great way to get you started on making your own at A Year of Slow Cooking.

I used coffee filters to strain it this time but just ordered some extra fine cheese cloth to use for my next batch so I can reuse it.

Next I want to make Fresh Mozzarella Cheese but since I don't have a microwave going to have to search for a way to make it without one or talk someone into having a fun experiment in their kitchen! :-D

I'm so ready for fall aren't you!?

And we finished up 2 weeks of homeschooling! Was fun and kids really enjoy it and so far I do also! :-D Even the 2 year old got in on some schooling action.

A new adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 16:57:00 +0000

Planning out, ordering books, huge rolls of paper, making sure we have crafty stuff, searching tons of free printable sources....

What for?

Homeschooling!

We start the new part of life dubbed school! Two little pre kinder children are ready!

Praying for wisdom and patience!

But I can't wait!

Will I be saying that at the end of the school year? :-D

My super boy

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 15:23:00 +0000

Time passes so quickly.

A special superman birthday party for a special 4 year old.

He loved it.

He's changing in to quite the little boy. Growing up before my eyes. So thankful to be his mommy.

And now I can say I have a 4yr old, 3yr old, 2yr old and almost 1yr old. :-D

For another month atleast...

:-D

Go hang those back up......

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 20:04:00 +0000

In one of those weird moms that's puts my kids clothes hung up in outfits in their closets. Easier for me and them when it's time to get dressed.

So my oldest has been dressing himself for awhile now. He can reach his clothes since they are on the lower half of the closet. And since he usually picks out his own clothes I put the clothes in the closet by type of clothes. Left side is play clothes. Middle is everyday clothes that aren't play. Right is church clothes. So we have this discussion most mornings before he goes to get dressed.

"Are we going anywhere mom or can I wear play clothes?"
If I tell him we are going somewhere his next question is "are we going to church?"
After I tell him no we are not going to church today but put on regular clothes not your play ones.
He heads off to room to get dressed.

Well today after this conversation he comes back in a few minutes with several outfits in his arm on hangers.

"Mom any from this section right?"

All the clothes from the middle of the rack.

"Yes son but please go hang those all back up. You don't have to bring me them all to make sure they are the right ones"

Haha

Trim Healthy Mama eating

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 21:02:00 +0000

Two pregnancy's put my weight up higher than I would of liked.

This girls has tried so many diets, exercises often and the scale WOULD not budge!

But I came across this site on Facebook one day called Trim Healthy Mama! Hmmmm sounds interesting. I lurked around the site for 2 weeks before I dove in and bought the book. Best decision ever! The book arrived and I DEVOURED it! Amazing info on our bodies and weight loss and all the fad diets and how they might be good for a while but in the long run don't help!

I started the "plan" (For sure not a diet!) of eating on May 1st... 20 lbs later! The above picture was taken around the beginning of the year when we bought our house in town... and present pic. A WORLD of different 20 lbs makes! I still have a lot more I want gone and its continuing to come off!

And check out this delicious treat I ate with some coffee the other day!

Cinnamon Muffin with a Cream Cheese topping.

Oh ya!

Here's to the next 20!

:-D

Its been a long time...

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:59:00 +0000

Today had me recovering from a virus that has gone thru our little family that knocked me down pretty good. Plenty of laying around time that got me caught up on blogs I haven't visited in quite some time. Some had me laughing, some had me digging deep within me, and some even had me moved to tears. I love that.
And at the end of catching up I thought... why don't I blog anymore? Eh....hm...

So what's been going on the last 2 years?

