the cutest holiday cards

Have you all checked out the cute Holiday cards they have atTiny Prints? Adorable! We just had our family photos taken while some of the family was in town this past week and I can’t wait to get our Holiday cards sent out this year.  I am especially excited to use the cute prints they have. They have so many to choose from! James and I spent a good hour picking some of our top fave. Here are some that I am thinking of using…

cutest picture ever!

I'm loving the modern zig zag pattern

the gnomes are adorable!

you know how much I LOVE mustard yellow!

They also offer this really awesome one that I think takes the cake. 

One of my favorites!

I love the idea of having the card be an ornament on the tree. Especially because that is where we put all of our Christmas cards that we get from everyone each year .  I love seeing all the smiling faces from loved ones in our tree.  

You guys should definitely check out Tiny Prints for yourholiday cards! Oh ya, and while you are there, you should like them on facebook and vote for our “cutest family” photo on the contest they are running. just click on the picture below. :)

I am so excited for the Holidays! This year we are going to visit James’ family in Oregon, I can’t wait! They are even making sure to wait to have the Christmas Exchange party until we get there, isn’t that sweet? So now we get to go to both the parties this year, yay! Every year both our families have a Christmas exchange party, we exchange cookies, ornaments and homemade gifts. It is so much fun and it is some of my favorite times spent with our family and close friends. 

 I can't wait to see all of your cute little family photo cards!!!

p.s. can you believe yesterday my little baby turned the big 1??? a post on that soon.

A little late... but here they are

This week has been crazy busy! Family has been in town for the Holidays, planning for Thanksgiving and getting ready for Chloe's birthday, it's all just so hectic right now. Hectic, but way fun! Anyway, here are my next 10 facts about me. (I really don't know if I can make it all the way to 100 facts) linking up with Deanna from Delirious Rhapsody and her Sunday Confessionals.


31. I am terrified of the dark. I still sleep with a nightlight and have a gripping fear of being in the dark somewhere. I hate that I can't see and then my imagination gets the best of me. Every little noise sounds so much worse than it really is when you are lying there in pitch dark.


32. I LOVE cheese. Seriously. It is in almost every single meal that I eat. I can be considered a cheeseaterian, if there was such a thing. James said he knew I truly loved him when I told him "I love you more than cheese."

33. I am all about Black Friday shopping. I am totally one of those that gets up out of bed 3 hours earlier than the store opens to go wait in line, with hot cocoa in hand. I strategically plan out what stores I am going to first and all the items I need and want. I typically finish my Christmas shopping on Black Friday.


34. I cry every time I get blood drawn. I mean every single time.Which happened to be a lot during my last pregnancy because I was part of an asthma study. I would get my blood drawn about once a month. That could be the reason I don't donate blood. Well that and the fact that I don't have a year between tattoos, which is a rule when giving blood. And I always hear the same thing from the nurses, "why are you crying, you have so many tattoos?" It's way different my friends.

35. I love to read. I just don't have the time anymore. The only 2 books I have read in a while is The Christian Atheist, which I am reading for our small group and the Bible. I wish I could find time to read more. We have bookshelves full of books just wanted to be read.

36. My first official job was a "non security" security guard. I wasn't old enough to get my guard card to be an official security guard. I only worked 1 job, at a raiders vs chargers football game. It was crazy and my section went nuts and got into a fight and no one listened to little 17 year old me. (go figure) It was crazy and I decided that the job was not for me.

37. I am not big on eating meat. It has nothing to do with animal rights or anything. Meat just sort of grosses me out.  I don't like the taste of meat very much and the smell is too overpowering to me. Although, hot dogs are an exception to this rule.

38. I hate my ears. I never wear my hair up because I have a complex about my big ears. I was teased when I was younger so much that now I am self conscious of them, even though James says he loves them, it still bothers me too much.

39. I wanted to join the Peace Corps. I even told James when we first started dating that he can't get to attached to me because I was joining the peace corps and would have to leave him. I still would love to join the Peace Corps, I just have to wait until our kids are grown up and move away.

40. I have arachnophobia.  terribly scared. It makes me cry when I see one and if there is one in our room and James didn't kill it, I won't sleep in the room until we find it and it is dead. And I want proof of it being squished too.

My Testimony

I have already shared this a while ago, but I am linking up with Through Clouded Glass to share our testimonies to show our thanks for what our Heavenly Father has done for us.  Make sure to go to her blog and check out other testimonies as well!




