HELP! I Have Lost Something Extremely IMPORTANT...

Has anyone seen my babies? The last time I turned around I was the mother of a 2 year old and an infant. Tomorrow I will be taking a kindergartener to her first day of school and a toddler to the last year before starting real school curriculum. How did this happen? Time is just getting away so fast. Yesterday, when we were getting ready for Allyson's party I had her doing chores. At the end I told Allyson there was one last thing I needed from her. She replied "what Mamma?” I said can you please stop growing on me? She responded "oh Mamma you are so cute."

Lately...

I took this idea from a post from Mckmamma. If you don't read her blog go check it out and while your at it please pray for baby Stellan.



And lately I have been



..........going on a handful of hours of sleep

..........contemplating change


..........kicking myself because I'm still not catching up on the baby albums

..........kicking myself because I'm still not back at the gym like I would like to be

..........realizing that I will never have the abdominal muscles you have before you have kids

..........counting the days until Brian graduates

..........praying for patience (a 4 year girl and 2 year old boy can be daunting at times)

..........giving up on trying to potty train this summer

..........enjoying the sun

..........enjoying the kids

..........taking the time to spend quite time with Brian


..........praying that God will give us the wisdom and direction for our family

New Family Blog

For those that missed the email for the link to the new family blog. Here is the link. I will discontinue posting on babyhomepages and everything will now be on blogspot.

Happy Anniversary

For our 9th Wedding Anniversary Brian and I spent two nights in San Antonio at the La Cantera Resort. It was so nice to get away with no kids and no plans. We spent the time shopping, strolling the riverwalk, visiting a comedy club, sleeping in with room service, lounging by the pool, massages at the spa, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at The Lodge at Castle Hill. This is the only picture we took the entire trip. Happy Anniversary Honey!

A New Blog is in the Works

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am in the process of shutting down the website that I have for the kids and will be moving everything over to blogspot in the few weeks. I want to have something a little more up and running before I post my link. I just wanted to let everyone know that this is why I haven't been posting on the website. Since my kids are growing up I thought it was time to remove the site from a baby homepage. I finally found a template that represents my family and now I'm motivated to start some new chapters in our life. For just a little sneak peak the template contains 5 flowers that represents our family. The flowers are surrounded by butterflies. Since Andrew's death I have new interest in butterflies (and dragonflies) for many reasons. For one they just remind me of him and how delicate and short his little life was. Also butterflies undergo a major transformation process as part of its normal life cycle and this cycle reminds me of the grief process and our family. In some ways I view my own life as the butterfly. With the grief process, the bereaved person must learn how to deal with the loss and significant changes. Many people hide away from the rest of the world much like being in a cocoon while trying to heal. This cocoon phase is one of transformation and often introspection and reflection. This is was part of the reason I started my own personal blog. After three long years I'm finally reaching the stage where the process ends as the person emerges from their cocoon, metamorphosed into a different person. Thus the transformation of the grieving process is much like the story of the butterfly. You have to go through many trials and tribulations in life, take the time to learn and self reflect, and then come back stronger and more beautiful than ever. Our family is symbolized by the butterfly. It is a symbol of joy, happiness, of spring, rebirth and renewal.

Happy Mother's Day

Today we had a wonderful day. Brian let me sleep in this morning and took care of the kids. After I woke up I was showered with gifts from the kids. I received VS panties and a Wexler facial kit (see my fav things blog for more info). These gifts are my staple gifts because I really couldn't think of anything I wanted other than a H20 mop (my practical gift). I really would have been fine with the mop but I didn't want to make Brian look bad when people asked what I got for Mother's Day and my response was a mop. Even when you try to justify it by saying that it was something that you really wanted it just usually doesn't go over well. Allyson also gave me her gift that she made in preschool. It was 4 pieces of heart shaped chocolate with a card that she made. The rest of the day was just a lazy Sunday we laid around and didn't do much at all. For dinner Brian and the kids took me to Texas Roadhouse where we ate like little piggies. (I hope Mother's Day calories don't count for my weigh in on Friday..lol.) Then I spent the rest of my day at work. Well that was not so hot but overall, a great day. My favorite part of my day (other than sleeping in) was my card from Allyson that Brian bought. It was a 3 page card that had little blanks that she filled out. My favorite one was name three things you love about your mom. Allyson's response was 1) face, 2) hair, and 3) toes...such a girl.

