That's a wrap.......

“Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you're beyond the need of God's grace.” -Unknown

Yesterday started out fairly productive. Was out of bed by 9:30 or so.  Started a load of sheets and emptied the dishwasher. Paid bills (I seriously love doing this) and balanced the checkbook.  I needed to run to Target, but I like going better at night because there are less people there at that time on a Saturday. It was 2:00 and a perfect time to take a nap. This kitties were a little crazy so it took longer than usual to get to sleep.. The next thing I knew it was 4:20.  I wanted to hurry up and make dinner so that it would already be ready when we got home from church a little after 7.  I had the spaghetti going when I noticed a spot on the floor where it looked like the floor had raised up a little from water.  A few days before that, I noticed a spot by the fridge and immediately knew it was water damage, but I figured I had just gotten carried away doing the dishes and got water everywhere. I'm in my kitchen everyday and when something is different I know it! (It would take Chris a year to notice it ;)  I knew this new water spot had just appeared.  I decided to tell Chris about it. He came out of his office to take a look.  Once he saw the spots he went straight the to the sink and opened the cabinets underneath.  It only took him 2 seconds to realize that everything was soaking wet.  Now the ironic part about me being in the kitchen EVERY day...I open those same cabinets daily to get dish soap, sponges, windex, trash bags etc... but had no idea that we had a major leak!!!  This might be why.......

This is everything under my sink.  (It's on the counter at the moment.)

In case you can't tell I really like to clean or at least make sure we have 2 of everything necessary in the event that we need it. This is most of the reason that I couldn't tell we had a drip.  Chris called his dad to come over because even once we removed all of my precious cleaning materials, we still couldn't quite see what was dripping.  That's how wet it was.

Chris' dad, Fernando, was at our house in about an hour because he knows good and well we are not handy at anything around the house! He was able to find the leak and stop it for the time being.  Water had spread  to the 3 cabinets to the left of the sink. When he kneeled down to get up off the floor, water started seeping through the cracks! How crazy is that?!  He said he couldn't explain why the water had come up in two totally different spots on the floor, but that was indeed from that leak.  He said it very well could have been doing this for weeks.  The water had to go somewhere. Once it had completely soaked underneath the sink and cabinets it just kept traveling to different spots along the floor.  We opted to keep the leak stopped with his quick fix and wait for Chris' exam on Friday before we took the time to run to Home Depot and get what we needed to make sure the valve wouldn't malfunction again.  So in the meantime.....

We are working on drying it out as much as we can before we decide how to fix/replace the wood.  Right now the fan is working overtime, but it is working! :)

We had to stop and remember the pros and cons to buying a house built in 1935.  We definitely haven't had a ton of things go wrong so far and for that we are thankful.    Life does this to you sometimes.  Sometimes there is an explanation and sometimes there is not. God is going to take care of us no matter what, and that's really all we need to know.  We are beyond blessed.

I missed my nephew's birthday party today and I am so bummed about it! I woke up with a throbbing headache, swollen eyes, and I can't stop sneezing! I've never really suffered with allergies, but I'm thinking that might be what it is.  Then later I accidentally shut my finger in the laundry room door for just a tiny second.  This is what it caused.....

Major bummer huh? And not to mention.......gross! It hurt so bad! It was the worst second of my life! Ha! :)

Two of my loved ones birthday's were celebrated this weekend! My nephew, Haydn, that I couldn't make it to!

Here is the little handsome man! He is turning 9!

And Chris' younger brother Nick...

This is Nick when he finally realizes that his dad and friend put new wheels and tires on his ride! :) 

He was one happy camper! And sporting the new jersey from his other brother and sister-in-law!

We love you, Nick and hope you had a great 18th birthday! Cannot believe you are that old now!

Looking more alike than anyone ever expected!

Well, I'm off to bed! I hope everyone had a great weekend even though the weather was yucky! :) Lots of love!

Getting ready for Kendal Grace!

