Wallace, family of 5

Back-dates

2011-11-05T11:20:00.000-05:00

I did some back-dating on our blog. Our life has been super busy (I know, that is NO EXCUSE...and I beg for forgiveness :) I have been awful at keeping up with things...but I finally added some posts because eventually I want to turn our blog into a book :)

Go HERE, HERE, and HERE!!!!

More to come...soon...eventually...someday...ok, really...more to come SOON!!!

A cheerleader, a princess, and a ladybug...

2011-10-31T09:47:00.000-05:00

walk into a bar... HaHa...sounds like a funny joke that I'm tryin to tell, but in real life, I'm terrible at telling jokes. I ALWAYS mess up the punchline...so sue me! Anyways, A cheerleader, a princess, and a ladybug is what our girls were for halloween. They were super cute!

We took them trunk or treating at a local church and then made a few stops at some "important" houses, then came home...No biggie, but they got tons of candy! Nana and papa even gave them some new books to read, and a family friend had them little goodie bags made up that included lip gloss (which a HUGE hit)!!!! When you have 3 little girls, it doesn't get much better than lip gloss, RIGHT??? Oh My...they are so girly!!!

Football Games and Life

2011-10-07T10:15:00.000-05:00

We moved back to my hometown in June. We had a hard time finding a place to live here, so we took the only house we could find at the time. We lived in that house for almost 3 months, then moved AGAIN into a bit bigger, alot nicer, house. We have lived in this new house for 1 month now. It has been a huge adjustment for us, moving to the "country." We are city people at heart, we love everything about the city. The busyness, the 'luxuries' you have, the vast diversity of people, the restaurants, the endless options you have at your fingertips...but we felt it was best if our girls grew up close to some family. We love it that grandmas and grandpas and cousins and aunts and uncles live only 5-30 minutes away. Visiting them no longer takes extensive planning, which is nice!

Abby is in Pre-K this year...they go to Pre-K ALL day, 5 days/week, which is alot!!! She loves school though. During Homecoming week, her class rode in a float and she thought it was the coolest thing ever! Our girls also went to their very first football game and loved watching the cheerleaders...go figure! They ate suckers, sang the school song, and cheered with the cheerleaders. We sat in the middle 2nd row the girls were in heaven!!! When we left, Abby said "Mom, did you see those cheerleaders? Weren't they BEAUTIFUL???" Oh, to see the world in the eyes of a 4 year old!

My papa's a Firefighter

2011-06-15T09:32:00.000-05:00

Miss Aniya and her papa :) Niya was 10 months old and thought she was HOTT stuff wearing her papa's hat!!! Papa has been a volunteer firefighter for 14 years and the girls always love wearing his hats and seeing his firetruck! Horray for cool papa's!!!

Proverbs 16:9

2011-06-11T10:40:00.002-05:00

We are moving 2 weeks from TODAY!!! It almost doesn't seem possible that it is already so close. We have hit some hurdles in the last couple weeks, and are once again looking for a place to live {boo}.

Andy Horner (an Absolutely Amazing man), co-founder of Premier Designs Jewelry, once said at Rally:
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." ~Proverbs 16:9

I keep telling myself that all the planning and preparation in the world will do no good if that's not GOD'S plan for us. It is so hard for me to not be in control, and know exactly what the next step will be...but I have to put faith in GOD and trust that he will provide exactly what we need in HIS time!

Here are our 3 little princesses this morning (one extremely tired, cranky princess.)

A "Perfect" Day!

2011-05-27T19:40:00.004-05:00

We have had a "perfect" day today...everyone was happy the WHOLE day! With 3 little girls, perfect days are very rare!!! Today we went to the zoo, took a train ride, and stopped for strawberry shakes on the way home.
*edited: as i look at this picture, i think that abby had to pee, LOL!!! oh my!
The girls LOVED the train ride!

Richard and I cherish our days off together. We only get about 4 days a month off together, and those days are so special to us!

They see me rollin'...

2011-05-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

They hatin'...

I was stopped at a stoplight behind this man. I thought it was hilarious that he was driving his scooter chair down the middle of the lane! I was talking to a friend about this man, and apparently he drives that thing ALL over town! It must have an amazing battery!!!

out of a funk

2011-05-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

We have been super busy the last several months. We moved in September, and have been working different shifts to avoid the cost of daycare. (and we will be moving AGAIN in 6 weeks.) I have not had time for (or not chose to spend my time) blogging. I intend to change that!!! I love recording our memories on our blog and sharing them with family and friends! I will not promise abundant blog posts in the near future...but I WILL do better than I have in the previous months!

Enjoy the pictures that have NO relevancy to this post, LOL!

My nanny on her 80th birthday in March with Aniya. This woman is so special to me, I love her so much!!! This trip to Oklahoma was hard for me...it made my heart heavy, and made me miss family. I cried for a whole hour after we left town. It was so hard for me to see all of my family, and see the girls playing with all their cousins, and then take them away from that back to a town where we have no family. On the way home, Richard said, "It's time." And that was it, we decided it was time to move closer to family!

Our other 2 pretty girls! They are getting so big, its unbelievable!!!

We have found a place to live down there, and will be moving the end of June. My job will transfer, and Richard will spend a year finishing school. He is going back to school to do something he has always LOVED...auto mechanics. I'm so happy he is going to be doing something he loves!!!

My loves

2011-02-14T11:20:00.004-06:00

The 4 loves of my life!!! My wonderful husband of almost 6 years whom is always there for me, always believes in me, and always tells me how beautiful I am. I love him so much!

Our 2 oldest daughters; Abby and Alivia. These two little girls are best friends, they do EVERYTHING together! They bring us lots of joy and laughter. They are getting so big, and their personalities show in everything they do!

Our baby, our very LAST baby; Aniya! We are so blessed and lucky to have her here with us! She's the baby that God planned for our family! She is such a happy baby, and we love seeing her smiling face everyday!

We look forward to all the life adventures of having 3 little girls.

*And, Miss Niya just learned to crawl yesterday!!!

I love these 4 people more than anything!

Just Us!

2010-10-31T12:43:00.003-05:00

We have been super busy these days. We moved to a different city, and are loving it here! We definitely like living in a bigger city rather than the small town life! We NEED things to do...and we are loving all the options we have here!!!
Blogging has NOT been at the top of my to-do list lately....but here is a photo of me and my honey! We were on our way to the zoo with the girls!

I have lots of things I want to blog about, so maybe I'll blog again soon....maybe......

Aniya's birth announcement

2010-09-22T15:00:00.001-05:00

The name Aniya is of Hebrew origin and means God Answered. We are so very thankful that God Answered our prayers, and the prayers of our friends and family...

Our precious baby girl is getting big! We are so glad she is here with us, Safe and Sound!!!!!

Preschool

2010-09-11T22:05:00.001-05:00

Abby had her 1st day of preschool this week. I can't believe our little girl is already going to school! Time flies SO fast once you have kids... our oldest is 3 and our youngest is almost 7 weeks, unbelievable!
Abby had so many things to talk about after her 1st day at preschool...singing, reading, playing on the "ship", and making balloons with stickers on them.

Here she is before going inside.

Sissy wanted to take a picture with Abby.

When we got to her classroom, we gave her a kiss and told her bye. I don't even think she noticed us leaving, she was to busy playing until the rest of the kids arrived.

She was so proud on the car ride home, she couldn't wait to go back!

She has preschool on Wednesdays and Fridays. When I picked her up from preschool on Friday, I asked her "Abby, what did you do at school today?" She said, "Hmmmm............We took drinks of water, not juice-water..........." Too funny!!!! Out of everything they did, the highlight of the morning was drinking water!

Introducing....Aniya Rose Wallace!

2010-09-02T11:23:00.003-05:00

Aniya Rose Wallace was born Aug. 4, 2010 at 7:35 a.m.

Here are the VERY proud big sisters meeting her for the 1st time!!!!!!!!

Neither one of them knew what to think the 1st time they heard her cry.

On our way home...she decided she was hungry!

3 weeks. old.

We are so thankful that she is finally here. There were LOTS of people praying for her safe arrival, and prayers were answered!

We had lots of complications throughout most of her pregnancy. When I went in for my 32 week appointment with the specialist, we got AMAZING news!!!! The doctor told us after our sonogram- that our baby was healthy, I was healthy and the previous complications had fully resolved! Richard and I decided that she {our baby} needed an EXTRA special name because she was such a blessing and we were so thankful that God healed us! We searched and searched for a fitting name, and came upon the name Aniya... Aniya means "God answered." We found this name to be perfect because so many people had been praying for us for months, and God answered everyone's prayers!

Our family is finally complete! 3 little girls occupy our house, and it is going to be lots of fun over the next MANY years!

Abby turns 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-07-24T20:25:00.000-05:00

I can't believe our little girl is 3 today! It has gone by so fast!!! We didn't have her a big party this year...we have so many things going on in preparing for the baby to arrive in a little over a week. We had a good day though, LOOK! She got a big girl bike!!!

I made Meg's 6 layer rainbow cake (with homemade frosting)! I am not a creative person...I'm not even sure I enjoy trying to be creative and I am NO Betty Crocker, so I was kinda nervous about making it...but it turned out great!!!!!!!!!!!! So...if you are wanting to make this cake, GO FOR IT!!! If I can make it...so can you!

