We did it. Last night was the 1st night we battled BOTH girls. I haven't had the energy to do it myself. I never pulled "all nighters" in college...I certainly can't do it now! But Brandon has had enough...so we decided to just take the girls head on. We went to bed about 10:30 or 10:45. At 11:00 Makenzie wakes up. We heard her rattling around in her room...then came the sweet little footsteps down the stairs then she crawled up beside me & snuggled soooooo good. I hated to do it. I really did. Brandon picked her up & she started crying...up to her room they went. I listened on the monitor (fighting the tears) as he tried to explain to her that our bed wasn't big enough for 3 big people. She was a big girl & had her own big girl bed...blah blah blah. We've fought this fight before. I could hear her almost hyperventilating (sp?) she was crying so incredibly hard! So sad. After a while I went up there. Good thing...About 11:45 Annie woke up. Soooo...I dealt with Makenzie & Brandon headed to Annie's room. I've decided that Annie just wakes up wanting to nurse at night. She shouldn't be hungry. She eats like a PIG! So I informed Brandon HE needed to go in, comfort her & leave. He tried...but had to pick her up. She promptly fell asleep on his shoulder...but the second he layed her down she started to scream again. We played this game for about an hour. Annie finally cried herself to sleep. Makenzie would go to sleep for a second...but when she realized I wasn't in the room she would start up again. (I had her door closed but I was in the hall.) I finally was so tired I HAD to lay down...I got in bed & a few minutes later on the monitor I heard "You can't lock me in my room you know. UNBELIEVABLE! I no like it when you shut my door Mom....." And that was it! Brandon & I were laughing so hard though... So, 1 night down. Any bets on how long this will take? Or any tips?
Saturday night we had Brandon's company Christmas dinner for his department. Amerigos in The Woodlands... Mom took the girls to their house for the night. So you'd think at least I could get ONE night of sleep. ha! I kept waking up thinking....I must be really sick. I can hardly breathe & I'm sweating sooooo bad! (I did have on flannel pjs & was sleeping on flannel sheets...) About 6:30 in the am...Brandon woke me up to inform me that he had turned on the heat that night (DUH!)...but the led light on the thermostat was out in 1 little place...sooooo, instead of 67 degrees...we had 87!!!!!! Talk about HOT! I told him to leave the thermostat operating to me from now on... He admited he didn't even know how to use it. ha!
And this weather!!!! Hardly puts me in the mood for Christmas shopping. I can handle the rain. I HATE 70 degrees in DECEMBER. UHHHHH! I have most of my shopping done though... Still hunting for a kitchen... The problem? Brandon says don't spend much more than $100. Ok. That's easy you say. Yes...but the one I (Note the "I") want...is $200. I've found it on e-bay...but most of the time it's in Dallas or something so driving would not save any $. Makenzie doesnt' care. She LOVES the one at my parents that was my sister's when we were little! Guess I'd better get on the ball though...not much time left! So how is everyone else doing???

ahhh... So I put the girls to bed about 15 minutes early. They needed it - no nap. We went to see Santa this morning. Makenzie LOVED it...Annie not so much. But Santa wasn't Mommy and Annie pretty much only wants her Mommy. Got a really cute picture though! (Not as cute as yours Megan!) Also got some Christmas shopping done. Took a very hot bath with pepperiment bubbles. ahhhh. Needed that. I'm sore. I decided to paint the dining room... it is now "fabulous red". WOW! I like it... Tough work painting w/2 little ones. I must be nuts. Guess I'm sore from going up & down the step stool. So sad! ha!
We've got the tree & Christmas deco up. Sure doesn't look like as much as I remembered. Did have a much smaller house. Would like to do more...but haven't had the time!
I'm super excited!!! Makenzie has been asked to be a flower girl in her 1st wedding! Makes me want to cry. Lesli Richardson asked her! She is soooooooooooo into weddings. She always wants to know about the bride's "slippers".. haha And the last wedding we went to Makenzie loudly announced (as the wedding party was finishing up walking down the isle) "Hey Mom... There's no flowergirl!!!!!" haha She had waited ALL day to see the flowergirl. :( so sad.
Oh - those of you that know my dear friend Angelia Holcomb (she goes by "Gigi" around here - Makenzie couldn't say Angelia when she was little...) Anyway, her mom went in for exploratory surgery today & they ended up having to "cut her open" and do a few things. So please keep Angelia & her parents in your prayers. Her mom is in Dallas. Has to stay the night but as of now is scheduled to go home tomorrow. Prayers please! Cards & Calls might be appreciated as well...
What else? Oh - I went to the oral surgeon last week. I was told my wisdom teeth were "pretty bad"...should've had it done about 7 or 8 yrs ago. The dr. also told me I would probably have a difficult time recovering. yippie. Surgery scheduled for January 3rd - 7:45 am! (Had to schedule it early in the am b/c I can't eat after midnight...) wahoo.
And we've decided not to move. Brandon will be in Pt. Arthur working...the girls & I (and our huge vicious dog) will be here. Not sure if he's going to buy a camper, a house, or rent an apt. Who knows...
I'm so tired my eyes were crossing...but I felt it was time for an update. I did get some good feedback on that last post (some was private so it's not all visible). Would still like more. Quite interesting.
Hope all of you are doing well. Nighty night!