Hubby's trying to finish out his 4 yr degree. We are seeing the light at the end of a longggg tunnel! :-D Excited for him to be done with school!
We have our two growing like crazy boys. The oldest who is almost 4! (Where does time go?) He is my smart witty boy. Has a smile that will melt your heart. The boy loves super hero's. He wants to be one when he grows up. :-) And one day wants to go to Costa Rica to see Volcanos... (I think he remembered from a book we read so that's where he's determined he is going one day!)
And my now 2 year old.... ah yes.. SO far we haven't had to make a trip to the ER with him... did I say so far? I do say that child is ready to jump off anything he can climb up! We've had a broken tooth, a few small cuts and tons of bruises and hopefully it will stay at that... And does he have a giggle that makes me laugh. I love it! Ah that boy! He loves dolphins and whales! Can you guess his favorite place to go? Sea world of course!
We've traveled lots of places... Oklahoma, Houston a lot, Galveston, to see Dinosaur Valley, Corpus, California, Austin, and even Camping! Camping with little kids is quite the adventure for sure! Oh the memories! And we have lots more places we want to see and camp at!
We've become foster-to-adopt- parents. That's a ride you that you never know where it will take you! And we haven't gotten off it yet! 10 sweet children have come into our home. 8 have gone. We have 2 sweet little girls that we adore right now. Only God knows how this story ends. Fostering has had its ups and downs. Saying goodbye to ones that have been with you for so long is heart wrenching pain. Thankful that God has a plan in each of these dear ones lives. Even if that means only being with us for a time. Its bitter sweet. Only a foster parent knows that kind of love and pain.
We can't wait to see who God has to become our forever kiddos one day. If that's what he has for us.
We have way to many deaths in both hubby's family and mine. But we've also had births of sweet nephews. So many boys!
Along with the many allergies this family has this girl has found some hidden treasure of knowledge when it comes to learning how to eat and lose this weight that has been here since the birth of 2 children no matter how hard I tried. Trim healthy Mama its called. :-) Lovin it!
So I can be the wife and mommy to 4 that are 3 and under. :-)

Will I blog again? Who knows... maybe...

How cute is that!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:50:00 +0000

Last night I was in a sewing mood and decided to make something for Joshua.

I ended up making a cute little tool belt for the little Fixer upper!!

True store - My son got a Handy Manny tool set for his birthday. He LOVES it... and do you know that the screw driver can REALLY take out screws? UH yah... when I came across a toy of his that had the back, screw, and batteries removed I was baffled as to how it got that way. And Joshua proceeded to show me how he did it. Uh oh! :-D So ya... He has tools and he KNOW how to use them people! :-D

The tool belt turned out SUPER cute and SUPER easy to make so I ( :-D ) knocked out of a few more out of some oh so cute fabrics I have left from their quilts.

Go check them out in my Etsy store! Great Christmas Present eh!

:-D

In a Meal Planning Rut?

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:13:00 +0000

You want to feed your family regular home-cooked meals, inspired meals, delicious meals. But who has the time to do all that menu designing and creative thinking?

This deal more than doubles your money towards 13 weeks of meal planning from Meals By The Week. Each menu is tied to sales and other offers at local supermarkets. The whole process couldn't be simpler: each week, when you get your weekly menu, you choose if you will be feeding two, four, six, or eight people. Then, go through your menu, deciding to "Keep It," "Double It," or "Skip It" for each option. After you've made your choices, click "I Like It" at the bottom of the menu to get your customized, printable grocery list.

You can try Meals by the week - $8 for a 13 week Meal Planning a $19 value!
And if your new to PlumDistrict.com you can get the $5 credit by signing up thru this link! Making it only $3! Not a bad deal to try it out!

Pictures, Pinterest, iPhones...

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:50:00 +0000

Is it just me or does anyone else not like to upload their pictures from their iPhone? I take so many... probably to many. But that's the convenience of having a camera with you at all times eh? So our kids will never say "I have NO pictures as a kid!" HA That's a sentence of the past for sure!

So I'm checking out this Pinterest thing.... So far it seems cool. But I've only been on for a few minutes! :-) The idea of putting all my Fav things in one spot does seem intriguing.

Ah laundry.... I really have embraced and love cloth diapering! And a cute little bum in a cloth diaper? Adorrrable!!!!

Cute little feet

Oh yah its back!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 22:43:00 +0000

I finally took my sewing machine in to the shop to get it fixed. And I've been sewing non stop since I got it back! I had a pile of things waiting for it's arrival! :D

And boy can my machine sew awesome. Nothing like a machine that is just perfect for you. Can you tell I love to sew and that I love my machine? My Pfaff is my third baby. Haha.