Andrew's 3rd Angel Anniversary

I have to say that after this week I'm just emotionally and physically exhausted. I have no more energy to write about my feelings but I'm just to the point that I'm just numb. Some days it feels like loosing Andrew just happened and others it feels so far away like it was almost a dream. I have nothing more to say about today. Life is so unfair and I don’t understand the “whys” of it all. But I do know that God is faithful, no matter how I feel in the moment. I am convinced that He is the answer. I decided to share one of the poems that was read at his funeral.

God, Take This Child....

Sweet child whom we never really got to know,
It's hard for us to let you go.
We waited and we wanted you.
We had so many dreams for you.

We think of smiles we'll never see.
We think of events that will never be.
There will be no first steps and no first teeth.
There is only a void and our own grief.

We planned to take you to places far and near.
We yearned to keep you safe and free from fear.
We hoped to show you much of your new world.
We wanted to teach you as your life unfurled.

It's hard to understand why you, our baby, died.
We feel so numb right now, many tears we've cried.
We have so many questions and no answers seem to come.
We tried so hard to save you; nothing could be done.

God, we stand before you broken-hearted
and ask you to heal these lives that must be parted
from this little one we can no longer hold,
who will always be a part of us, even when we're old.

God, take this child in your loving arms.

No more can he suffer any harm.
Bless him always and bless us too.
Be with us and help us to make it through

Happy 3rd Birthday Andrew

If I could repeat only one day of my life, and then return to where I am right now and have everything be the same, I would repeat that day in a heartbeat, just to hold him one more time.

Dear Andrew,

I can't believe three years has passed since the day you were born. I miss you more than words could ever express. It is so hard to not have you here with us. Daddy and I would love nothing more than to be able to still hold you, kiss you, snuggle with you, and tell you how much we love you. We're sad that we can't take you out on the park, go on walks, or watch you play with Allyson and William. We just miss you so much. Since you aren't here with us, we're thankful that you're in the most perfect place and that there you are healed, and you are rejoicing in the presence of God.

Love,

Mommy

That Simple Question

As you can tell Andrew has been on my mind a lot lately. Tomorrow will be his birthday and all I can think about his him and how much I miss him. Being a grieving mother you are faced with many situations that just make you uncomfortable. There is always the baby showers, the pregnant women that are just naive to the fact that something bad could ever happen, and then there are the women that totally take for granted their children and how being a mother is truly a wonderfuul blessing. I think for me one of the hardest places I find myself is when I'm asked the simple question, "How many children do you have?" ('How many children do I have? I have three but one is in heaven.) Did I really want to go there? Did I want to have this conversation with someone I didn't really know- someone who asked a simple question and probably expected a simple one-word answer? No.- and so I lied."Two.."The second the word left my mouth I felt the air get sucked from my body and I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could. One simple word and it cut me- because I had lied. Why did I lie? I didn't have two children. I had three. If someone else said I had two children I hated it! And here I had done the same thing- answered that question the same way- I acted like he wasn't here. I didn't include him.I felt sick, like I could throw up. That one word brought so much pain, so much guilt and I still can't believe I said it. His own mother who loved him so very much had denied his existence. When I had been telling everyone, everywhere about him- in this one simple question I felt like I had undone it all and I was ashamed.I knew in that moment that I never again in my lifetime would answer that question without including him. The problem was I didn't know how to answer it. Did I want to go into my heartache with every stranger that I encountered who was probably just making small talk? It took me a long time to find MY right answer to that question and I have to admit that I did not come up with it myself. I actually heard my friend Amy tell someone this when we were at a conference in San Antonio last April. I don't even know if she remembers saying it or if she even knows that I heard her but she gave this response and knew right then and there that this was my way to include Andrew in my answer. Even though that simple question still makes me pause I now have an answer that works for me. By adding two simple words at the end of my answer it seems to be o.k. for me. I am not lying, I am not denying and whenever I answer that question they hear what they need and I hear what I need hear. If you asked me that question today I would answer,"I have two children at home."as my heart would finish what my mouth didn't need to say-and one in heaven.