So I give a LOT of thought to the duties of Christian women. I study the Bible - my main source of information. I have my opinions. Today I was thinking how blessed I am to stay home and spend every second with my 2 little angels. Then I thought...we make HUGE sacrifices to make that happen. So 2 Bible verses come to mind when I think of working/staying at home. What do you think ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE the "right" thing to do is????

Proverbs 31:24 - She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants. (I know many women use this as justification for working...)

Titus 2:4-5 - that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, HOMEMAKERS, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed

Definition of Homemakers according to dictionary.com: a person who manages the household of his or her own family, esp. as a principal occupation; a person employed to manage a household and do household chores for others, as for the sick or elderly.

I have a ton of other verses...but these are the 2 that automatically pop into my head....

So give me some feedback on working moms vs. stay-at-home moms.... Just curious to everyone's thoughts!

Have a great day & a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Whew...crazy week.

So Monday was a normal day. Laundry, cleaning, etc.

Tuesday I had some bright idea that I...by myself...along with 2 small children...could paint the dining room. I've had swatches taped to the wall for weeks. So off to Lowe's I go determined to get this done. I like to do it while Brandon is at work so when he gets home...SURPRISE! The guy tells me I need a primer...so I get a primer. I get home & get started. Makenzie wanted to help...Annie wanted to eat the paint. So it took me about 5 hours to prime the dining room...minus the wall the china cabinet is on...couldn't move that! (Brandon didn't even notice for 2 days!!!) Haven't got to paint yet though....... (In those 5 hours I also fed kiddos, played, cooked dinner, etc...)

Wednesday we had our monthly play group at Megan's house. FUN! Her house is amazing...the play room is the coolest! We had so much fun. Makenzie didn't want to leave! I finally drug her out & we went to College Station to stay with my sister for the night. Church at Twin City so I got to see a lot of old friends...

Thursday I got to go see Katie & Taylor Leach's new baby...Andrew Michael. SO PRECIOUS! He is really a pretty baby. My girls weren't "pretty babies"...but he's cute! So sweet. Both Annie & Makenzie LOVED him. Luckily, I thought he was precious & I loved him to death...but he did not give me baby fever...which I think usually happens when someone is around a new baby. Nope, not me. :) We came home through Tomball & stopped at "Mumsie & Poopsie's" to visit for a while...then back home.

