Thursday, December 11, 2008

Question Meme (from Melissa) ;)

1. Who did you spend at least two hours with today? My parents ~ on Thursdays Katie goes over there to spend the morning with them and today I just stayed myself and visited too, it was a nice little visit :)


2. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks? Christmas, all of the holidays, having a break from the kids I watch, and having Jonathan home from school for 2 weeks.


3. Who was the last person you called? My sister Becky


4. What were you doing at 12am last night? I was on the phone with Traci!


5. What did you fear was going to get you as a child? My sister Becky used to tell me the "boogy man" was in our closet and would get me if she wasn't in the room with me when we were going to sleep (nice!!!)


6. When did you last see your mom? This morning.


7. What are you wearing right now? jeans and gray and teal shirt


8. Where is your favorite place to be? with family and friends


9. Where is your least favorite place to be? in stressful situations


10. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? Disney!!! :)


11. Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years? Let's see.. my kids will be eeeep!! 18 and 13!! ACK!! So we'll be in college mode and WOW.. that just made my tummy flip. I'm thinking I might be working outside the home by then. Hopefully just part time. Wow. Next???

12. What was the last thing that really made you laugh? Traci telling me about talking to the guy on the phone in the airport.. she did his Indian accent reallllllllllllly well.



13. What cities/towns/villages have you lived in? Grand Island, New York.


14. Are you a social person? Pretty much, YES :)


15. What do you like about winter? snow, CHRISTMAS!!! Christmas carols, hot chocolate for the kids, hot tea with friends, toasty fun socks, snuggling with my husband and the kids under the blankets and watching movies together. Did I mention Christmas? I love it!! :)

Merry Christmas!!


Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Holidays overwhelm me...

What is it about getting ready for holidays that makes me want to go back to bed and hide under the covers? I mean... I love what leads UP to the holidays.... but today.. the day before the big day, all I've wanted to do is hide. This is decidedly a pattern for me, this is nothing new. If it weren't for my husband who comes in and saves the day (and I mean dusting, vacuuming, and putting away the laundry).. people would come to my house on Thanksgiving day and find me in my pajamas, my children still in their clothes from the day before, and breakfast dishes on the counter, nary a turkey in sight.

When I want to spend the moments of my life snuggling my babies on the couch sipping hot cocoa and watching Charlie Brown, I instead find myself yelling at them because their toy room isn't cleaned up the way it should be. Because all that matters is the company coming tomorrow and getting every inch of the house scrubbed... WHAT? Who have I become?? Sigh. I love the holidays. I do. I just wish I could learn how to enjoy them a little better. So that my loved ones could enjoy them along with me.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

My ABC's of Thankfulness!!

I was rummaging around in some archives of some other bloggers (Kelly, Natalie) ;) and found this! So I thought I'd do my own!!

A ~ America!

B ~ Brian (my handsome husband)

C ~ Chocolate

D ~ Diet Pepsi

E ~ Eternal Life

F ~ Flannel Sheets

G ~ Girlfriends

H ~ House

I ~ Ice Cream.. yummy

J ~ Jesus

K ~ Kristin (my cousin whom I love!)

L ~ Laughing lots!

M ~ My Mom

N ~ Nature

O ~ Obedient children!!!

P ~ Pretty Clothes

Q ~ Quirkiness

R ~ Reading

S ~ Sisters

T ~ Thanksgiving Day

U ~ Umbrellas on a rainy day

V ~ Vanilla Creamer

W ~ Warm Babies

X ~ X-Rated kisses with my husband ;-)

Y ~ Yellow sunny days

Z ~ Zippers as opposed to buttons when we're in a hurry!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Thankful.

that is the word of the month. It is so evident in so many ways. Not only during this week/month of Thanksgiving, but all through the year.

I had a test that showed the possiblity of some abnormal cells earlier this month..

Today was the day I went for the re-test..

Today everything showed all was clear...

Today I am so thankful... I'd like to say and hope that no matter what the outcome would have been I'd have been typing this post. I want to say my God is bigger then any test, any outcome, and any trial. I pray that is the test of my faith. That when the rubber meets the road, I'm one of *those* Christians -- the ones who when faced with trials of any kind, they stand in grace and love knowing that He is giving grace sufficient to each day and moment. He is so very good.

I am so thankful. God is good, and He is mine. I love Him.