Always

I have heard the song "Always" by Building 429 several times over the past month playing on K-LOVE. It seems like everytime I get in my car regardless of the time of day this song is playing This song is amazing. The chorus is simple, but powerful. This song captures the real meaning of placing our trust in our Almighty. The part of the song that just stops me in my tracks is these lyrics..

When she caught my eye
Her face was torn and her eyes were filled
And then to my surprise
She pulled out a photograph
And my heart just stopped inside
She said, "He would have been three today
I miss his smile, I miss his face"
What was I supposed to say

I was talking to my friend Elizabeth last Thursday and sharing with her my last post on William's birthday. I told her about this song and how I feel like God is giving me a sign but I feel like I'm missing something. As everyone knows this month is very hard to me as we would have been celebrating Andrew's 3rd birthday just next week. If that wasn't enough the his actual due date was 4/29 and this song is by Building 429. When I wrote the previous post I just didn't want to add this part just because I thought it might be too much at the time but once again that all changed on Monday.

On Monday I had the day off because I lost my voice for three days and was unable to work. I decided to take the kids and one of Allyson's friends to open gym. On the way to pick up her friend I was listening to K-LOVE. It just so happens they were replaying an interview that was supposed to have occured on Friday but due to the band having bus issues they missed the interview. The band showed up over the weekend and the interview was taped. I usually don't listen to the radio on Mondays and once again felt like I was supposed to hear this interview. Once I heard the interview I was just amazed how this story was documented by this song.

Here is the interview with Jason Roy the singer of Building 429.

So I truly believe that the Lord is speaking to me during this time and reminding me and even in the midst of the storm, knowing that God would never leave you! Isn't he just AMAZING how HE is ALWAYS there for HIS CHILDREN.

This song "is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." (Eph 4:29)

Happy 2nd Birthday My Sweet Rainbow Baby

The night after we buried Andrew I had a very vivid dream. I was sitting in a field of flowers watching a little boy that was about 2 or 3 running through the flowers. He has light brown hair, a yellow polo shirt, khaki shorts and brown sandals on (I told you my dream was vivid). As I watched him I realized that it was Andrew and I started to cry in my dream. The little boy ran up to me and gave me a hug. He asked, "Mommy why are you crying". I replied, "I'm in pain because I want you here with me and I miss you so much". The little boy sat in my lap and just held me. He told me "Momma, everything is going to be okay. I will always be with you and I will have a little brother named William that will take care of you." At that point the little boy kissed my cheek and went running through the field. I kept calling his name and tried to get up in my dream to chase him but I couldn't move. He was gone just have fast as he had came.

The 2 months following Andrew's death while I was trying to get pregnant again I would go back to this dream for this was the only hope I had at the time because I was struggling with God and with my faith. The first six weeks was a nightmare because I was in the state of shock and intense grief and I was trying to do things on my terms and not God's plan. On the two month anniversary of the day we buried Andrew I went out to the cemetery. It was the middle of June and the weather was horrible. I was just at the end of my rope. I so badly wanted to hold my baby and so badly wanted to be pregnant again. I literally laid in the mud over his grave and just bawled. I decided at that moment that I was no longer in control and that I had to return to my faith and to God and he will take care of me and that I needed to TRUST him. I then felt a strong feeling of peace come over me. Two weeks later I found out I was pregnant. I knew I was pregnant with my rainbow baby days before any test would come out positive and I knew in my heart and soul this was William. Since I was charting I'm still convinced that I got pregnant that raining night. At that point I had only shared my dream with a couple of people. I didn't even tell Brian about it because I didn't want him to think that I had lost it or that I was just crazy. He had endured enough and I didn't want him to know I was dreaming of Andrew and of this imaginary baby boy. The months went on and I was trying to become attached to this new life even though I had the constant fear that something bad would happen again and I knew I didn't have the strength to go through all that again. We soon found out that we were having another boy and we were thrilled. This little boy would never replace Andrew but this little boy would give us hope and a future. Brian and I had a difficult time with coming up with a name for Andrew so I wanted to start thinking of names for this new baby. I just kept my dream in the back of my head. I wasn't going to use the name because maybe it was just nothing more than all that Xanax running through my body that night. I still had not shared my dream with Brian. I vividly remember sitting on the couch rubbing my belly and hold the Baby Name book. I turned to Brian and asked him if the had thought of any names for this baby and he just turned to me and said, "I think William is a good name". I think my jaw hit the floor. How did he know? I of course called my friends and asked if they had told him and both had not. We never discussed it again and from then on we planned for the arrival of William Luke.