First I finished up Joshua and Evans quilts for the bunk bed. They turned out perfect! Love the colors and that it actually turned out pretty much like I pictured for my little boys room!

I added two matching pillow cases and a curtain to finish up the room. I'm very happy with the final results!!!

I then made up 4 baby slings. 3 for Etsys and one for my sweet sisnlaw. Loved the blackn cream material I found for hers!

Next was wet bags. Yes. Wet bags. :D For cloth diapers. I started using cloth diapers at home for my boys about a month and a half ago to cut down on the cost of diapering two kiddos. I actually ended up loving it! Crazy eh! Its not actually as bad as you would think. And after my poor little baby's bum was bleeding with a rash of sorts from disposable diapers after being out and about for 2 days I decided we are pretty much switching to cloth full time for him. So I made a large wet bag for dirty diapers for the nursery an then 2 small wet bags for the diaper bag. They were very easy to make and actually were quite inexpensive.

And lastly, what do you do when your fav little outfit for your baby has been eaten by the dryer and unwearable?! You appliqued 4 shirts of course with it!!! :D One for said baby, one for big brother, one for a tiny friend and one for Etsy! Till you have nothing but scraps! :-)

And then you clear and put away all sewing stuff so you have a dining room table for a little while again. Till next time.

Help us Win!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:25:00 +0000

Help us win a photo session and photo credit!

How you can help:

Go to Back Roads Photography Facebook page and like them!

Then in the Photo Contest album find our picture and LIKE IT! :-D

Its THAT EASY!

Thanks so much!

Zoobooks Deal!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:34:00 +0000

Deal Pulp has a great deal on Zoobooks!
Would make a GREAT birthday present for a little kid! Joshua LOVES to go get the mail! :-D

$15 for a 1-Year Subscription to Zoobies, Zootles, or Zoobooks from Zoobooks.com ($29.95 Value)

Coupons ect...

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Thu, 26 May 2011 05:22:00 +0000

So I had some questions about my coupon binder so I thought I would show you a few more pictures to help ya out. :)

Take all the inserts from one date and type (RP) and put them together in one plastic insert.

And then seperate it with a plastic tab divider. And repeat! :-D

And to prove to you that you CAN save money with coupons!

This total retail value was $247.93!

And I ONLY paid $26.89!!!!

Thats almost a 90% savings!

The swim diapers alone retail for $59.94!

Oh yah!

Potty Training

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Tue, 24 May 2011 15:39:00 +0000

I'm from a large family, babysat my nieces for the first 2+ years of their life, and have been around ALOT of toddlers.... so you would think potty training for me would be a breeze?

I'm hoping and praying it is but in reality I know that it could go really bad or go really good!

I decided after 4 or so months of my son telling me that he was "potty"ing in his diaper that is was time to go ahead and make the jump! He's 2 months shy of being 2 but is talking quite well and understands very well that he is going to the bathroom in his diaper and doesn't care for it.

We are currently on day 2 of training! I picked a week out that we would be home for sure from 8-8 so that he had a full day each day of learning to tell me and go on the potty!

The first few hours of day one was quite amusing. He went poo on the toilet as he has done off and on for the last 4 months just fine. A few mins later when he went potty in his underwear he was quite interested in this wetness. :-D

After 4 times of going in his underwear he figure out what was going on. And we made it to the potty the rest of the day. Until bedtime and we had a accd right before bed.... we both were getting tired! LOL
I was amazed it had gone as well as it had! :-)
On to day 2! Hoping and praying it goes as good as it did yesterday! And if it doesn't that I will have patience and not stress out! :-D

My Coupon Binder

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Sat, 21 May 2011 18:44:00 +0000

It was high time for me to do something with my coupon binder....

I still don't cut all my coupons! Way to time consuming in my opinion for the stores we have in South Texas.

They are sorted by type (SS, RP, & PG) and then in those sections I used plastic tab dividers to separate each date. I use to have them all in a few plastic inserts and they got messed up easily.

