Had a wonderful time!

We left around 8:00 on Friday and headed to Austin. We went and hung out at 6th street and seeing all the young people made us feel old. We drank a margarita at the Iron Cactus and just people watched. Some guy came up and blew us all kisses through the window and we just busted out laughing. Had fun laughing at all the outfits (or lack of coverage) that the girls were wearing and how everyone couldn't seem to walk with their high heels on. We saw some drunks who could barely walk and we just talked and had some laughs. Not our crowd really at all, but it was funny. Think we got back to our hotel (The Sheraton)around 2 am and went to bed. Andy woke me up around 6:30 or 7 the next morning with an update with how the kids were doing. Meshawn and I went down and got some breakfast and sat outside. It was fun talking and getting to know her better. We went upstairs once Julie and Amy were up and we got ready to head to San Antonio. We ate lunch at CiCi's and shopped at Big Lots on the way down. Once we got to San Antonio, we stayed at the Drury Inn on the Riverwalk and the room was really nice. We walked on the Riverwalk and took the bus down to the Marketplace. We all got Pina Coladas and shopped. We went back to our room and just talked and shared stories for awhile and had a good time just relaxing. We went back down the Marketplace for dinner and ate Las Margaritas. It was slow to get seated, but once we got our food it was good. We walked back to our room and watched some tv and talked some more before we headed to bed. Sunday, we got up and Meshawn and I went down and got breakfast while Amy and Julie got ready. We checked out and headed to San Marcos to shop at the outlets. Meshawn took us to get lunch at Centerpointe at an antique store that had really good burgers. We even saw some $400 flip flops (no joke). It was crazy! Got the kids all some new outfits at Ross, Carters, and Osh Kosh. I even got myself a couple new tops at Ross. I didn't find anything for Andy, although it wasn't for lack of trying. We got home around 8ish and I went and said good night to the kids and showed Deidra her new jeans and shirt that I got for her. She was excited. Of course, I had to shower Melina with hugs and kisses. I missed her so much. Andy sent me a picture of her while we were driving home of her smiling and it made me tear up in the car...I really missed her. I rocked her to sleep last night and enjoyed cuddling with her. I got up with her last night to feed her and I laid her down with me, I just wanted to cuddle her. Everyone enjoyed their surprises that Mommy brought home for them. :-) Mommy came home nice and relaxed. It did me good to get that break and to have some "girl" time. We're already trying to figure out where we want to go next. Thank you, Lord, for bringing me some friends and for giving me this weekend to get to know them better and to relax.

Going to Austin and San Antonio for the weekend!

I got invited to go to Austin and San Antonio for the weekend with some friends that I met while fostering. I'm so excited to go. Andy will be here with the kids. It will be good to get away for awhile, but I'm going to miss my baby girl. This is the first time I've left her for more than just a couple of hours. I know that she is in good hands though.

I was so nervous for nothing...

We got together with Matt (my ex's twin brother) and his family this weekend as well as Jennifer, another girl we went to high school with. Jennifer was already there when we got there and once we got there I immediately got over being nervous and felt right at home. Matt was still Matt and his wife, Andrea, was a total sweetheart. His kids were adorable and our kids had a ton of fun playing with them. We were going to picnic at the park but it was raining, so we spent the day at their apartment and then went to watch fireworks. The girls had to go to the bathroom so Andy missed seeing the fireworks while he was gone with the girls. Matt and I chatted for awhile since we both had kid duty while his wife and Jennifer walked around to find something to drink. After fireworks were over, we waited for Andy to get back with the girls and then decided we better head to our hotel to check in. We made plans with Matt to get together in the morning. We all went to sleep and got up around 9 this morning and headed to Whataburger for breakfast. I called Matt to let him know we were on our way and when we got there we discovered Jennifer had already left. I guess she got a call from her cousin at like 1 in the morning and decided she was going to head over there. So, we hung out and decided to take the kids to the park for a picnic. We chatted and chatted and chatted and I caught up with Matt's family and how they were all doing and I learned more about Andrea and how they all met and knew one another. After the picnic, we decided we better get headed for home and Andrea let us know we could all head back to their apartment so we could get the kids all ready for the ride home instead of trying to get them to the port-a-potties at the park. So, we went back to their apartment and changed the kids and had the girls go to the bathroom. Matt's kids came and gave me a hug and a kiss good-bye and they're talking about coming up to visit us in the next couple of weeks. Andrea gave me a hug and told me how it was nice to finally get to meet me after hearing all about me all this time (hopefully good things) and Matt gave me a hug and told me how nice it was to see me again and that they'd try to get up here to visit sometime around the end of the month. It was a lot of fun catching up and we all enjoyed ourselves. I don't think my ex is all that happily married from some stories that I heard, but hopefully it will get better for him as his kids get older (they have a little boy who just turned 3 and twins (b/g) that just turned 2. It was an interesting weekend, and I can't wait until we all get together again. I have to get pics from his wife as our camera battery died.

