Hey! It's my Birthday!

Now, ordinarily, I would rather my birthday come and go without much fanfare.  Call me a grouch, but once you pass the age of 21, birthdays don't hold the same appeal.  However, thanks to my delightful family, today was a totally awesome birthday.

I was greeted this morning with the best hugs from my two little angels.  Zach actually went and bought a great card and had Zoe and Noah write in them...rather Zoe wrote and Noah, well, he just touched the pen to paper.  Zoe, with Daddy's help was able to write "Happy Birthday, Love Zoe" and "Mom." I also got what every woman with 2 children need - CANDY! Yum!  I'm so blessed.  Zoe (Zach) bought me a book (Harry Potter 3) but Zoe, immediately coming home from buying said book on Tuesday said, "Mom! We bought your book!" So I got that present early. :)

After the gifts and getting dressed we loaded up in the car and headed to the outlet malls in El Paso to do some shopping. I bought these great shoes:

Crocs make my feet happy

 I also was able to buy 2 Christmas gifts and that makes me very happy.  Then we went to Hobby Lobby to buy myself more gifts (how great is that).  Just a few, some bought today and other's a gift from my wonderful sister:

Aren't they pretty?

I was all set to bake myself a cake!  AFTER supper that is.  We ordered Chinese and it was...well, I wont use bad words on this blog.... : (  

Onto baking my cake.  I made my own buttercream icing.  It was yummy.  The cake however, well, it was not the best.  I let it over cook a little so it wasn't as moist as it could of been.  As for the decorating, we'll just call it a learning experience.  Live and learn, right???

A little sad but still yummy!

Zach helped me with the dots.  The pink icing was from a can but the white is the buttercream.  

Thanks everyone who took time out of their day to make my day a little more special.  Love you all!!

Late Night Thoughts...

Recently, it seems, there has been a serge of scripture based status updates on Facebook.  Never a bad thing, however, I find myself basing my thoughts on said scripture on my personal feelings of the poster.   I know, I'm a horrible person.  It got me thinking, if I'm so biased and unwilling to "listen" to what others have to say, regardless of content, but based entirely on my own opinions of them, then what kind of witness am I?  In other words, is other people's views on how I am, as a person, hindering the ability of God to use me to reach out to others?  I know I'm not perfect, obviously, so why do I harbor such feelings of doubt and criticism when other people wish to relay their spiritual views via Facebook?  I guess I need to continue to look inward (it's a neverending quest surely) and make sure I'm making myself available to hear the Word of God wherever it may be and also, to make sure my personal behaviors aren't inhibiting my witness.

On less serious matters, we have been enjoying ourselves here in LC.  Last night we went to NMSU and heard the marching band play on the green while eating frozen custard from Caliches.  It was a nice way to spend the evening and the kids had a ball.  Yesterday ended my babysitting job and we are now trying to get ourselves into a good and productive schedule.  Wish us luck.... :D

Remembering how truly blessed I am in every single moment...

Making Decisions...

Happy day to you all.  I just got back from a trek to Lowe's to get paint samples.  I'm actually quite excited to put a little color on the walls and making this house more homey.  We are only painting one wall though.  The owners painted one wall in the living room a pale green color and that has got to go.  I also want to paint the trim because I'm not a fan of trim being the same color as the walls. Too matchy matchy.

Zach has been getting into the swing of things with his new job.  He had his first Wesley event last night, will have a meeting tonight, and a weekend retreat starting tomorrow. Busy is the word right now.

I have been trying to decide whether to try and get a job or to continue to stay home with the kids.  I would rather not have to work of course but we could definitely use the money.  I have said lots of prayers about this situation and will continue to have faith that God will open doors or close doors and put me in the situation I need to be in.

