Today is a special Monday! I am home with my child! I have been cleaning away, making my home sing! We have had a lovely day. I have started "boot camp" with my son. We fell slack on his nap times some time back, deciding it was easier for him to fall asleep when he wanted. However, I fear this has aided in his all night rendezvous. As you know, Charlie has not been sleeping through the night for going on three weeks. I am the only one that can console him and help him fall back to sleep. Oh yeah, he will only sleep in Reba too. Both of us have been at our wits end with what to do about Charlie waking and not returning to sleep. Trying disparately to help provide a quite night for me, when all else failed last night, Seth took Charlie for a ride around town. I decided right then, that we were not going to fall prey to prompts such as these. Charlie has been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks old, now is not the time to bring in prompts! So, today, I decided that we are going to reclaim our lives and our authority as parents. Otherwise, our relationship will decay along with our lives, as one cannot live without sleep: especially this one! We are the parents! At 0930, I put Charlie down in his crib. Boy, did he pitch a fit. He was like: what is going on? SCREAM!!! WHAT IS GOING ON?? Then, he fell to sleep. I was vacuuming to distract me. Even with the noise, by the time I was 1/2 way through with the house, he was asleep. At 1330, I put Charlie down in his crib. Again, he was like: what is going on? SCREAM!!! WHAT IS GOING ON?? SCREAM!! SCREAM!! Then, in less than 20 minutes, he fell asleep. Praise God!!! This is such a blessing. I was prepared for him to scream and cry for at least an hour. He has to learn to comfort himself. Otherwise, it will be Mommy getting him, rocking him in the recliner, not sleeping with him beside her. Or, Mommy getting him and putting him in bed with she and Daddy and not sleeping because he rolls around so much and has to be either right in her neck or on top of her head. I speak from experience! Teaching my child to comfort himself and sleep through the night is making my home sing and my marriage too for that matter! Yall pray for us---tonight is coming!!!

Pretty Rainbow

During our spell of good rain awhile back, God blessed us with this rainbow! Praise God, He blessed us with more rain just last night!

Meet Reba!

As you know, Charlie has been sick lately. Mommy has said goodbye to sleep and hello to coffee! Charlie has wanted NO ONE other than his Mommy during this time-going on 2 weeks now. He sleeps for about 3-5 hours usually and then wakes up screaming and crying! ONLY Mommy can calm him. In an instant, he returns to sleep, but will violently wake up when laid back down in his crib. So, I knew after last weekend when he only slept for about 45 minutes at a time that I was going to have to get another recliner. He will sleep as long as he and Mommy are in the recliner. After his doctor appointment on Monday, we went and purchased Reba! As you can see, Mommy and Charlie both can sleep in her! She's fabulous. We love Reba!

A beginner's work!

I love these hands!

Precious hand.

Pure joy with Daddy!

Angelic!

Give me some love Concho!

My sick boy!

Here's a little tidbit on this pic! Charlie was eating popcorn with Daddy here. Seems like I read in one of the baby food books that popcorn wasn't good for babies. It all came rushing back to me when he started throwing it all up! Poor thing, he gobbled up so much popcorn that he threw up for like 3 days! O.k. probably closer to 3 times in about 30 minutes. Still, puking is puking!

Finally! Here are some of my 1st shots with "Betsy"! You should know by now that I name things! You can click on them to enlarge them. These small shots don't really do them justice! I am stoked about the clarity. Betsy is 15.1 mega pixels! What do yall think?

Where have we been?

We are still here! My laboring husband has been working everyday, our child has had his first ear ache, and Mommy has been busy with her new friend. I will return once life resumes to somewhat of an order.

Say Hello To My New Friend!

I am so excited about my new friend! She's been a long time coming! She's the latest Cannon: the Rebel T1i! I have spent all my spare time reading about her and trying to learn her as fast as I can. I will be photographing Kim and Laurie's wedding, next weekend, and want to know how to use her! Test shots will soon follow! I think I'm in love!

A political piece.