Things to work on in 2008

These aren't New Year resolutions per se, but just some things I'd like to work on in 2008.

Eating more healthy things and losing 50 lbs. If I manage to lose more than that, that's a plus too. But, I'll be content this year if I can just lose 50.

Being able to take more family trips and so forth this year even if they're just day trips or a few long weekend get aways.

Paying off more debt and becoming debt-free. (We're paying Andy's car off today a few months early).

Staying more on top of the house so it's a lot more managable to clean. It really helps when I follow my house schedule that I made up rather than waiting to clean everything all at once.

Doing one scrapbook page a day so that I can stay on top of the kids books rather than staying behind.

Taking a few minutes at the start of each day to spend in prayer and Bible study. It really does make the day go easier if I remember to do that.

And continuing with unpacking and decorating and putting the house together the way we want it!

On the Road Again

I used the road signs from the On the Road kit that I found a long time ago online. Unfortunately, that was back when I didn't save who made the kits, so I don't know who made it.

Feeding the Hummingbirds

I used the Secret Garden kit and the filmstrip is from Scrapbook Flair.

El Encanto

This one I did with a Quick Page from Scrapbook with Suze' Spring Break kit.

Bowling

I used MMCs Bowling Fun kit for this one.

Safe travels...

Abba, I'd like to lift up my Mom in prayer today and the rest of this weekend. She hates to fly. She has dreams of airline crashes and right after they happen, she'll find out that an aircraft went down somewhere. She had one last week and the very next day heard that one had crashed (I want to say it was a Turkish airline, but I can't really remember). Anyway, it takes a lot to get her on a plane. Last time she flew was for Deidra's baptism and she had a script from the doctor and had a couple of drinks before she got on the plane and she was still shaking to death when she boarded. This time, we're choosing to cover her in prayer. Andy took her to the airport this morning and her flight boards at 6:45 am. I pray for a safe flight for her as they head into MI with all the snow. I pray that she has a good visit with her family up there and enjoys being back among the place where she grew up. I pray that the funeral service for Grandma goes well and that it's not too unbearably cold. They're having a graveside service, so there's no funeral home service or anything. I am happy that she is talking with her sister again too. It's been at least 12 years since that all happened and she still doesn't know exactly what her and my Dad did...although I told Mom to chalk it up to something post-partum as her sister had just had a baby then. It's hard to tell, but all she can do is go forward and at least they're talking now. So, I hope she has a good visit with everyone. Part of me wishes I could have went with her, but at least I can be here to keep an eye on the boys for her too.

May you rest in peace, Grandma Meneghin. I know things ended badly when you were here for your visit, but I'm choosing to remember happier times and I'll always think of you as my Grandma. I know you must know things now that you didn't know when you were here about things...and I hope that you understand better why things are the way they are between Mom and Dad. And I hope that you can understand now too, that just because the divorce happened...I'll still always be Mom's daughter...it's what's in your heart that counts...not what is in your blood. And in my heart...you'll always be my Grandma. I'll see you again one day and I hope to be welcomed by you too when my family greets me at the eternal gates of Heaven.

Squaw Peak

I used USCs Arizona Sunset Kit for the embellishments and Creative Victorian's Arizona Fantasy Papers and stone.

The Desert Botanical Gardens

I used the contemporary kit at Scrapbook Flair and the cactus is from USC's Arizona Sunset kit.

The Praying Monk

I used Creative Victorian's Arizona Fantasy kit for this one.

Mini Golf Paradise

Paper and bow is from Shabby Princess. THe golf ball and player is from Scrapbook Flair.

This was my layout for Saturday...however I never got around to posting it.

Phoenix Zoo

I used Jamie Rousselle's Doing the Zoo kit for this one and MMCs Wacky Zoo alphabet as well. This one was a lot of fun to make.

page 1...



page 2....

The Needle

I used a kit called Arizona Fantasy by Creative Victorian for this page.

Marina Cafe

I used Jamie Rousselle's Studded Flower quick page for this page.



I used Jamie Rousselle's Studded Flower kit for this page too and I added the blue silk flower from the Hannakah (sp?) kit at Scrapbook Flair.

Butterfly House

I used Marcee Duggar's Butterfly Haven kit for this one. This one was fun to make!

Canyon Lake

Here's one I did from our trip to Phoenix back in March. I just used some stuff from Scrapbook Flair to make this one.

Ask, Seek, Knock!

This one I did of a little church in a ghost town outside of Phoenix.

This one I did with a few elements from the freebie kits at Scrapbook Flair and I also used the cross and ribbon from Jenna's (scrapmonkey.com) Ask, Seek, Knock freebie kit.

Ghost Town

This one I did with Shabby Princess' vintage floral brown paper and Laura Barvin's Ghost Town Alphabet.

I needed a break from packing, kids, and a racing mind. So, I completed a scrap page today. :-)