Here is a piece of the cake...isn't it lovely? When I cut it and gave Abby the first piece, she said..."Oh My Goodness, see the cake!!!!" She loved all the colors!

Our other little girl, waiting patiently for her piece of cake.

I think this has become our new "favorite" cake...it is just SOOOO fun. When you cut into it, it is such a surprise to find all the colors!

Abby acts like such a big girl...most of the time. She has such a kind heart and loves her little sister SO much! They are perfect sisters, and don't usually fight. They share, play together, and give each other lots of hugs and kisses! I love seeing them play together, and I love hearing Abby say "Sissy, you wanna watch a movie?" or "Sissy, you want some juice?" They always look out for each other, and that is an amazing thing to see.

Abby, you are our Sunshine and we Love you with all our heart! We are so blessed to have you in our lives!

Baby Aniya's room

2010-07-09T13:42:00.000-05:00

We finished the baby's room last week, and I think it's pretty darn cute! It is still pretty empty in there, though...we still need to get her a dresser, but I like her room A LOT!!!!!

Here is another project I just finished for the girls' room. Their room is pink and brown...1 brown wall and 3 pink walls. I got a large canvas and painted it the same pink as the other 3 walls, then I had ordered their names with the princess wand from Simply Said (vinyl lettering). I think it turned out very nice...I also LOVE the girl's room! Everything in their is pink and brown...even their toy box's are pink!

Father's day

2010-07-08T18:34:00.002-05:00

I know I'm really late...but here was the girls' Father's day gift to Richard. I seen the idea on Jill's blog and LOVED it!!!!! Thanks Jill for the great idea! The hard part was getting our dramatic 1 year old to cooperate for the pictures! She always wants to do what SHE wants, when SHE wants to do it...and on this day, she did NOT want to take pictures! You can see in the middle picture, Abby was pretty much holding her hostage for me!

Mmmm....

2010-06-17T21:20:00.002-05:00

Aren't these 2 of the cutest girls you've ever seen?!?!

Typical evening at the Wallace's...watching a girly movie like; Princess & the Frog or Thumbelina, and drinking a slushy (from happy hour, of course)!

Lunch Date and a Flashback

2010-06-07T19:42:00.003-05:00

It was pouring rain today, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE rainy days. Richard and I had a lunch date at home. A $5 pepperoni pizza from Little Caesar's, Red Cream Soda, chocolate candy bars, and a FREE Redbox movie! Doesn't get much better... oh ya, AND we had 2 sleeping girls...

1/2 way through lunch, I told Richard this was a good afternoon date. His response: "Oh, this was supposed to be a date? Why didn't you tell me, I didn't know?!?!?" ...Men.

And just because I LOVE this picture, here is a flashback photo of us a little over 7 years ago. It was my 1st trip to Memphis to meet Richard's family. We went to Graceland while there, and had a great trip! We look so young here (well, I guess we were young)!!!

Swimsuits and Sprinklers

2010-06-04T09:10:00.000-05:00

Swimsuits and sprinklers is a fun and cheap way to have fun on hot days. We have spent LOTS of days playing in the sprinkler over the last week. Here are the girls in their brand new swimsuits from Nana & Papa! They look so stinkin cute!!!!!

We bought a couple really cool sprinklers at the end of summer last year on clearance. This one is not quite as fun as the other "crazy daisy" sprinkler. But, it gets the job done!

We have an amazing backyard. We have worked so hard on it over the last 4 years, and our hard work is definitely showing this summer! I have pictures of our backyard when we bought our house 4 years ago, it was disaster (no kidding!) But, I have plans to blog more about that topic later.

Such a Girl!

2010-05-04T20:36:00.002-05:00

There is NO denying that Abby is ALL GIRL! We have 2 very girly girls, and Abby loves to talk on the phone! Here she is talking to her nana on the phone one evening. When I look at this picture, I can already see what is to come once she's a teenager!

Update!

2010-04-25T20:10:00.001-05:00

We are doing good...We had another appointment with the specialist about 1 1/2 weeks ago, and it was great! Everything has put itself into the proper places. The placenta has moved out of the way and the baby is doing great! I also got released to go back to work, which is kind of bittersweet. I DO NOT at all want to go back to work, I LOVE being home with the girls everyday...but I know that I NEED to go back to work until the baby arrives to help my family financially. I went in Thursday and talked to the people at work about me coming back. They are very hesitant, and didn't seem very excited at the thought. They told me they would only want me to work 2 days/week and just see how that went...Then they told me they needed to have a "meeting" about it! So, I go back in the morning to see what they decided about me in their "meeting." At least we still have Premier, that is one thing that we are so thankful to have in our life. It has been such a blessing to us over the last 2 years!

I will try to take a new "belly picture" this week. I am now 25 weeks, and growing like crazy! Only 15ish weeks left till we get to meet our new baby girl! Then, chaos will take on a whole new meaning with 3 girls under 3!!!! Oh my, pray for our sanity over the next couple years (just kidding, ........ok, maybe I'm not!)
Here are our beautiful little girls, we went and had their pictures taken a couple weeks ago.

Easter

2010-04-04T16:35:00.003-05:00

There are very few occasions where we allow candy for breakfast, Easter is one of those occasions! Don't they look stylish in their glasses? Abby always insists on wearing her glasses/sunglasses upside down...silly girl!

Her hair is so wild in the mornings...

Hunting Easter eggs after the church service.

Me and my handsome hubby after church.

Oh happy Spring!

2010-04-03T13:00:00.002-05:00

I think Spring is FINALLY here to stay!!!! We have been spending almost everyday outside. Almost ALL day, everyday...which means housework is being terribly neglected...Oh Well :) I am lovin getting to spend so much time with the girls. Richard is working evenings, so he spends all morning outside too. Although, he is outside doing spring cleaning. We were so, so, so, busy and overwhelmed last year that we slacked off on outdoor cleaning and yard work. So he is trying to get us caught up this spring!

Look at my "baby"... how is it that kids always want to go the wrong way on slides?

Our fearless protector...Manny...

Going to the Zoo

2010-04-02T20:06:00.004-05:00

We went to the zoo this week. It was an amazing day, a lot windy, but it felt great! This is only the 2nd time Abby has been to the zoo, and the 1st time for Alivia. To say that Abby was excited, would be an understatement! She loved everything about the zoo, especially the elephants and snakes! When going through the reptile and amphibian building, she kept saying, "Oh my goodness, a snake. Oh my goodness, another snake. Oh my goodness, see the frogs!!!" She uses the phrase "oh my goodness" quite often...it is so funny to hear a 2 year-old say that. We went on a Thursday hoping it wouldn't be to busy. We were happy to see that there was hardly anyone there. Yay for everyone being in school and at work :)

We tried several times to get Alivia to get out of the stroller and look at things, but she wanted NO parts of it!!! She was perfectly happy sitting in her seat looking at the animals. Actually, when we tried to get her out and hold her, she started crying and reaching for the stroller again. Whatever...

We have a great double stroller and Abby rode alot too. But when she didn't want to ride, and was tired from walking, this is where she ended up...

The tiger just laid there and stared at her like she was funny looking or something! Well, I guess to him, she probably is funny looking... :)

We had a great day!!! And when we got home, the girls took a 4 hour nap!

Our Day...

2010-03-16T16:01:00.002-05:00

We started out our day with appt. with our OB doctor. Just our regular check-up. I am going to him every 2 weeks so he can keep up on our progress in this pregnancy. We heard the heartbeat going strong at 150! We are nervously awaiting our appt. with the specialist on Friday morning.

Here is ME at 19 weeks, man my belly is big!

Here is Abby helping her daddy fix the porch today...she is getting to be such a big helper!

Alivia started out happily watching them from the front door...

...then her happiness turned into THIS!!!! She was getting tired of not being able to help! It's tough to be so little!

Our little girl is walking!!!

2010-03-14T23:00:00.000-05:00

Alivia started walking on Friday, she looks so stinkin cute toddling around the house!!!

10 Things I LOVE!!!

2010-03-07T19:15:00.001-06:00

The warm weather is making me HAPPY! I don't even care if it's gloomy outside, as long as it's warm! I LOVE springtime, it's my favorite season! I thought I would make a list of some of the things I LOVE!

1.) First of all, I LOVE these 2 little girls! They are so sweet and they are growing up so fast. This picture was before church this morning, we were getting ready to leave and Abby said "Mommy, take a picture, take a picture!" (I think she gets that from my mom, my mom is addicted to taking pictures. And Abby LOVES to have her picture taken :)

Aren't they beautiful!!!!!

2.) I LOVE my hard working husband! He works so hard for us, and we all appreciate him SO much!

3.) I LOVE going to church and feeling like the sermon is speaking to me! I often leave church feeling like the pastor was addressing whatever has been troubling me.

4.) I LOVE hearing the birds outside. I have the back window open right now and can hear the birds singing.

5.) I LOVE coffee....Lots of creamer, 2 sugars... Enough said...

6.) I LOVE the way a clean house smells! Nothing is better than being in a clean house.