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for." -Author Unknown

Last Saturday I got to attend Lindsey Chamblee's baby shower! It was such a fun time and I got to catch up with a few friends from high school which I rarely get to do.  I was late as usual ( ....I am a Rodriguez now!) but still got there in time to munch on the delicious food and watch Lindsey open her gifts. Phew! It was a close one! My friend,  Sara Bell, was the hostess and she did such a great job! The decorations were awesome and the food was great! Lindsey is so loved by us all! One of my favorite gifts that someone got for Kendal was a little pink shirt that read, "Does this diaper make my butt look big?"  Haha! It was hilarious!

Check out this awesome cake! :)

It was SOOO good!

And this was a huge hit!!!

This is the little bow hanger that Sara made for Lindsey! (She also made all the bows, so let her know if you need some!) Check out more! She is so stinkin' crafty! She is making me pray that I have a little girl someday! :)

This was the centerpiece of the food table! Adorable.

Friends that I don't see NEAR enough!

And of course the beautiful mommy-to-be and I!

Lindsey and Justin, we are so excited to meet Kendal Grace in just a little over a month! I am thrilled that you are having her at St. Vincent.  Not only is it a GREAT hospital, but it's in our neck of the woods and we will be right there are soon as you have settled and are welcoming visitors! Only one month to go! Hang in there! We love you! :)

Just another day....with sprinkles on top.

For you see, each day I love you more

Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.

~Rosemonde Gerard

Today was a great day for us. Doing things we enjoy doing! We woke up at 8:50 without and alarm and decided that we could still make it to the early (well earlier) church service! Ha!  The message and worship were great. Church was PACKED today. Afterwards we had lunch at Tropical Smoothie in Maumelle.  If you know me, you know I could eat at this place 7 days a week.  Chris is good eating there once a month! :) But since he was preparing a steak dinner later he figured we better eat light. I got my usual half sandwich, chips, and smoothie! Delicious.

We headed to Target for just a few minutes after lunch and then home.  I woke up this morning with a headache and thought it would be best if I just rested for a bit.  Chris decided to join me. We slept for almost 3 hours which made my head worse, but Chris woke up feeling just perfect!  It started to rain (and snow we found out later) which made it a GREAT day to just lay around. He REALLY needed this 3 days weekend. I'm so glad he feels like he can rest and relax. 

Once we got up, I ran to Kroger to grab a few items and he cleaned, and I mean CAH-LEENED the bathroom! It usually gets cleaned right after a test, and for that I am grateful. He finished and showered and then we started dinner. It had to be timed just right so nothing would get cold. I started the salad and "heart attack" potatoes, while he got our new cast iron skillet ready for the steaks!

Dinner took only about 20 minutes to prepare, so we had to work quickly. :) Everything turned out just perfectly.  We turned the tv off and enjoyed a nice quiet and delicious meal together.

Steak, potatoes, corn, salad, and crescent rolls.

After dinner we cleaned the kitchen and got ready to exchange gifts and cards. If you know me well, you know I don't miss an opportunity to eat chocolate covered strawberries! I simply love them. :)

Lots of goodies for us to share!

We had a great day doing basic things we enjoy doing. After dessert we watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and The Holiday.  Such a good Sunday! Whether it was spent with someone else or alone.....I hope your Valentine's Day was spent doing something you enjoy and that you know you are loved!

Our babe's being sweet...hopefully not just for today! ;)

Happy Valentine's Day to my LOVE, I would be absolutely be lost without you, today and every day! Thank you for being my best friend.

Weekeenndd.....

Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do - or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so. ~Stanley Crawford

 I woke up Monday morning at 6:50.  I was going to run to the bathroom and jump back in bed. I only had a few more hours before my weekend was officially over and my work week began.  I looked into the living room to see if the cats were up and it looked REEEAALLYYY bright through the blinds.  I peeked through and this is what I saw......

