Bright and Shiny New Year...2010

Wow, another bright and shiny new year! Wait...I haven't even sent out my 2009 Christmas cards. Oh my! Here I sit snuggling into 2010 and I am peacefully and quietly in awe of how rapidly one year ends and the simplicity of how easily things begin again...and yet there is a chattering lil' girl hiding in me that has a million things to share!
I have been quiet for too long. Where do I begin? My family of course! Wes is still a handsome and amazing husband. I am so very blessed that he loves me for me, just as I am, even on the days I look in the mirror and can't seem to love myself. I have never in my life known a man who worked harder for his family and I am so very honored to be his wife.
The kids are growing like weeds...wild and crazy weeds! Hunter is so tall and good looking. He is still doing great in school. He still has a heart for sports and spending time with his adorable sweetheart.Morgan is still a cute little mess! She makes us laugh and Lord knows with her hitting her terrible two's there are days she makes me cry. She is all over the place dancing, tripping, running, falling, climbing, and screaming, yelling, crying, and laughing the whole time. Unless she is sleeping there is never a quiet moment. As I rocked her to sleep tonight I thanked God that he is so healthy and beautiful.
As the new year begins I have many blessings to be thankful for: My Husband, Children, Family, Friends, Home, & Health. I am also thankful for all the new things I will learn or discover this year.


I have so much to say but I am afraid of boring you so I will end this here. I look forward to sharing new recipes, crafts, rants & raves, and of course stories and updates on my family. My resolution this year was to drink more water and learn how to sew. I will let you know how that goes.

Happy 4th of July!

More than anything else, I want to take a minute to thank my husband, my father, my friends, and all of those who have served America! Because of your sacrifice, I am able to FREELY sit here today reading my devotional, praying to God, and loving my family. You all gave and give so much and get so little in return. For those of you who served in the past, you are always remembered in our home. For those of you serving now, we pray for your safe return home. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Our family applauds & salutes you!

Wes, Morgan & I spent the evening at home grilling and just hanging out. We had another delicious dinner after the local fireworks show was over. We grilled brisket, sauteed summer squash w/onion & mushrooms again, and boiled baby red potatoes with fresh corn on the cob. I love all of the grilling and fresh food we get to enjoy when Wes is home! I also love the cuddling and dancing for Morgan in the living room. I already have a roast in the crock pot for Italian sandwiches tomorrow and will let you know how that turns out. Smells heavenly! Thank you again to Mommaloo and her family for the wonderful blessing you gave us this week!

Scott Family Updates...

Since so many of you are praying for us, I thought I would give some updates. First, thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Please keep it coming and please know that we are praying for you too.
As you know, Wes has been looking for steady work since late April, when he completed the power plant in Colorado. Until now, nothing promising has been offered. Bless his heart, he has applied for well over 300-400 jobs in the past few months. As a wife, this has been one of the hardest things to watch. He prides himself in providing for our family. Those of you, who know us well, know that he has climbed unimaginable obstacles to get where he is. God obviously has big plans for him and I couldn’t be more proud of him. We heard promising news that the Boilermaker Union that Wes works for is hoping to have more work by September…that is wonderful, but we will starve and be homeless by then! We are so grateful for the odd jobs my Mom, Dad, and friends have had for us to help us get by. More than anything we are holding tight to our faith that God will provide for us. He always has. Wes has taken a job welding in Tyler, TX. The pay is horrible, but is more than we would earn on unemployment so it is a blessing. They do pay for his hotel and his food allowance will help with fuel. Also, Tyler is a whole lot closer than Colorado so that is a HUGE plus for me.
I cooked all day yesterday so that he would have a weeks worth of food without it costing us anything more. I sent him with a cooler full of my meatloaf meatballs, crock pot chicken, rice, summer squash casserole, buttermilk chicken, watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges, yogurt, sandwich fixings and baked him some butter crunch cookies. So now that I have finally gotten used to having him home for meals as a family, he is gone again...but with good food. I hope that when he is having his home cooked dinner, he can see a little of how much I love him.

