Big Sale!!

Target marked all their clearance toys to 75% off yesterday. I went to the location by my office over lunch and found a few deals. Then, I did a Target Crawl on my way home, stopping by 3 more locations between my office and the house. It was amazing! I got tons of toys for a very little price. I am set for Christmas and birthdays for the next year. So much fun! The sale is still going, but the toys are disappearing fast, so you better hop to it! If you miss the goods this time, no worries. Target has another 75% off sale right after Christmas around the first week of January.

Busy Busy Busy

We have been so busy this summer. My nieces were here for two weeks visiting mom at Grammie Camp. Cristian and I spent several days with them swimming and playing. We put our house on the market and now spend our evenings packing boxes and keeping the house clean. Such a pain! Ha! But, I can't wait to move. It will be a nice change of scenery. We spent last weekend swimming at Kristen's pool. It was so awesome, the weather was great and we swam for several hours. Work has been super busy, lots of deadlines. Cristian is getting big. He has started potty training at school and we are working on it at home, too. Still in diapers for now...but we are hoping that by Christmas we will be in big boy underwear...at least during the day. He says some of the funniest things like Nope, Yep, and Stacey! Yes, he calls me Stacey all the time. It cracks me up and then he corrects himself and says Mommy. Carlos uses my first name most of the time so I guess he picked it up. His teacher, Mrs. Connie, is his favorite person besides Grammie. Carlos and I have been enjoying our favorite summer shows...Whale Wars and Big Brother...and having fun packing. Ha! Our AC started gushing H2O the other night. We had the HVAC guys over and they "fixed" it until 30 minutes after they left and water was gushing again. So, we spent the night with no AC. That was fun especially at 2am when Cristian woke up and screamed for an hour. The next morning the company sent a new technician who was wonderful. He fixed our very minor AC issue and got us back on track. Dodge a bullet on that one.

All and all things are moving along. The heat is horrible, but not too bad if you stay inside with a cold beverage!

I can do anything you can do better...

…and with my tongue out!

Two Girls, Two Boys

My brother has girls and I have boys. That’s just the way we roll. I am so excited that the girls, Belle and Izzy, are coming to Grammies this week. We are headed to Grammies on Friday night to enjoy a long weekend of cousin fun! Check out these cousin shots from the past year.

Eating after Sea World – Summer ‘09

Playing after Sea World – Summer ‘09
Eating Breakfast – Spring Break ‘10

Playing – Spring Break ‘10

Cousins are Out-of-This-World! - Children's Museum, Spring Break '10

I know what you’re thinking…we do a lot of eating and playing! Hey, it’s the only time they are still long enough to get ‘em all in one shot!

And She's Off!

Mom left on her trip this morning. Cristian rode with me to drop her and Diana off at the airport. 7 days on a Mediterranean cruise and 7 days in Spain...a relaxing 2 weeks. No kids to chaperon, no itinerary to follow. Just the two of them paling around. My only concern is the balcony on the boat. All the horror stories you hear about cruise ships always involve a balcony and someone going over it, right into the ocean...or in this case, the sea. I have been obsessing about that stupid balcony ever since she booked her trip and told me she got a room that had one. Yes, it sounds nice and maybe I should not be worried...but it is what I do, I can't help it. I felt a little better when my brother shared the same concern. See, I'm not the only one. Ha! So, for my mom and for my sanity could you say a little prayer for her and Diana. I just want God to watch over them and keep them safe. They are both seasoned travelers, but having the big guy on your side can't hurt! Thanks!

Philip's Legacy

I haven't blogged in awhile, but today I felt very moved to do so. Kelly's Korner is a great blog written by an amazing woman. I have not participated in her 'Show us your life.' Friday's before, but today is different. Today, she is hosting a 'Show us your encouragement blog or website.' When we received Philip's diagnosis, I broke down...then I googled. I was on the Internet for hours that night, well into the early morning. I needed to research and I needed to find others; other parents who could help me understand. For me, education and learning is the key to take away my fear. The best place for me became the living with trisomy 13 site. I found support, love and understanding. I am still in contact with several of the moms I met through that site and keep up with the online support group. I have been contacted by several moms in my area who were going through early diagnosis and I felt really blessed to be that person for them. That 'other' that I had yearned for in the beginning. My blog is a bit neglected lately, but I hope if you have found your way here you will click on the link to the right 'Philip's Story' and take a few minutes to read about our amazing first born and the impact he made on our family. I miss him everyday, but he gave me so much. He made me the one thing I always dreamed of being, a mom. After you read Philip's story, please feel free to talk a look around the Living site. There are pages and pages of beautiful miracles, some living on Earth and some in Heaven. Thank you for stopping by!

Best Laid Plans

I wanted to post updates from the holidays this weekend, but our computer is sick with a virus. We should have it fixed by tomorrow and I can gear back up to start posting regularly!

In addition, please keep the people of Haiti in your hearts and prayers. I have been avoiding the news because I just can't handle the images and the thought of what they are going through; it breaks my heart to think about it...it is just too much to comprehend.

Matthew Paul Turner wrote a great post over the weekend about Martin Luther King. I really liked it and even heard it being endorsed on the radio yesterday (KLove). Small world! Matthew is in Uganda and has been posting about his trip. Amazing stories and pictures...you should check them out here.