Our Little Miracle

Day 17- Fav Piece of Art

2011-01-12T22:13:00.001-06:00

I have to say I am not a big fan of "art" in the typical sense. My favorite art pieces are always photographs and personally I like my pictures and those others have taken of my family the best!

So here are just a few of my Favorites, in no particular order:

"Strawberry Butt"

"Blessings to you my child"

"Girly Cousins"

"Baby Feet.... take 2"

"Baby Feet"

"All because 2 people fell in love"

Love ya,

Jessica

Day 16- Song that Makes me Cry

2011-01-11T09:41:00.000-06:00

This one is pretty easy:

Angels Among Us by Alabama

It makes me cry for two reasons:
- Umm have you ever heard it..... self explanatory :)
- It was sang at my cousins funeral who died way too early and was my mom's age. I was in junior high school, she has kids my age, so it was hard to realize my mom would not be around forever. Everytime I hear that song I think about her, her two girls and my mom.

Love ya!
Jessica

Day 15- My Dream House

2011-01-10T18:53:00.000-06:00

I definitely think my answer now is much different than it was three to four years ago, before I owned a home. Now I honestly don't really care what our home looks like. Houses are a ton of work and all I care about is my family. So my dream home is what I have!! A place that we can live together, be warm and safe!!

So here is my dream home!!!

Love ya!

Jessica

Day 14- Fav Non-Fictional Book

2011-01-09T21:18:00.001-06:00

Emma and Rylee decorating Grammie's tree!!

Well My favorite Non-fictional book is hands down:
The Bible :)

So My momma is back from Colorado and she came over to have our special spaghetti tonight. She brought along my niece Rylee, which was so much fun!!! Emma missed her nap this afternoon, but Mommy and Daddy got one in (Thanks Grammie!!!!). So she was a little grouchy, but I think we all had lots of fun!!! Plus we will be eating spaghetti for a week!!! (It is an old family recipe that I know by heart, but never think about cutting the portion down, well at least until it is already made!!) It is something we always made when the WHOLE family gets together so it makes a TON!!!

Love ya Momma,
Jessica

Day 13- Fav Fictional Book

2011-01-08T23:15:00.001-06:00

BOOK???? I haven't read a book for fun in YEARS... I know sad, but working full time, going to school, being a full time wife and mother, well there isn't much ME time.... but I wouldn't give up any of it!!! :)

Oh well.... if I have to pick, I used to LOVE:

Jane Eyre

Well, John should be home from SELCAS soon, so that's it for tonight!!!

Jessica

Day 12- Me OCD??? Couldn't be!!

2011-01-07T21:05:00.000-06:00

Hahaha.... thats funny and I am completely OCD about things.... I don't even know where to start.

- eating M&Ms, there must be an even number in my mouth at all times
- the volume must be on an even number

- even numbers about pretty much everything.... that's why our anniversary (11/6/04), Emma's birthday (5/1/08), John's birthday (7/13/83) and my birthday (7/19/86) ALL Drive me NUTS!!!

I will have to think of a few more!!!

Love,
Jessica

Day 11- A Recent Photo

2011-01-06T18:30:00.000-06:00

Emma playing with her new doll from Great- Grandma Wanda and Pawpaw Bert!!!

Emma and Daddy getting ready to go play on the ice!!! Mommy was chicken... just took some pictures!!!

Love,
Jessica

Day 10- An Old Photo

2011-01-05T22:13:00.001-06:00

Here is an old picture.... Little Rylee!!! What a sweetie!!!

And here is a not so old picture, but cute none the less!!

Love ya,
Jessica

Day 9- A Photo I took

2011-01-04T20:57:00.002-06:00

Finding a picture I have taken was not too hard. So I decided to find one of the FIRST picture's I have EVER taken of Emma. I can't believe how little she was. What a little cutie!!!
Love ya,
Jessica

Day 8- A Sad Photo

2011-01-03T21:20:00.000-06:00

Well this seems like a happy picture and it was at the time.... however, this is Dufus, the doggie that we lost in the fire. Therefore, it is very said for us :(
Well that was kind of depressing, so now I have some new pictures of Ms. Emma!!

Here is Ms. Em doing two of her FAV things.... playing with her V-Reader and wearing Mommy's shoes!!!

Love Ya!
Jessica

Day 7- A Happy Photo

2011-01-02T20:30:00.000-06:00

Well I am going to give it another try on the Thirty Days. I am on Day 7 and I am cheating a little bit, because these are a Happy Set of Photos. They are of Emma playing in her toy chest. She is soooo adorable and just makes my heart smile!!! I love my little peanut!!

Hope Everyone is having a HAPPY New Year so far!!!

Love,
Jessica

January 1st!!!!

2011-01-01T09:59:00.002-06:00

We woke up this morning, called Grammie and wished her a "Happy New Year"!!!!!

As we were reorganizing her room, she decided to get in her toy chest!! She is such a little cutie!!

Here is Emma blowing kisses to Grammie on the phone!!!!!

Have a happy New Year!!!
Jessica

Christmas 2010.... take 1 :)

2010-12-28T20:16:00.002-06:00

Ms Em talking to Grammie on Christmas day!!!! She misses her Grammie, who has been spending some time with B in Colorado!!!

We had an amazing Christmas and there is lots more I will be uploading, but I thought this was a great picture to start out with!!!

Jessica

December 1st

2010-12-01T16:48:00.003-06:00

Ok ok... so I sucked on the 30 days.... :( I just wanted to post this adorable pic that John took at school today while he was in Em's class for a little bit!

Isn't she a cutie!!! Love her!!
Jessica

Day 6- 20 of My Favorite Things

2010-08-19T19:58:00.000-05:00

20 of my Favorite things!!!

20: Sleeping with the windows open and the rain pouring down.

19: A hot dog and a cold drink on a hot summer day at the Cubs game.

18: Snuggled up on a cold winter evening in front of a fireplace with the love on my life.