And today. Friday. Brandon works 1/2 days on Fridays so I always look forward to Fridays. Anyway, I've had a terrible toothache off & on for FOREVER! Well, today it was to the point where I can't even eat. (It's a wisdom tooth coming in...) so my mom decides I HAVE to go to the dentist...and makes me an appt. (When I called they couldn't fit me in for 3 more weeks...) So we FLEW to Liberty to go to the dentist...only to find out I need my wisdom teeth out "as soon as possible". Which I assumed anyway.... Ouch. Then we (minus Makenzie - she stayed with Cookie & Grumps) flew back because I had a hair appt. at 4. So we did that...then we went to Wal-mart. (Here's the exciting part!)
So we're getting out of the car...I walk around & am taking Annie out of her carseat & I hear "BANG...BANG BANG BANG....BANG BANG...BANG!!!!" I freeze. Somewhere in the middle of those bangs I turn toward them. My heart had stopped. My stomach was knotted. yes...I saw a man get shot. In the Wal-Mart parking lot in Humble. I saw the man shooting him. I saw him jump in the car & speed away. I witnessed a shooting. At some point Brandon yells "GET IN THE CAR!" So I dive in...on top of Annie & roll into the car. He says "that's not what I meant...." We call 9-1-1 and police cars & ambulances are pouring into the parking lot. I'm freaking out because I think...the shooter saw us witness the crime & he's going to come shoot us! Then I started thinking about hypothetical situations. If you know me...you know I don't handle stress well. I get upset VERY easily. So this was NOT a good situation for me. It's all I could do to hold back the tears. I thought I was going to puke...but due to my toothache I haven't eaten all day & had nothing to throw up. We go into wal-mart...get 1 thing...and leave. I couldn't be there. I had to go down the road to another store because I was so upset and forgot what I needed. There were plenty of witnesses closer than we were. (I think it was a fight or something....) So our info was not of much use. Can yall believe that? I was....no I am...absolutely sick. I witnessed a shooting. A real shooting. It didn't sound like I imagined it would. I've been around guns my whole life...I know how loud they are. But it was so surreal. I almost thought it was fake. I saw the gun. I saw the fire popping from it. I saw the metal sparkle in the parking lot lights. I saw the man trying to get a better shot. I saw his clothes. I saw him walk....briskly yet calmly...to the White SUV...and I saw him speed away. A MILLION "what-ifs" were running through my head. Had I been driving...I would've passed up the parking spot where we were b/c there was a buggy there. I would've just kept driving.....RIGHT INTO THE LINE OF FIRE. What is this world coming to???? I will be medicating myself (benadryl) before bed. All I see when I blink my eyes is the man shooting. the white tank top. The jeans. the gun. The car driving away. The crowds of people gathering. The sounds of the sirens. How will I sleep? I'm already a paranoid person...this is NOT going to be good. Not good at all. Did he die? Is he ok? Did they catch the shooter? What will happen to him? I don't know. I called Makenzie...just to hear her voice & tell her I loved her. What if.........
It's almost midnight & I am helping host a baby shower in the morning. Have to get up early to cook. :( So tired. And I have a wedding tomorrow night. I still can't believe what I saw & heard tonight. Absolutely horrifying. Just awful. And to think...I may be here in Humble by myself...with my 2 daughters (and my HUGE dog) while Brandon goes off to work for 2 years. hmmm....... I'd better go get that benadryl.....

Ok, so I thought I'd get on here more often. I do get on here at least once a week...I just don't write anything. So now I find myself trying to give a month's update at a time. That's ok though...it will refresh my memory so it'll be easier to record things in the girls' journals & to do their October scrap book pages.

So October was a pretty busy month for us. Actually, it was VERY busy. And the girls have had either a snotty nose, a cough, or both the ENTIRE month! We had our anniversary this month and Brandon turned 27. My parents also had their anniversary this month.

We (the girls & I) went to 2 parades in Liberty. They LOVED it! We all went to a fair & rodeo in Liberty. They loved that too. Brandon's company picnic was this month. It was at the Houston zoo. Our girls love the zoo so I knew we'd have fun! Lots of free food & drinks. They had animals to pet for the kids. Makenzie's favorite??? THE SNAKE!! YUCK! They also had a HUGE inflatable slide. Makenzie stood in line & did it over & over & over all by herself. So big.

We went trick-or-treating in Tomball to a few houses and to Eric's orchestra concert. I was surprised at how much both girls seemed to enjoy it! We had a Halloween play group with the kids from our congregation. We trick-or-treated in Liberty. Just a few places. Ended up with enough candy to last the year. (And that's saying a lot because I have a major sweet tooth!)

We spent 4 days in the Dallas area. That was a trip! We left around noon on Thurs. Drove to Duncanville & had dinner with some friends (they have a 2 yr. old daughter) then drove to Saginaw to visit JD at the firestation. Makenzie thought that was sooooo cool! She got to sit in the drivers seat of the fire truck & see all the cool stuff. She asked several times to push buttons! ha She had a blast. Then we drove to JD's house in Weatherford. It's way cool! Out in the country.... We loved it. JD & Brandon took Makenzie to look at all the cows & Yaks. Yes, yaks. She even got to drive the truck. Hot stuff. Then the guys went to Stevenville to hunt. The girls and I took off to Richardson to visit with Angelia (my college roommate). I'm proud to say that I only got honked at once! And I didn't even get flipped off! Just had a guy banging on the ceiling of his car. I hope he broke his sunroof. ;) All he had to do was move over & let me in. He had plenty of room. I didn't run him off the road or anything...I was just slowly creaping into traffic & he was in a hurry I suppose... Whatever. It made Makenzie cry. She wanted Daddy & JD to come get us & let them drive. ha! But we made it to "Gigi's". (When Makenzie was little she couldn't say Angelia...so she became Gigi.) What did we girls do? Shop of course. ALL day! So between traveling so much, time change, going to bed way late & missing naps for almost a week...I was proud of my girls for not having a complete melt down! poor kids! We hated to leave JD & Angelia, but we were ready to get back home. I believe it was about 860 miles on my car in 1 weekend. WOW!

So trick-or-treating. Annie got a laugh from anyone who saw her. She was a skunk & it was hysterical. Makenzie was a giraffe & was pretty cute herself! She got so excited she would forget to say trick-or-treat. She'd just start laughing when they would open the door. ha!

