Spring is around the corner....

or is it? I am so ready for the nicer weather to stay around!!! What's more exciting then being able to enjoy a nice day outside? How about a weekend get-a-way! That's right....my sister Sarah & I are heading to St. Louis in just 7 days!!! I can not express how excited I am and how ready I am to get away for a few days! I've never been to St. Louis, so I'm going to get as much done in those 3 days as I can! I'll post pictures when I get back!!! :)

I have uploaded some random pictures for your enjoyment:

Seth & Stephanie--Seth's Sr. Prom 2009, aren't they cute?!?!


And again...he was trying to be "cool"....keyword...TRYING!

Here's my Izzy girl takin' a "Baf" in Nana's sink! I don't know if Sandy ever gives her a bath in the sink, but she LOVED it! She kept saying "baf, baf, baf". She's so fun!!

Here's Abby at Isabelle's Birthday party! She was enjoyin' some balloon fun!


And.....the birthday girl enjoyin' her very own bday cake I made her!

Be looking for more pictures! I've got lots of stuff comin' up.....say a little prayer for me and the teens....we'll be participating in a 30 Hour Famine this weekend! No food for 30 hours! But it will save a child's life! :)

Update...

So, a lot has been going on and I've been keeping busy! It's getting to be the "birthday" season in my family where every other weekend we are celebrating someone's birthday! I love going to the kids' birthday parties...so fun! Last weekend I kept Abby & Isabelle from Fri-Sun! They were so good and we had a lot of fun! Friday night we had a movie/popcorn night! They got 2 Barbie movies and crashed around 11pm! Then Saturday we lounged around all morning & then in the afternoon headed to the circus in Terre haute! It was really neat! We were in the 1st row and let me tell you...Elephants have HUGE feet! lol. The only pictures I have are on my cell...still tryin' to figure out how to get them uploaded! My mom left her camera in the car!! :( Sunday, I took the girls to church & then we headed to see Mom & Dad! So...tomorrow I'll be heading to Southport to celebrate Isabelle's 2nd birthday! I cannot wait! :) I'll post some pics when I get back!

Down in the Dumps....

While usually my posts consist of happy news & cute pictures of my nieces & nephews....this post does not. I am having a really hard time right now. I am at a time in my life where I feel stuck. I'm ready to move out and get my own place. I don't even know where to begin and I have no help really to get started. Yes, I've talked to people about where to begin...but I need someone who can physically help me with each step. It's not that I hate my parents or anything, but I am pretty much unhappy. I feel like its time for me to move out. I have been getting in stupid arguments with my mom and I hate it. Sometimes I feel like they want me to move out, but then when I mention it they seem to be so against it. I don't know. Maybe it's just me. Anyway...I'm praying for some guidance and hoping that God will open up a door or two in the very near future so that I can venture out on my own.....

I am having a difficult time letting go. I beat myself up over my past mistakes and can't seem to forgive myself. I know God has forgiven me BUT I think of things every day and I can't seem to let go and let God (as the old time Nazarene saying goes). So instead, 3 or 4 nights a week I cry myself to sleep for things that I need to let go of....I pray for peace.

My last "concern" is the fact that I feel responsible for someone else's backsliding in their walk with God. I KNOW it's not my fault, but I hate that I can't help this person. She is one of my dear friends and it kills me to see her suffer because of poor choices she has made & continues to make in her life. :( I feel so helpless. I try to "forget about her" and "not worry" but for some reason I am drawn back to the issue time and time again. Am I suppose to be there for her? Does God want me to be in her life? Or am I supposed to just drop her? I am lost and I need to find answers. I am so impatient and I don't want to wait for God's response....

If you pray, please pray for me. I am going through a really hard time right now and I'm ready to get out of this rut I'm in and progress forward to my future. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of lovely things in my life to be grateful for but I still feel like I'm missing something....

I promise my next post will be happier :)

Cakes & Stargazers!

So.....I've been practicing my cake decorating skills again.....I've done a Doll Cake & a Candy Bar 4 Layer Cake....both turned out really well. So, if you are in need of a cake....give me a call and I can hook you up! HA HA!

Stephanie & Kyle before the Stargazers Dance!
They were really cute!

Candy Bar Cake.....not the best pic, but it sure was a tasty cake!

2009.......

So it's been a few weeks since I've updated this thing. It's hard for me to update daily as I don't have that much going on in my life. The Teen's Impact has started up again so last Saturday I got to see Rayanne & Ryleigh for a couple of hours. We had a good time. I've been working and going to church and that's about it. Sarah & I have finally set a date for our trip to St Louis, I'm really excited about that!!! We'll be heading that way in May! :) I will post a few pictures from Christmas & New Year's...sorry Sandy this is all I've got!


My Mom & I at Christmas @ my Mamaws!
Isabelle & Sarah!
Isabelle....she's so precious.
My big girl, Rayanne!
Sarah, Sandy, Regan, Me, and Steph...sisters.
Rayanne & Abby...BFF!
Evan, Izzy, Aidan, Abby, Rayanne, & Ryleigh...we are missing Hayleigh!

Ok, blogger is being slow tonight...i'll update soon.....

My first decorated cake....

So tonight I was brave and decided to bake Christmas cakes to take to work. They look big in the pictures but they are small. Anyway it took me 3 hours but here they are:

The Christmas Tree cake:
I know it's not the best looking but hey, I tried! Ha ha!


The Snowman Cake...
Is my favorite!!! I think this one is sooo cute! I hope they are edible!
So, I've really no update right now. Things at work have been hectic w/ the year closing and there has been lots to do! I've been very busy. I go to my first training/meeting as Deputy Auditor on Friday and I'm kinda nervous, but those who know me well know that I am nervous ALL THE TIME! Ha ha! Anyway...my boss gave me a review a few weeks ago and she wants me to start doing some "deed" work so I'll be learning how to read property deeds very soon and how to transfer, exciting right??

If you don't hear from me again this year....MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

An Island Christmas

Last Sunday the teens put on their Christmas program "An Island Christmas" which I directed. The program was a musical about giving. It took place on an Island where a missionary family came to the island to build a new church. The island people searched for buried treasure, found the treasure, and gave it all to the missionaries to help build the church! The music was awesome and the dialogue was full of humor! The performance was amazing. I am so very proud of these 12 teenagers for their dedication to this program for the past 8 weeks! Below are only a few pictures of the stage/cast!

One view of the stage...Thanks Lyman & Teens for helping me set it up!

Another shot of the stage....
Some of the cast at our Dress Rehearsal...
The cast minus ONE!

Now that the play is over I won't know what to do with all of my time & energy!

Secret Sisters....Revealed!

Last Thursday we had our Secret Sister's Christmas Party where we revealed ourselves to our Secret Sister that we had for a whole year! Everyone had a good time and enjoyed seeing who everyone had for the year. Below are some pictures from the evening. Blogger was too slow or I would have posted some more. Enjoy!


Passing around presents....
Jamie opening her gift....

Laveda being silly.....we had such a great time!

Esther (in the red) was given gifts all year long but didn't sign up to be in Secret Sisters....Beverly decided she'd have 2 secret sisters this year and she surprised Esther in a great way!

We have already passed the papers around to start it up again for 2009! I am already excited to see who I get this year and to start buying! :)