Thankful.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Tea Time

I have been a die-hard coffee girl for .. well, since I was old enough to drink it. Earlier posts on this blog sang my praises to it.

Well. I must announce that I have unbelievably! I am stunned myself! Given. up. coffee.

So, the short of it.. I am now a tea girl. It only took about 3 weeks to become addicted to tea like I was to coffee.

Before I opened this post I was waiting on the kettle to boil, and my mouth was starting to water (please, I have it bad)..

My current favorite is Costant Comment's blend of orange spicey something or other.. it is heavenly. Truly.

If you would have told me a year ago... heck, 6 months ago.. let's be serious, 1 month ago, that I'd be sitting here enjoying a cup of tea as much as I am, I'd have rolled my eyes at you. And thought NEVER me. I couldn't understand how tea could ever BE anyone's coffee. It just didn't make any sense to me.

It does now!! And it makes me happy! Just like coffee used to! It makes my dad and all my other Welsh relations so proud!!! *grins*

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Fun With Names!

Over at Melissa's I found this fun little name game.. although she puts a lot more thought and depth into her post, so if you have a moment, take the time to read it.. she's a great author!!!

I thought I'd do this for fun too! :)



1. YOUR REAL NAME: Catherine

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus fizzle.) : Catfizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and favorite animal) : Pink Cat

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (your middle name and street you live on/or neighborhood if it's a number) : Sarah Long

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name): Preca

6. YOUR SUPERHERO/CRIMINAL NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color and favorite drink): BlueTea

7. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your last name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dads name, 1st letter of siblings first name, and last letter of your moms first name) : Aepivre

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (parents middle names): Arthur Williams

9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets) : Black Sandie

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Happy Birthday, Baby!!


As we grow older together, As we continue to change with age, There is one thing that will never change. . . I will always keep falling in love with you ~ Karen Clodfelder

Happy birthday, my sweet husband! I love you so much! You are my soul-mate and best friend, my babies' daddy and my solace. Happy birthday.

Monday, November 03, 2008

a few more pics

Jonathan's class had "Cowboy Day" a few weeks back, which resulted in some fun times here at home, with he and his friends have a big old western town play date in our backyard that whole day. It was pretty fun to watch their imaginitave play. Of course I took the opportunity to take photos!! :) Here are the results...


Lasso'in it up, Mom!

I gotcha, Mom!!!
Looking good there, buddy!


Of course, Katie Grace had to try on some of the garb...


And I couldn't resist getting a profile shot either, look at those curls after bathtime and that baby profile..yummy!!!


Sunday, November 02, 2008

Scattergories

SCATTERGORIES ~ Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things.... nothing made up! You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.


WHAT IS YOUR NAME: Catherine

4 LETTER WORD: Card

BOYS NAME: Christopther

GIRLS NAME: Christina


OCCUPATION: Chiropractor

COLOR: Cream


SOMETHING YOU WEAR: Clogs


FOOD: Crab cakes

SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Chapstick

PLACE: Connecticut

REASON FOR BEING LATE: Cramps

SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: Crap!!

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Happy Halloween!!!! Photos

Carving pumpkins and roasting pumpkin seeds with Aunt Becky
(Daddy looking a little skeery right here)
Getting all those seeds out!

Katie concentrating hard:

Aunt Becky with the kids working diligently while I take photos lol:


Halloween -- Minnie Mouse on the hayride



Batman!!!

So excited to get going!!

Trick or Treat!!!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful happy Halloween!! We sure did! The kids got a truckload of candy and have their costumes on again today, lol.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Oh. My. Word. (not for the weak of stomach)

Road Kill inside chinese restaurant
Updated:
Oct 25, 2008 10:48 AM EDT


HAMBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) - Is road kill on the menu at a popular Hamburg, NY restaurant? A disturbing discovery at the China King Restaurant has forced health officials to lock the doors.
Lisa Williams was going to eat in the restaurant when she got some upsetting news.
"Were you coming to eat here?"
"Yeah, we were coming to eat."
"Did you hear what happened?"
"No."
"Health inspectors closed it down because there was road kill out here, a deer."
"Oh no."


People who came to China King for their Friday dinner found it hard to believe. A dead deer had been butchered inside the kitchen in the restaurant they've been coming to for years.
Patron, Sue Bender said, "Our daughter just called us because she knows this is our take out Chinese, and told us, you're not going to believe what was just on Channel Four."