There is something powerful about a testimony. It's something others can relate to. It speaks beauty and truth. It shows vulnerability and weakness (something all humans struggle with, but don't really like to admit). It's something that shows just how wonderful and amazing our God is. I love hearing other people's testimony. It makes me happy to hear about one more person who found peace in their soul and lives to share His word and His glory.

I didn't find the lord until I was 21 years old. I thought I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life, what morals I wanted to have and the standards I wanted to live my life by. It's strange because I took 21 years of my life to figure out who I am and what I stood for. Then when I found the Lord, I had to reconstruct my life all over again. Finding Him seriously turns your life upside down and inside out, but it a good great way.

I had a pretty rough childhood. My family loved each other very much, but we are all pretty hot headed and stubborn and that can get in the way sometimes.  We have come a long way from how our dynamic use to be. We were kinda crazy when I was younger. There was a lot of fighting, screaming, cursing and anger. My dad pretty much abandoned us when I was 12. He wanted a new life with a new family and it felt like he didn't want any of us anymore. He moved away to the South and we only spoke on Christmas every year. I tried to pretend like I didn't care, but it was pure heartache. I was not one to fill the void with other guys (Thank the Lord for that!). Instead I became extremely independent. I didn't need my dad and I didn't need anyone else.

Then my step dad moved in and we never really got along (until I was older). He was a marine drill sergeant and I think that was all he knew how to be for a long time. My sisters and I always got into fights with him and my mom and him would fight too. I felt like it was just an angry household. I was angry at a lot of people and I held on to that anger for many many years. I took that anger out on the people who loved me most and I think the rest of my family did the same. We knew we loved each other, but I feel we just didn't know how to handle the stresses of life that came our way.

As I got older, I tried to avoid my family as much as possible. Since it seemed like all my family ever did was fight, I figured it was best to avoid them all together. I tried to keep myself super busy. I had a job at a movie theater, I was super involved in school and clubs and I tried to always make it a point to never be home. It was easier my senior year because my family would go away on weekend trips all the time. I would have to stay home to work and then the off times I would have my friends over to keep me company. Pushing myself away from my family made me depend more on my friends.

I found a sense of belonging with my friends, yet I still felt like something was missing. I never knew what that something was and I never fully realized how big of a hole I had in my heart until later in life.

When I was younger, I was always open to who God was, but I never really felt in my heart that I really had any interest to learn anything about Christianity or God. I didn't really know anyone who was super close to me and openly shared about there faith. So I felt like I wasn't really exposed to Him very much.

Fast forward to when I was 21 and dating James. He had been a Christian pretty much his whole life. He was not as strong in his faith around the time that we started dating, but for some reason, one Sunday he felt compelled to go to church. He asked me to come along, and I am always interested in people's beliefs and religions (even if I don't feel the same way) and so I went to see what it was all about. As soon as the service was over, I was HOOKED! God really pulled at my heartstrings. I asked James all sorts of questions about Christianity and what it meant to be a Christian. I wanted to learn more and I wanted to feel more of what I felt on that Sunday. We started going to church pretty regular after that. We really just jumped right in. A couple of months later we started attending the College Group. That was where I really learned so much of who He is and what my purpose in life was. Being surrounded by people my own age who were on fire for Him blew my mind and helped me grow so much.

The thing that God really helped me with was FORGIVENESS. He forgives me each and every day, for minor and major things. He forgave all my transgressions from my past, the things that I am very ashamed about. He helped me to forgive myself so that I can let go and grow. He helped me forgive those who have hurt me and wronged me so I could move on. He made it possible to forgive my father and my family so that now we can grow with love and respect for one another.

He has made me a new person, and through Him alone I am finally whole.

Thank you Lord, for filling the hole that had once existed in my heart. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for your unending forgiveness. Thank you for loving me, even though I am undeserving. Thank you for your amazing grace and mercy.

Enter the Tiny Prints Contest!

Tiny Prints is hosting a photo contest on there website here. They have multiple categories such as : Cutest Baby, Cutest Kid, Cutest Family, Cutest Couple and Cutest Pet. You can win a $1,000 or a $500 Tiny Prints Gift Certificate (that's should cover Christmas Cards, Birthday Invites, Birth Announcements and more!) And you will be featured in their 2012 marketing campaign. Click here for the official rules.

I haven't decided yet which category I will be submitting a picture for, but you bet I am going to try... hey, $1000 or $500 is a lot of moolah. And we have tons of things coming up that we could use that certificate for. 

You all should go to there facebook page and enter! I know you all are adorable people out there!. Let me know if you decide to enter too! I would love to see your photos!

cravings....