7.) I LOVE thunderstorms! We are supposed to be getting some in the next day or two, and I can't wait!

8.) I LOVE happy hour at Sonic! A LARGE Vanilla Dr. Pepper for $.90, it doesn't get better than that!

9.) I LOVE summertime hot dogs! Ya know, cooked on the grill...kinda crispy black on the outside...MMMmmmm....No kidding, I could eat like 6 at a time!!! The absolute BEST summer food EVER!!!!!!

10.) I LOVE my kids, but also LOVE the peace and quiet of night-time. When the girls have gone to bed and there are no noise-making toys in the background, no one yelling "Mommy" for the 1,354,869,209,832 time that day, and there is nothing to do but relax...awww...peace and quiet!

Update on our life...

2010-03-03T15:10:00.001-06:00

It has taken me a long time to get the courage to write this on our blog. We are not very open about our life. I mean, we have nothing to hide, but it's just not our style to broadcast our business for the world to hear, not to mention 'read' about on a blog. But, here it goes...we have decided to put updates about our life and this pregnancy on our blog so that our friends don't have to "wonder" how we are doing.

This is LONG! It is about the past 6 weeks of this pregnancy. I have to also put it out there, that we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, our OB doctor! Personally, I think he is the absolute best there is!

Ok, here it goes...
I am now 17 weeks pregnant, it has been a LONG 17 weeks and we know it will not start to move faster anytime soon. I think we are OK with the waiting for this pregnancy to be over, though. It has been a really bumpy road so far and it's not going to get any easier. This pregnancy was a big surprise to us, not a surprise to God, but a surprise to us. We were nervous about having 3 children under 3, and still are nervous about this. I guess God knows what he's doing though.

Things started out normal with tiredness, nausea, and 4 positive pregnancy tests! I started having some spotting at about 11 weeks, which made us nervous. I called the doctor and they said that it could be perfectly normal, just let them know if it got worse. Over the next couple weeks, the spotting just kept happening. I went in for an appt. and they checked the baby's heartbeat and everything was ok. They set me up for a sonogram at the hospital just to make sure nothing else was wrong. At the sonogram, they concluded that I have total placenta previa. My placenta, which is supposed to be attached to the top your uterus, is sitting completely on top of my cervix and it's putting some pressure on the cervix (not good). Doctor gave me restrictions for work and told me as long as I was careful, everything should be fine. They made sure to tell me to carefully follow my restrictions because if I didn't, and something happened, I could bleed to death before I got help. That REALLY freaked me out!!! I went to work the next day, followed my restrictions, and was very careful to not do anything I shouldn't. It was right before lunch, I stood up from a chair, and my pants were immediately soaked with blood down past my knees. We called the doctor and he was waiting at the maternal/child unit for us. I ended up being in the hospital for 4 days, not fun at all! He took me off work for the remainder of the pregnancy and told me to take it easy at home (not an easy thing to do with a 1 year old and a 2 year old). I am following orders best I can, though.

It is hard for my mind to process the fact that I need to be on restrictions, I don't feel sick and I don't feel like anything is wrong with me. Well, I went to the doctor yesterday and kind of got "slapped" back to reality! He didn't tell me anything new, but just reaffirmed that I'm not "ok". I took my printed calendar with me to show him the days in February that I had spotting or bleeding. There were 11 days, 11 out of 28 days! That is alot, and it didn't make him happy, he is very concerned for us. So, he put things into perspective for us (or more for me!) Our doctor is SO good about putting things into perspective and being extremely blunt and he's really good at bursting bubbles! But, that's why we like him so much, he doesn't sugar coat anything. He tells you the ugly truth, no matter how bad you don't want to hear it.

Here is what we were told yesterday:

We are officially a "high risk pregnancy." I should have known this was coming, but hearing him say it made it more real.
We have an appt. on March 19th with the high risk pregnancy specialist in Wichita. Our doc said he wants us to become comfortable with her and he wants her to become familiar with us. She is going to do an extensive sonogram to check for other problems.
We have small goals set with the doc in this pregnancy. The final goal is for me to reach 34 weeks. If I reach 34 weeks, they will take the baby by c-section at that time.
The doc also said the reason he wants us to become comfortable with the specialist is because he doesn't think I will reach 34 weeks, therefore the specialist would be the one there for the deliverly.
He also said that if I keep spotting or bleeding, no matter how minimal, by the time I'm into the later 20's weeks, I WILL be in Wichita in the hospital until they take the baby :(
And, I need to continue to be extra careful while at home.

So, the appt. yesterday went well. Nothing new thrown at us, just kinda brought me back to reality. We have had several people bringing us meals and helping out with other tasks that we may need, and we appreciate this SOOO much!!!! This whole situation is very stressful to our life in more ways than one. The whole pregnancy situation is stressful in itself, but then we have the stress of being forced to have only 1 income which was definately not in our plans anytime soon.

Pray for our family, this little "baby bean", and our finances in the coming months. I will make regular updates from here on, and I'm sure none of them will be even close to being THIS long!!!

cranky mama

2010-03-01T16:00:00.003-06:00

*(Wow, this post turned out way longer than planned, oh well...)*

The purpose of this post is not to call together a pity party for me, or make you feel sorry for me. It is just simply to vent some frustration and hopefully make me less cranky after putting my feelings into words...Here is our day so far...

slept in till 7:15...YEAH!!! (that's a big deal in this house).
happy children. they played alot early this morning.
cinnamon rolls for breakfast, YUM...
coffee...one of the best drinks ever...
get everyone ready for an outing to pay a couple bills.
STILL, happy children.
run errand to pay a bill.
alivia gets tired while in the car.
no more happy children, alivia starts yelling and crying.
more crying.
more crying.
alivia falls asleep, BAD NEWS!
richard carries her in the house insisting she will stay asleep.
she stays asleep. awww...thank you, Lord!
take abby potty, lay her down for nap.
get lunch started for a visitor from my hometown church.
abby gets up claiming she has to potty again.
abby eats a bite of chicken nugget, goes back to bed.
abby spits out chewed up chicken nugget on her bed.
mommy tells her that's gross, and tells her to go to sleep.
alivia starts crying in her room, 30 minutes after laying down :(
alivia crys some more.
i go get her, and she screams even more!
she keeps screaming.
i lay her back down.
she cries some more.
abby gets up to go potty AGAIN!!!
abby goes back to bed.
richard gets alivia up, she is extremely cranky. this makes mommy cranky.
our lunch guest arrives.
abby gets back up and says, "abby's awake!"
we have lunch.
richard leaves for work.
our lunch guest leaves.
abby is bossy, and is deliberately disobeying.
alivia is still cranky.
i lay alivia down again, thinking maybe she will take a nap.
she lays in her room for an hour, whining and talking and whining some more.
every time i tell abby to do something, she firmly tells me "NO." (when did this happen, i mean, when did it happen that i get tired of arguing with my 2 year old child. i'm the parent, right? richard is good at making her listen, and most of the time she obeys me without alot of trouble. today is different though. usually she obeys in fear of going to time-out, but today she doesn't even care about time-out. at the moment i have no insight into the mind of 2 year olds, other than they want to do WHAT they want, WHEN they want to do it!)

I am so thankful days like these don't happen often. I don't know if my brain could handle it, I don't like being cranky. I'm sure these darn pregnancy hormones have something to do with my mood too. Oh well, back to reality...
P.S.-since finishing this post, alivia has gotten quiet...maybe, just maybe, she has gone to sleep for awhile. When she wakes up, maybe she will be a happy 1 year old!

Makes me smile...

2010-02-23T12:00:00.001-06:00

No matter how many times I watch this video, it always makes me smile. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Assurance

2010-02-09T18:29:00.008-06:00

Never look ahead to the changes and challenges of this life in fear. Instead, when they arise look at them with full assurance that God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. Hasn't He kept you safe up to now? So hold His loving hand tightly and He will lead you safely through all things. And when you cannot stand, He will carry you in His arms.

Do not look ahead to what may happen tomorrow. The same everlasting Father who cares for you today, will take care of you tomorrow and everyday. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you His unwavering strength that you may bear it. Be at peace, then, set aside all anxious thoughts and worries.

~Francis de Sales

This passage came from a very special blog. Joel and Jess are such AMAZING people who have endured so much over the last year. If you have a chance, you should visit their blog here.

This passage has such great meaning. I think sometimes I forget that I can't control everything that happens in my life. And sometimes we go through tough situations so that we can grow into a stronger and better person. At the time, we may not realize Gods ultimate plan, but we need to be assured that He knows HIS plan.

In his heart, a man may plan his course, but the LORD will determine his steps.

~Proverbs 16:9

We have had a bumpy road the last couple weeks with our pregnancy. We go to the hospital tomorrow morning for a sonogram to check and make sure everything is alright. Please keep us and "baby bean" in your prayers. We are trying to remember that God is in control and He already knows our future.

Little friends

2010-01-13T11:00:00.000-06:00

This is Abby's friend Brooke. They are such good little freinds. It is actually kinda weird how much they act alike. When they are together, they are like 2 peas in a pod. Brooke came over a couple weeks ago to play for a little while. They had a blast playing with Manny on the bed. And he was LOVING the attention!

