Here are my thoughts....

on Brad's newest CD.....
Songs I LOVE:
"Then" (my FAVORITE!) It follows a relationship in its many stages...and explains how he thought that he loved her "then"...but only falls more in love with her through out the years.
"American Saturday night"
"No" Brad's grandpa tells him "Make no mistake....every prayer gets answered, but sometimes the answer is 'no' "
"I hope that's me" (My 2nd Favorite!)
"Anything like me" Refers to when he found out that he was having a little boy......

Songs that are ok:
"Welcome to the future" Talks about the way technology has changed throughout the years.
"Everybody's here"
"Oh yeah, you're gone"

Songs that would be hits (in my book)...but have unnecessary stuff (language, references)
"Water"
"She's her own woman" How "she"can manage on her own...but he can't live without her
"Catch all the fish" a song about spending the day fishing.....and drinking "not gonna leave until they catch all the fish..and drink all the beer"
"The pants" A comical take on men who claim to "wear the pants" in a relationship.

Brad USED to write the simplest of songs...the kind that really make you think or bring you back to a time when life was simple. Unfortunately, the last few CDs have included songs that have references to drinking...or they slip a curse word in here and there.......
On this CD, he really nailed a few songs......definitely "keepers"...but he added a few to "toss out" as well. OH......and what happened to the hymn??? He always includes a hymn on EVERY CD...but on this one..it is no where to be found :( I was disappointed by that...I LOVE southern Gospel music and NO one can sing it (or play it) like HE can!
Anyhoo...that is my take on "American Saturday Night".

It is here!!

After WEEKS of counting down...Brad Paisley's newest CD "American Saturday Night" was just released this morning!! I woke up this morning, like every morning, to a cup of fresh, hot coffee... brought to me in bed by my amazing man.....but when I finally got BOTH eyes open I saw "it".........sitting there like a brand new bicycle under a childhood Christmas tree!!! Brett got up early and made a trip to Wal Mart to buy me the new CD! I am so excited I feel like I could "burst"! You just gotta know how much I love Brad Paisley ( ......and his song writing, guitar playing.....) to really appreciate my excitement! He is such an amazing artist!! I am gonna get myself out of this bed, put the CD in my computer, then on my ipod...I have a feeling I am gonna have a CD long work out this morning!!

Today I am cleaning....from top to bottom. Noah is here to play with his "big brother" so I am taking the day to stay at home and get some stuff done! I have dusted, vacuumed, cleaned out behind the fridge........ (FYI-unplug the fridge first if you plan on using water to clean! Esp....when you have a back full of metal!....got just a little jolt in my back :).

Yesterday we went to the beach and we stayed to watch the sunset....that is one of my most favorite things to do! There is just something magical about watching the sun sink into the water to signal the end of another day....... with the promise of a new one to come. It is the most calming, centering experience for me. Anyhoo....sometimes I wish I could move to the beach....not to a house near the beach...but actually ON the beach....just give me a tent, the sand and the waves (and maybe my Dormia!) and I will be set! Brett said " uh....Honey....I don't think they let people live in tents on the beach" to bring me back to reality when I told him my "plan"! Oh well....it was a thought!

I finally got a new cell phone....since my old one got dropped into a cooler of water! I LOVE my new phone...I got a Samsung "Behold"...it is a touch screen, but the thing I love the most is it has a built in 5 mega pixel camera...WITH a flash! My other cameras are a bit bulky....at least too big to carry around everywhere, so this one is nice because it has decent quality (for a cell phone!) and I can carry it everywhere. I took the sunset pics (posted on this blog) with it. I also love that it has a SD card....so I can easily transfer my music files from my computer AND easily transfer my pics from the cell phone to the computer! The downside is that the camera has a delay.....like most non pro digital cameras. I am used to having the ability to shoot 8 frames per second...so that is a bit frustrating.

Well...I need to get back to work...I am almost finished with the housework...except the laundry.