Much nicer and easier to find stuff!

And my old coupon organizer was well used so I made myself another one! Pretty eh!

I have one left for sale to! :-)

Now on to great deals! :-D

Some days

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Wed, 04 May 2011 02:55:00 +0000

Some days I never get out of my PJs or get a shower...
Some days I seem to be making just one more cup of coffee to keep me alert...
Some days I barely seem to get something for dinner ready at a decent time...
But every day I love that I am the mommy to these two littles!

Who needs reg clothes when they are just gonna get snot and spitup on them!
The coffee helps me stay on my toes when big brother decides to feed little brother his cereal or pull him out of his swing! And of COURSE snap that pic as quick as I can of that sweet little face saying MOMMY HELP ME!
And yes, more cereal can be dinner!
I love it and know I will miss this!

Life with 2 boys

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:29:00 +0000

Has it already been 2 weeks since our new little man has joined our family!?!

So far the adjusting to life as a family of 4 has been pretty smooth. Joshua has been doing so good as a big brother! We are still working on being gentle and baby is asleep please don't kiss him now! :-) But all in all Joshua loves his little brother and loves to show it! Lots of kisses, wants to hold him all the time, he will try to help unbuckle him from his swing if hes fussing...

Mommy's getting alittle more sleep now and not up every hour and a half to feed a little baby who thinks he is starving! :-D He's been sleeping for about 2 1/2-3 hrs for the first 2 feeding at night then alittle shorter after that.

Evan is for the most part a very content baby just like his brother was! Doesn't fuss when hes not being held and loves to just lay and look around when hes not asleep. He does have a set of good lungs though when he is hungry!

It's been a bit of an adjustment after Daddy went back to work but we are getting thru each day! Keeping up with a 20 mn old and a brand new baby! :-)

Evan William

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 22:39:00 +0000

So unlike his big brothers Birth story, here is Evan's story...

March 14
I had a Dr. apt that morning. I had been dilated to a 2 already for about 2 weeks. Seemed I had gone to a 3 and was progressing some where my Dr said she wouldn't be surprised if he came that week! Two weeks before my due date and 3 weeks earlier than Joshua was born from his due date! Wow I was kinda surprised! I had been having braxton hicks but nothing yet that was time able. That evening around 5 time able contractions kicked in. We waited for about 2 hrs timing them and they seemed to come pretty strong and steady so my hubby wanted to be on the safe side and go in to the hospital. I was a bit reluctant as I didn't want to go in and then go home. :-D
We got to the hospital and they hooked me up to see how things where going. And I was having good time able contractions but I was not progressing at all. And the Dr on call happened to be the ONE Dr in the practice that wouldn't do VBAC's.... so after quite some time we decided to go ahead and go home and see if things would kick in in the morning when a new Dr was on call that would do a VBAC. Or atleast let me TRY...

March 15
I cont' to have great time able contractions so I called my Dr up and she said to come into the office so she could see how I was progressing and go from there.
We made it up to the office and found out I had progressed to a 4.... after over 12 hrs.. lol slow and steady. 2 Dr's that would do VBAC's where on call for the next 48 hours so I was good to have the baby anytime in the next 2 days! :-D So she said go walk and see if things would kick high gear! We dropped Joshua off at a friends for the afternoon and went to the mall and a few other stores walking walking walking... I'm sure I looked quite the site. Because I was having nice contractions while walking but nothing that was causing major pain. Just enough to make me pause for a min and then keep on going. By 4 maybe 5 I was pooped. No more walking. I just wanted to go to bed. The contractions seemed to get stronger as we walked but didn't feel like I was still doing anything. So we picked up Joshua and headed home.

