Reminders

Reminders can be so hard! Why do we need to be slapped in the face sometimes to not take things for granted? I find myself getting caught up in 'life' most of the time that I forget to be thankful for every little thing. I know the our God is sovereign over EVERYTHING that happens in our life, that NO MATTER WHAT, He has a purpose for all that He chooses to do or let be done to us, and yet, questions will always linger.

A sweet friend of mine from college lost her baby two days ago. She only had 2.5 weeks left in her pregnancy and the cord got wrapped around her precious daughters neck. I cannot even begin to fathom the pain she is experiencing right now. The hurt and devastation from something so tragic is something no mother should ever have to bear. And yet, God is sovereign.

At the beginning of my pregnancy another sweet friend of mine lost her baby while sill in the womb. I found out that she had miscarried the day before we were going to announce the exciting news of our pregnancy. At that moment and even still, I cannot imagine the hurt that she bears everyday with that lose. And yet, God is sovereign.

My best friend of almost 8 years (wow, I can't believe it has been the long) lost what should have been her baby to a molar pregnancy while I was pregnant with Ryland. It hit me very hard during my pregnancy with her and still affects me during this pregnancy. The pain and emotions that they experienced after that and the constant reminders because of medical interventions needed the year following (and that they still deal with) is something that I cannot comprehend. And yet, God is sovereign.

Talking to a friend today about her desperate desire to have another child. Their first was conceived through adoption and the questions that are now raised about how to, financially and physically, continue down the road to adoption for their next baby. Also, the desire to have God open her womb to carry a child of her own. The pain, emotions and stress that has been on their journey for so many years is really something that I cannot imagine. And yet, God is sovereign.

There are SO many stories of tragedies during pregnancy and conceiving that I hear all the time. I am probably more tender to them while being pregnant or while having a newborn, but all the same, I feel like God is slapping me in the face. Reminding me that everyday is a precious gift from Him. That everyday I should be thankful for the big and the little things. That everyday I should give to Him and let Him have control over. He is sovereign. This is defiantly my area of stronghold. I am holding the health of my two babies in my hand and saying to God, "God, do whatever you want with all of my life, but you cannot have what is in my hand!"

I know He wants me to let go. I know that He wants me to place my babies in His hands and say, "OK God, do whatever you will and I will know that you are sovereign and I will serve you." My prayer is that I will get there. I am not there yet. I want to be.

"Please help me God to give ALL of my life to you. To not just know that you are sovereign, but to believe it completely and to trust in your will for my life."

Check me out!

OK, click here to read my bio and here to read my first blog. I can't believe this happening! I am so pumped about this project and hope that you will spread the news! And hey, if you live in the area.... go test drive one! You'll get a free massage from Massage Envy, no strings attached!

Mommy Madness

And so it begins! The site and promotion officially launches tomorrow (4.20.09) so please go check it out (click on the above logo)!!! You can read about the other 4 moms that are getting drive this awesome car and you can vote! The mom who gets the most votes wins a get-away-weekend to the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa in Austin, TX. And get this, by voting you also are getting a change to win that same weekend!!!

So, please... check it out and vote!!! This whole thing is SO much fun and I am SO excited to be apart of it! I have been driving the car all weekend and absolutely LOVE it! Can't wait to share this journey with you!

Sleepy

OK, here we are... in our new 2009 Chevrolet Traverse... more on that later. For now, enjoy this little funny video of Ryland that I shot with our brand new Flip Video! This awesome camera was given to us to record our time in the car and we get to keep it!!!

Kyle and I did not want to stop driving the car today, so poor thing took her nap in the car. This is just before the nap, a little grouchy but still sweet. :)

Baby Names

When I was pregnant with Ryland I was so connected to her in the womb. I felt a bond right away and I could not help my thoughts from wondering to her every moment I got. Things are a little different with this sweet baby girl in my belly. Between keeping Ryland happy, fed, entertained and Kyle as well... I don't have much time to day-dream about this baby. Don't get me wrong, I am so super excited for her to join our family and I can hardly wait for August / September to roll around, but I just feel like I am missing that bond with her right now.

I am glad we decided to find out that she was a girl, that has helped somewhat in the bonding process. But, I think when we name her is when I will really feel that connection. So, I am on a quest to find the perfect name for this sweet girl and it is both fun and frustrating. One thing that is helping is this awesome site for baby names, The Baby Name Wizard. My neighbor let me borrow the book, written by Laura Wattenberg and I am really liking it, but the website has so many names and really great ways to look them up. Just thought I'd share in case you are in the name shopping business. :)

Laundry has never been so fun!

It has been 13 days of no clean laundry in our house! First off, can you believe that the three of us can go 13 days without doing laundry... I guess that means we seriously need to clean out our closets!

Right after I recovered from the flu, our washing machine broke. I was in the middle of washing a load when I smelled this awful combination of burning rubber and oil. At first I thought it was my flat iron, I was doing my hair at the time. Shortly after I realized that it was not my flat iron frying my hair off, I realized it was the washer.