After many years of long commutes and being mentally and emotionally consumed with work, I have been incredibly blessed this past year in being able to be home with my children. I love taking Hunter to and from school and getting him off to practice on time. I know that it isn’t enough to make up for all the years he spent in after school care, but he knows that I was working hard to take care of him. Being home with Morgan has been equally enjoyable. Being here to watch her learn and grown is so awesome. The two of them make me feel as if I have done something wonderful everyday. With that said, I couldn’t let Wes work so hard to find a job and not try to help more, so I updated my resume and applied for work too. Who knew that taking just a year off would cause me to feel so out of touch with the rest of the working world? This was a practical, but difficult decision for me. I truly believe that I serve my family better being home, but I have to try. Just the cost of childcare and fuel alone makes the job search a daunting task. So far no bites, but as we all know, God is good. After the 4th of July holiday, I will be taking care of two adorable little girls, ages 6 & 10, every other week. I also have a house lined up to clean every other week where I can take Morgan with me! My Mom has a list of things I can do for her to help her get caught up and organized too. This isn’t what I was looking for at all and will need to find a few more houses to clean or drop in’s to make it profitable, but what a blessing!!! I am so excited!!! They are so well behaved I don't worry about bringing them with me to MTM play dates!!! I miss you girls!!! Maybe I can offer a Mother’s Day Out to my friends a few days a week and see how that goes. I am just happy to be able to help Wes and still be here for my children.

As for the kids, Hunter is having a blast with his Dad and Charity in Houston. They took a long weekend and went to the river. He is like me, happy anywhere there is water and family. Morgan is learning and changing every day. She grabs on to our legs and coos oooohs and ahhhhs. It is adorable and melts your heart. Of course, it is usually after she has touched a million no no’s, pulled the outlet covers out, turned off my computer, drooled on my phone, and pulled my clothes out of my drawers and thrown them all over the house. She is going through a stage of separation anxiety. Even people that she normally goes right too are causing her to grab on to us tight and cry. She too, loves the water.

I need to end this here. Nap time is almost over and as you know, I could go on and on all day about my children…can’t we all? Again, please keep praying. I hate that we have been so out of touch. We have been trying to save money and stay focused on the job search. We would love to hear updates from you too!

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

Everyday this week while I watered my plants, I wished it would rain. I have always loved rainy days. A good rain can wash away a lot of things and makes the world look clean and new again. Thank you Lord for the rain. We needed it so badly. My heart breaks for other the families that lose sleep at night afraid that a drought induced fire will burn their homes and ranches. I feel more at peace today knowing my parents can rest a little tonight not having to worry about the dry conditions. I am going to enjoy this wet weekend resting with my family and praying for Wes to hurry home safe and sound. Maybe I see just how many songs about rain I can find for us to listen to...
Morgan and I had a great time playing on the porch while it stormed this morning. This was her first puddle to play in. Correction...this was the first puddle she didn't create to play in. She ended up really dirty and wet but it was so worth it watching her try to catch the rain drops with out stepping on the grass...that is still uncharted territory...for now anyway.

Family Filled Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. We cook great food, you don't have to buy gifts, and people take the time to slow down and simply say, "Thank You". I wish it happened year round. As for our family, we are thankful for our blessings year round.

I pulled out my "original" engagement ring and tried to wear it on my still swollen postpartum fingers. Wes made it for me out of pearl and turquoise colored beads with our initials woven in to the pattern. I still love it even though I have a pretty diamond ring. The thing I love about it the most is that it is a great reminder of who we are as a couple. I fell in love with Wes when he had no money at all, no job, nothing to offer me at all, except his heart, his beautiful heart. There is no material or tangible thing that could ever be better than the way he loves me and our children. I am so thankful for my life as a Mother and a Wife. I am so thankful God finally brought us together and blessed us as he has.

Wes was able to fly home on Thanksgiving and spend the holiday with us. It was so wonderful having the four of us in our home all at the same time. Morgan and I were sick with a bug or touch of food poisoning. Wes did a great job of taking care of us. We spent Thanksgiving day at my Daddy's and Wes's parents came to visit both Saturday and Sunday evenings. We didn't make it to Momma's as we were afraid of getting anyone else sick. We were looking forward to fishing with her. Heck, it's Texas, it may be warm enough to fish at Christmas.

Wes fed Morgan her very first baby food, "Bananas"

We went to watch the Permian vs Allen playoff game at Texas Stadium. I still didn't feel 100% but Wes had never been there and I didn't want him to miss it. Hunter said several times that he really had a good time even if permain lost. That made me happy to see him just enjoying family time. The boys were sweet and watched Maid of Honor with me and we all did lots of laundry. Wes helped Hunter put up the basketball goal so that Hunter can practice. We put up the Christmas tree too! Now we just need to decorate it.

Fixing the branches on the tree

Wes & Bear reassembeling the basketball goal

Nov 26, 2008 Taking a bath before Daddy gets home. First time she sat up on her own!!! Still learning how to crawl and sit...
Playing and sitting on the floor with Daddy... Playing with her hair while she eats...