I hope these 2 can remain friends for a long time. They are so cute together!

Our Christmas...a little late

2010-01-12T19:18:00.003-06:00

We were very thankfully off on Christmas day this year. With our jobs, we have to every other holiday, all year round. Well, Christmas this year, fell on our holiday off. Here are the girls meeting Santa. Neither one of them wanted anything to do with him. Abby didn't even want him to talk to her. So, this is the best picture we got of the girls with Santa. After we got home though, Abby talked about santa ALL night!!! She wanted to know all about him! Aren't kids funny like that?

When we got home from seeing santa, we baked cookies to leave out for him on Christmas eve. Abby was so proud of her cookies.

Alivia's first Chrismas.

I thought this picture was so sweet. We were getting ready for church and Abby was kissing Alivia. Alivia wanted nothing to do with her and kept trying to get away. Alivia is not in to all that mushy stuff!

Crazy times

2009-11-17T21:00:00.000-06:00

Our lives have been SO, SO, SO busy this fall (which is why I am failing miserably at blogging)!!! Richard and I are both in school right now, we are both still working full-time, I am still doing jewelry shows regularly, AND we are having fun with our 2 beautiful little girls! We have almost no down-time it seems. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed at everything going on in our lives, but then we realize that it won't be this hectic forever! On top of it all, Abby is now fully potty trained (except at nighttime)!!!!!! YAY!!! It was SO easy, she decided one evening that she wanted to go "pee-pee" and that was it! No more daytime diapers!

At times we may feel like we are going crazy, or like we are trying to do to much. But this is our life, and it will all be worth it! Everything we do is for these 2 beautiful little girls.

Our girls

2009-09-13T11:51:00.002-05:00

Here are some close-ups of our beautiful girls! They are getting so big!!!

City of Windmills

2009-08-11T19:43:00.004-05:00

Also, while the girls were away at my parents house, we went to Dodge City to visit some good friends of ours that we went to college with. On the way home, we did a little bit of sight seeing. We stopped at the Wind Farm in Spearville. It is so interesting to read about this wind farm and the energy it produces.

Fun Fact: Each structure weighs 120 tons, but a breeze of just 8 mph is needed to turn the blades!

Dyck Arboretum

2009-08-11T19:11:00.003-05:00

For a week in July, the girls went to my parents house. Yes, for A WHOLE WEEK!!! Richard's birthday fell in the middle of that week, so we went on a picnic date. We went to Hesston to Dyck Arboretum. It is so beautiful there! We ate fried chicken and strawberries. It was a wonderful evening for a picnic.

And THIS is what Richard got for his birthday!

Growing up

2009-07-01T19:09:00.002-05:00

Abby often puts on my shoes and tries to walk around the house. She is growing up so fast, someday she may be borrowing my shoes for real!

About Alivia

2009-06-30T19:30:00.000-05:00

Alivia had her 4 month checkup yesterday. Here are her statistics:

weight: 11# 15 oz. =14 percentile
length: 24 in. =38 percentile

She also got shots yesterday, which were not fun :( But we did get the OK to go ahead and start baby cereal!! Yay! Here is her first "meal" tonight at supper. She did surprisingly well, a lot better than Abby did the first time we gave her cereal!

Mmmm....

She LOVES her feet!!!

This video was taken on my phone, so it is not the best quailty.

Muddy Mess

2009-06-30T18:55:00.000-05:00

Look at this lovely hole on the west side of our house! On Saturday, Richard and I noticed a wet area in our yard. Richard got the shovel and dug a little bit, but we weren't really to worried about it...until we went out to go to church Sunday morning, and the small hole he dug was filled with water! We decided we must have a busted underground water pipe, so after church we got to digging to see if we could find it. We dug about a 4 foot deep hole and still never found the pipe. We have a friend that works for a plumbing company, and he came over and showed Richard how to turn off and on our water at the meter, so we could only turn it on when absolutely necessary. (We are VERY nervous about what our water bill is going to be next month because we don't really know how long this pipe had been busted.) So, yesterday I called around to plumbers and had them come look at our mess and give us an estimate on fixing it. They came today, fixed our problem, and we now have water again! (and a hole in our pockets $$$!)

This hole is 4 feet deep, and completely filled up with water in less than 1 hour!

Creation

2009-06-28T15:52:00.001-05:00

I love flowers. Here are the flowers blooming in front of our house right now!

Our Sunshine

2009-05-25T11:31:00.002-05:00

Both of the girls were so happy this morning, and looked so pretty in their dresses, I just had to take a picture of them! They are becoming quite fond of each other. Alivia watches Abby's every move and I know she can't wait to run around with her big sissy. And Abby is always so concerned about Alivia. If we are all getting out of the car, Abby repeatedly says "sissy, sissy, see sissy", she wants to make sure that we don't forget to get "sissy" out too!
These 2 little girls are our sunshine. We love them so very much!!! Adjusting to having 2 children was WAY harder than we ever imagined, but we are finally getting the hang of things.

For the last 11 weeks, Richard and I have worked separate shifts which has also made things hard on our family. We were working separate shifts to avoid the cost of daycare, (man is it expensive)!! But, starting June 1, we are going to start working the same hours and our girls will be going to daycare while we are at work. The way things are right now, with us working separate shifts, we only see each other 4 days a month and that is just not enough! We decided that having a good marriage, and having good family time on a daily basis was worth the cost of daycare. Please pray for us and our girls as this adjustment starts happening. I am so worried about sending them daycare, even though we feel good about the person we are entrusting them with. So, in the future, I am on a mission to work my Premier jewelry business to help with the cost of daycare. So if you decide you would like FREE JEWELRY, I can definitely help you out with that!
I hope you have a great Memorial Day!

Nana

2009-05-24T20:41:00.003-05:00

My mom came last weekend to see all of us. Well, she says it's to see all of us-but I think it's just to see the girls ;) She was very unaware that I was taking this picture, note that she is on the phone! We tried to get a good picture of her with the girls, but Abby was very uncooperative, so this is as good as it got!

Mommy & Alivia

2009-05-10T21:57:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture of me and Alivia taken at work this afternoon. She is getting so big!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T15:25:00.001-05:00

This is my 2nd Mother's Day, but it is my 1st Mother's Day to Alivia. I feel so blessed that God has given us these two beautiful little girls.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE!!!

Pretty

2009-05-03T13:31:00.003-05:00

This shelf and picture is what occupies one wall of our dining room.

I absolutely love this picture of me and my mom. It was taken on our wedding day!
And, I love getting flowers!! (who doesn't)??? When Richard got home from work last night, he had this pretty, pink, long stem rose in hand!

Baths, Soap, & Throw up!

2009-04-30T21:05:00.003-05:00

Abby is at the age now where she tries to eat a wide spectrum of items. These items include, but are not limited to: crayons, dirt (also potting soil), grass, paper, and baby wipes (clean ones)!

Well, tonight we have a new item to add to the list! SOAP!!!! I gave the girls a bath at the same time tonight. It went VERY well, I think I will do it from now on! Abby was still playing in the water, I was dressing Alivia in the bathroom, not really paying alot of attention to Abby. When I looked over at her, she had taken a bite out of a bar of soap (and swallowed it). YUCK!!!! She had her tongue stuck out trying to scrap the taste off. I rinsed out her mouth and was getting ready to take her out of the water and then she threw up everywhere! Then, she threw up again!! ~Just taking a wild guess here, but I bet she won't EVER eat soap again! After we got out of the bath, she kept running through the house scraping her tongue, yelling YUCK, YUCK!!! Oh my, the things kids do!

Richard's truck

2009-04-29T19:52:00.003-05:00

We are selling Richard's truck! He got a new(er) one, so now we need to get rid of his 1985 Chevrolet Silverado. It runs good. Up until this past Saturday (when he got his new truck) he had been driving it everyday.
PLEASE help us find it a new home!!! Contact us, or leave us a comment for more info.

Easter

2009-04-19T15:00:00.001-05:00

Richard and I have to work every other weekend, and we had to work last weekend- which was Easter. I didn't really think it would be a big deal to work on Easter because we had already planned to have our Easter the following weekend (this weekend). But, Easter Sunday came and I was kind of sad because I wasn't home getting the girls ready for church in their Easter dresses and giving them their baskets from the 'Easter Bunny'. It all turned out ok though, and today we celebrated Easter!
Here are the girls' baskets! Well, instead of putting Abby's stuff in a normal basket, we got her a Dora purse and filled it with stuff!

Here are the girls right after church in their matching dresses that their grammi and pops bought for them! They were so adorable this morning!
Abby was laying beside Alivia giving her kisses.

Alivia waiting patiently in her swing before church. She's holding her bunny blanket she got in her Easter basket! Doesn't she look pretty?

Pops

2009-04-19T14:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend, my dad and step-mom came down for a couple days. It was so nice to get to see them. Abby clung on to her pops from the minute she seen him until they left the next day! She loves him so much!!!

After bathtime!

2009-04-19T14:16:00.003-05:00

Alivia is 7 weeks old now! Wow how time has flown by. Here are the girls after bathtime.

Abby sure loves her sissy!

"I suppose that's the way God made it..."

