Wordless Wednesday....

Putting up the Christmas Tree!

The boys begged me to put our "family" Christmas tree up last night. I really wasn't in the "mood" but I shoved those feelings in the back of my head and pulled out the tree. The boys had a blast. I put on the Christmas music and before I knew it, my "mood" was gone. We had a really nice time. No one got cranky or anything! Here are a few pictures of my crazy boys! They are so much fun~

Update..

Oh where to start... Kim called @ 7:00 this morning to give me an update on her husband, Matt. He had a really bad day yesterday. She was worried about him. She said that he was still in quite a bit of pain. Thankfully, I can report that he is feeling MUCH better today. I went to see him this afternoon, and he seemed more like himself. Hopefully he can come home from the hospital on Monday....
The 7:45 - Mom calls. She tells me that my Dad is not well. My Dad NEVER complains about anything. He came home from work yesterday and was sick. He has lots of abdominal pain. He thinks he is having a pancreatic attack. He did not sleep last night and was headed to the Urgent Care Center or the ER. Now I am busting out in tears.. Driving in the snow (:0) - That was God smiling at me - it never snows in eastern NC especially in November - aka God Wink) I am crying my eyes out. My dad is sick and I don't know why, my best friends hubby is sick and not getting better and I don't know if I will arrive to work and be able to stay! It was just too much!
I finally get to work to learn that another co-workers husband had a heart attack last night and he passed away. Breaking point....
I go to my boss in tears. I tell her everything! She immediately gives me a hug and tells me to go. Go be with your Dad. I did. I left. I didn't care anymore....
Well, the truth is I still cared about the job, but at that moment I needed to be with my Daddy. I met him at the Urgent Care Center, and I took him the radiology. They did an ultrasound. Everything appeared to me normal. We go back to the Urgent Care and the doctor there scheduled him for an Upper GI. He thinks it is stomach ulcers. I guess time will tell. Say a little prayer that he will be feeling better soon.
There was still more layoffs at work. Total count so far is somewhere in the neighborhood of 40. My boss held a meeting with my department and told them that as far as she knew we were all okay. Nothing definite, but a little bit of comfort.

Thanks to you all for your sweet comments of support you have left me over the past couple of days. Please continue to keep us in you prayers. We are not out of the woods yet!
Thanks again to all of my Bloggy Buddies! You guys are the best!

A Sad Day for Me...

I posted earlier about the layoffs that were to come @ my place of employment. Well, today they started. I watched 13 friends loose their jobs. It is so hard to sit @ my desk and pretend like it is "business as usual". I frankly don't feel like busting my butt to get work done knowing that any second someone could call me to the office and tell me that I am gone. I am very afraid right now. I know that God will look out for me and my family, but it is still scary. No question, that if I loose my job, my family would loose our health insurance. This is a BIG deal because Thomas gets allergy shots every week. Frank is self employed (general contractor). Business is slow. We would most likely loose our home (my dream home) as well. I know that the house is "stuff" and as long as I have my family, I will be okay. I just don't want to see my kids to have to give up the way they are used to living. I am very stressed right now...
I need everyone to say a prayer for me. While you are at it, please pray for my best friend's husband (Kim @ Blessed with Girls). He has been in the hospital this week. He also is employed by the same company I am. Their family faces the same stress that we are - plus he is sick and in the hospital. It is AWFUL!

Thanks for letting me whine... You can follow me on Twitter for updates during the day tomorrow...

Wordless Wednesday....

Communication Gap

Ever have a communication gap? Read this little ha-ha. You will get a kick out of it!

Tickle Me Elmo:
There is a factory in Northern Minnesota which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arms. Well, Lena is hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00 AM.
The next day at 8:45 AM there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's door. The Foreman throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee. He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule.
The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself, so the 2 men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the factory floor and they're really beginning to pile up.
At the end of the line stands Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo's. She has a roll of plush red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles.
The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo's legs.
The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches Lena. "I'm sorry," he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday...
"Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles."