All I have been wanting to eat lately is cold things (even though the weather is a bit chilly). Cold things as in ice cream, rainbow sherbert has been my fave lately. We bought those big bucket of sherbet ice cream, and it is amazing. I craved cold things when I was pregnant with Chloe too, so I am not too surprised that all I want to eat is ice cream and cereal with really cold milk.

via

  Ohhh and then for lunch everyday I have an awesome peanut butter and banana sandwich. On toast and sometimes I even add honey. Yum Yum Yum...

via

And I have also been craving sour candies, especially Sour Patch Kids. It's wierd because I was on a kick with Milk Duds and Whoppers for a while and now I want nothing to do with chocolate candy... which actually works out well when you have a huge bucket of candy sitting at home that your daughter collected from Halloween... looks like James gets it all to himself...

via

What have you been craving lately? 

10 More Truths

I will be partaking in the 100 truths/ Sunday Confessional thing that Deanna from Delirious Rhapsody has going on. I will be sharing 10 truths a week (hopefully I can fulfill all 100). I would love for you to participate too so that I can get to know you a little more!

21. I always say my fave color is Teal, but that's not true. I don't know why I don't want to admit it. It has been teal for as long as I can remember. In reality, I am in love with the colors Mustard Yellow and Pea Green and that love is more than my love for Teal. Maybe it has something to do with food being in the names? haha, I don't know. I still really like teal, but I feel like some days I like it way more than other days.

22. Colors are super important to me. (as if you couldn't tell from the fact above) I don't know about you, but certain colors can take affect on my mood. And I have this weird thing where I almost always associate people with a color. It takes me a long time to decide on a color pallet for things such as home decorating or even what color scheme I am going to use for a party. It took me forever to pick the colors for my blog.

23. I am a control freak. I am working on it though. I love to be in charge and like to know what is going on. I always took lead in school/college projects and always have been good at delegating. It doesn't help that James is more passive and I am more aggressive so it easily sneaks up on me in our relationship. God is teaching me a lot about giving it up to Him and letting him have control in my life. He is also teaching me to allow others to take control and trust that they will do just as good as job as me. When I sit back and relax and let someone else handle it, I realize how fun it is on the "other" side of things.

24. I don't like to swim in dark water, or where I can't touch the bottom. In a swimming pool or otherwise. I just can't do it. I know how to swim, so that is not a problem. I just don't like dark water because you never know what is around you. In a black bottom pool it isn't so bad, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable. I also hate it when I can't touch the bottom. I am not very good at treading water so I want to be able to know that if I get tired or need to stop swimming that I will be okay and not drown. I used to get panic attacks if I couldn't touch the bottom. 

25. I have a love hate relationship with the beach. Which is funny because everyone in San Diego is supposed to LOVE the beach. James and I couldn't care less that the ocean is so close. Yes, it's nice to go visit once in a while and to take out of town family to the beach, but I just don't see what all the fuss is about. Maybe it's because I only have been to overcrowded beaches and I can get over that pretty quickly. Plus you get super sandy and it gets all over you, down your shirt, in your hair and mouth. yuck. then you have to vacuum out your car every time you go and it seems to always be really cold when we go. I do like to see sunsets at the beach though, that is still romantic. I also like the smell of the ocean and the crashing of the waves.... Like I said, it's a love and hate relationship.

26.  I am really into music. Like really really. If James didn't love the same music as me, I don't think we would be married right now. Before I got pregnant with Chloe, I would go to shows all time time and I love to see live music. I am still really into music today, and we are even naming our unborn child after our favorite band, Emery.

27. I gave myself the nickname Chloe in 9th grade. I just one day decided there were too many Michelle's in my classes and I wanted to go by another name. My mom told me the nickname Shelly was a horrible name (could be she had a pretty rotten step sister named Shelly) so I couldn't go with that. There was this show on TV called Smallville that I watched and a lot of my friends told me that I reminded them of Chloe on there, so I chose that name. (In case you watched the show and know who I am talking about, I do have her personality, and I did have short blonde hair back then). The name stuck and I used it quite frequently even in College. When I would go to parties and meet random people I always introduced myself as Chloe. And so, we named Chloe after me.


28. I love to go camping. LOVE LOVE LOVE. My family used to go all the time when we were younger. I love tent camping. I don't mind RV camping, but tent camping is my fave. It really gets you out there connected with nature. I love to wake up to birds chirping and playing cards and nature walks all day. I can't wait for my little ones to be around 4 and up and we will take them camping all the time.