2009-04-07T21:10:00.001-05:00

Richard and I first started attending a small group at our church when we were pregnant with Abby. I remember a discussion one evening soon after we started attending where our friend Adam Utecht was giving his insight on the feelings you have about your child going through different stages as they grow up. He said, "When Hannah was a little baby, I thought that it was the best stage-I loved it! I didn't want her to grow up. But as she got bigger and learned new things, I thought, No-this is the best, this is my favorite stage." He was making a point that with each new stage their daughter entered, it soon became his favorite.
Well, Richard and I were not parents yet and didn't really understand exactly what he meant. Since we now have 2 children, I have often reflected on that discussion and thought how completely true his words are. I remember when Abby was a small baby, I thought that I never wanted her to get bigger or grow up. But, with each new thing she learned, and each new stage she entered, I found myself feeling proud of her and soon realized that I loved it when she was a baby, but I also loved watching her grow. I have felt exactly what Adam was describing, each stage Abby enters, soon becomes my favorite! Alivia is still very small, but I find myself already having these same feelings towards her.
Richard and I work different shifts, but there is about 1 hour in the afternoon where our shifts overlap. Joy Will (Jennalee Ekeland's mom) is kind enough to watch the girls for that 1 hour each day. Joy is an amazing woman and we are very grateful for her willingness to watch them. Abby just loves seeing her and Joy is great with Alivia! Today when I picked up the girls, Joy said, "Don't you just love it when their this small" (referring to Alivia). I told her I did love it, but then told her about my feelings towards the different stages and how in the moment, each stage is my favorite. Her response was, "I suppose that's the way God made it." This response justifies everything you feel as a parent. With each stage or season of life, God makes you proud and thankful for what you have. I am so very thankful each day that God has given us 2 beautiful little girls to raise and love. They are such a blessing, and we will continue to enjoy each of the stages they go through in life!

Crazy Life!

2009-04-05T21:05:00.002-05:00

Here is our beautiful baby! She is getting so big, I can't believe she is 5 weeks old already!

Our life has been very busy lately. It is so much different having 2 children. We are adjusting pretty good, though. Alivia is sleeping pretty good most nights. She sleeps 3-4 hours at a time during the night, which is a big accomplishment from her 1-2 hours at a time when we first came home from the hospital!

Also, I went back to work full-time 3 weeks ago. I started working back at Schowalter Villa in Hesston (where I worked before I had Abby). Richard went back to work there also. We are working different shifts so that we don't have to take the girls to daycare. I work days and Richard works evenings. Richard is such a good husband. Since I work day shift and have to be to work at 6am, he ALWAYS gets up at night with Alivia! I have been so lucky to get to sleep through the night, and he doesn't even complain about it-he just does it! I love him so much and am so thankful for him!!

Our 2 girls!

2009-03-13T21:07:00.003-05:00

Here are our 2 girls! Aren't they beautiful?!?!? Abby is such a proud big sister. We are truly blessed.

Alivia Jane Wallace!

2009-03-01T20:14:00.002-06:00

Our 1st picture with the 3 of us. -Abby was in the room when we took this picture, but she wanted NOTHING to do with her baby sister.

Alivia's 1st bath. She was so content, she didn't even cry.

-Getting ready to go home!

She's Here!!!

2009-02-27T20:42:00.002-06:00

Alivia Jane Wallace arrived today at 3:15 p.m. She weighed 6lb. 10oz. and was 18 1/2in. long. She is perfect! We will post pictures later.

Twas the night before...

2009-02-26T22:00:00.002-06:00

the baby came, and THIS is what I look like!!! Man, am I huge or what?!?!?
So, tomorrow is the BIG day...we are soon going to be a family of 4!

4 days and counting...

2009-02-23T14:16:00.002-06:00

4 days!!! That's how long we have left until we get to meet our new little girl! We can't wait! Friday, Feb. 27 (this is also Richard's mom's birthday).

I can't believe we are going to be the parents to 2 little girls! Girls are SO much fun!!

Cheesy snacks!

2009-02-23T14:08:00.002-06:00

We have had some really nice days lately. Abby and I have played outside alot. One day we took a break from playing and sat on the porch and ate some cheese popcorn! Yum... She was so cheesy afterwards. Her fingers, mouth, and white shirt were all orange! Oh well, that's what's great about being a kid!!! You can get food all over your face, and people think it's cute!

Pop goes the...

2009-02-13T14:51:00.001-06:00

...belly button??? Well, I only have a couple weeks left of being pregnant! I am very ready to be done! I have to say, being pregnant is definitely not one of my favorite things. I think that with this pregnancy, my stomach is bigger and is more ball shaped out in front. You're probably wondering why I feel the need to tell people about this...Well, I haven't blogged in awhile and the only thing I could come up with to blog about is my current belly button situation.
To start off with, my belly button has 'popped' over the last couple weeks! I know this is not uncommon with pregnant women, but when I was pregnant with Abby, my belly button never 'popped'-it just became smooth across my stomach. So it was to my surprise that I now have an outie with this pregnancy. On another belly button note... As many of you know, I was adventurous (to say the least) in college. I was always up to try something new! My adventures led to my belly button getting pierced not once, not twice, but three different times!!!! The first 2 times were by me and my friends. We pierced it once and it got really infected so I took out the belly ring and let it heal. Then, we pierced it again 6 months later. We didn't do a good job that time either, so a few months after that, I went and had it professionally done. But because I had already messed it up two previous times, it was never quite right. From that point on, I had a messed up belly button. Let me tell you, right now my belly button is not a pretty sight! I just noticed today, that because my belly is continuing to grow, the skin where my belly button is pierced is starting to tear. I don't know if all pregnant, previously pierced, belly buttons look anything like mine, but it is pretty gross looking. So the moral of this blog is... DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PIERCE YOUR OWN BELLY BUTTON! The end results are not good!
*Pictures available upon request* Ha ha, just kidding!!!

Remembering Cora

2009-02-11T13:04:00.003-06:00

Cora went to be with Jesus early Sunday morning. It is so hard to understand why these things happen to innocent children. Someone wrote on their blog page, "We prayed for the cancer to be gone. And now it is. She is now perfect. Being held by our GREAT AND WONDERFUL GOD." That is so true. So, even though we can't understand God's plan, we know Cora is being held in his arms.

A memorial has been established to construct The Cora Playground, an extension of the children's ministry department at Grace Community Church. All proceeds from purchasing these cute pins, go to help build The Cora Playground. If you would like one, you can go to: http://www.joyshope.com/2009/02/for-cora.html

Please Pray for Cora

2009-01-26T12:59:00.008-06:00

Meet Cora Paige McClenahan...

This is Joel, Jess, and Cora McClenahan...

Many of you reading this already know, but I'm sure many of you don't. We have some friends, Joel & Jess McClenahan, thier 10 month little girl, Cora, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma cancer on Friday. She had surgery Friday to remove a tumor next to her kidney, they also found spots on her liver. She will start chemo this week. I know so many people are praying for Cora and her family, this is all so hard to understand. My heart aches for them, I cannot even begin to comprehend the pain they are feeling.

PLEASE pray for Cora, pray that her body responds well to the chemo treatments, and pray for her family in this difficult time.

You can read about their journey and keep up on the latest updates by clicking http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/ or http://breezyacresfarm.blogspot.com/

Updates!!!

2009-01-25T18:15:00.001-06:00

Well, it has been awhile since I blogged about anything. We've had alot going on in our life lately. We recently made a very large decision. In the near future, we are going to be moving. We're moving to the Liberal, KS/Turpin, Ok area, the area I grew up in. Richard is currently applying at several companies in that area and we will move as soon as he gets a job. Our house officially goes up for sale tomorrow, Monday, January 26. The decision to make this move has not been an easy one. We have discussed and prayed about this for quite some time now. One major factor we took into account was family, or maybe I should say, the lack of family around here. Most of Richard's family lives in Memphis, TN and most of my family lives in OK. Richard and I both ended up in Newton to attend Bethel College, and afterwards, we just stayed. We didn't really have any reason to stay, we just did. We got married, and eventually bought our house here. Not having family close by was something we always missed, but never really thought of it as being a problem. ~Until we had kids. It is SO hard to have kids and to never have anyone around to help. (Those of you who have family close by to help with your kids when you need something, you are so lucky!) If Richard gets a job before our house sells, we will go ahead and move and just stay with my parents for a little while. We are excited about all of this, but also nervous/scared/and a little sad. So, that is what is going on in our life right now! We need lots of prayers as we pack up our house and start this new chapter in our lives. We have LOTS of things to do over the next few weeks, including having a baby! By the way, I am now about 35 along, it has gone by SO fast!!!

Christmas!

2008-12-30T13:25:00.002-06:00

Christmas morning! Abby is checking out her new cell phone, she loves to talk to people on our phones-so now she has her own! She walked around all day with it to her ear "talking" to everyone she could think of!

Drinking "hot" (her word for anything in a mug), out of the new cup her great-granny gave her!

I didn't take alot of pictures on Christmas day, but we had a very good dinner and spent lots of quality time together!

Santa Clause, Tears, and Donuts!