That is some funny stuff! I wish the communication gaps in my house turned out to be so funny!

Why Buy Expensive Toys??

I found this while going through my email. I laugh so hard when I see this. Hope this brings a smile to your face and as well!

Enter to Win

Pop over to 5 Minutes for Mom to enter for a chance to win a $100.00 gift card to Sears. There lots of other giveaways coming up too! Check'em out!

House Guest - Gone

I am sitting on my couch watching Grey's Anatomy minding my own business, and out of the corner of my eye see something. I look and there is nothing... A few minutes later I see it again - it was a MOUSE! Oh my God! I started to freak out! I am yelling for Frank (he is in the office working) - his solution was to set a trap out! I am like who me?? I finally get up enough nerve to run to the utility room (right past the sighting area). I get a trap out and slowly make my way back to the living room. There it was - staring at me! I yell and it starts to run. Now watching a mouse try to get traction on a slick hardwood floor is a bit comical - but not at that moment. The mouse ran into the half bath. I quickly shut the door. He is contained now. I can finally start to breathe again. Then Frank informs me that mice can squeeze between the gap of the door and the floor. Freaking out again - I quickly throw the mouse trap (the kind that the mouse "sticks" too - I have too many fingers that can get caught in the normal traps) in the bathroom. I KNOW that mouse is still in there. After all I have not taken my eyes off that door since I saw him run in there. I sit on the couch and turn the TV back on and start watching again. Then I hear this noise... it is coming from the bathroom door. The MOUSE! He was scratching at my door. I yell for Frank again and he finally comes to the living room. He thinks I am nuts I know We wait then he hears the mouse too. He bangs on the door (ummm why? I don't know). He opens the door and he sees nothing. Okay this is a small bathroom with a pedestal sink, toilet, and a small trash can. There aren't many places to hide. Frank puts 3 more traps right next to the door. He shuts the door. I go to bed in hopes that by morning we will no longer have a house guest. I lay there in bed hearing this mouse scratch and chew at the door. Frank finally gets up and heads to the bathroom. He has a broom, a garbage bag, and he dressed in boxers and shoes (too funny). I hear a few loud noises and some not so nice words coming from behind the door. I then hear a little squeak - and the door opens. Our house guest has been laid to rest. And out the door he went.

Look what the little thing did to my door!

I really like animals, but I do NOT want nasty little field mice in my house. We don't torture mice - we dispose of them in a quickest manner possible.

Wordless Wednesday....

This is Thomas 6 years ago - it just cracks me up!

Fun with Food

5 Minutes for Mom is hosting a Fun with Food Photo Contest. The prize is $500.00 in groceries to a local grocery store. Here is my entry!

This is Tyler on his first birthday~ I made his cake myself! I used a teddy bear cake pan to make his frog! Pretty cool huh?

Anyways, pop on over to 5 Minutes for Mom for other entries or to enter yourself! But hurry - contest entries end on Friday the 13th!

Anniversary

Tomorrow Frank & I will celebrate our wedding anniversary. Nine years ago, I married my best friend. We met @ work, (car dealership) and became friends right away. I always knew he was "sweet" on me, but I never paid it any attention. Frank left the car dealership and started another job. He drove trucks for a living. I stayed and worked in the accounting office. A couple of years later he came back to work. Our friendship picked up right where it at had left off - as if he had never been gone. There was constant laughter between us. He was my "friend". My boss asked me for my phone number (I had just moved to a new apartment). A few minutes later, I see Frank is calling my desk. I answer the phone to hear "Are you serious?". I am stunned. I had no idea what he was talking about - then, my boss, throws down a duplicate copy of my phone number. There was also a note that was asking him if he wanted to go hang out sometime! I though I was going to DIE! My boss was laughing so hard she was in tears! In shock - I said "Sure -Why not?" So we arranged for him to pick me up later that evening. We went out and had a few beers and shot some pool. He opened the car door me and everything! When he dropped me off, it was awkward. Frank was my friend - and next thing I knew my friend was kissing me good night~ :0) Oh boy... did the love bug bite! Two years later we were married @ the Little Log Wedding Chapel in Gatlinburg Tennessee. We had a quiet ceremony with only my Mom, Dad, and sister, his Mom Rebbecca, and our best friends (still to this day) Matt & Kim. That was it! It was wonderful.