I wish that our media would release only the facts. I wish they would not have prejudice eyes. I wish they would fairly display both sides of issues at stake. I believe America is so misinformed. Does she know that our Congress wants to pass bills before they are complete, before they have been read, and before those that want them passed even know what they entail? Does she know that legislation that is going before our Congress goes before them in the dark hours of the night? If your agenda is good, why do you try to sneak it in? If what you have to offer is going to benefit America, why do you try to pull the wool over her eyes? Why did it take you 6 months to choose a dog for your family, yet you want to pass a bill in 13 days? Why are our town hall meetings now being staged? Why are union thugs and members of ACORN showing up to use violence. If the agenda you have is good, why are you running? Since when is asking legitimate questions about an issue "UN-American?" Aren't our soldiers fighting to defend these freedoms that we have? If we disagree with you, you label us mobsters, racists, and hate groups. You tell us to get out of the way, that you want to clean up this mess we created and you can't do this if we ask questions. When a cop responds to a call about a break in progress to a house that has a history of being broken into, you call him stupid. You tell us not to have any guns, that 911 will protect us, yet you scorn them at the first chance you get. You do not want us to arm ourselves, yet you are surrounded by weaponry. You want us to adopt a health care plan you yourself said you would not use for your family. You said you would bring our troops home, yet they have doubled in number since you have taken office. You proclaim to be a Christian, yet announced America as a muslim nation. You told us to pay attention to those you call your friends. We have. They are racists. They hate America. They are terrorists. They are radicals. They are self proclaimed communists. Have you researched your party's history? Do you know that they voted against Lincoln to free slaves? Do you know they voted for segregation even up into the 1960's? Do you know they were heavily tainted with members of the KKK? Even now, you have "ex"-Klansman serving in your party. Do you know Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act? If we agree with you, all is good. If we disagree, our livelihoods are threatened. Are we living in the land of the free?

Handprints!

Charlie woke up from his nap in a bad mood the other day. I think I know why!

I just love this meme! It is another positive, encouraging meme I have found in the world of blogging. I highly recommend checking out Nan's post this week.
Oh My! THIS JUST IN: as I was sitting here writing this, my son threw up a penny! That's right, no need to read it again! My son THREW UP A PENNY! Praise God it came out. I didn't even know he had one! He is on the floor to my immediate right with his choice of toys I GAVE HIM. We have been exchanging eye contact as I have been sitting here. I even placed head phones on him so he could hear the music on my blog. All of a sudden, he was gagging and spit up a little and out flopped a penny! A PENNY! Where in the world did it come from?
That leads me to a great way to make my home sing. How about keeping a better eye on my child and what he has in his hands! By the way, a mouse pad is what is currently in his hands. Wow, someone quick! Nominate me for mother of the year!

My attempt with the iron-ons!

I have a baby shower to go to tomorrow and HAD to use the iron-ons. How do you think they turned out?

Charlie's 1st Playhouse!

I can see you!

Hey, I have my own window!

I can close it!

I'm tucked inside!

Hey again!

During the process of installing our new dishwasher, my hubby came up with the brilliant idea to use the box as a playhouse for Charlie. This afternoon, I took that idea a little further adding a window and some toys. I think it was a hit!

Look how creative she is!

My friend, Sasha, at Lemonade Makin' Mama made these! I was so impressed by them that I wanted to share them with you. You can check her blog out for instructions and to view her cute gift box and card. I am definitely going to try these out myself, but I wanted to 1st show you what they are supposed to look like! Thanks for helping us Sasha!

P.S. Yall know these are not my images. It would be nice if Sasha lived next door and I could run over to her house and grab a pic. Instead, I had to run over to her blog and grab these pics.

Bug's Blessing!

Take comfort, my dear sister, in the words: The Lord will guide you continually. Not only does He promise to do this, but look at what follows! What a refreshing promise we have in our God! I know your heart hurts. I know you grow weary at times. Need a break? Need some soul shine? Turn to our Father's word and be refreshed!

We can have full confidence that we will be taken care of and renewed when we trust in our God. Have you seen a garden in need of water? It longs to drink! When it receives its precious vitality, it bursts forth with beauty and continuity. It can go on. It can survive. It can thrive.

God is our water and we have His word that He will provide and we will not fail. Be encouraged my beloved!

I do need to stay focused. I don't know how I would get everything done otherwise! I love order! We've had such busy weeks here lately, we don't know how to act having time to settle down. Does it help you to stay focused?

This week I would like to:

1. Exercise 5 days.
2. Get all of Charlie's party supplies put up.
3. Get our new dishwasher put in!
4. Get more experience with my camera.

What are things that you would like to do?

Charlie's Big Boy PJs.

Bless his heart! He was wanting his Mommy, like he does every night before he goes to bed. I gave him to Daddy just long enough to take this pic. After all, it was his 1st time wearing big boy PJs. Of course I had to document!! As soon as I got him, he was quite and fell to sleep. Bless his heart!

Charlie's Birthday Swim!