2008-12-24T12:20:00.002-06:00

Abby and I went to Druber's Donut shop this morning to see Santa and eat some yummy donuts! Needless to say, Abby was not excited about sitting on Santa's lap.

But eating donut holes makes everything better! YUMMM...!!!

30 week milestone!

2008-12-22T12:56:00.003-06:00

*Note: I started this post a couple days ago, but due to the yucky flu in our house, I am just now getting it finished. I am glad to say that the flu bug only lasted about 24 hours, and only Richard and I were sick. I am praying that Abby doesn't come down with it later.*

I can't hardly believe it's already here, this week I'm officially 30-weeks along in my pregnancy! Yay! The countdown is on!

I had a dream a couple nights ago, well, I ALWAYS have dreams when I sleep, and I can almost always remember them. Some of my dreams are very vivid, and the dream I had a couple nights ago was no exception. I dreampt that I was at the end of my pregnancy and I went to the hospital to have the baby. (Just in case we haven't told you, it's a girl, and her name will be Alivia Jane Wallace.) Well, in my dream everything went very smooth, and I held Alivia in my arms. She was so perfect and beautiful!

When I reached this point in my pregnancy with Abby, I remember that I couldn't wait for the BIG day to come when I would meet her! I was so excited about everything, about being a new mom, about getting the room ready, and mostly about meeting this little person that was going to bless our lives. Well, at this point in this pregnancy, I am definately not feeling the need to rush things along. Don't get me wrong, I am SO excited to meet our new little girl, but I am also very nervous about having a 19 month and a newborn!
We are very thankful to have a healthy toddler running around, and a healthy baby girl in my tummy. So...10 weeks left, and counting!

Snow, Snow, Everywhere!!!

2008-12-19T13:43:00.004-06:00

This is not Abby's 1st winter, but it is her 1st winter that she is old enough to "play" in the snow. We went outside for a little bit to experience the 1st snow of the season.

In this picture, she is screaching from excitement!

Trying to walk is a little harder with 5 inches of snow on the ground!

I put snow on her nose, and she started crying. After she realized it didn't hurt her, she was trying to figure out the whole thing. (Looks like she's concentrating pretty hard.)

Abby's beads

2008-12-10T14:15:00.003-06:00

Abby is always wanting to mess with my jewelry, and of course, I always tell her no-no. Well, I found these play beads in a box in the closet the other day and gave them to her. I knew she would like them, but I had no idea how much! She put them on right away, and wouldn't take them off. She wore them to Wal-Mart, Dillons, and didn't even want to take them off at nighttime. The next morning, she went and found them right away and kept them on all day again! She loves them.

She wanted to go play and I made her sit still so I could take a picture, this is the face (and tears) that I got! I still thought it was cute!

Here is her sad, pouty face... Isn't it pitiful?

So tired...

2008-12-10T14:10:00.002-06:00

I came home from doing a jewelry show one night and this is what I found. Abby and her daddy were watching a movie together and she fell asleep on the couch. This had never happened before. Richard left her there until I got home because he thought it was to cute to move her.

Trick or Treat!!

2008-12-10T13:58:00.003-06:00

Ok, so this is really late getting posted. But, here it is! Our little baby was a ladybug. We were only going to go trick or treating at a few houses, but Abby decided it would be limited to only 2 houses! After the 2nd house in our neighborhood, she decided she was tired and just laid down in the street and wouldn't walk anymore. I didn't think about it until afterwards, but I guess we could have pulled her around in her wagon. Oh, well!

Here is our little family, with one on the way...

And here is our little baby... Isn't she cute?

Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo Recipe

2008-12-02T15:08:00.003-06:00

Awhile back a friend did a recipe challenge. We were all supposed to post a family favorite recipe on our blog. Here is a family favorite of ours! WARNING: Do not make this recipe if you are in any way counting calories, I'm sure because of the ingredients, it is not the healthiest meal to eat. But oh my, it is so yummy!!!

CHICKEN FETTUCCINI ALFREDO
1/2 cup butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup grated parmasean
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
16 oz. fetuccini pasta
1 lb. chicken or (shrimp, if you prefer)

In a double broiler pan, melt butter and cream cheese. Add heavy whipping cream and pepper. Allow mixture to get hot. Once hot, use wire wisk and slowly add grated parmasean (mixture will be very thick). Then, use wire wisk and slowly add milk to thin out the alfredo sauce. Allow sauce to get hot once again. (When sauce gets hot, it will thicken up a little bit, to the perfect consistency.)

Dice up and brown chicken in a skillet, turn burner to low so the chicken stays warm.

Cook pasta as directed.

*Spoon pasta on plate, top with chicken, then drizzle sauce over pasta and chicken! Top it off with fresh grated parmasean cheese!
ENJOY!!!

We got tagged!

2008-11-28T19:58:00.003-06:00

Tis the season to be 'tagged'? I have never been tagged, and now I have been tagged 2 times in one week. Once by our friends the Smith's and another time by our friends the Friesen's! Our blogging has been few and far between for the last month or so. It seems things have been so busy lately! But, now I have a good reason to quit procrastinating. So, here it goes!!

Husband's name: Richard Wallace. Richard's dad is named Richard. Richard's brother's name is Richard, and he has a son named Richard! Wow, lots of Richard's!! My husband Richard, doesn't even have a middle name. Well, the tradition stops here. No more Richard's from us!

How long married: 3 years this past June, so about 3 1/2 years now.

Date how long: 2 years 8 months. Wow, that is quite awhile!

How old is he: turned 28 this past July.

Taller: Him! by 6 or 7 inches!

Who can sing best: probably him. He's a pretty good singer when he wants to be. I always hated singing, especially in front of people.

Smart: I'm not gonna lie, that would be him all the way! I always struggled to get through school and sometimes I don't have very good common sense. He always got A's in high school and is great at math subjects. In fact, doing math is something he has always kinda enjoyed. And if it comes to doing anything with his hands, he is great at it! He can fix pretty much anything!

Laundry: That is one big struggle in our house!!! I despise doing laundry. Not so much the washing and drying part, but the folding up and putting away part. If I ask really nice, he will sometimes help me with that part though!

Paying bills: Me! Richard hates dealing with money. He says he would like to be more active in helping with this, but so far it's just me doing it.

Who sleeps on the right side: Well, if your laying in bed, he's on the right side.

Mows the lawn: Him. Not that I'm opposed to mowing, but that is just something that he always does.

Cooks dinner: Richard used to cook all the time before we got married. That pretty much stopped once we got married, though. I don't really mind cooking, as long as he entertains Abby while I'm doing it.

First to admit their wrong: We are both really stubborn and neither one like to admit this. Usually he is the one to give in first and apologize, though.

Who kissed first: He kissed me. And honestly I wasn't to sure about the whole thing. We weren't really dating yet, and I wasn't positive I liked him all that much.

Who wears the pants: We each have different opinions that we bring to our marriage. But ultimately, he makes the big decisions.

And here is my wonderful husband!!! I love you!

Now, I tag Jennalee E. and Christy B. Have fun!!!

Our little ladybug

2008-10-24T10:59:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we went to hoe-down for one of Abby's friends' birthday party! Taylor turned 2 years old, such a big girl now!!! The kids had alot of fun, they were supposed to dress up like animals for the hoe-down, it was SO cute!!! Abby was a ladybug. I have been very absent-minded lately, and I forgot my camera at home that night. But thanks to Amanda, Taylor's mommy, I stole this picture off her blog! (Thanks Amanda!)

Here's a picture of the birthday girl, Taylor! Doesn't she make a good farmer?

My Saturday so far...

2008-10-11T11:11:00.002-05:00

BEWARE!!! This is pretty long, but read and feel just a little bit of compassion for me...

Saturday's are usually my very favorite day of the week! Here is a typical Saturday at our house:

*Abby wakes up 8-8:30, Richard goes in and gets her. Brings her back to our bedroom and we play for a little bit while I'm still trying to wake up.
*Richard and Abby watch cartoons while I cook breakfast. We always have a big breakfast on Saturday mornings! After breakfast we all get dressed and ready for the day.
*At some point during the day, we usually go to Wichita or Hutchinson. We go to stores, or to eat supper and to just give us something to do!
*Abby takes a nap.
*I clean up the house, Richard messes around outside. When Abby wakes up, we usually go to the park and let her run off some energy.
*Come home, relax, watch a movie together and spend the rest of the evening playing.
*Abby goes to bed about 7pm, we watch movies and be lazy till we are ready for bed.
Ok, so our Saturday probably sounds pretty boring, but we like it like that! It is the one day a week where we don't really have to be anywhere, and can do whatever we want.