Kyle tried hard to fix it himself, but honestly people, the washer is probably over 20 years old! We have had the washer since we got married (6 years ago) and the sweet lady we bought it from had used it since it was new... and lets just say it was not new anymore! We got our $150 out of that thing and it lasted well past what I expected it to, but no body enjoys spending money on a new appliance, unless they are upgrading and have the money to spend, right!?

I don't think Kyle and I will ever be those people that get to "upgrade" an appliance, at least not anytime soon. We are the kind of people that just pray the things make it another year (or another month, depending on how bad it gets). We do save money every month and have an emergency fund, but really, I would rather not use the emergency fund on a new washer. Don't you think that an "emergency" vacation sounds much more appealing!?!

Well, we had to break down and get a new washer, but after 13 days of no clean laundry, I am rather excited to have a new washer!!! We bought ours from Home Depot, which won us over with the free delivery and take-away service. So they delivered it today, installed it and I am half way through my second load! After the newness wears off I will give you all a review on the actual washer, but for now... it is cleaning my mounds of clothes... so it gets an A+!

With LOTS of Lemons

Just feel like gripping right now. Paying bills and working out our budget and needing to take out some aggression. Every time I go out to eat, I get one of two things to drink, either water or coke and with both I ALWAYS ask for LOTS of lemons on the side. I would say 98% of the time I will actually get more then one slice of lemon, and then it is usually only two measly slices. Why is it that when I ask for LOTS of lemons NO ONE gets it!?!?! I like lemons people and LOTS of them!!! I hear by promise to leave a VERY generous tip to the wait staff that brings me more then two slices of lemon on the first try!

For Your Weekend Viewing Pleasure

Ryland and her best buddy Zach (also our neighbor)
Matching hats at the Galleria, our new favorite place to play!

Board in the Dr's office, he was delivering a baby, we waited 45 mins... but we found things to do!

The "Mom Squad"

OK, It's time to let the cat out of the bag... I have been chosen to be apart of an AWESOME marketing event that is going on in Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Kansas City!!! Finally, someone (probably a woman) decided to tap into the booming market of 'mommy-blogs' and market this crossover, a 2009 Chevrolet Traverse! And... I get to be a part of it!!! I know, I am probably way more excited to tell you, then you are to hear it... but get this...

For 8 week, yes, that is EIGHT whole weeks, I get to drive this awesome car, get free gas, a free massage, free tickets to six flags and a whole bunch of other REALLY awesome stuff and all I have to do is blog about our experience in the car! How cool is that!?!? In the DFW area, there were 5 moms chosen to take part in this experiment and we are all super excited! I have been hesitant to share all of this cause it was still kind of in the works, but today I met 3 of the other members of the 'Mom Squad' and it made it so much more real and like I might actually get to do this!

Click here for the link to the 'Mommy Madness in DFW' page to read my posts about this really cool car and the other mom's posts as well. I think the whole event is kicking off around the 20th of this month... so exciting!!!

New Link

OK..... in a short while, this blog will be down and you will have to go to our new link.... www.savvyandsimple.blogspot.com . Hope to see you there! :)

New Blog Name and Link

I will post more later today, but for now, I wanted to give you a little heads up... our blog name will be changing and so will the link!!! That means, this link will no longer work! Sorry if that causes any of you some inconvenience, but I am removing our last name from the blog for personal reasons.

I will be changing it shortly, so please check back for the new link! Thanks!

It's a girl!!!

Oprah

OK, here is a little confession. I watch Oprah. I either watch it or record is everyday. I don't really like her, or MOST of the things she stands for, I just think her show is entertaining and get trapped in the stories she tells on the show.

Yesterday, the show was on "The Secret Lives of Moms" and it was SO good!!! It was all about the reality of motherhood and the fact that it is so easy to love our children and yet so hard to be a mom sometimes. Two different things and yet so interrelated. If you are a mom, or going to be one soon, or just wants something good to watch... go here and watch yesterdays show! It made me laugh and realize that I am not alone in my feelings.

It made me realize that when I feel like I have lost "myself" in motherhood... well, I have... but I am now in the process of redefining who I am. That my old "self" will never return and you know what, I am OK with that! More on this later... for now, I am off to have a sonogram!!! :)

Sick...

Sorry it's been a little while, I ended up catching the stomch flu from Kyle. I didn't come down with it until Friday night, I thought I was in the clear, but nope. We were at a baby shower and ended up having to leave early. I spent the rest of the night in the bathroom... not pretty! But, my wonderful sister came over and kept Ryland completley entertained, while my sweet husband took care of me. I am finally feeling back to normal today and I am now just PRAYING that Ryland doesn't get it!!!

Home

Finally we made it home. We flew home yesterday evening and Kyle is feeling a lot better! I will post more soon, there are tons for pictures from vacation that I haven't posted and ALL of the AWESOME stuff that Kyle and his dad worked on while I was away!!!