17: Shopping for little girl clothes!!!

16: Answered prayers!

15: My Canon DSLR camera

14: Black and white pictures

13: Snuggling with a new born baby

12: My daughter singing B-I-B-L-E BIBLE!!

11: Hair bows and frilly dresses

10: Love at first site!

9: Little old couples still in Love.

8: Cheesecake Factory Cheescake

7: Riding on the back of John's Motorcycle on a warm sunny day!

6: Looking into the eyes of my child and knowing true LOVE!

5: Making plans and dreaming, even if I know they won't happen!

4: My coach purse and wallet.

3: My Small Town!

2: My home!

1: MY FAMILY!!!!!
- Crazy girl and her Daddy!!

Love ya,

Jessica

Day 5- Favorite Quote

2010-08-18T21:00:00.001-05:00

This was pretty easy... since I already had them on the side of my blog!! :)

"I dont want to gain the whole world.... and lose my SOUL!"

From: the Bible, one of my FAV songs by Toby Mac as well as some other people

"Better things are yet to come.... better things are still to be done in this CITY!!"

From: one of my FAV songs by Chris Tomlin

"Common sense is n longer.... COMMON."

From: my BFF Ashley Taylor

"You can't lose weight by talking about it. You have to keep your mouth SHUT."

From: Bob on Biggest Loser

Love ya,

Jessica

Day 4- Favorite Book

2010-08-17T20:19:00.000-05:00

I really haven't gotten a chance to read much lately. Especially since I started back to school a year ago.

I did like:

The Last Song

as well as

Running with Scissors (although this was a strange book)

Here is a pic of Emma I took the other day at a local park:

Day 3- Favorite TV show

2010-08-16T08:36:00.003-05:00

Right now my favorite TV show is NCIS. I am driving my hubby nuts trying to watch all the back episodes... but I LOVE it. I actually LOVE crime drama shows.... my mother thinks it is morbid but I love the science part of it.

Other Crime Drama Shows I Love:
Criminal Minds
Numbers- even though it is not being renewed :(
CSI
CSI- New York
CSI- Miami
NCIS- LA
Law and Order (my least fav and hubby's fav.... makes for an interesting decision over who gets the remote)

OK and here is one of the few pics of Emma and I. It was taken by Hubby (he did a good job since he doesnt understand my camera) and my eyes are shut... but she is sooo cute!!

Love Ya!

Jessica

Day 2- Favorite Movie

2010-08-15T16:17:00.005-05:00

Favorite movie is the title for today.

Kids movie- Little Mermaid

My mom told me when I was in morning preschool I would come home and had to watch it EVERYDAY!! Now that was when we had tapes and one day the tape broke because I watched it so much!!!

I love movies and originally was going to school to be a movie director.

So here are a couple of my favorites:

Musical- Sound of Music

80's- Dirty Dancing

Funny- Dazed and Confused

Christmas- White Christmas

Current- 4 Christmases or Sweet Home Alabama

Here is the pic of Emma for the day!! This one is actually from today. Uncle Jason came to visit and was showing Ms E his IPad... he even let her play a game on it.... SO SWEET!!!

Love Ya,

Jess

30 Days of Blogging

2010-08-14T14:27:00.006-05:00

One of my Favorite blogs, who is written by Sarah is joining in a challenge for 30 days of blogging. Since I have been SEVERLY lacking in posts I am going to join in. It will give me a topic, plus for Uncle Jason I will post one picture with my post!!

Here is the list...
Day 1-your favorite song
Day 2-your favorite movie
Day 3-your favorite television program
Day 4- your favorite book
Day 5-your favorite quote
Day 6- 20 of my favorite things
Day 7-a photo that makes you happy
Day 8-a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9-a photo you took
Day 10-a photo taken over 10 years ago of you
Day 11-a photo of you recently
Day 12-something you are OCD about
Day 13-favorite fictional book
Day 14-favorite non-fictional book
Day 15-your dream house
Day 16-a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17-favorite art piece (drawing,sculpture, painting, etc)
Day 18-my wedding/future wedding/past wedding
Day 19-a talent of yours
Day 20-a hobby of yours
Day 21-favorite recipe
Day 22-favorite website
Day 23-a youtube video
Day 24-where I live
Day 25-your day, in great detail
Day 26-your week in great detail
Day 27-my worst habit
Day 28-whats in my handbag/purse
Day 29-hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30-a dream for the future

So here goes.....

Day 1: My Favorite Song

This is a little hard for me because it depends on the genre so I am making categories:

Funny Christmas: All I want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan- Kenny Chesney

Traditional Christmas: Mary Did you know?

Christian: God of this City or Sing, Sing, Sing-( yeah pretty much ANYTHING by Chris Tomlin)

Country: Tie

Big Green Tractor- Jason Aldean

She thinks My Tractors Sexy- Kenny Chesney

Yeah I have a thing for tractors :)

Since we are planning on going to Corn Fest next month I thought it would be neat to show a pic from Emma's 1st Corn Fest so here is Emma's Pic:

She LOVED the petting zoo!! I hope she loves it even more this year!!!

Hope You enjoyed!!

Love Ya,

Jessica

I have a 2 -year old

2010-06-08T21:41:00.000-05:00

This is what she decided she was wearing to school yesterday......

NO.... it was not her birthday, in fact her birthday was over a month ago.... but like her Dad said.... she is like her Mommy and EVERY day is HER day!!! Please ignore the nasty dishwasher... my LO loves to rub her fingers all over it..... and ignore my grubby little two year-old... oh well :)

Love ya,
Jessica

My 2 Favorite People

2010-06-07T21:10:00.004-05:00

Well I have again been MIA lately..... but when I saw this, I had to take a picture and post it.....

So I thought it was weird that is was quiet when I was making dinner.... I figured out why when I turned around from the stove and this is what I saw.......

My two favorite people.... and if you know John, I will give you one guess what he was showing his little girl.......