A witness tells us he saw an oriental man dragging the deer inside.
"I watched him drag it across the parking lot and he dragged it through the front door of the China King Restaurant. I said this is just not right, so I called Hamburg Police and reported it. Sure enough by the time they got there, they said that he had the deer almost all butchered inside the restaurant."


Another patron wonders, "How stupid could that man be? To let that go on."
Erie County Health Commissioner, Dr Anthony Billitier said, "I don't know what the intention was with the deer, but they can't do that in the restaurant even if they were going to use it for private consumption. It's not consistent with the sanitary code.


Its a story that's closed down the restaurant and caused patron to lose their appetite
Lisa Williams said, "That's disgusting, I'll never eat Chinese again. I'm sorry for all these people out there. That's gross."


When asked if Sue Bender will come here again? She replied, "never...never."
The Health Commissioner tells News4 a hearing with the owner is scheduled for next week.

Story by Tricia Cruz, WIVB

Find the story here

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Happy Birthday, my boy Jonathan David


Happy birthday to our big 8 year old!

We love you so much, Jonathan. And we're proud of the boy you're growing into.

You are so precious.. your personality and humor is larger then life. We can't imagine our lives without you. You add so much to all of us!



To me and dad, you are such a big help. You make us laugh. Your jokes are original and you get the delivery just right -- which makes us laugh even more.

You are a wonderful big brother. Always protecting your little sister with fierce loyalty and we love that! We know you get it that family is everything. You are so right.


More then anything, we are so thankful that you love Jesus. We have prayed and prayed that you would have a tender heart.. and it's so evident in all that you do and say. We know that you belong to Jesus, and we are so thankful --- so thankful -- that your heart is His.



As you begin another year, dear Jonathan, we will continue to pray that you will recognize more and more how important God is in your life, and that you will continue to give Him more and more of yourself.



We love you so much, Jonathan! You truly are our gift from God. Happy birthday, Guy!!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Stephanie and Christian ...

Please take a few moments to read this story.. this is about a fellow blogger. Even though I'd never been to her site before the accident, it has become one of my regular stops. What an inspirational, Proverbs 31 type woman. Praying for you both...

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

After reading over at Karianne's, I realized I'm not the only one thinking about the holidays! Kari asked about Thanksgiving, but honestly, that reminded me it's time for me to get my Christmas music going. I usually have it on way before now!

This weekend is Jonathan's 8th birthday. I can't believe he's that old! I'm just.. wow. I'm in shock. So this week I'm busy planning food and presents for his party..

But next week, baby! Next week I'm onto my Thanksgiving lists!! And Christmas!! Can't wait!

Stay tuned for birthday boy photos and party commentary. He's a very blessed boy indeed!!! And very, very loved!!!!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Cool Video!

(be sure to scroll down to my playlist to pause my music so you can hear this video... it will be worth it! very cool! I love my church!)

Monday, October 13, 2008

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Be still my heart!!!!

Whose cutest babies are these???

Friday, September 19, 2008

Cathology (hey that actually sounds like a real word lol)

Catherine-ology

Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your name, followed by "ology"


**FOODOLOGY**

What is your salad dressing of choice? Ranch

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Shimshacks

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? hummus and pita chips

What are your pizza toppings of choice? Mushroom and Olive

What do you like to put on your toast? cream cheese

**TECHNOLOGY**

What is your wallpaper on your computer? cute pic of Jonathan and Katie

How many televisions are in your house? 4

What color cell phone do you have? the color of a Dr Pepper can

**BIOLOGY**

Are you right-handed or left-handed? right

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? tonsils, gallbladder, wisdom teeth, 2 babies.... I think that's all :)

What is the last heavy item you lifted? changing table (removed it from Katie's room!)

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? yes.. car accident

*BULLCRAPOLOGY*

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? No

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Sarah

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Sure!


*DUMOLOGY*

How many pairs of flip flops do you own? oh my word.... 8? 9? I'm not positive.. that's how many I can count in my head without going to look ;)

Last time you had a run-in with the cops? ehh, about a month or so

What did you want to be when you grew up? a mommy and a teacher :)

Last person you talked to? Elizabeth

Last person you hugged? Jonathan and Katie

*FAVORITOLOGY*

Season? Autumn

Holiday? Christmas

Day of the week? Thursday---the anticipation of the weekend is ahead (agreed, Meliss!)