Oh...just so you know...I have been taking a break from reporting on the sales and coupon deals....for good reasons..that I just do not want to share right now. I am still using coupons....just not reporting on them right now.

what a day!

Last night I went out with my Sistas and I did not get home until 2:00 am! Anyhoo....by the time I got in bed it was close to 4:00 am! I had to be back up at 5:45 to take Maddie and Spencer to meet Francesca Battistelli! She is a Christian music artist and she happens to be Maddie's FAVORITE, so when I heard she was going to be at a local diner (with the Joy fm) I knew that I could not let Madeline down! We got there at 6:00 am....but SHE did not get there until 7:30 am (the Joy fm began broadcasting from there at 6...so I assumed she'd be there then!)....anyhoo, the kids and I ate breakfast and waited for her. Maddie was SO excited!! She got to meet her, get pics with her, get her autograph and hear her sing 2 songs! While we were there, I stopped by the table to register to win Night of joy tickets....as I was filling out the info one of the DJs stuck a mic in my face and announced (LIVE!)..."here we have a Mom...what is you name?". I was taken off guard a bit...I thought they ASKED you before they put you on the air.....but I was not worried about it too much....UNTIL...he put the mic up to Spencer-who then announced for the entire listening audience that he was "AWESOME"! (He has this new thing where he goes around saying " I am awesome!") The Dj asked Maddie "Is that right...is your brother awesome?" She said "uhhhhhhhh......most of the time!".

After we left there I had to get the kids to VBS, pick up Finn and run several errands. Then it was back to VBS to pick the kids up, drop Spencer at a friend's house, come home feed Finn, go back to pick Spencer up................. . The whole day was crazy-but it was a really good day!

After supper, we hooked up the Wii and all played games together...it was so much fun! I am having such a blast with the Wii fit!! Running races, doing yoga, hula hooping (now THAT was a sight....ME.....with my back all screwed together trying to shake my "stuff"!). Now......it is time for me to get some rest!!! I wanted to share some pics from our day today! (BTW...I am gonna have to proof read this tomorrow...I can only imagine how badly I butchered the English language...as tired as I am!)

A day at the beach....cheaper than therapy! :)

Yesterday I took the kids to the beach. We spent the entire day swimming, sunbathing, building sandcastles, collecting shells, jumping waves......... . The beach was so beautiful! The sand literally felt like baby powder, the water was perfectly clear, the waves, that were crashing against the shore, captured every worry and washed it into the sea....(at least until we packed up to go home.....they found their way back to the shore in just enough time to go back home with me!). I find such peace and relaxation while I am at the beach...especially a really great beach-like the one we went to yesterday. The kids had a blast! I am so glad that they enjoy it as much as I do!! After hours on the beach, they did not want to go home! We are going to make it a habit to get there more often! I will post some snapshots, from our day at the beach, later! I am on my laptop right now and I uploaded the pics on my desktop. Hope you are all enjoying summertime as much as I am!

Date/Today/Summer ideas

Last night Brett and I went out on a date! Seems like it has been FOREVER....even though we went out in April for my birthday! Anyhoo, Brett's brother bought him a gift card (to Chili's) for his B-day, so we decided to use it to go out on a date. It was SOOOOO nice! We even split a dessert and had coffee.

So, this summer has been challenging....already! Finding things to do with the kids that are free are getting harder the older that they get! We go to the library once and week, we will start going to the free movies this week, VBS starts next week. FYI...for those of you who may be unaware...AMC and Regal offer kids/family movies for free 2 days a week (I think AMC may have started charging $1.00 per person....but they allow you to bring in your own food/snacks/drinks...at least the "woodlands" one does). They are all movies that have already been released to DVD...but this year there are lots of movies that we have not seen yet! Just thought I'd share!

Now, I need to get out of bed and get myself ready to face the day. I have to pick up some groceries! Hope you all have a great day!

why I love ice cream.........