Well, here is how today has gone so far:
*Richard gets up at 6am to go to work. (He NEVER works on Saturdays, but he had to today)
(that also means no family breakfast, or spending the day relaxing)
*Abby gets up at 8am and is very cranky. She walks to every room in the house saying "DaDa, DaDa?"
*I feed her, then chase her around trying to fix her hair while she runs and yells because she doesn't want her hair fixed. I finally win, then I go get myself ready for the day. I have tons of things to do today because Abby and I will be out of town ALL week next week.
*I put her in the car and head to the car wash. I am cleaning out the crumbs under Abby's seat and she starts screaming for no reason. I tell her to cut it out! She slaps me in the face and yells "DON'T!" I slap her hand and tell her NO, she cries for 5 minutes.
*I call Richard and tell him that HIS daughter is driving me nuts! He says he has to go because he has another phone call.
*We head to Conklin to get the oil changed before our long trip next week. They tell me the soonest opening they have is Monday morning. Ugghh...!! One more thing I have to do on Monday before we can leave...
*Go to Kwik Shop to get gas. Man it is so packed there, I think that is where everyone in town gets gas! Wait in line, then remember I have my Dillon's card to get 10 extra cents off! Wow, only $2.69/gallon. As crazy as this sounds, it made me a little happy!
*Decide I need a latte to take me to a happy place. Get Abby, head inside Kwik Shop. Get my mocha latte, then look for some crackers to get Abby. While looking for crackers, Abby decides she doesn't want to walk anymore. She lays down on her back in the middle of the isle. Some old man laughs while walking by as I'm trying to pick her up and not drop the crackers or spill my latte everywhere. I check out, and carry her to the car.
*I needed to go to Wal-Mart, but decide it's not even worth the trouble!
*We go home. While getting out of the car. Abby wants to walk, (OK-fine). When she realizes we are going into the house, she decides she doesn't want to walk anymore and her legs become like jell-o. I pick her up, she yells.
*I heat her up some Chef-Boyardee ravoli (healthy, I know) and pray she eats fast so she can go lay her down for a nap and give me some peace and quiet.
*She eats, I lay her down. Aaahhh...quietness!!
And to think, it's not even noon!

Boy or Girl...???

2008-10-08T07:17:00.003-05:00

So, we went to our BIG sonogram yesterday! It is so exciting to see the little baby squirming and wiggling around. Yesterday, the baby was doing backflips for us! We definately wanted to know the sex, and we got to find out!!! Yes, we are telling our friends and family the sex. BUT, if you want to know-you'll have to talk to us!

Taste of Newton

2008-10-02T10:00:00.002-05:00

The taste of Newton is the event that officially kicks off the fall season for me! It is so fun to go out to Main St. the 1st Thursday in October every year, eat good food and see friends you have'nt seen in a long time! Every year at the Taste of Newton, we see lots of friends, some friends that we went to Bethel with, some whom we have'nt seen since the previous year at Taste of Newton. (I know it's kind of pathetic, we live in the same town but don't keep in regular touch with old friends. Oh well, I guess that's how life goes sometimes...) Well, if you are planning on being on Main St. this evening eating LOTS of GREAT food-we will see you there!!! I can't wait!

Dha Too...

2008-10-01T11:07:00.005-05:00

Dha Too= Thank You, in Abby language! It is the cutest thing ever! She now says Dha Too to everything! She also has learned to sit her drink on a coaster when putting it on the coffee table, such a big girl! (We are big coaster users in our house, we never sit anything down without a coaster!)

Some other new words in her vocabulary include:

Dha Too=thank you

cackie=cracker

woof, woof=dog

muk=milk

don't!

shoe

bebe=baby

Uh-Oh (I think this is her new favorite word!)

Her vocabulary is expanding pretty fast. It's amazing how fast they grow up, she's not my little baby anymore!

In regards to...

2008-09-20T21:22:00.004-05:00

...my last post, I have to share one of my favorite blogs with you. I had said at the end of my last post that I was in need of a good applesauce recipe, and I just remembered a SUPER easy applesauce recipe that I'm going to try! The recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs. You may have seen the link on the right side of my page, but in case you haven't ever checked out her page, you should do it NOW!!! Seriously, her blog is the best! It is A Year Of Crockpotting. This lady made it her 2008 New Year Resolution to make something in her crockpot, every day during the year of 2008! WOW!! She is so far sucessful in her goal. She has even been on Rachael Ray talking about her 2008 goal. Everyday she posts a recipe that she made the previous day. She writes the ingredients, then posts a picture of the ingredients, then tells you how to make it, then posts a picture of the results, then tells you her verdict-whether or not her family liked it. I have to admit, I would NEVER make some of the recipes she posts, but some of them look and sound really good! Anyway, it is still fun to read and look at. Well, last week she made Applesauce in the crockpot! It sounds so super easy, and looks really good. I think I will try this recipe because I am all for anything easy! I hope the recipe turns out as good as it sounds because I plan on making a whole crockpot full and then freezing some in jars. I will let you know my verdict...so stay tuned!

Go check out her blog,
the link is on the right---------->>>>>>>>>>>>

Apple pickin'

2008-09-20T15:04:00.004-05:00

We have some friends that told us about a farm where we could go pick some fresh apples. This made me really excited because I have never picked anything off a bush or tree, so I wanted to go do it! I thought it would be fun for us as a family to go pick some apples together. So, we were off! Richard was not excited-to say the least. He thought of a million other things he would rather do on a beautiful Saturday morning, and none of those things involved apples. But, with the pursuasion of his wife, he came along. When we arrvied, I was amazed at how many apples were on the trees. Immediately, Richard started looking at all of the beautiful red apples hanging and started in picking them. Abby roamed around a bit, jabbered alot, and started eating an apple she found on the ground (it was ok, no worm holes or bugs). She then just sat there on the ground, ate her apple, and watched us try to reach the apples that were way up high (they were the prettiest ones-of course). We took a laundry basket to put the apples in and once it was about 3/4 way full, we decided we better stop. When were loading the car, I realized I had forgot my camara at home. That would have been such a good opportunity to take some fun pictures! Oh, well. We decided on the way home that we are going to make this a fall family tradition, every year we will go pick apples! It was alot of fun, even Richard admited he had a good time!
Now, what am I going to do with a laundry basket full of apples??? I have no idea!! Maybe make some applesauce, or cut up and freeze some for pies or apple dumplings to make this winter. ~Now, if only I knew how to do any of that! Anybody know of a good applesauce recipe? Or if there is secret to freezing apples? If so, send your ideas my way!

Oreo's

2008-08-26T09:21:00.003-05:00

When it comes to Abby and the foods that she likes, one thing is for sure. She has inherited my LOVE for Oreo's!!! I have very often shared my Oreo's with her, but this past weekend, her daddy decided she needed her very own Oreo. He put her in her chair at the table and gave her 2 Oreo's. This is what she looked like 10 minutes after he gave her the cookies. She was thoroughly enjoying herself!!!

What a mess!!!

Having children...

2008-08-22T14:21:00.002-05:00

We only have 1 child right now and our house looks like this, very often. Sometimes I wonder how 1 little girl can make such a mess with all her toys. At what age do they learn to pick up after themselves?

Our 1st Dr. appt.

2008-08-13T09:09:00.003-05:00

We had our 1st Dr. appt yesterday afternoon! My official due date is March 6, 2009. The 1st Dr. appt is always SO exciting, you get to hear your baby's heartbeat and see your baby on the u/s machine for the 1st time! (We only seen one baby!!!) It is so amazing to see your very small baby on the screen. We could see several features of our new little miracle. We could of course see the large head and the little arms, but the most amazing thing to see is the flicker of the heart!
I tried to scan our u/s picture last night but couldn't get it work right. I am going to work on it today so hopefully before to long you can all see the very 1st picture of our new little one!

We ARE still alive...

2008-08-10T19:42:00.002-05:00

WOW!!! It has been forever since we posted anything. Sadly to say I don't have any pictures to put up at the moment, but in case anyone was wondering-Yes, we are still alive over here. This summer has been so incredibly busy. Aren't summers supposed to be for relaxing??? I feel like we have had very little relaxing time this summer. Richard is staying VERY busy with work and the tons of stuff to do around the house. And I am staying busy with my jewelry business, and all the other millions of things I have to do everyday. (Ok, so maybe it's not millions of things, but sometimes it sure feels like it!) I am so tired ALL the time though. I don't remember being this tired with when I was preggo with Abby. I just feel like I never have any energy anymore.
*On a similar note...I have my 1st doctor appt. this coming Tuesday afternoon, which I am a little nervous about. Not because I think something might be wrong, but because I am nervous about the chance of twins!!! I have always known that their are twins in Richard's family, but just recently (2 weeks ago actually), I found out their are also twins in my family! Now, with there being twins on both sides our family, I suppose the possibility of us having twins is somewhat greater than normal. This chance of twins makes me very nervous, I can't imagine having a 19 month old and twins!!! Wow, what a challenge! A good friend just told me, "You know, God won't give you anything you can't handle", which I know is completely true!!
So, until Tuesday...

AIR SUPPLY

2008-07-30T09:30:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I learned that Air Supply, the band, is coming to Wichita this weekend!!! I am so bummed about this though. I will be out of town doing a jewelry show on Saturday during the concert. I am a huge Air Supply fan!! I grew up listening to them, and I love their music. Richard is majorly ANTI-Air Supply, so you can imagine his excitement when learning we would not be able to attend this amazing event! What bums me out even more is that this concert is FREE, how much better could it get!!!! Maybe someday I will get to see them... Until then, I will have to settle for listening to the CD's I have. Do I have any 'Air Supply fan' friends out there? I know you are, Christy. I'm tellin ya, you should go and video tape it for me, I would love you forever!!!

