Another Addition to the Family...

Our family felt the need to balance a bit more the boy to girl ratio - so, on Halloween at the door of Nana & Papa Ballard - our little man received a special little Halloween 'treat' whom he immediately named, "Vader".


Our little man is loving having such a wonderful friend around the house! On the other hand, I am asking myself if all the fuss is worth it? Seriously, people kept telling me it would be like having another child; I found that hard to believe. Yet, now, I find myself in complete agreement - although, I might add... I believe children are easier - at least you change diapers instead of finding little 'presents' around the house! Ugh! Each day I am ready to give this puppy away... but then I see the look in our son's eyes when he runs in the door from school.

If I can hang in there... I think they'll be great friends!

A prayer for the President

My family does pray for the First Family, their safety and the hope that they will have the heart to listen to the collective voice of the American people and the courage to fight for that voice.

Then, I received this email - I thought my friends in the blogosphere might enjoy it as well.

We were in slow-moving traffic the other day and the car in front of us had an Obama bumper sticker on it. It read: "Pray for Obama. Psalms 109:8".

My husband's Bible was lying on the dash board. He got it, opened it up to the scripture and read it. He started laughing. Then he read it to me... I couldn't believe what it said. I had a good laugh, too.

"Let his days be few; and let another take his office." Psalms 109:8 (KJV)

My admiration...

As I sit here exhausted, tired and simply grateful that our little family has lived another day without my cute husband around - I am finding myself in absolute awe of single mothers! I barely made it through today and I know that I only have to do this for a week or two at a time rather than an indefinite period.

To all of my single friends who are raising children - I cannot tell you how much strength you inherently have. Many of you look toward life with a brave face and solid spirit. You surely have the help of heaven as you raise your little ones and I might even suggest that you may have more help than parents in traditional, two-parent homes - for our Father in Heaven knows how much you truly do need that help!

To my single friends - I think of you so often, cry for you at times and pray for you always. What tremendous strengths you have and what a precious protection you must have from heaven. You inspire me to be stronger, do more and offer my children that well-rounded love that you give daily - the type of love that has the sweetness of a mother and the strength of a father.

You are amazing and, especially tonight, - you have my admiration.

Lil' Gypsy

We have been married eleven years and in those years we have moved 12 times! Yes, you read that right... can it even be possible, yes! Those moves have included apartments, homes, haciendas and hotels! They have taken place in only two states and two countries!

Through all of this I have decided that I am addicted to houses and change! I love finding houses and making them great. It is just fun - it makes me smile and it has allowed me to work on major projects while being a stay at home mother! I just like the fact that I have been able to stay sane (thus far) while raising these four little cuties! Change - is so fun - I love meeting new people and making new friends!

So, this past 6 months my dear husband has begun introducing me to his friends and co-workers as his 'lil' gypsy. Before his new nickname for me I didn't really think much about how much we move... I love change. I love adventure. But, I wasn't sure about the nickname. But, I have decided that I don't really mind too much - if a gypsy loves adventure, meeting new friends and faces, moving around and trying as much as life has to offer as possible - then, I am a "gypsy"!

What this lil' gypsy does struggle with is being left behind while her cute husband travels from Montreal to Mexico - to San Diego and Walla Walla, Washington (ok, he didn't go to Walla Walla - but you can't talk about Washington without mentioning that funny little town). It is hard being the one left behind to single handedly manage or rather love four little children and a new puppy all while remodeling a home! I think I will add resilient to my lil' gypsy attributes list.

These last 5 months while we have been back in Texas I have had a husband for about half the time! I am living the single mother lifestyle - all while attempting to unpack from yet another move! I believe I have the pack / unpack part of life down to a science! I have personally worn brand new boxes out - I think the average life span of a box is between 6 and 8 moves.

We or rather, I, have begun looking at houses again... this one has been great for the past 9 months... but, once the renovations are done I am ready to move on either that or maybe, just maybe, I could stay here long enough to decorate!

Project of the Day...

Since moving back to Texas we have been doing SO many projects - from tiling, stripping wallpaper, laying wood floor, etc. - but none of those are completely done - so, I needed to do a quick project from start to finish. So, I decided to convert the lower portion of a bunk bed into "a galaxy far, far away". This project was quick and easy - it can be done with comic strip characters, 'Spiderman' fabric, or fabric for 'Hot Wheels' cars to play on!


I bought 15/32" plywood ($17.95) and 2.5 yards of fabric ($10.82 on sale) - Then layered an old sheet under the print fabric (to insure there will be no splinters in our galaxy) and used a staple gun to put it all together!

Our little man loves, loves, loves all things Star Wars. Thus I decided he needed a full play space for his little Jedi, the Millenium Falcon and various other ships that I cannot name.


The finished product with all the colors and planets was a bit busy for me... but our little man loves it!