NOAA (the weather)..... surprised.... me neither :)

Here's another one, after they caught me with the camera.

Doesn't she look like a sweetie.... such a little Daddy's girl.

Alright that's it for tonight.....

Love ya,
Jessica

John's Surprise Party

2010-03-28T23:49:00.005-05:00

A couple weekends ago, we had a surprise party for John/ open house to show off our "new" home. It was SOOOOO much fun!!! Here are a few pictures from the night!! John got a call about an hour before he was supposed to come home, so he was over an hour late!!! We had already eaten, so when he came home I had everyone hide in the backroom and bathroom. It was obvious when he walked in that we had people there, but I told him everyone had come, eaten and were tired of waiting for him!!! Needless to say he was bummed!! But he quickly found everyone in the back room!!

We had sooo much fun and are sooo grateful everyone could come!!!

Thanks.... Love Ya!!

Jessica

Playground and Hair

2010-03-23T19:36:00.003-05:00

Alright here are some pics from Emma, Bandit and my first visit to the park this year!!! So fun... not the best pics, but what can you do when you are trying to hold a puppy on a leash and not freak out because your baby is getting so big!!

Plus, I colored my hair last night.... it turned out differently than I planned... but I like it!!

Don't worry Amanda, I downloaded the pics from the party... now I just need to edit them and I will get them up soon!!

Love ya,
Jessica

More pics

2010-02-28T20:13:00.004-06:00

Here are a couple pics of Emma. She was running around one day with just her diaper on. She then decided she HAD to wear her doggy bib and her super cool sunglasses!!! So of course I pulled out the camera and snapped a few pics!!!!

STYLING!!!!!

We are back in business :)

2010-02-25T20:04:00.004-06:00

So after 6 months.... we are FINALLY back home!! Personally I think the house looks amazing and it is soooo nice to be home!!! So the next few days, I will be posting some updated pictures from the last few weeks since we have been back home :) By the way.... Bandit is our new little puppy :) He is a rottie, which is what Dufus, our dog that died in the fire was.

We will start off today with V-day!

Here was Em on her way to school on Friday for her party!!

Here is Em and Bandit cuddling in her new chair, before school!

Here is Emma smelling the BEAUTIFUL flowers Daddy sent to Mommy at work!!!

Daddy and Emma giving kisses!!!

Mommy and Emma kisses!!!

Here is my FAV pick of Bandit so far!!!!

Well I think that is good for now!!! But I promise more soon!!

Love Ya!
Jessica

Still no internet...but a fun little thing from work!

2010-02-19T11:21:00.002-06:00

I am stealing this from my friend that she stole from her friend!!!
Enjoy!

1. How old will you be in five years? I will be 28!! Wow, thats almost 30!!!!

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today? I am all alone in my CUBICLE..... so I guess my co-workers and John, if you want to count sleeping :)

3. How tall are you? 5 foot 8 inches

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks? We will be One Month from E's 2nd birthday!!! Plus getting done with this stupid snow!!!!

5. What’s the last movie you saw? In a theater, 4 Christmas'.... Yeah we NEVER go to movies.... John can't sit through many :)

6. At home, Remeber the Titans... I had DVRed it and I was bored.... but I love that movie

7. Who was the last person you called? Ash... :)

8. Who was the last person to call you? Hmmm I probably shouldnt put her name.... so an Insured.... :)

9. What was the last text message you received? from Ash last night.... well I think that was the last... I forgot my phone this morning.... :)

10. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail? Verizon.... that I know of... saying they scr*wed up again :)

11. Do you prefer to call or text? TEXT. I am on the phone enough during the day :)

12. What were you doing at 12am last night? leaving P-town on the way home from RASCAL FLATTS and Darius Rucker!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!!

13. Are your parents married/separated/divorced? divorced :( (not for them, the ideal)

14. When is the last time you saw your mom? two Sundays ago... wow :)

15. What color are your eyes? Hazel..... green/brown

16. What time did you wake up today? 5:50 am... ugh.... after going to bed after 2:30....

17. What are you wearing right now? a cute purple shirt, tank top, Khakis, dress shoes, socks, underwear... I think... Yep! :), bra, rings, earrings, watch and my new necklace I got for V-DAY!!

18. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Traditional: Silent Night
Contemporary: ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A REAL GOOD TAN!!! Kenny Chesney!!!

19. Where is your favorite place to be? home snuggling with my bubba, baby and bandit!!

20. Where is your least favorite place to be? Work

21. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? to the beach somewhere... or back to TN!

22. Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years? Hmmm hopefully with a couple more kids, different house with a home office so I can do IT work virtually in my pjs :)

23. Do you tan or burn? I burn first, then it turns into a tan... mainly b/c I don't use sunscreen :)

24. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? same things as now.... Spiders and Tornadoes

25. What was the last thing that really made you laugh? Hubby :) He always makes me laugh.

26. How many TVs do you have in your house? one

27. How big is your bed? It's a queen sleigh bed and I LOVE IT!!!

28. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer? laptop :)

29. What color are your sheets? brown

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? just one now!

31. What is your favorite season? Summer :) bring on the shades and umbrella drinks!!

32. What do you like about Autumn? the colors and our anniversary!

33. What do you like about winter? The first and last snow :)

I promise the next post will have pics!! :)

Oh Amanda :)

2010-02-16T08:21:00.002-06:00

No you do not need to point out it has been three months since my last post.... :) I am well aware of that. I promise once I get Verizon to figure their Cr*p out and we get our internet turned on at home.... yes we moved home a week and a half ago!!!!..... I will get a post updated about Emma and the house.... :)

Love ya!
Jessica

Christmas Pic and Sickness

2009-11-21T10:23:00.005-06:00

Here is one of the pictures of our little Emma bugger that we had taken last week. She did such a good job!! Mommy was so proud!!

I will be putting other pictures up later, I just wanted to update real quick!