29. I am a night owl. I can stay up super late (well, not now that I am preggo, but that doesn't count). I wish stores stayed open late (thank goodness for 24 hour stores). I love to shop and get things done at night, that is when I am most productive. I don't do mornings very well. James and I sleep in until our alarm goes off for about the 10th time. We really try to push the limit on when we wake up. that is why we are always running late.


30. I never thought I would live to be this old. When I was younger I always had dreams that I was going to die young in a car crash before I ever hit my twenties. I don't know why I had this dream, I don't feel like I had any underlying issues with something that would make me feel that way, but who knows... I am happily living and I hope to have many many many years ahead of me. If it is my time to go, I am not scared to go either for I know I will be with my Father in Heaven.

Please link back and let me know if you are posting 100 truths about YOU!

Thank you to all my wondeful readers!

Thank you for giving me the courage to be honest and open about... well EVERYTHING. It's really hard to show your feelings of negativity and doubt. I am lucky that you are all so supportive and encouraging! I love you all! It means so much to me all the comments you wrote about my last post. I can't tell you how many times I debated over whether or not to publish that or not, and I am SO glad that I did. I blog for community with other readers and other moms and that is exactly what you are all providing, a GREAT community of wonderful ladies. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Speaking of giving Thanks (and the pure fact that I don't want to post ANOTHER post right now), Deanna at Delirious Rhapsody is hosting a thank you giveaway for her readers in supporting her blogs first year. Go here and make sure to enter! Trust me, this blog is A-mazing and is definitely one of my top fave blogs. ever.

Let me be REAL.

Thank you everyone for the congrats! I put up a new tab talking a little bit about our newest "addition" that has yet to be born. We are beyond excited! Baby E is due on June 8th, 2012. Meaning my little ones will only be 18 months apart. eek! 2 little ones under 2 years of age will definitely be a challenge, but I know God will be there to help renew my strength, energy and patience every step of the way.

With that being said....

I really feel like my blog is a place for me to be totally honest. And if I were to be totally honest, I would have to say that this baby was not welcomed at first. There, I said it. You can judge me all you like, but I can't lie about it.

When we found out I was pregnant, James was ecstatic! I was terrified and upset. How could this happen? This wasn't the plan! We can't afford this! Where is this new baby going to go in our teeny tiny apartment? Yes, these were the thoughts going through my mind. Not joy, not overwhelming happiness. Once I got over the initial upset, I felt denial, "this is not happening, can the test be wrong?". Then I went into analytical mode... Okay, lets look at finances, lets look at what our possibilities of moving to a bigger place, lets look at what it would take to afford this little one. I still wasn't at a place to be happy, but at least I was accepting the fact that I was pregnant and looking at what we can do to accommodate this little one growing inside me.

It took many days, many prayers to God, many shed tears (only on my part) and a desperate call to my Mom for me to accept the baby is a blessing. I mean, I feel all children are blessings, even if unexpected, but deep down I wasn't ready to be a mom to 2 little ones and at first this one sure didn't feel like a blessing. I feel guilty for saying that, but it is true. I had to accept that this is all God's plan and that He has perfect timing and although I may not understand it and sometimes don't want to accept it, it IS perfect. This baby is inside me right now for a reason. A reason unbeknownst to me. I had to accept that to find inner peace and happiness. Once I did, it felt amazing. I now can say that I do truly feel absolutely ecstatic to have another little one coming. I still don't know how I will handle it (Chloe is definitely a handful for me), but I know through God, I will be able to get through it and I will be a better mom, a stronger person and more spiritually fit because of it.


I still feel guilty, even writing all this out and I am not 100% sure if I will ever hit that "post" button, but if I do it's only because I want people to know that its okay to not be overly joyed at first. Sometimes the true happiness comes later and that is REAL. I don't want to lie and say everyday of my life is the best day of my life, that would be a facade. And if I had the best day of my life everyday, where would my need to rely on God come from?



I do want to say, I AM super excited about baby Emery and can't wait for him/her to be here already! I am very grateful for this little one and I know that they will be an amazing addition to our little family. I will post more and more details soon.

Testimony Link Up

I will be linking up with Through Clouded Glass to share my testimony on November 17th. She is asking anyone who wants to participate to share there testimony on their blog and link up with her. I think it is a great idea, especially with Thanksgiving just around the corner. So... will you join the link up???

I made Chloe a special onesie...

(Yes.. it's true! More details to come! and I put up a new tab at the top about this little one to be)