What a crazy week.. We celebrated birthdays Saturday, Sunday and Thursday night. We had Kaylynn's family birthday party Saturday night. It was a blast. Love getting the whole family together. Then on Sunday Kaylynn had her friends over to celebrate her birthday. Mollie and Greg made her the most adorable ladybug cake. It was my father in-law's birthday Wednesday and my mother's birthday on Thursday. So we went to my in-law's Thursday night for the most delicious meal. Steak tips and haddock.. MMmmMM good. Then cake and ice cream.
Because of Memorial day we did our normal Monday jobs on Tuesday, but we had a job to do on Monday anyway. But we decided to go to work Sunday night so we had Monday off. Well I did not have Monday off. Justin and I worked our buts off in the yard and we got so much done. I can not believe how much our yard has changed this year. On top of building a new deck we also built a new deck in the front. We still have to paint it, but I am pooped from spending 15 hours painting our back porch. We cleaned up the fire spot from New Years Eve and planted grass seed. Planted some new plants around the new deck out back too. I am so pleased with how it has all come out. Kim and the girls came up to visit for the day on Wednesday and then we ended up getting a job for Thursday. A small apartment in Rochester. Today started off being normal with a lot of running around and cleaning to get ready for small group. I even found time to mow the entire yard. As it looks my weekend is pretty booked. In the morning we have Softball, then to the Home depot workshop for the kids, after that when I get home I NEED to work on the calendar for the bulletin board at church. Sunday we have church then my nieces dance recital at 4:30.. :)

A letter to my daughter.

Dear Kaylynn,

As you turn 7 I want you to know that I am so proud of the beautiful little Girl you have become. I have enjoyed every second of being your mom. I get told all the time that you look like me, and I have to admit you act a lot like me too. But that is ok.. I am cool!! I am so proud of how far you have come with school and reading. Never stop loving school and the desire to read.
My little tom-boy. Your desire to play sports shows a lot with how well you play and how quickly you are able to learn the sport. I pray that you will continue to play sports all through school. Never let anyone tell you are not good enough. The harder you try the better you will always be. Remember practice makes perfect.
I love to see you with Morgan. You are an amazing big sister. Morgan absolutely loves you and looks up to you so much. She waits all day for you to get home from school so she can play with her big sister. Never forget she will always be your friend.
I love you baby girl. I am looking forward to 7 more and then 7 more years of seeing you grow into to woman God has created you to be.
Love you always,
MOMMY

Dear God
I am so thankful that you have given me a beautiful, healthy, loving daughter to care for, love and watch grow into a woman. I ask that she continues to do well in school and her love for school never fades. I pray that she will live a healthy life, so she could grow to be a wife and a mom, after to graduates college of course. I also pray that she grows to have a strong relationship with you. That her faith continues to grow and will always lean on you for all understanding. She is your creation and I know that you have great plans for her..
AMEN

Memories.

The Deck is DONE! Well just about.. a few minor details but to me it is done. *SIGH* what a long three days. I spent 15 hours out there. Thank you God for some beautiful weather so I could.
We get to enjoy our new deck complete for the first time on Kaylynn's 7th birthday. I can not believe that my not so little girl is 7. When I think back to my pregnancy and remember how exciting it was to meet her, it brings a tear to my eye.. Our family had gone through a lot while I was pregnant. I found out I was expecting a month after Amber and Kody's mom had pasted away. God works in mysterious ways sometimes. It was a great distraction for the kids and myself. As I was adjusting to being a mom to them, I was also becoming a mom for the first time. I was over whelming at times. Actually very over whelming. But exciting too. It was something to look forward too. But I am the type of person that doesn't feel normal unless I have a million things going on. I was also planning my wedding. We got married when Kay was 7 weeks old.
I wouldn't change a thing now, but I wish I had waited till summer o5' That was I could of had a chance to loose some baby weight and enjoy the first few months of being a new mom instead of stressing about my wedding. But it is all said and done and I think that our wedding was amazing.
Anyway I am looking forward to all the memories that will be made on our back Deck(ER).

Good Day!

Today was a good day. We cleaned a condo for a new client. I love new clients. It is like meeting a new friend. I believe it was meant to be. At the end of the job we were waiting to get paid and on the seat of her car was a book. I recognized that book. I asked her if she was in cosmetology school. She told me that she graduated in 2001 and never got her licence and was studying to get it. I didn't think that you can still go for your licence after being out of school for so long but she said you could.. I graduated from Empire in 2004 and never got my licence. I have been wanting to and now that I know there is a possibility I am going to look into it and possibly go for my cosmetology licence!!

It was such a beautiful day. I loved the heat and sun. I ran a bunch of errands after work. Then headed home to spread some mulch under the swing set. As soon as I get home I could see the clouds rolling in. :( I could feel the rain in the air. As the clouds got thicker you could hear the thunder in the distance. As it started to rain the kids decided it would be fun to dance in the rain. I put on my Ipod and they danced to "Whoop There It Is" It was funny. I love to watch them play and just be happy. The first sight of lighting I made them come in. I can't believe my girls stayed out as long as they did. Justin made yummy chicken on the grill..