*CURRENTOLOGY*

Missing someone? yes

Mood? content

Listening to? Dora

Watching? trying not to watch Dora lol

Worrying about? parenting stuff

*RANDOMOLOGY*

First place you went this morning? the kitchen to make coffee... haven't left the house just yet today

What can you not wait to do? We're taking the kids to Marineland tomorrow.. looking forward to that, but I can't WAIT to go to Dallas with my girlfriends in a couple weeks for the MOPS convention!

What's the last movie you saw? Sex and the City

Do you smile often? Yes I do.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Tea anyone?

Time for tea.....





"Here, Guy, I'll pour!!"

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Mini-Update :)

Well hello!

How can it be September? For all intents and purposes, September is one of my favorite months.... the days are still warm, yet the nights are cool, and there is a hint of fall in the air. Autumn is no doubt my favorite time of the year... mostly because it's not as HOT out, but more importantly, because Christmas is coming!!! :) :) :) YAY!

I have a new job! I'm sitting for a little baby named Asher. Oh.My.Word. He is the most beautiful baby I have ever met. He is 11 mos. old and GORGEOUS for one thing, but he's also laid back and just WOW. So sweet and cuddly and perfect. (Did I mention he's perfect?) The money is phenomenal and my schedule is just great.

Secondly, Jonathan started 2nd grade (as you saw from the previous post) and he has come home now for 2 days with a big smile on his face. He just looks so happy and content. We are so thankful! God is great!

Katie and I are doing well.. My big 3 year old! She has a little bit of adjusting to do with the baby .. "Momma, I'm your baby!" but other then that, she's doing great. Tomorrow I'm registering her for the library preschool hour which will meet on Mondays at 10am. I know she's so ready for something like that (plus it's free). Asher and I will go and look at books during that time. It will be a great opportunity to get her involved in a setting like that, since I don't have her in a 3 year old pre-school this year.

MOPS is starting up next week Tuesday!! I'm so excited! This year's theme is Adventures In Mothering.. It's going to be so fun! Each year on the first day the committee each buys gifts for all the moms that come. This year our gifts have to be "adventure" themed.. as in .. what would you *have* to have with you if you were on an adventure.. so we're all giving them something that we couldn't do without in our adventure backpack. My give-away is makeup :) I'm getting mascara and lipgloss for my girls.. I'll tie them together with some raffia or something to make it look a little bit like we're roughing it ;)

That's about it.. our update! (oops it didn't end up being mini.. I'm far too wordy for my own good) I'm happy about my new job (although man! I'm tired! Need to adjust!) And I hope you're all well!!

God bless :)

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Jonathan David, 2nd Grader! :)



After all the anticipation of the new school, the day came and went and it was good!! God is great. Jonathan started his first day at his new school and it seemed to go really well! He likes his new teacher, he likes his new friends, and he left with a smile and came home with a smile! *whew* Life is good!! ;)


Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

To My Sisters and my Girlfriends :

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.

Life happens.

Distance separates.

Children grow up.

Jobs come and go.

Love waxes and wanes.

Men don't do what they're supposed to do.

Hearts break.

Parents die.


Colleagues forget favors.

Careers end.

BUT.........


Sisters are there,

no matter how much time and how

many miles are between you.

A girl friend is never farther away

than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you

have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life

will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,

praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on

your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the

valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk

beside you...Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,

daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,

Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended

family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and

neither would I. When we began this adventure called

womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or

sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we

would need each other.


Every day, we need each other still.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

just a few more pics from the b-day party

tracy, hannah, and jonathan looking on during presents


The back of her pretty dress (Aunt Becky looking on)





Nanny and Aunt Susan




Silly Girl




Waiting for everyone to come




my niece Betsy being adorable as usual





Beautiful Eyes




All the grandpas at the party...





...and the grandmas..




Nanny and Papa (my parents)

Birthday Girl Pics

Here are just a bunch of pics from the weekend.. we had her party on Friday night and then we went sailing with them on Saturday, then on Sunday Jonathan had his drama production Praise Rocks.. it was a full and fabulous weekend!! Here they all are.. enjoy!! :)