Also, Ms Em is not feeling well :( We are worried that she may have the flu....or something else..... They put her on medicine today, so we will see how things go.... she "slept" on my chest all night last night.... poor baby! We are hoping she gets better so we can go to Alton for Thanksgiving... but we will see.

Love ya!

Jessica

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-04T00:01:00.002-06:00

Go check out more wordless wednesdays!!

Love ya!
Jessica

Emma and Rylee

2009-11-01T00:58:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday: Cornfest Preview

2009-10-20T23:00:00.002-05:00

Here is just a pic of Emma and a little buddy..... we went to Cornfest in the town John grew up in... this was late at night.... but E was going strong.

Love ya!
Jessica

Waiting.... in the rain!!

2009-10-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics of my Favorite holiday.... too bad it was raining... :( Oh well we had fun!!

One of my favorite parts is the parade.... so here we are waiting for the parade.... in the rain!

Grammie and Emma!!

Grammie can't I PLEASE have that funny looking thing!!

Ahh my little ham ball!

HERE they come!!! It's starting!!!

TBC....

Love ya!

Jessica

Dedication Ceremony

2009-10-18T22:00:00.002-05:00

Hey!

Ok so back in June.... I told you we had a lot to catch up on :).... we had Emma dedicated. See our church does not believe in infant baptism. We believe it is a personal choice that needs to be made when you are old enough to understand. However we wanted to dedicate to bringing her up in a christian home.

So here are some pictures from the ceremony. The first one is of our pastor praying over the kids. If you notice in the back ground Miss Emma is doing what she does best... distracting everyone :) I swear if we didn't have a hold of her hands she would be swinging her dress up... again NO idea where she got that from :)

Here is a picture of Mommy, Daddy, Emma and Mrs. Sara (pastor Mike's wife).

Here is Emma and Uncle Jason eating at one of Emma's favorite pasta places!!

Here is Ry-bug, Emma and Aunt Brooke!

And of course one of just her :).... one of the last pics of her and her passie so sad.... not really :)

Love ya guys!!
Jessica

Birthday!!

2009-10-17T21:15:00.005-05:00

I can't believe we are two weeks away from Emma being 18 months old!!! Well it has been a crazy couple months and I can't believe it is already October!!

It is also crazy to look back at these pictures and realize how much she has changed!! We are done with the passie, she is in her "big girl" toddler bed and she is walking/running like crazy!!! She is finally getting some hair and is a wonderful eater!! Also, she has started talking like crazy and has a little attitude (I have NO idea where she gets that)!!

I also finally found my camera. We thought it was in the fire, but it was in Chicago at Uncle Jasons. I guess it wasn't a bad thing I got a "little" tipsy at the Cubs game and forgot it!! I hand't downloaded my pictures from Emma's B-day yet. So here are a few from her birthday!!
Love Ya!
Jessica

Here's Missy enjoying her smash cake!!!!

Here she is with my bro, SIL and niece Ry-bug!!!

Ok she looks terrified.... but look at the smile on Dada's face!! I think someone has him wrapped:)

I am working on some more posts from the past few months.... so check back and there will be new pictures.

Giveaway

2009-09-16T11:18:00.002-05:00

Honey Mommy is having a great toy giveaway sponsored by AllChildrensFurniture.com, who sells everything from kid's chairs to toys. Visit now to enter for your chance to win!

Sorry this is not a post about Emma... but we will get there :).... it has just been very busy, readjusting back to Apartment living :(.... replacing all of our stuff :)..... going back to school :).....working :(..... oh yeah and having a 16 month old with a MIND OF HER OWN :)

Love ya
Jessica

Pic

2009-08-10T22:17:00.002-05:00

Ok so I promised a picture, so here is a picture...

I kind of cheated.... Kara (my wonderful SIL) took this picture.

She posted it on Facebook this morning!!

Since I don't have my camera--- somewhere in the house :) We will have to rely on other peoples pics, which in my family isnt hard :).

So yesterday, after some major retail therapy... I needed clothes for work :) Ry-bug, my niece decided Em needed to stay over.

Who was I to disagree.

My B and SIL didn't mind and when they got the girls ready this morning this is what turned out!!

COMPLETE cuteness!!

Thanks again guys!!! We really appreciate it!!

Love Ya,

Jessica

PS. Jess has now given me TWO awards and I have not had a chance to post either one... I will get on that ASAP :) Thanks!!

Fire

2009-08-08T07:09:00.002-05:00

I know I promised pictures last time but.....Well by this time my RL friends know about this, but I just wanted to post something about it. This is more of a documentation for myself and a little Blog therapy. So I apologize, it may be a little long :)

Wednesday night, after going to get some groceries and dinner, we came home to our house being on fire. Luckily we had the air conditioner on and the windows closed, so the fire had no oxygen to "breath". Therefore it pretty much put itself out, but not before doing some major damage.

When we pulled into the driveway we didn't even know the house was on fire. John went to go let the dog out and I went to get Emma out of her car seat. He opened the door and yelled at me that the house was on fire. I thought he was joking and even said "that's not funny".... until I looked up and saw black smoke POURING out of the open door.

John used to be a FF, and if anyone knows a FF, you know they always are a FF, whether that is their job or not :) So his first instinct was to go in. He said he went in three feet and the smoke/heat was too much. It was then that it dawned on him our dog was still in the house (by this time I have 911 on the phone). He ran around to the front of our house, since our room is in the front corner (Dufus always goes to our bedroom if he is tired/scared/in trouble). The door was dead-bolted so John just kicked in the door. Again, he only got about two feet and had to turn back.

The FD showed up really quickly (we live in a small town and everybody knows everybody). They immediately went in to look for our dog. They got him out, but he was gone. They tried EVERYTHING!! They gave him oxygen, mouth to snout and CPR.