HoneyDo Cleaners

Michelle and I started our own cleaning business a few years ago. It started off by us helping each other clean each others houses. Michelle was cleaning an apartment building for a old land-lord and asked me one day if I wanted to help. From there HoneyDo Cleaners was born. We love our little company. We have a few full time clients. We take such pride in what we do. It is a good feeling to walk into someones home and leave it smelling good and looking clean. I know for myself when I get home from a long day nothing feels better than a clean house.

My friend sent me a link to a blog.. "At the Well" and it touched my heart so I thought I would share.

I think that every girl grows up dreaming of what her life would be like. As a wife, a mother, her children, (one girl and one boy) her house. It all perfect in her mind of course. But when reality hits and it is not what you always dreamed it would be, it is quite disappointing. You think to yourself I deserve more than this. This is not what I dreamed my life to be. The challenge is to dwell on the positive. How often do I do that? In this blog it talks about your husbands. To dwell on his positive traits,encourage him where he is, and determine to be the one person in his life with whom he knows his faults are safe, if he knew she was the one person who saw the best in him, those positive traits would grow and make him a man greater than even he thought he could be. This is a challenge to me..

I get caught up in my own needs, my own wants. How dare I... is this normal? I wonder if the woman in my life that I look up to ever feel this way? Don't get me wrong, I love the life God has given me. I have 4 wonderful healthy children. A husband who never puts me down with harsh words and loves me no matter what. A beautiful home and some of the most amazing friends a girl could ask for. So why do I dwell on the negative?

I think what God is trying to put on my heart is that I do not trust that he has in mind what is best for me. He had a plan for my life since the day he created the world. The rest is up to me. I need to stop dwelling on the negative and start dwelling on the positive. And the best place to start is by asking God to help me. For the next week I am going to try to be thankful to God for all the blessings in my life. Be more encouraging to my husband. YES even when I feel MY needs are not being met..

My Feet Hurt.

I may have made my husband regret saying these words to me, "I want to make our house beautiful again!" Well it has been a long few months.. The winter of 06' was the last time this house has been painted. I had always wanted to antique my kitchen cabinets. Well if I knew the amount of time and effort went into it I am not sure at the time I would have done it, but now that I step back a look at how beautiful they came out, I am so happy with them. We repainted the walls, redecorated, and I even repainted the hutch.

You can see that the walls were red before.

I really didn't want to paint this cause I knew how much work it would be. But I am sure glad that I did.

Then it was onto the bathroom. We had a leak a bit back and we had to tear down the entire ceiling and replace new sheet rock.
My friend Mollie came over and helped me mud the ceiling. That was fun..
The whole process was more stressful than the kitchen. It was awful not having my washer and dryer. All the sheet rock dust was the worst. I am glad that it is done and I am happy with the results.

Then it was onto the hallway and living room. This room was a lot easier. I painted it the same colors as the kitchen. It makes a nice flow. I bought a table off craigslist and repainted it to have that country look.
I got a wall sticker that says "because every picture has a story to tell" and hung a bunch of pictures around it. My mom gave me a corner hutch that I painted red and displays all my Willow Tree Angels. I got a free oriental rug off Free cycle that I am very proud of.
It has been a long process. But this home holds all our memories and traditions and it deserved a new look..

Learning to Lean on God..

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

This is the verse that has stuck in my head for days. I am apart of a group at my church called mops. This group has been a huge part of my growth as a Christian. We had a speaker on Wednesday. She used this verse.. And I love it when this happens, but I realized that my faith has grown. I realized that I DO lean on God and that he IS with me at all times.

There are two things that came to mind right away that helped me realize this. Both have to do with my step-daughter.. I will tell you a little history first.. I have been married to my husband 7 years this July 2011. 10 years all together. I have been helping him raise his two children now for 8 years. His (our) oldest daughter is expecting her first baby July 27th. With her only being 17 I did the typical parent thing and cried, was sad, mad, scared, and most of all disappointed. She had a bright future planned and why would she do this to herself. I continued to pray and ask God to do what was his will with this situation. After reality sunk in, I had to find the positive side of this situation. And this is where the second thing comes into play.

As we sat at Mops Wednesday apart of our discussion time a question came up "What do you want to impart onto your children?" We my daughter said "My mom (ME) has taught me to look and think of the positive side of every situation" WOW she said that about me..

After all I see what God is doing.. I see my daughter who has become this beautiful, responsible, loving woman who is going to be a great mom. Our relationship is better than it has ever been. I see me leaning on more and more on God and allowing him to do his work in my life. NOW don't think that I am no longer scared or nervous. I have had 2 babies and I know how hard it is.. I just continue to pray that she keeps leaning on God and know that he is with her at all times. I am excited to meet this little boy!