Over the River and through the Woods....

Well I am still running behind on my updates but I wanted to throw a few in and list some more of the reasons that I am Thankful really quick before Morgan wakes up.

After a long football season we lost our second playoff game. Our team played really hard all season long and could use the time off. Hunter played great as always but needs to work on keeping his head in the game and not letting the refs coach him...or attempt to. The Ref told Hunter he was playing too aggressively and was too rough...It's football, much to my dismay it is supposed to be rough! His hard work payed off as he has been invited to play All Stars. It is an honor for him and a great opportunity to play at a more competitive level. I wanted so badly to be sick of football, but watching Hunter put his whole heart into something right in front of me and the rest of the world was a beautiful thing. It isn't something you physically get to see all the time from your children. He loves it, therefore I love it! He is truly such a funny and challenging kid. Since he is so tall and looks like a young man, people seem to forget that he is still a very insecure little boy who gets his feelings hurt very easily by the people he looks up to. Other peoples words bring him down way faster than I can build his confidence back up. It is really frustrating. Why can't people just see his heart and not him physically when they talk to him? Why do they say things without considering how deeply they will effect him?

On to smaller people...Morgan had her first banana in her cereal on Saturday. She hasn't been eating that much, only a table spoon or so. I though smashing a banana in there would help...basically it just gave me more funny faces to laugh at. I do think she enjoyed eating with me at the table though instead of just watching me shovel my breakfast in. She is really enjoying her bouncy horse. She starts bouncing as soon as you put her in it, unless she is hungry or just wants mommy...then nothing else works (Except Auntie B). She is still trying to crawl. She can get all over the place on her own, but it is still by using her hands like suction cups on the wooden floors. She is a VERY happy baby.

I Am Thankful For:
Wes's job
That Wes will be home this week
Ironed Sheets
AGAIN my children and their smiling faces
Moments with Hunter where he still acts like a child
Bouncy Horses
My time making candles and having girl time with B
My friends
Cameras

So now we are off to my Mom's...I am singing over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go!

Joystealers...

Are there people in your life who constantly steal your joy? There are in mine. In church we are told to separate ourselves from them. What do we do if we can't? What if we are related or joined in some other way and have no choice? What if they never hear a darn word you say so talking it out doesn't matter? I was trying to sleep but couldn't because I was too angry with SJ. I was laying there praying begging God to take the anger away and give me wisdom for the right words to say. Instead, I was reminded to be thankful. So here I am, making a Thankful List to make me feel better and hopefully sleep a little before Little Miss Thang wakes up bright and early to eat AGAIN.

• I Am Thankful For God's grace and forgiveness
• My wonderfully patient & handsome husband, Wes
• My son, he is the best son I could have ever imagined
• My daughter, she lights up all of our days
• That my parents are alive and my children know them
• Family-the good, the bad, and the ugly
• My home
• The abundance of food that we are blessed with
• Red, our dog & Speedy Fred, our turtle
• The clothes in my closet (even if they are way too small now)
• America
• The men and women that fight for our freedom
• That I am healthy that my children are safe and healthy
• For sunshine
• For quiet moments at 2:30 am when no one is awake but me and I can think clearly again
• My friends old and new
• That gas prices went down
• For the smell of fall
• That I can see and read
• That I am finally getting started on making candles (it only took me what.... 4 years?)
• That I am surrounded by God's "artwork" everyday

When I logged on I found http://southbreezefarm.blogspot.com/2008/10/thankful-month.html and was even more inspired and blessed. Thank you!

A few updates: Hunter broke his finger in a scrimmage and had to have a hard cast put on so that the chipped piece could reattach itself. He was/is still able to play in the playoffs. The Coach has to wrap and pad though. We made it another week in the playoffs and Hunter was chosen to play on an all star football team. He is such a trooper. We are very proud of him.

Wes is still working in Pueblo. We miss him and can't wait until we are all together again. We have no idea where God wants us but we pray about it together as a family daily. We all know we just want to be together as a family as soon as possible.

Miss Morgan is babbling up a storm. She doesn't much care for cereal when I try to feed her. She does better for Wes and Hunter. She must know I have the good stuff. She is still trying to crawl. Her rear is up and rocking and she does get all over the place. She sticks her hands to the wood floor like suction cups and slides to her desired spot (normally under the coffee table). She smiles all the time and melts Hunter's heart. I am constantly saying, "Leave your sister alone and do your homework!" He is so in love with her. Again, my heart is happy and I am so proud.