I think back over that past nine years and it seems like just yesterday we started our adventure. We have built a great life together. I hope the "rest" of my life will be as good as the past nine years have been. He is still my best friend.

I won a prize!

I am hoping that my luck is changing.... BECAUSE I am the lucky winner of a Bath Bomb from Beyond The Bomb. Check out the web site! These would make great presents for teachers or co-workers. So go check em out!

I Have Been Tagged...

Heidi Marie author of Henry's Mommy tagged me with 6 Things About Me. I am not a very interesting person, but here it goes....

• I changed diapers for over 7 years! There are 19 months between each of my 3 boys. Thomas trained @ 2 years 3 months - Tyler trained 2 years even - & Tanner!! Oh My Gosh! He is still having the occasional accident. I "remind" him once a day to go "try". He would have no part of potty training! It was HORRIBLE! Big boy poo stinks! After he turned 4 I put little princess pull-ups on him - that seem to do the trick! You have to get "creative" every now and then!


• I went to beauty school! I attended the community college in my home town and learned how to cut, perm, color, and relax hair! I never even sat for the state board exam! I just got a job as an assistant manger of a shoe store. It was not a total waste of time though. My boys have never had their hair cut by anyone but me! And with 3 boys, that saves some cash!
• I iron just about EVERYTHING! I can't help it. I am not a "neat freak" really. Just clothes can not be wrinkled. I don't iron underwear or sheets, but just about everything else. If my kids or husband are going to wear it outside of my house - it gets ironed. Yes I even iron t-shirts and jeans (if they aren't pulled from the dryer immediately)! Weird - I know.
• I LOVE the beach! During the summer months we visit the outer banks quite often. Sometimes we camp & sometimes its just a day trip. I love to just sit back on my beach chair, drink a beer or two, and watch my boys body board. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore just relaxes me. I can't wait till summer!
• I am not a morning person. It takes a good 30 minutes before anyone should even think about talking to me. I can't help it. I have been that way my whole life. Once I have a cup of coffee and a shower. Then I am good to go!
• I have two little sisters. I am the oldest. There are 3 years between me and my "middle" sister Mandy and 10 years between me & my "baby" sister Stevie. My parents live close by in the neighboring town. It is weird how I came from a family of all girls and now my family consists of all boys. I can totally relate to how my dad may have felt - 0ut numbered!
• I love to take pictures! I have thousands of them. I have won several photo contests. I mostly shoot pics of my boys. I take my camera just about everywhere I go.

That is it 6 things about me. It is really hard to talk about yourself. I am going to tag my friend Bren @ 3 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. Y'all go check her blog out! It is too cute!

Pumpkin Patch

Hello All!
I have had a really busy work week this week. I have allot going on. To top it all off, there was an announcement that was sent out today letting us know that positions would be cut. So, I won't know for sure how long I will have a job. This is NOT good for us. My husbands business is doing just okay. We would have to give up our home if this job cut lands on me. I know there are lots of people in the same position. It is definitely not a good feeling. I will say a little prayer to God and just have to trust that he will look out for my family.
Anyhow...
To play "catch up" I will tell you all about our trip to the Pumpkin Farm. The boys had a really great time. They enjoyed the hay maze (free :0)) and the petting zoo (free) and a hay ride ($2.00 - includes a pumpkin) to the pumpkin patch. Here are a few pictures of the day!

Thomas

Tyler

Tanner

I am Back!

The Women of Faith conference was wonderful! I will post more later, but for now, take a look at this video. It is Nicole C. Mullen. She is incredibly talented. This particular song is very moving. Just take a few minutes and enjoy!