They believe it was started by a candle I left burning. I never leave candles, but we had changed our plans rather quickly and we think we left without blowing them out. There not sure if Dufus knocked them over or what. So for the last couple days we have been dealing with the Fire Investigator and the Insurance company. Yes we have insurance :)

Our house is savable, Thank God! There is major fire damage in our living room and kitchen. Also there is major smoke damage in EVERY room, except Emma's. Emma's room has some minor smoke damage, but they believe they can save the clothes that are in her room and all of her furniture. All of her plastic toys have to be gotten rid of.

We have a pretty open floor plan, which is why the smoke spread so easily. However, we ALWAYS shut her door when we leave the house. We let her leave her toys out on the floor and our dog has been known to chew on them.

At this point we are staying at a hotel and just figuring out what has to be done. We have gotten a couple different time lines on when we will be home. The most recent was 3 months, but we have heard up to 6+ months.

We have been given so much from everyone. John works at a preschool and part time at an ambulance agency and they both have been collecting things for us.

Right now the biggest thing we need is prayer. We need to stop beating ourselves up for this, mainly John. We need prayer that Emma will adjust well. She is doing good now, lots of love from her parents/grandparents. But its hard to know what she is thinking and it is not like we can explain anything to her. She is an amazingly well behaved baby, but I am afraid this is going to be a big upset in her routine. So thats were we are at.

Love Ya,
Jessica

Hey

2009-08-05T15:23:00.002-05:00

I know it has been awhile.... I have been in training the last three weeks and have been busy loving on little one. Also, my Internet Explorer at work hasn't been letting me leave comments.... so I am sorry for the lack of comments :( I do still read All the Time. I just wanted to say Hi! Also I wanted you guys to do something for me!!! :)

Go to:

http://babyparamore.blogspot.com/ - My friend Jessie is going through a TON of things. She is such a sweetheart and has such a big heart. She is struggling and I know she could use some prayers and encouragement!!

http://halftimelessons.blogspot.com/- Also go check out Jay and his WW post. It was HILARIOUS!!!! He is the FUNNIEST manblogger!!! :)

Alright... I promise a post full of tons of Emma pictures NEXT!!

LOVE YA!!
Jessica

14 Months!!!

2009-07-01T08:39:00.006-05:00

It's been 14 months little one!!! 14 months since you made your way into this world and changed our life forever!!! I can't believe it has been that long. There are days when it seems like it has gone so fast and other days where I can't remember our life without you!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! Here are some pictures from those first couple days!!

GOING HOME!!

Foot prints!!! YOU ARE SO TINY!!!

Grammie and Daddy loving on you!!!

You and Daddy watching your first CUBS game!!! It was like 10:30 pm, I was exhausted and John was keeping everyone up!!! The Cubs were playing the Cards, here they are tied. I believe it went into extra innings and the CUBS finally won!!

Grandma and Grandpa Lundy and Aunt LeeAnn!!!

Aunt Becky and Your first little penguin!!! (Before the horrible stove incident... poor penguin)

Ahhh mommy's first glimpse of Heaven!!!

Daddy and little one peacfully sleeping.... that doesn't happen very often anymore!!!

What a wonderful time!!! I love you so much and I can't believe it has been 14 months!!!!

Love ya baby!!
Mommy :)

Two Steps!!!

2009-06-30T09:24:00.004-05:00

Emma finally took two steps on her own yesterday!!!

Of course she did it at school and only until she saw John. She then sat down and started crying!!!

Hmmmm do you think we spoil her??? I like to call it LOVE!!!

Before long I am sure she will be walking all over the place!! Where has our little strawberry butt gone???

Love Ya!
Jessica

PS. Please have my new friend Jess in your prayers! Her and her family are going through a lot right now!

Sleeping

2009-06-29T14:16:00.007-05:00

Ok.... so other than the obvious reason.... I LOVE when Emma sleeps..... She is the cutest thing!!!

She gets in these weird positions and flips all over the place!!! She also sleeps through ANYTHING!! I LOVE IT!!!

This picture was taken at my grandparents house when we did work on their landscaping.... she needed to sleep and I forgot the pack in play.... so I laid her on the floor... she moves WAY too much to be on the bed.... with a bunch of pillows around her.
I felt like such a bad mom.... but clearly she didn't mind.... later she had both arms up!! So cute.... don't you just want to squeeze her.... ok maybe that's just me!!!

Love Ya! Jessica

Pictures

2009-06-27T08:59:00.004-05:00

Ok so yesterday was kind of a tease picture of Emma so I figured I would post some recent pictures of her..... ENJOY!!!

Here is Emma and Daddy playing their favorite game!!

That's three generations of FEET!!! :)

She always does things like this when the grass first touches her feet..... It's like SERIOUSLY MOM!!!

Here's her fun game with mommy!!! I will do this once and she wants it OVER AND OVER.... :)

I just LOVE this picture.... she looks so deep in thought!!

Ummmm don't think you are getting anywhere CLOSE to MY Bread!!!

And Finally.... WHAT??? Can't a girl just CRUZ!!!!

Love YA!

Jessica

She is getting big!!!

2009-06-26T09:38:00.012-05:00

Ok so awhile ago.... almost a year ago.... Carissa took this picture.

I LOVED it and planned on taking them every three months.... well LIFE Happened!!!

But I did take her picture for her Birthday.... and look at the Difference!!! She is getting so BIG.... well for her!!!

Love,

Jessica

Pawpaw and His Girls

2009-06-25T11:15:00.002-05:00

We got pictures taken with Dad, Patty (stepmom), Jason(brother), Kara(SIL), Rylee(Niece), Brooke(Sister) and Becky(Sister) the other day. The turned out really well.

Here is one of my favorite!

Love Ya!!

Jessica

Potty Bench Giveaway

2009-06-24T11:23:00.002-05:00

Well I know it will be awhile before we need this.... but Steals and Deals is doing a giveaway on a really cool looking potty bench!!!

Wow when did I get to the point were a potty bench is cool????
Oh Well!!