This is one of those posts where I am exposing the deepest part of my being....I do not expect everyone to understand it, but I hope that it will be received by the ones who DO understand!

I have been reading a book titled "Free to be thin", it is a Christian based book on weight loss and living a healthy lifestyle. I have been been getting lots of great "nuggets" from it! Anyhoo, I have been trying really hard to analyze why I sometimes make food choices that are harming my body......and often my emotions. Most of the time I seriously think I just love chocolate....and I began questioning if it really IS just "about the food". Well, today I finally came to realize why I love ice cream! It is a sad realization really....but none the less, I felt relieved to finally learn what drives me to the freezer section at the grocery store! Let me back up a little and tell you about my day. This afternoon I began craving ice cream..in a really bad way (with NO hormonal reason :), so I decided to "analyze" what is was that was making me want it so badly. I came up with NOTHING!! I was not emotional, upset, angry.....I just wanted some ice cream....or so I thought. I decided that since I really did not NEED the ice cream, and since I had no cash to BUY the ice cream, that I would just take a nap and hope the feeling passed. I woke up 2 times in the middle of my nap.....wondering if there really could be a reason behind intense craving. Still.....nothing. When I woke up I STILL wanted ice cream...the really good kind.....Edy's "loaded"...(yum!). I decided that I would take a bath...and hope for the craving to pass (it has been a lazy saturday). While in the bath I continued to ask God if there really was a hidden reason that was causing me to want to run to the store and buy out every carton of ice cream they have! FINALLY! It hit me! I was reminded of a time, when Brooke was just a baby......Brett and I barely had enough money for food, so anything extra.....even so much as a pack of gum......was just a luxury! One day, I went to my parent's house, I opened the freezer to get some ice......and I saw TWO cartons of ice cream! I had a breakdown...seriously! I got myself a bowl, filled it up and cried as I ate my ice cream.....seriously! I think that remembering a time in my life when buying ice cream would not cause some sort of financial devastation was just too much for me process at that moment. I really think that from that moment on, having ice cream meant we had "enough". I was upset yesterday about not having enough money to register the kids for the YMCA fishing tournament....it doesn't cost that much....but the money is just not there. I had a little "conversation" with God....I asked Him why it seemed like we need an honest to goodness "act of God" to get our needs....and in this case, our "wants".... met. After I had my "pity party" I picked myself up and went about my day......still not understanding God's ways...but choosing to trust Him anyway. So...I guess I said all that to say this... I realized that, for me, ice cream stands for so much more than just a bowl of frozen heaven ;)......it means that there is "enough". I decided that I really did not want the ice cream....as much as I wanted the comfort of knowing that I could have it.

I have wondered why I choose to make myself so vulnerable on this blog......I have always said it was because I do not want to "waste" any experience by not sharing it with someone who may benefit from it. I still question if I am doing the right thing by being so open......none the less......
I have learned so much about myself over the past several months...through many (MANY!) tears and series of devestating events. I learned a lot about why I do some of the things I do and why I feel the way that I feel, in the deepest parts of me. I have found such freedom in knowing why, for instance, I often display anger...when really I am just hurt. I have reconciled myself with issues in my past, I have finally accepted some things that I have fought accepting for years and I can finally say that I look forward to living my life........ honestly.

I hope that this has made sense to someone "out there".......if it didn't make sense to you....just know that it must not have been meant for your "ears".

Can I brag.....pleeeease?

I just walked up to the school to pick up the kids' report cards, they also had the SAT scores in! I am so proud of each one of my "babies"!! Brooke's overall score was "POST high school" (she is going into 8th grade)!!, Maddie's overall score was 11.9th grade (she is going into 5th grade)!! and Spencer's scores were all on grade level (with the exception of "listening"...a VERBAL test. Considering that he is hearing impaired, I think we can "overlook" that score). Spencer being "on grade level" is a huge accomplishment with all that he faces! Anyhoo....I just wanted to brag a little (MORE) on my kids, I am SO blessed to be their "Mommy"! People often ask us...."where do they get it from?"....um.....HELLO!! I have been trying to tell everyone that we are geniuses too :)

Summer.....we're off and running!