I immediately woke Chris up and said, "You are NEVER going to believe your eyes, look outside!"  We had watched the weather the night before and knew there was some talk of snow, but not THIS. I grabbed my phone to text my boss and had a text from Chelsea about 1:30 a.m  that read, "I know you're sleeping, but it's POURING snow outside!!" Haha! I couldn't believe it because texts almost always wake me up, but this time I had not heard a thing (thankfully because I wouldn't have been able to go back to sleep from all the excitement)!!! As the day went on it snowed more and more, harder and harder.  I can't remember the last time I saw this kind of snow in Arkansas.  It was beautiful. I dealt with work for a few hours trying to decide what malls should open, what malls were fine, and what malls should close early.  It's a little stressful for me because I don't really like having a say in it.  Years back when we had a major ice storm and I had to work at the mall, I got into a small wreck (hitting a telephone pole) and it took me 3 hours to get from McCain Mall to Jacksonville (which is about a 10 minute drive.)  It definitely was not worth me being out and when panic sets in (for me and many other people trying to get home) it does not make for a safe journey.  So on mornings with questionable weather, I usually stress for a few hours until everyone is safe and all decisions are made about closings.....and then I can enjoy my snow day.  :)

I knew I wanted to make a snowman (or woman) with Chris, but I am such a weenie and REALLY hate being in the cold! All day I went back and forth from not doing a whole lot to cleaning random things around the house. I dusted (which i HATE), cleaned baseboards, ceiling fans, did laundry, and a few dishes.  I had some taco soup simmering on the stove all day for dinner.

I thought it would be perfect timing before dark to go outside and play in the snow and then come in and eat our warm soup! So we went. I think it was a nice break for the both of us.

Chris let it be a "snow woman!"

Chris was a pro at rolling the snow into a ball and when I asked him where he learned to build a snowman he replied, "Uhhh.....Charlie Brown."  Apparently I am the only one who had NO idea that you actually "roll" it into a ball. I was scooping and piling. I may not be good at building it, but I can accessorize! :)  She had raisin eyes and buttons (one missing), a baby carrot for the nose, and twizzlers for the mouth.  Topped off with an always in style and classy black scarf and a cute newsboy cap! We had a BLAST!  And it doesn't look like it, but I did wear gloves! I had to take them off to doll her up and set the self-timer up on the camera.

I had kind of been sulking all day because we were having issues with our oven and I wanted cookies. We needed to re-light the pilot light, but were a little nervous because we had never done that before and don't particularly like messing with a gas stove. We kept thinking of all the things we could eat that didn't need to be baked in the oven! Haha! And then it occurredto  me that we have owned a toaster OVEN since we got married!! Yahoo! We were going to have cookies afterall! Thank you, Granny, for the BEST toaster oven ever!

And Chris' parents and brother came over yesterday while I was at work (I hate that I missed them) and re-lit the pilot light for us! We were back in business for a quiet dinner at home tonight.  So thankful.

Yummy. Chicken spaghetti, crescent rolls, and sweet tea.

Chris still has a test on Friday.........

And apparently, they are all in this together. ;) 

 I have really been counting my blessings these past few days.  Just to name a few......

A warm house with plenty of food to munch on.

A flexible job with great coworkers and employees.

Texting and Internet. :)

A family that always checks on us.

Time to clean.

Time to rest and relax.

Great friends to keep me laughing.

Two cats to keep us company.

Definitely my husband. 

And my God who provides it all.

I have been back at work and am headed to Fort Smith tomorrow just in case we get a bit more winter weather late tomorrow night. If YOU have to get out, BE CAREFUL!!!

What's new???

So much has happened since my last post........but what is new, right?!  Well a few things. :) I have been around the world and back and am enjoying a nice quiet Saturday at home to reflect......

Christmas came and went.....I was so sad to take down all my Christmas cards.  We got SO many fun ones this year! They made my day every day for over a month! :)

We received a wonderful blessing a few days after Christmas.  We call her Piper. :)

She is a MESS!!! So cute, so funny, so bad, and all we can do is kiss her sweet little face!