Love YA
Jessica

WHAT SAY YOU ? WEDNESDAY

2009-06-24T07:38:00.005-05:00

I was reading Sherri's blog and she posted a fun little questionnaire.... well I haven't posted in awhile, so I thought I would join in....

1. Folgers or Starbucks? Neither.... Morris has this AMAZING coffee that John's Aunt and Uncles always bring us :) YUMMY!!

2. Cardinals or Cubs? CUBS all the way BABY!!

3. Morning person or night owl? night owl by choice.... morning person by profession :(

4. Name brand or generic? depends.... mainly generic..... except toilet paper and milk :)

5. Dylan or Rolling Stones? ummm neither I am not old :)

6. Mountains or Ocean? hmmmm Mountains

7. Talker or Listener? I try to be a listener.... but usually a talker :)

8. Math or Literature? MATH

9. Books or Movies? Movies

10. Meat and Potatoes or Casseroles? Meat and potatoes

11. Summer or Winter? SUMMER :)

12. Coffee or Tea? see question one or Sweet Tea

13. Cats or dogs? DOGS!!

14. Rock or Country? Country

15. Pepsi or Coke? Regular Coke.... Diet Pepsi :)

16. Beef or Chicken? Chicken..... but I would rather Pork

17. Leader or follower? depends I would like to be a leader

18. Pink or Red? PINK..... Emma has changed me :)

19. Stilettos or tennis shoes? Stilettos.... then I have a reason to go barefoot :)

20. Homebody or socializer? Homebody

21. Short or tall? Tall

That was fun... join in if you want!!!

Oh yeah and here is a picture of Emma :)

This is a picture of Grammie and Emma from Father's Day at Jason and Kara's Pool :)

Emma's 1st B-Day Pic

2009-05-23T23:26:00.003-05:00

SO PROUD!!!!

2009-05-16T23:17:00.003-05:00

Here is my sis (and Emma)... who just graduated from U of I!!!!! I am so proud of you!!!!

Love YA!
Jessica

PRAYING FOR STELLAN

2009-04-21T12:07:00.004-05:00

Join in praying for Stellan!!! Yes this picture is old.... but Emma has limited orange!! :)

Jessica

Emma Pics!!

2009-04-16T10:31:00.001-05:00

So Again, it has been awhile… but life is busy :) Here are some Emma Pictures!!! ENJOY!!

Here she is in her Easter Dress!!!

Here are a couple random shots while she was playing….

Hope everything is going well!!!

Love,

Jessica

I'M BACK!!!!

2009-03-30T08:29:00.007-05:00

Hey!! It has been a CRAZY month... we have been really busy and sick, but we are still here :)

Here is what we did this month.... :)

The begining of this month we had a much needed night out with some of our closest friends :) We went to dinner at CHEDDARS... YUMMY :) and then went to a THIRD DAY concert!!!

It was so much fun and yes I took pictures.... but I am at work and they are on my laptop.... I will upload them soon :) (I PROMISE Amanda) Check out her blog.... she did a good job of talking about it!!!

Amanda and Chris are my favorite couple.... they are a lot like us and we always have fun with them!!! However since we have had Emma we haven't been the greatest at spending time with them, but what I love the most is we can pick right back up :)

Also, last week we started a small group study on FIREPROOF (Amanda and Chris are in it too!!) By the way if you haven't seen the movie, see it!!

It is one of the BEST movies I have EVER seen!! Even John likes it and sat through the WHOLE thing!!! Which if you don't know him says a ton!! He even asks to watch it..... we bought it the day it came out on DVD and have watched it a TON since then.

Then this weekend my mom took Emma so John and I could enjoy our Christmas Present to each other. We went to a CHRIS TOMLIN concert.... IT WAS AWESOME!!! I didn't take pictures :( but we had awesome seats and it was the most amazing worship experience.

The opening act was Israel Houghton and New Breed. I had no idea who they were, but they were awesome!! They have written a ton of the worship songs we sing at church, so it was neat to see their version!

Other than that we haven't done a ton of things... just a lot of playing with Emma!!! She is growing so much and getting so big!!! We are also starting to plan her 1st BIRTHDAY!!! I can't believe it is only a month away!!! :)

She has such a little personality coming out and is so much fun!!! It is neat to see John and I in her. She has a little bit of both of us.... which makes life VERY interesting!!!

Hope everything is going well!!! I promise it will not be another month until I post again!!!

Also I promise pictures in the next couple days!!!

Love,

Jessica :)

Wordless Wednesday # 3

2009-02-25T11:55:00.003-06:00

We are back for another Wordless Wednesday... Check out other peoples pics at 5 Minutes for Mom.

I actually did not take this picture... I just edited it, it was taken by my wonderful MOM when she went on an Alaska Cruise!!!

Here is the original:

Some enhancements:

And of course.... B/W

Now I have my favorite... which do you like best???

Jessica

Giveaway

2009-02-19T15:58:00.002-06:00

Go check out Sera.... she has a giveaway going on for some much needed items.... ok I don't really NEED some Ghirardelli caramel chocolate squares, a caramel Fiber One bar, 2 Betty Crocker Mini Delights ... but they sound WONDERFUL... and I DO need a Tide to go mini.... plus she is HILARIOUS.... or maybe just someone who acutally feels my pain :)

Jessica

Um....

2009-02-17T15:33:00.003-06:00

I have been trying to do a Tribute Tuesday all day and I just can't bring myself to do one. There are some really good ones... so go check them out with Jay.

I am ok. Emma and John are wonderful. We have gotten into a really good routine. I recently started trying to lose weight and am on a really good track. I have a long way to go... but I have some short term goals that are keeping me on track.

I am really frustrated about some things and don't really know how to handle them... so I am doing the best thing I can(sarcasm).....IGNORE IT....however that has obviously caused me to ignore my blog... Just writing on this is frustrating me....anyway.... I should be back tomorrow with a WW post :)

Love ya!
Jessica

Tribute Tuesday!!