We had Annie's 9 month dr. appt. yesterday. I made Makenzie an appt. too because I wanted to get her cleared up on whatever it is she's had. Reminds me...I forgot to give her the medicine tonight! OOPS! Better go wake her up... So back to the dr. appt. Makenzie was perfect for dr. appts. before Annie was born. After Annie was born seeing Annie get shots was quite traumatic. So we usually start screaming when we pull into the parking lot. I decided we'd take her dr. set & give Dr. Don a check up. She was sooooooo excited. Told all her friends about it...she all happy about it. So I have a giraffe with all the dr. supplies. We didn't cry in the parking lot.... Didn't cry in the waiting room. Didn't cry in the examination room. She was actually still excited. So cute. A giraffe with all the dr. accessories on. She was all decked out. "When is Dr. Don coming?" Over & over & over she'd ask...and he finally came. She slowly took off all of her dr. equipment...and started BAWLING. Just cried & cried & cried. The cry turned into a scream when we layed her down to look in her mouth. We had to lay her down because we were pinning her to the table. Legs kicking, arms flying. What can I do? I try to hold the laugh in. It is quite funny. The first time was horrible...but I had my mother & sister there. Now it's old news and it is pretty funny...but I don't let her know that. My child who is so sweet & seldom throws a fit...it's quite a sight. I told her next time I'm taking the video camera. My Dad said he'd go next time. ;) I was by myself. Fun!
And poor little Annie was just staring wondering what on earth we were doing to her big sister! ha! Annie measured out to be 28 inches. That is the 75th percentile. She weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds even. That would be the 10th percentile. She eats all the time...and she eats everything. He said she was healthy...just small.

Poor little Annie. She will definitely be made fun of. I hope she grows so she can defend herself when the other kids start to call her Orphan Annie or Annie Oakley. For those of you who haven't seen her in a while...or at all...her hair is RED. No denying it. Makenzie says sometimes it's orange... If we would've known she was going to have red hair...maybe we would've told everyone we didn't care that they didn't like the name we picked out & used it anyway. But nope...ANNIE Elizabeth...with the Red Red hair. But I LOOOOOOOOVE it! I did always want a red headed kid! :)

Annie has had a very busy month herself. She has learned to crawl (like the 1st day of October), then a day or so later was pulling up to stand up. She got 2 teeth this past weekend. Growing up too fast. Which reminds me. I put away all the baby stuff into the attic. (The swings - all 3 of them!, the baby vibrating seat, the moses basket, etc.) and it made me so sad. I just wanted to cry as I put them into the attic. My SECOND child is already growing up. 9 months old. And I look at Makenzie & think...she's not even a little baby anymore...she's a big kid now! (And she reminds me of that quite often!!!) It's quite depressing. I must admit though...it's not enough to give me "baby fever" and make me want anymore!!!! Brandon wants 5. Yes...F-I-V-E. So I told him "We'll talk when Annie starts Pre-School"... I'd love a whole herd. I wanted boys. I wanted a big football team of boys. But I do love my girls & don't even know what I'd do with a boy!!! My sister says it's a good thing I had girls. If I had a boy I'd make him look gay with the clothes I'd put on him & he'd get beat up. :( So anyway, I'm having a difficult time dealing with the idea that my babies are growing up. I'm sure my parents think the same thing though...

And one last thing. Good glory this is long. So we've been in our house ALMOST 4 months. 4 months!!!!! I haven't even gotten around to unloading all the boxes. I have paint swatches taped to the walls... And what does Brandon tell me this morning? "Honey, they're putting me on a project in PORT ARTHUR.". PORT ARTHUR! YUCK! Now if it was somewhere colder...somewhere with some seasons...some scenery...a few thousand less mosquitos...I'd already be packing. But come on!!! So now we have some decisions to make. Move? Commute? Stay there during the week & home on weekends? Ugh! BUT...it's a wonderful job opportunity. I believe his boss said "I never got the opportunity to work on a job this good...." Good experience. Good pay. BAD location. But God knows what he's doing! So just say a little prayer for us. I knew this would happen. I knew it! Barely get settled in & we'd be moving again...that's partially why I never wanted to finish unpacking... haha So who knows what will happen there. He'll be starting in December or January. I think. I already had a headache & when he started telling me all this the headache grew so bad I could hardly hear... So who knows...

Ok, so now that I've written an entire novel... That's about all that's going on in our lives. Maybe I can keep up better this month so I don't have to write so much that it takes an entire day to read it! ;) Hope everyone is doing well. Have a great week.