William Luke was born on April 4th just 10 days shy (14th) on what would have been Andrew's first birthday. We found out that William was Group B Strep free on Good Friday which was the day Andrew was born the year before. Andrew was born on Easter weekend and William was brought home Easter weekend. William will never replace his big brother but has truly been a blessing and I thank God everyday for my boys. I have to admit that I wasn't ready to share this story but my friend Amy did a mini photo shoot last week of the kids at the bluebonnet field this picture just stunned me. I wasn't planning on taking pictures with the kids and I was just sitting in the flowers watching her take pictures. Here she caught a brief moment where I was sitting in a flower field with my little boy in a yellow polo shirt and he is kissing me. This is my dream! I have to also add that this is the only picture that Amy played around with photoshop (sorry Amy whatever the MAC version is..lol) so it was like a sign to make sure I really noticed this picture (I know, I'm crazy). I just wanted to share my dream, the story of William's name and take the time to remember my blessings.



The people on the grief support forums have a term for a child born after they’ve lost one-a rainbow baby. That’s what William is to me. He is the rainbow baby. He’s the baby born after Andrew, the baby that represents promise-promise for our family, promise for me, promise for the future, and promise for the world. There will always be pain, but there will also always be joy that follows it, just like the rainbow after the rain. Sometimes it appears right away, and sometimes we have to wait a while to see it. It has been a long, rough storm, but I have my rainbow and we have our future. Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet little boy!

To Everything There is a Season

At 3:30 this morning I woke up from a deep sleep and just stared into the dark room and thought to myself "it is over". I'm still in some sort of shock that KDH is now a Scott and White facility. KDH has been an acute care hospital for Bell County for over 100 years and that will soon be coming to an end. As of 12:01 this morning Brian is officially a S&W employee. I asked him last night how he felt about that and he still isn't sure. I know today will be a little surreal for him going into work. I'm sure in some ways it will feel like the first day of a new job. I just can't imagine that feeling in this situation or even what Brian is going through. Brian just finds it a little humorous that this is all occurring on April 1st---how ironic. As for myself, I knew that this day was going to happen for sometime (almost a year) but that doesn't take away the shock. I have to admit that personally for me I'm a little sad. I'm sad that I'm loosing the hospital where I have birthed my babies and the close knit and family oriented care you have when you go to KDH. I just hope that when things change hands that they don't loose that aspect. Overall, I know this is a great opportunity for both facilities to thrive. Overtime, KDH will be turned into a Children's hospital which will be very beneficial for the community. S&W is looking at going into an agreement with Cooks Children’s in Dallas to share proprietary information so that Cook’s can become an academic facility and S&W can become a successful pediatric hospital. As for our future, we have no idea what that will be. I have learned that it is best for me (and my anxiety) to just pray about it and leave it in God’s hands. I know HE will lead us.

For some reason this song is just stuck in my head…..

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together

Happy Birthday Barbie!

Barbie is turning 50 this week. I'm hoping that she is just going through a little midlife crisis or maybe she just had too many martinis. Either way, Barbie went out and got a tatt. The Totally Sylin'Tattoo Barbie is just a little much for this conservative mom. My daughter will not own a doll with a "tramp stamp" this is just a little too much for me. I would never purchase one of those Bratz dolls because I think they are trashy but I thought I was safe with Barbie. The doll even comes with a tattoo gun so that young girls can give each other tattoos. Maybe if I did get Allyson this for her birthday she will have aspirations to be the next Kat Von D. Why can't we teach our young girls that being smart can be beautiful? Why does Barbie have to wear a mid drift and a tatt? Why can't there be more Barbie,MD., teacher Barbie or attorney Barbie? I'm not saying that I'm against tattoos or those that wear them. I was looking at getting a small tattoo at one point in memory of Andrew. I just feel that kids are already growing up much too fast. We just need to let them be little and focus on building self esteem through brains not beauty.