2009-02-10T09:22:00.007-06:00

Time to join in with Jay for a Tuesday Tribute!!!

Yet Another Jay and Deb Production.

My Tribute today is to......
An amazing thing that can be wonderful and horrible in the same breath.

It can make you do stupid things, some you regret and some you are grateful for!!

I personally have done both... multiple times!!! :)

It makes people crazy!!!

Some people have it and don't want it.

Some people don't have it and want the wrong kind of it.

Some people have it and don't realize it until it is too late!!

Some people don't know what to do with it.

Some people are scared of it, while others are scared without it.

It is talked about by many, but understood by few!!

It is very diverse, always changing and always staying the same!!

It has many different elements and means different things to many people!!!

Some people try to buy it and others try to give it away.

It is thrown around and also held on to way too tightly.

Some people search their whole lives for it and never have it.

Some have it very young.

There is one place anyone who wants it could obtain the best kind of it for free....

What is it???

I am sure you could guess....

it is......

LOVE!!!

In honor of this wonderful thing, I received some beautiful flowers from my wonderful Hubby yesterday. I know Valentine's Day is not until Saturday, but he loves keeping me on my toes!!

I Receive Love from:

John, Emma, my mom, my dad, my friends, Dufus, John's family, my family and I try to give it back to them.

But the place I receive Love, completely free of anything, the purest most wonderful type of Love, is from....

My Father in Heaven

If you don't know Him, I recommend checking Him out!!

Love you guys!!!
Jessica

Peanut is.....

2009-02-06T13:46:00.007-06:00

Still a PEANUT!!! :)

Ms. Emma went for her 9 month check up and let me say I CAN'T believe it has been 9 months!!!

She is doing so much and has gotten so big.... for HER!!!

Stats:
Birth- 5/1/08
6 lbs 9 oz
19 inches

9 Months- 02/05/09
16 lbs 9 oz (10 %)
26 inches (5-10%)

I love my little peanut and LOVE to see people's faces when I tell them how old my "little baby" is. Although she is getting a little tiny "pudgeyness" on her... which is very cute!!

Things she is doing/fun facts
- wears 6-9 month clothes (although she can still fit into some 3-6 and her coat is 12 mths)
- wears size 2 diapers and size 2 shoes (3-6 mths)!!!
- she isn't crawling yet, but trying really hard.... she HATES being on her tummy
- pulling herself up
- balances while holding onto objects (coffee table, chair, fingers, etc)
- trys to move her feet when you try and "walk" with her
- Eating table food and LOVING it!!! (especially Pasta House lasagna)
- loves her juice and can hold her own sippy cup!!!
- trys to self feed (mommy isn't excited about the mess)
- loves to eat her teething biscuits... again with the mess!!!
- still loving her baby food
- eating formula now :( I couldn't do it with the teeth
- 2+ teeth.... she has two I can see and a few more I know are coming
- she is a wonderful teether... just drools alot and suck/chews on her hand
- spits up a lot less
- saying momma and baba(bottle)- seems to know what each means
- waving byebye.... but to herself instead of who is leaving
- almost no seperation anxiety (when I leave her with other people)- unless she is sick, tired or hasn't seen me all day
- is spoiled rotten and HATES to be put down, unless you are down playing with her :)
- loves her jumperoo she got for Christmas and now EVERYTIME she hears music she starts to "bounce".... it is the cutest thing I have ever seen!!
- Loves her teachers (she gets sooo excited to see Ms. Rose)
- Loves playing with the kids at school... especially Sydnie (who was born 5/22/08... just a few days after her due date)
- Is a social butterfly...I wonder where she gets that from :)

Well that is what peanut is up to.... here are two pics of her(then and now).

Love
Jessica

Wordless Wednesday #2

2009-02-04T09:45:00.004-06:00

We are back for another Wordless Wednesday... Check out other peoples pics at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Here is a picture of Ms. Emma from a photo shoot we did in November for Christmas.

That is My first Christmas Dress.... I LOVE this picture!!!

(my idea, but my mom took the picture)

Love ya!
Jessica

Tribute Tuesday!

2009-02-03T11:10:00.003-06:00

Time to join in with Jay for a Tuesday Tribute!!!

Yet Another Jay and Deb Production.

My Tribute today is to...... Teachers.

Emma goes to the same school John teaches at and as I was dropping her off the other day, I walked passed John's classroom and witnessed the most horrendous display of parenting. I know we all have faults and I am FAR from the perfect parent. But this little Brat, I am sorry there is NO other word for it, had her mother so wrapped around her finger.

I preceded to talk to John for a while and when I left, 20 minutes later, this child was still SCREAMING at her teacher. She had hit her, yelled at her, thrown things. I deal with frustrating people, but I can not imagine dealing with children everyday. The worst thing about all of this is the teachers can't do anything about it. They took her to the office, where she proceeded to scream at the principal and superintendent.

It is just amazing, these teachers get puked on, yelled at, kicked and all the parents say most of the time is:

1. Well he/she was just having a bad day.... or something along those lines

2. They blame the teacher.... well you probably didn't handle him/her correctly.

Beyond that, teachers are completely underpaid and underappreciated.

These people have the opportunity to shape and mold the future. They are the ones teaching the future doctors, politicians, lawyers etc. how to read, write, what's wrong/right. They are some of the most wonderful people in the world and they do this because they love it!!!

So I am using today to say thank you to all the teachers in the world!! Also, to say don't give up, you are making a difference whether you know it or not!!! We love you and I know I wouldn't be were I am today without the help of some amazing teachers.

Love ya!!
Jessica

A Glimpse of The Father

2009-02-02T16:51:00.003-06:00

We went to Fuel last night and Brandon did a wonderful job, as always sharing God's message. We have really enjoyed going to Fuel and have learned a ton. I am going to share something about Fuel so try and follow with me because there is a cool (well I think it is) story that goes along with it.