March 16
My mom had come over the night before and stayed the night so Steven went on to work in the morning hoping that in a few hours he would get a call to go to the hospital. It took a bit longer than that but around 2pm I started to have much harder contractions that were coming faster than before. After about 45 mins of them I decided yah it was time to go in. I would hate to have a baby at home just knowing how my previous birth went!!!!
We headed on in and got to the hospital and got hooked up only to find out that somehow the Dr who would do a VBAC had already gotten off and the Dr that wouldn't do a vbac was back on call! And I had progressed to a 5-6... so I wasn't going anywhere. We prayed that the Dr would either see if someone else would come in to cover her or that she would reconsider and let me try to do a VBAC. The Dr finally agreed to do it and she came in to break my water and check me.. only to find out that I was actually a 4... uhhh... what.... not sure how that happened! Will never know if the nurse or Dr was "incorrect" but ya...
So after breaking my water at 8:30pm and contractions started to hurt much more! :-D Lasting for longer. But you guessed it, not doing ANYTHING. We waited and waited till around 11 we decided that considering my previous birth the best option for us was now a CS. So at around 11:30 I was wheeled in and at 11:53 our sweet little baby boy was born. Just 7 mins shy of Saint Patricks day but I didn't care! :-P And when they pulled him out I heard one nurse say Congrats on your baby GIRL.. and before I could go WHAT she said On never mind hes a BOY and his plumbing works JUST fine! :-P Meaning he peed all over already! LOLS

Recovery lasted a bit long because the spinal was working WELL and I could not move my legs beyond the time it should start to wear off. And they brought me my sweet little man to me in recovery so I could nurse him. He was doing awesome and had no problems at all.

Evan's birth was so different than Joshua's that recovery has been MUCH easier. I still am tired, sore, and all that but I am recovering much better than I did with Joshua. Which I am very thankful for considering I have 2 Little's now. :-)

Our new little man

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:06:00 +0000

Evan William

March 16, 2011

Born 11:53 pm
8 lbs, 5 oz and 20"

A healthy boy!

Melting Mommys heart from the start.

Sigh...

Big brother kisses.

And one more to melt your heart! :-)

bumGenius Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:31:00 +0000

Heres how you can win a bumGenius One-Size Cloth Diaper Kit valued at $370!!!

KellyWels.com is giving away a GREAT clothe diapering kit!

Go here to enter on her Facebook page!

The bumGenius 4.0 One-Size Cloth Diaper Kit includes:

* 18- bumGenius 4.0 One Size with inserts

* 1 –bumGenius Sprayer
* 1 – bumGenius Pail Liner

37 weeks and feeling so ready!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:11:00 +0000

Still very preg! :-)
2 1/2 weeks till C-day!
I do find myself wondering and hoping I will go into labor before that date... at every BH I think.. is this it???? :-D
But resting in the comfort that He does all things well!!!!

At the moment I'm snuggling with my sweet lil boy whos been under the weather with fevers for the last few days. Hoping he starts to feel better SOON!

Free Canvas or $50 off!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:18:00 +0000

IT’S BACK!!!!!

That’s right! For March ONLY

Free 8x10 OR $50 off Any size canvas just pay shipping offer.

I LOVE mine! And I can't wait to get one for the new little guy!

Go here to get your Free 8x10 canvas or credit for $50 towards any other size!

Ramblings

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Nichole J.) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:11:00 +0000

Whille Joshua played outside today I raked out part of my garden and got it ready to put some herbs in it! Still need to get some tomato plants to get in the ground. Thinking thats all the gardening I'm gonna be able to do this season. But give me some fresh basil and I'm a happy girl!

Just made these yummy little things...

From this recipe Blueberry Muffins
Love the Blog I am Gluten Free! Her recipes always turn out just right and I don't have to tweak them much if at all!

Speaking of tweaking... or twitching... my EYE won't stop! :-P Figure I need more sleep but thats not happening at 36 1/2 weeks preg with a 1 1/2 year old little boy.

So I brew more coffee instead. Yummy freshly roasted beans from my dad. Oh yah it makes a good cuppa java! With a little brown sugar and frothed cream. :-)

While these hot little muffins cool I need to go pick up that 1/4 bucket of oxi clean that somehow slipped out of my hand on the way out of the cabinet and went all over the back side of the freezer.... yah thats gonna be a sight to behold. :-D My prego body trying to do that... uh huh wish you could see eh!

Maybe just MAYBE it will put me in labor!

Hm...
Off to go see!
:-D