Pay It Forward

Yesterday Allyson had her fieldtrip to the Belton Library. This was a quick trip basically for story time, craft time, celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and to learn about the library. Before the trip I went to Allyson’s classroom to give a little gift to her teacher, Ms. Susan. I have noticed during this school year and during the fieldtrips that Ms. Susan has been having some difficulties with her digital camera. I could tell that the camera had put on many miles and she was talking about her husband buying her a new camera for Christmas. Well, last week during the fieldtrip I noticed that Ms. Susan didn’t even have her camera and when I asked her about it she said that the other camera barely works and things just came up during the holiday. Well yesterday before the trip I gave Allyson our old Kodak Easy Share camera (the one we bought the week before Allyson was born) to give Ms Susan. I have to admit I was a little on edge because I didn’t know how she would react to the gift. I didn’t know if she would be upset and view it as a hand out or if she would be embarrassed. I just prayed for the best. Right before the kids got ready to leave I took Ms Susan aside and just said that I wanted to give her something. I told her about how grateful I was for everything she has done for Allyson and how we are truly blessed to have such an amazing preschool teacher that really cares about the kids. I told her that I knew she didn’t get a camera for Christmas so I just wanted to give her our old one because hopefully it was a little better than the one she had. I was so shocked when her face turned bright red and her eyes filled up with tears. She told me about having to take in some extended family during the holiday and how they have given everything to them to help them out. She even gave them her car and has been walking to work. I was so excited that she was excited and I’m glad that our old camera found a “new home”. I’m not posting this to “toot my own horn”. I’m sharing my story so that maybe you can do something for someone to just pay it forward. In this word we live it at the moment just something small to you might make a difference to someone else.

This morning Brian sent me this email. It was the letter Ms. Susan sent home.

Dear Rhandi,

I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated the digital camera. I know that it will come in handy for my class projects and for whenever we go on fieldtrips. I enjoy being able to capture moments that parents don’t’ see of their child because they aren’t able to go on a trip with us because they are at work. I will enjoy this camera and will think about your sweet little Allyson every time I use it. Again, thank you so much for such a wonderful gift. God bless you and your family.

Sincerely,
Susan Moore

Brian said when he dropped off Allyson that Ms. Susan was already going around taking all kinds of pictures of the kids and was just so excited. What a great feeling…for both of us.

Living in a Daze

I just realized that since I started my new work schedule my blogging has become even more sparse. Something about working 60 hours in one week with the last 20 hours being a graveyard shift has been interesting. I get off of work at 6 am Monday morning (which is the end of the 60 hours)and go back in Tuesday morning at 6 am for the next 2 days to finish off the last 20 hours. I thought this would be great so that I would have 4 days off in a row. Instead I spend those four days just trying to get my sleep and sanity back. One may ask why I do this to myself and the answer is easy. I'm doing it so that Brian can study on the weekend and so I can spend more daytime hours with my kiddos. Oh, the things we do for our family.

Mornings with Daddy

Brian has been taking the kids to school for the last few months since the majority of my shifts start at 6 am. I really don't know how he manages to get everyone up and out the door. This morning I had to laugh when I found this email in my inbox.

"Allyson wanted to know why William's penis was red and had an erection this morning. I did not know what to tell her."

My response, "LOL, so what did you tell her."

His response, "That is just the way it is for boys. She said that girls do not have that right? Only boys do. You have one right Daddy."

I can only imagine what goes on in my house on school days in the morning.

I'm not your 4 am Florist

It is 4 o'clock Monday morning and I'm just about to finish up my 60 hour work week. I have been on the graveyard shift the last two nights and I'm running on about 3.5 hours of sleep. It would be an understatement to say that my temperament is a little short at the moment. For the last 30 minutes I have be receiving calls from the old guy who is trying to order a Valentine bear. Is he serious? Who orders a Valentine gift at 4 am? Well, apparently this old guy does. After numerous (okay only 3 times) of telling this guy he has the wrong number he wants me to dial this number that he heard on the radio for the Valentine bear. So sure, I do this just out of my own curiosity. So I dial the 1-800-dotbear to get the automatic recording that this is an invalid recording. At the end of the recording it gives the identity code of something like 0232. I guess he thinks that is my number that he is supposed to be calling. After going over with him once again that this is not the dot bear hotline he then calls back to ask what my number is for. I tell him that it is for people that take their medications incorrectly or if you get bitten by something like a spider or a snake. He then proceeds to tell me that he takes several medications but luckily for me he doesn’t elaborate on them. So I tell him once again that this is an emergency hotline so hopefully he will get it this time…I can only pray he does.