Last night's message was about living in the end times and how we see a glipse of the Future times in the Present times because we are in the end times. He talked about how the Jews understanding was that the Present time would end and the Future time would begin after the day of the Lord. Well God's plans are not the same as we think they should be. So we are living in the end times, which are basically the time after Jesus came until he comes again. This time is the in between times when we have both the good of Jesus in us and the Sin of man around us. So we battle daily with the good and the bad. I am not explaining it anywhere near as well as Brandon did and if you want a better understanding go to Fuel, they have all their sermons on the web.

It was really neat to understand why we have these amazing mountain top experiences where we see/feel/hear God and then these horrible valley experiences. So I have decided to look for and enjoy the mountain top experiences more and watch for God breaking through to us, and worry less about the valley experiences.

Well I got to enjoy a God break through in the middle of a valley. Last night Emma woke up at who knows what time and I was frustrated and told John just to go get her for me. From our bed, through our living room, you can see Emma's door, which was open because John was picking Emma up. Well I saw a glimpse of our Heavenly Father in the form of John. I didn't have my glasses on, so I am really not sure how, but I could see, through the darkness, my husband holding his little girl and rocking her back to sleep.

It was the most amazing thing to see and I really felt God was showing me how he feels about me(us). Anyway, I just felt the need to share that story and would love to have a picture of it, but I know no picture could do it justice. So I will leaving you with a picture of Peanut and her daddy and the first time he held her.

Love ya!!
Jessica

Random Picture Challenge!!

2009-01-31T22:31:00.003-06:00

Ok so it is barely Saturday still... but it still is.... so this week Brittany picked:
November 2007 44th Picture.....
Well I don't have a 44th, but here is November 2007

This is John and our dog Dufus in front of the fireplace. I LOVE my puppy... oh yeah my hubby TOO!!!

Join in the fun!!
Jessica

Wordless Wednesdays

2009-01-27T12:53:00.002-06:00

Ok I am trying out this whole wordless Wednesday... I am already not doing good with the wordless thing.... Check out other peoples pics at 5 Minutes for Mom. Here is one of her pictures I played with…. gotta love PicNik!!

Tribute Tuesday

2009-01-27T12:01:00.008-06:00

I have decided to join in with Jay for a Tuesday Tribute!!!

Yet Another Jay and Deb Production.

So my Tribute today is to...... My Mom :)

This lady is wonderful... even though I don't tell her all the time.

After having Emma, my thoughts and feelings towards my mother have changed immensely. Now I am not saying she doesn't drive me NUTS from time to time, however I do have a new found respect for her. I can't imagine doing the things she has done.

She has always been there for me and my brother. Whether we want to admit it or not.

She married my dad young and had my brother 9 months later, almost to the day.... which is so gross :) Then 2 1/2 years later she had me.

At this time she was working full time had two small children and decided to go back to school to better the life she could give us. Whether we recognize it or not, she has always tried her best with us and given us her all.

We have gone through so many ups and downs in our relationships and there have been some regrets both ways.

I remember the day I found out I was having Emma, not the day I found out I was pregnant, but the day I found out I was having a girl. It was January 3rd 2008. I wanted so badly to call and tell her. See we hadn't talked in months, in fact the last time we talked was before we got pregnant. It was already hard enough to not have her to talk about the pregnancy and go through the holidays with, but this really got to me.

What I have found out since then is that God had been working in both of our lives. The cool thing is Emma means Healer, which I did not know until a few months ago. John could see how upset I was, although I had never told him. While it took some major convincing from John and my sister-in-law Kara; John, my mom and I sat down to talk.

Looking back I cannot imagine the pain I have put my mother through and how much she wanted to hug me and have me hug her back. But she didn't. She respected my boundaries and somehow knew exactly what I needed. I can't express how much she means to me and one of best things in the world is seeing her hold my little girl. :) It just makes me smile!!!

So as we get ready to celebrate her birthday January 30th, I just wanted to take this time and tell everyone how much she really means to me!!

Love you MOM!!!

Jessica

And of course here are some pictures of her......

The First two pictures are the first pictures of my mom and John with Little Emma (I was still laying on the operating table.... glad they are having fun :) )

This is a picture at Funk's Grove, my mom was taking pictures of us and I grabbed the camera and took a few of them....

John, Emma and Mom putting up the Christmas Tree.... I was being VERY helpful and taking pictures :)

Christmas Eve at Church!!!

Christmas Day at home with her new baby that was bought because it looks so much like Emma, as Amanda pointed out in her comment :)

This last picture does not have Mom in it... I know, but I was frustrated in this picture because I told mom I wanted to spend some time with just John and Emma. But I LOVE this picture and all she did was slip in, take the picture and give us some alone time. This is the first picture of the first time I held Emma. I look like Cr*p, but I LOVE it :)

Emma Pic Part # 2

2009-01-25T12:01:00.000-06:00

Here are some more of Emma’s pictures!!! She is just the CUTEST…. if I do say so myself.

She also got some puffs to help her stay happy!! :) Not that I would bribe my kid with food…. hmmm maybe something for a Not me Monday post…. :)

Emma Pics Part #1

2009-01-24T21:16:00.001-06:00

Mom and I took pictures of Emma last Sunday.

Here are some of my favorites…. she was so much fun and so cute!!!

Love,

Jessica

Random Picture Saturday

2009-01-24T20:23:00.005-06:00

Brittany has a new random picture Saturday..... This one is August 2007 the 30th Picture.....

Wow... I haven't seen this picture in FOREVER!!! It is Melinda Doolittle and Jordan Sparks from the American Idol 2007 Tour!!! We had so much fun.... it seemes so long ago.... no baby, no responsibilities!!! :)

Join in the fun..... Or see others....

Jessica

New Blog

2009-01-24T09:55:00.002-06:00

Ok, So I have decided to try out blogger after having a Wordpress blog that I am not entirely happy with. I am going to see how I like this new blog and we will go from there!

It already seems easier and has more features... but only time will tell!!!

Jessica