Knocked out!

Being sweet.  We've been calling Alex "BBB", stands for Big Bad Brother! ;)

Why do you keep taking pictures of me??

On New Years Day we went to Branson for a little alone time before school started back up! We left Friday and got back on Sunday. We shopped, ate, and slept! It was FABULOUS! And we woke up to all this snow and hit the road before we got stuck!

Looks like "Fail Creek", but it is really "Fall Creek" :)

We came home to this present ALL over the guest bed.......

So you know I had to run to Target! This was in fact an EMERGENCY! :)

Alex was already claiming the bed. :) He didn't make the mess so he knew he could get up there.

Chris' great aunt Imogene turned 94 the Sunday we returned! She is so "with it".  She got out of those house a few months ago to drive to the dollar store and was just SO impressed with herself that she drove straight to the DMV to get her licensed renewed.  What can I say, she's a woman who get's what she wants! ;) She's now legal for another 4 years!

There's almost 10 years difference between the two of 'em! Granny (Superwoman) on the left, and Great (in so many ways) Aunt Imogene on the right.  LOVE these ladies!

 

My grandma passed away at the age of 83....I flew to Rhode Island to be with family.  No pictures from the visit to post on this update....not the kind of family gathering where we pose in front of the camera. She will be GREATLY missed and she is in such a better place. I am thankful that God allowed me to be her granddaughter. She took care of us quite a bit when we were younger.  I have so many good memories that I will hold on to forever. I do however have a picture of one of those. :) Thank you for the sweet cards that were sent and even a gift.  It really meant a lot to me.

This is in Hawaii!

I came back home for less than a week and then it was off to Portland to visit my sister in law, Billie Jo. I was terrible and didn't really take many pictures!  But it was such a relaxing time. She had to work just a little, so I took it up on myself to sleep in, not shower until at least noon, and then watch some much needed HGTV! LOVE that channel!  We tried some new restaurants, shopped at the outlet malls, got pedicures, watched The Bachelor, cooked dinners, made rice crispy treats, and really just had some quality time catching up and talking about the future! :)

And did I mention that we went to Target???? :)

And that it was 2 STORIES!!!! You put your buggy on this "roller coaster" type thing, and then you get on the escalator beside it! This excited me into spending a little more than I needed to, which turned in to another trip the next day to return a few things! Haha! Anna, I bet you would have completely understood! I will be praying that one of these comes near the both of us soon! ;) 

I came back home fully preparing to get back to work.... After about a day of that, mother nature came by for a short visit. :)

In the first car, I got to witness them rolling down their window and punching the ice out so that they could see as to whether or not it was safe to go through the stop sign.  And the second truck was sliding into our front yard because they did not have enough momentum to go up the small hill.  Which does happen to be a "one way", so he could not turn around. :(  I was fortunate enough to not have to get out on/in this mess.  School was cancelled for Chris and we enjoyed a nice quiet 3 day weekend at home with our loves.....

Doing what they do best! (I encourage you to look closley at the top picture, she is TOTALLY at his mercy.  This happens about 5 to 10 times a day and about 5 to 7 times throughout the night.....all because she won't leave Alex' tail alone and he gets so angry! ;) When Piper is asleep, she's OUT.....we have so much trouble getting her to wake up! She always looks drugged!

And finally we are back on track with our Wednesday night dinner crew! Love these guys! We never cease to laugh our heads off when we get together! :)

Laura is missing in this one, she had to leave for a bit!  :(

But then she came back just in time for the whole gang picture! :)

Well, next time you ask someone "What's new?"......... just be prepared for what it might result in. :)

-Love you guys and I hope December and January were good to you! I am getting into the Valentine's Day spirit and with our 2 year anniversary coming up in March, I thought I would put all (most) of the songs from our wedding on my playlist.  I hope you enjoy.  These songs tie such special memories to them for me.

Be Blessed!