Walking for Andrew

Brian and I have decided to help the Scott & White Medical Education Alliance and Children's Miracle Network by being an online fundraiser for the 3rd Annual St. Patrick’s Day 5K Run/Walk & Kids’ 1K Fun Run. I am supporting this great event by asking my friends and family members for donations. The money raised from this event will be donated to The Children's Hospital at Scott & White in Temple, Texas. The money was used to purchase 6 laptop computers for the Child Life Department to be used by immunocompromised children to stay current with their school work and stay in touch with the outside world. We realize times are tough right now, so we appreciate donations large and small. Please help us meet our fundraising goal! This is our annual fundraiser that we do in memory of our own little angel Andrew Reed.

Month 1 of the Biggest Loser Contest

For those that may not know I'm doing the three month Biggest Loser Contest again this year. This year I'm doing the contest with my playgroup and it is so much fun because these women are a blast! Last year I lost 30 pounds and maintained 25 pounds for the rest of the year. This year my goal is 15 pounds for the contest. I know at this point that goal is a little unrealistic but if you are going to aim then aim high. So in order to find some accountablity I'm just laying it all out there. So my goal is 15 pounds and for month one I have lost 6 pounds! I know it could have been more but I seemed to have found a few social hours for the month. So 9 more pounds to go and 12 weeks until swimsuit season!

I'm Waving the White Flag

Let's just say that I'm about to have to quit one of my posting boards soon. Between the website and the BlogSpot I just can't keep up with both and I feel like I'm not giving my best to either site. The website is dear to me because I have had it since Allyson was an infant and I don't want to give it up. I know that long term I will have to either convert it to its own webpage or do something because I don't want to have teenagers and their website is on babyhomepages.net. I love BlogSpot because this is where I started posting all of my feelings and my journey with grief after we lost Andrew. I still have a story that I would like to share one day but I'm still not emotionally ready for that. I'm still not doing so hot about starting my New Year resolutions but hopefully I can get my butt in gear soon. Maybe I should do a post about that...lol. After my friend, Tracy, shut her blog down I keep questioning if I should do the same. So for now I'm surrendering to my goals and whatever happens, happens. Please let me know if you have a solution to my dilemma.

Hello 2009

Again this year I thought it would be best that I post my 2009 resolutions or goals. This way I will have some accountability and if that doesn't work at least I can look back and remember what I didn't do this year. Last year I posted a general list of what I would like to do. I have to admit that I'm really impressed with myself for 2008. Overall, I accomplished many things that I wanted to do in order to really "find myself" again. First of all, we have found a home church and have been attending regularly. Brian and I have really enjoyed going and they have a wonderful children’s program. Brian and I are doing better than ever. The last 2.5 years have been really hard on us but we have made it a point to focus on each other and make our marriage a priority. Personally, I have kept off 25 pounds that I lost back in April. Professionally, I passed my certification test so that will be out of my mind for the next 6 years. So this year, along with setting my resolutions I’m also make more of a list of things that I have been procrastinating. So here goes….

1. Becoming more involved in the church. It has been really difficult this year
with work and Brian’s school schedule but I need to stop using that as an excuse. I would like to become more involved in a small group.

2. Keeping Brian and my marriage a priority. Planning at least two dates a month and trying to find little things to remind him what he means to me.

3. Focusing more on the kids. I have been consistently spending quite time with the kids at night with reading and prayers and want to make sure I continue this. I would also like to spend time with each kid individually by doing girl time and teaching skills for kindergarten with Allyson and alone time with William by reading books, going on walks, and to the park.

4. To spend more time with my Grandmother.

5. I would like to read one book a month. A real book, not a children’s book.

6. I would like to maintain the weight that I have lost and lose another 15 pounds. I’m starting another 3 month Biggest Loser challenge with my play group on the 8th!

7. To start the kids’ baby albums. Sad to say I have never printed off one baby picture since Allyson has been born. I’m determined to make digital albums this year! I welcome any ideas or tips for this project.

8. To update my blog and website weekly.

9. Finally organizing my closet. That is the one place in my house that I just get overwhelmed.

10. Start to use coupons and learn the Walgreens or CVS game. With this economy we need to save our pennies.

11. Being a better friend because I’m so blessed to have the friends that I have!