I have also been babysitting a friend's daughter this week.  She is Zoe's age and they can be the best of friends one moment and mortal enemies the next.  It's been...fun?? Yeah, don't really know what word would be appropriate to describe that situation.  One thing is for sure, Mamma is fixin' to drop the hammer, so to speak.  You may want to pause now and say a prayer for the kids. :) (Update: just put both kids in timeout)

It's moments like we have had this week with Zoe that I have to remind myself of the good moments as a parent in order to keep my sanity (and perhaps preventing performing any illegal actions).  Last weekend Zach and I instigated a "family movie night."  We feel finally that Zoe is old enough that we can do things like that.  First we had supper: fried porkchops and parmesan potatoes for us (who needs that silly green stuff on their plates) and a sandwich for Zoe.  Then bath time while Zach went to Caliche's for dessert (frozen custard.. YUM).  Then Zoe, Zach and I piled in our bed with our frozen treats to watch Megamind (poor Noah had to miss out as he was sleeping).  It was a nice evening that we will try to repeat next weekend when Zach is back in town. Many thanks to Red Box for furnishing the movie.

Anyway, I guess it would be prudent for me to get up and go see what is causing the current disaster in Zoe's room...Sigh...

When time flies...

Today Zoe started back at school after nearly a year of just mommy time.  I was a little worried at first as to how she would handle the transition.   I shouldn't have worried at all because she LOVED it and did very well this first day.  She is only going Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons right now but it's better than nothing at all.  Zach came and picked her up at his lunch break and she was very ready to go.

We had to get a picture with Daddy.

I instructed Daddy to get a picture of Zoe in front of the preschool sign, which he lovingly obliged.

Zoe had a great day.  She found three feathers during their outside time, that she kindly shared with her new friends, and, to quote the little darling, "WE HAD SNACKS!" Yes, in all caps, because, my ears are probably still bleeding from the high volume.  Noah and I went and picked up Zach at work and we all went to pick her up then to McDonald's for smoothies as a special treat. Zoe is ready to go back tomorrow!  Hard to believe that next year she will be in Kindergarten. Yikes!

LOVE is the word of the day...

Hello all! Well, we are getting even more settled in our new home.  Loving being able to hang things on the walls since we weren't able to in our last house.  We are finding things we forgot we had!  Unfortunately, we sold off a lot of furniture before the move and consequently don't have places to put somethings, such as books and toys for the kids.  The kids are enjoying their massive toy room, but, lacking organization, it is a mess pit.  Thankfully, Zach fixed our water heater last night so now we have hot water!  Yay!

We went to an Open House at Zoe's preschool last night.  She didn't want to leave, she loves it there so much.  She officially starts on Monday and will be going in the afternoons on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  I try not to think about how advanced she would be had she stayed in her school in Plainview.

Our new obsession in Las Cruces is trying out all the new cuisine.  We have never lived in a place with so many different food choices and anyone who knows my husband knows he loves a good meal.  One thing is for sure, we are loving the mexican food!  My, how we have missed that after living for a spell in east Texas.  Pizza is also a common thing here with lots of choices.  No more Pizza Hut or Dominoes for us!

We got a sack of potatoes in our "pounding" with the Wesley Foundation so, as Zach so lovingly calls it, we have been living Irish.  Lots and lots of potatoes.  I froze several of them so we should be solid in the carb department for a while. :)

Enjoying the cooler temperatures. It actually gets in the 70s at night here which is a nice change.  It still gets up in the upper 90s during the day but it feels like nothing compared to whats happening in Texas.  We have been spending a lot more time outside, particularly in our lovely backyard.

Ready for our first visitors! Who wants to come??

Getting Settled

Hello all! Well, we are finally settled in our new home in Las Cruces...well, we are working at getting settled rather.  Our first few days here were spent without electricity then for the past two days we have had no water or gas.  Today marks the first day that we have had the use of all our utilities at the same time.  One thing for sure, I definitely have more of an appreciation for the "little" things.

We are absolutely in LOVE with our new town.  It's amazing to these folks from west Texas to be able to see mountain ranges in every direction.  The other night Zach and I sat out front watching a lightning storm in the distance.  The sky was a turquoise color I have never before seen in the sky.  Breathtaking...

We were very fortunate to have come across our house.  The size and layout are great and we know we are extremely blessed.

Zach started work on Monday and that night experienced his first board meeting.  The board wanted to meet the rest of us so we enjoyed a meal and a "pounding" as well. We received our first batch of green chile among many other useful items.  Can I say again that we are extremely blessed??  :)

There is still loads of unpacking and decorating to go but we are enjoying what we can.  We are working on getting Zoe into preschool and figuring out our daily routine again.

Lots of love sent to everyone!