I just love lazy summer days!! No need to rush through my coffee in the morning, no need to get in bed by 10:30 pm.....just love it! Today I took a long nap......and I did not have to cut it short because of school letting out! I enjoy having the kids home with me all day too (....most days :).

I wanted to catch everyone up since we were off the computer for so long! Where to start? As a PROUD Mother I have to start with the awards that our kids got this year! Brooke made honor roll (all As and Bs)...(for the whole year!) and she was one of 2 kids, in the whole school, who got an award for being so "respectful". She got a beautiful plaque with her name engraved on it!! Maddie got Principal's list (all As)...(all year long!)! She also got an award for academic excellence in EVERY subject! She was also given the HIGHEST award ever given at their school..."The Eagle Award", which is only given to one child per class (and only one child in the entire middle school and one child in high school). Anyhoo, she got it for her grades and her Christian character!! She got a beautiful glass trophy with her name etched in it! One of the Dads at the award ceremony joked that Maddie was gonna need a whole room just for all her awards! Spencer got awards for improvement, conduct and Science. I am so proud of all three of my "babies"!!





I am STILL playing the "waiting game" for my surgery!! My insurance company now has 30 business days to give me a response! I am trying really hard to trust God with the whole thing...but I must admit I have become impatient! If my Insurance co denies me then I have to question my decision on going through with the "tummy tuck" anyway. I know I have said that for once in my life I am gonna do the "irresponsible" and "selfish" thing......but I do not know if I can bring myself to do that! I have always walked that "straight line".....my whole life. IF I can come up with the rest of the money for the hospital/anesthesia then I will go forward....I am doing really well, I have about 1/2 of the money needed for those things. I am praying in the rest! At first I struggled with guilt....even asking God for that, when there are so many other needs in this world........but, I realized that God cares about EVERY aspect of my life and HE knows my heart and how much I desire this! He cares about the major issues AND the "minor" issues in our lives...nothing too big or too small! Although.....I'd have to classify this need as a major one...in my life at least. I know that most people do not understand.....but I remind myself that GOD knows my heart. I spoke with an older, wiser woman about this issue....and once I showed her my part of stomach, she said "honey...you have got to do whatever you have to do to get that taken care of"! Even I was shocked by that answer...perhaps if you knew who she was, you would be too ;) Anyhoo...not sure how I got here from where I started in this post.....ramblin' on I guess! Well, I made crab cakes for supper.....they are just about ready and I need to get the table set!! Hope you are all having a blessed summer!!

Weeki Wachee

Yesterday Brett's Dad took us out on his canoe. We had to take turns going out on the river so while Brett, Maddie and Spencer were out, Brooke and I swam in the beach area. While on the boat, we got to see an otter (I did anyway), a snake (yikes!) and lots of fish! While we were swimming a manatee swam up near where we were. I wanted to swim over to see it, but I was worried about the kids swimming out that deep. Several people swan over to it and they were petting it! Anyhoo, I wanted to share some of the pics from yesterday, I am so blessed to have my family and I love spending time with them!! Thanks Phil for taking us out (even though the kids and I were not in the "original plan")!

I am back!

Well, our family made it through the 3 weeks of NO computer time! To be completely honest, I did NOT miss it! There were a few times that I wanted to "google" something, and I missed talking to my friends......(we had to actually use the PHONE!).....but it really was not that hard! In fact, I did not even use it at all yesterday. They kids, on the other hand, have been sucked right back in! Anyhoo, just wanted to check in and let you all know that I am "back"......kinda.

BTW-Kmart is having double Qs starting Sunday (up to $2.00)!