Random Fact Monday #2

2008-07-28T10:58:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I did not have time to do a random fact last Monday, but here is this week's! This week's random fact is about me!!! It is not funny, or anything spectacular, but it is a random fact. Here goes...
Growing up, my great-grandma lived right next door to us. I used to go to her house all the time. When I was 5 and in kindergarten, I would get off the school bus and go to her house while my mom was still at work. We lived in the country but had quite a few neighbors. One day when I got off the school bus one of our neighbors' dogs were out of the yard and it attacked me. I was in my grandma's front yard and the dog had me on the ground and it was on top of me. My grandma was eventually able to distract the dog and scare him off. It's toenails tore up my chest and I had to get stiches in several places on my face from his teeth. If you look really close, I still have a small scar on the right side of my jaw. I don't remember a whole lot about the recovery process, but I do know the event never made me fearful of dogs, which I am thankful for. Anyway, that is my random fact for today!

A little of this, a little of that...

2008-07-25T13:54:00.004-05:00

We have had an incredibly busy summer. Here are a few random pictures from these past couple weeks.

Abby is watching a DVD she got for her birthday, she is quite
entertained!!!

This is what happens when you leave 2 babies alone in a room. They
make a mess of everything!!!

Abby sportin her newest birthday present from her grammi and
pops. She loves it!!!

Me and my handsome hubby when we were in Texas for the Premier Designs Rally. He was such a trooper while there! There were about 7,000 women and only a few hundred men.

Abby's 1st B-Day party

2008-07-23T09:40:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday we had a small Birthday party for Abby. Her actual birthday isn't until July 24th, but we had some family in town so we had it a little early. Here a few pics of her big day.

She absolutely loved her cake!!! I think she ended up eating 1/2 of this cake. ~Then later she got sick and vomitted.~

Random Fact Monday

2008-07-14T12:59:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I had this idea to start doing a Random Fact Monday on our blog-to spice things up a bit. I have no idea where this will take me, but to start out with I'll maybe do random facts about us and our family. We'll see where it goes from there! So here is our first Random Fact Monday!!!

Richard would love to be a farmer! Crazy, huh? He grew up in the city, but would LOVE to be a farmer. I honestly have no idea what sparked his interest in becoming a farmer, but he says it would be a great feeling to come in from a hard days work and actually look out at what you accomplished. He also would like to have farm animals. Who knows, maybe someday I'll end up being a farmer's wife. I guess it wouldn't be all that bad.

Random Thoughts

2008-07-10T14:03:00.005-05:00

So, I feel the need to blog as I am avoiding doing housework.

Have you ever had one of those days where you have a list of things to do a mile long, but you don't want to do ANY of them? Well, I'm having one of those weeks. It has not lasted just one day, but the whole week. Like right now, I know I should be doing laundry, but The Real World is on DVR from last night and I feel like i just HAVE to watch it! Come on, it's the season finale and who doesn't love The Real World ???
I also am having a yard sale on Saturday and need to be going thru closets and marking the things I have already pulled out, but again, I am feeling very lazy right now. We have lots of large things to sell at our yard sale because our current family room is getting turned into a master bedroom. With the new little one on the way, we need the extra room. We are selling a dining room table, a couch, a 60" Big Screen TV (Richard is torn up over this one), a 27" TV, an entertainment center, and lots of other stuff!!! If you feel like you can't live without one one of these items, give me a call!
Well, I think I should really do something now, I have been putting things off WAY to long!

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-07-08T09:15:00.003-05:00

Today is Richard's birthday. He is the BIG 2-8 now!!!, I thought since it is Richard's birthday today, I would list some random facts about him that some of you may not know.

1. He was born in Memphis, TN. (this one is a well-known fact)
2. He moved to Newton in 2002 to play football for Bethel College.
3. He graduated from HCC in 2004.
4. He admits he would have never pictured himself living in a small town like Newton, but he will also admit that he likes it here.
5. He loves to work on cars, and fix things.
6. Fishing is a passion of his, and the other day he caught a big, well..., a big rock!!! Yes, you heard me right, a rock. How do you catch a rock??? (He catches fish too, though!!!)
7. His favorite cookie is iced oatmeal or ginger snaps.
8. His very favorite food is Mexican.
9. He wears a size 14 shoe, sometimes a size 15 depending on the brand.
10. And last but not least, he always says his birthday is "just another day" and that it is "no big deal", but you should have seen his face when he got his birthday present from me and Abby. He was glowing like a little kid! He loves presents!

So, Happy Birthday. We love you So Very Much!!!!!

NEW ADDITION!!!

2008-07-02T08:20:00.003-05:00

ABBY'S GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER!!! We are going to have a new addition to the family expected February 2009!!!

Camping

2008-07-01T09:27:00.005-05:00

This past weekend our church small group went on a camping trip to Marion Reservoir. We recently bought a 6 person tent at a garage sale for only $20! We thought that it was a great deal and couldn't wait to try it out on our camping trip. We weren't sure how Abby would react to camping, but came to the conclusion she would be fine. We took along her pack-n-play for her to sleep in and of course an air mattress for us to sleep on :) We were very wrong about assuming Abby would be fine with camping. She wouldn't go to sleep, she screamed and cried and we ended up abandoning our stuff and coming home a little before midnight on Friday night. And to top things off, the zipper on the door of our tent broke so we probably couldn't have stayed the night even if Abby had cooperated. I guess our $20 buy wasn't so great after all :( But we did get to go back to Marion all day Saturday, thanks to my aunt and uncle watching Abby for the day. We had alot of fun!!! During our not-so-much-camping trip, both Richard and I experienced alot of firsts. Richard had his first S'more (and really liked it), we piched a tent for the first time (even though we didn't get to sleep in it), Richard rode in a boat for the first time, and I went tubing for the first time ever.

My hubby in a boat for the first time EVER...

Us on the boat, me about to go tubing... Just so you know, after I finally got the hang of actually staying on the tube, I wiped out really hard. (Lots of sore muscles the next day, but man it was fun!!!)

Richard trying to catch a big one...

Abby just loves going to the lake, so since she was so good at my aunt and uncle's on Saturday, we decided to go to East Lake on Sunday with Abby (East lake is only like 5 minutes away.) We fished, swam, and cooked out hot dogs. Richard even caught a 3-4 pound catfish!!! Way to go daddy!!!
Even though camping didn't go quite as planned, we do plan to give it another shot before the summer is over. Next time we plan plan on buying a new tent, so that we don't have zipper problems again. Hopefully next time Abby will cooperate. All in all, it was a great weekend!!!

Best Buds

2008-06-27T13:30:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, or maybe you don't, I watch a little boy during the week. His name is Braxton and he is now 9 months old, he and Abby are best buds- most of the time. Like most kids, they occasionally like to torment each other. Braxton loves to pull Abby's hair, and she likes to try to push him over when he's standing up.
Today, they bonded in a very new, and different way. They got tatoos together!!! If you can't tell, Braxton has a dinosaur on his cheek and Abby has a grasshopper on her's. We went to a children's fun fair earlier at one of the parks here in Newton. They got ballons, tatoos, and ate hotdogs and sno-cones. We had lots of fun!! Now, if you are wondering if I did all this by myself with 2 babies, the answer is NO WAY! Braxton's mommy was with us getting to have fun too!
Man, do you realize how nearly impossible it is to get a good picture of 2 babies together?

Summertime fun

2008-06-26T13:40:00.003-05:00

Summer is such a fun time of year, if you can look past the blazing heat and all the millions of bugs! We spent lots of time outside as a family, our backyard is one of our favorite spots. When we bought our house 2 years ago, our backyard was like a deserted land. It had no green life (not even weeds lived there) and there was debris everywhere. When we bought our house we inherited broken glass, shingles, bricks, and clay dirt that came with the yard (what an inheritance!) Well, we have put many, many dollars and lots of hard work and sweat into our backyard and are finally pleased with how it is coming out. We now have lots of pretty green grass and a special area just for our 2 doggies. All our hard work in the backyard is finally paying off by having a beautiful view when we look outside.

Abby is just like her daddy, she loves being outside all the time. Just recently, she has learned how to throw a FIT!!! I have to admit, it is kinda cute to see her throwing a fit, although, I know it won't be cute when she gets older. She has started to throw fits now when it is time to in from outside. She arches her back, screams, and kicks her legs when we come in. What can I say? She likes to be outside!

When we aren't playing outside, we are playing in the house. Isn't she just the prettiest little girl ever?

Our very first...

2008-06-20T09:08:00.000-05:00

Well, this is our very first blog. We have several friends that have blogs and I have always thought they were cool, so we made one for ourself. I have to admit though, I really have no idea what I'm doing, but I know I will get the hang of this whole blog thing eventually.

One of our very favorite things to do in the summertime is going to the lake! Most of our summer free-time is spent swimming and fishing. We also hope to go camping for a weekend sometime this summer. Abby also shares in our passion of the lake, she loves swimming and playing in the sand. She also likes it when her daddy catches a fish and holds it up for her to see, she yells and claps her hands at the fishes!!!

Well, I think I should go for now.

Check back soon for another post!!!