Everyone goes through times where their strength and faith are tested, that is just the way life goes.  What we have to remember is Jesus is with us every step of the way and it is only when we forget that, that the hard times seem unbearable.   I know this because the last month or so has been the hardest time in my life thus far and I started to feel a breakdown coming.  I have always believed in God and I have always prayed but sometimes I have a hard time giving my troubles over to the Lord.  I forget sometimes that He wants me to give everything to Him and that He will take care of me.  Why do I forget?  I guess it is because I get caught up in the day to day of life and don't leave enough time during the week to sit down and really pray.  I don't always say thank you when things work out and more than I care to admit I take for granted the blessings in my life. 

About a week before Christmas my mom called and told me she had breast cancer.  I felt as if I had just been punched in the gut.  Panic immediately took over and all I could think about was what if my mother dies?  My mom is already not in the greatest health and the thought of her having something else wrong with her was terrifying. 

On top of this I was dealing with issues at my son's preschool.  Apparently some boys in his class were picking on him and he no longer wanted to go to school.  There is a lot more on this issue but I will have to fill you in later.  Long story short I had to find him a new school before I headed up to Ohio to take care of my mom.  She was scheduled to have her mastectomy on January 7th so that only gave me 3 days to find a school that had an opening, visit the school and sign him up. 

I prayed everyday for strength and guidance and never did I lose my faith in the Jesus.  I got my son in a new school and he loves it.  My mom had her mastectomy and they got all of the cancer and there was none in her lymph nodes.  Things may not always go the way we think they should and more times then we want we will be tested.  Just remember that God is amazing and he is always there for us especially in our toughest moments.

I know sooner get used to the fact that Andrew turns five when he looses his first tooth!  Last Wednesday he comes running downstairs that he thought his tooth was loose and sure enough his bottom tooth was loose.  Not only was it loose but his new tooth was already poking through his gums! 

He was very excited that he was the first of all his friends to have a loose tooth, however being the first had it's drawbacks too.  The fear of the unknown!

On Sunday Andrew came downstairs saying his tooth was really "wiggly" and he didn't like how it felt and he was scared.  I told him that his tooth was almost ready to come out and there was nothing to be scared of.  I tried to wiggle it for him for a while to see if I could get it out, but it just was not budging.  I accidentally wiggled it to hard and made it bleed a little, but I didn't tell him because I knew he would totally freak out.  He was already mad at me and crying hysterically because he was so scared.  I am not really sure what he was scared of.  Maybe because he really thought it was going to hurt or maybe just the no knowing part.  I told him to go to bed and we would try again tomorrow, but he just cried harder and said he wanted it out.  So for 45 minutes I sat wiggling/tugging that darn tooth.  It was hanging by just a small thread but it was not coming out.  I wasn't sure how much longer I could sit there and do that but I also knew it was too loose to send him to bed.  I said a prayer and the tooth popped right out.  Now it was really bleeding!

Andrew immediately stuck his finger in the hole of his mouth and I told him to keep his hands out of his mouth until the bleeding stopped.  BLEEDING???  Let the hysteria set in!  After a few moments of crazy crying he settled down and became very excited at the little tooth in his little hand.  Not to mention the Tooth Fairy was going to come!  So we went downstairs to get our little Ziploc bag to put the tooth in and placed it under his pillow. 

WOW!  When did my baby boy became a young boy? 

Wow!  What a month it has been!  I am behind on posting so I am going to start with Andrew's 5th birthday.  After dealing with all the illnesses this past month I decided that Andrew would just have a small family party instead of inviting all his friends from school.  It was just too much after weeks of everyone being sick.  So a small family party is what we did and it was probably the most fun I have ever had at a party.   There was no pressure to entertain anyone and I actually got to enjoy the party!

We started the day with Andrew's last T-Ball game and a little party to celebrate the season afterward and then we headed back to the house for his birthday party.

I was really worried if Andrew would notice or not that it wasn't as big as previous years but he never said anything until after everyone had left.  He looks at me and says "Mommy I didn't get as many presents as I thought I would but I love all them so much!"  It made me feel good that even though he didn't get as many he still had a great time and enjoyed all of his presents.   

I am still having a hard time believing that he is five!  I can remember when he was born so well it seems like yesterday. 

The other day I was at the store and for some reason I decided to look at the ice cream.  I am not a huge ice cream eater when it starts getting chilly so I am not sure what possessed me to look, but nonetheless I looked.  Let me tell you I am so glad I did.  I came across the best ice cream in the world!  Ben & Jerry's has a Snickerdoodle Cookie Ice Cream flavor and it tastes like you are eating a snickerdoodle cookie.  It is only out for a limited time so be sure to try it before it goes away.

If you decide to try it let me know what you think.  LOVE IT or HATE IT!

I LOVE IT!!!!!

WOW, I am so glad October is over!  October was filled with poop and puke and no Disney so I am very grateful that it is over and now we can look ahead to November. 

November will be a month with no puke, no poop and DISNEY!!!  After both my kids had the stomach bug we had to cancel our Disney trip and reschedule.  Thankfully the airlines and Disney have been very accommodating and understanding which has made this whole thing a lot easier to deal with.  Don't get me wrong telling Andrew was by far the hardest thing we have had to do but the boy took it like a champ.  He is almost five, but I really thought there would be more tears than there were.  He was sad and shed a few tears but overall he truly understood and had no resentment toward his sister or anything.  The greatest thing was we had it rescheduled within the week so he could see that we were still going and there was an actual date he could see on the calendar. 

So our family countdown begins again and we are all looking forward to our 1st Disney trip in a few weeks.  YAY!!!!

Andy and I are celebrating our six year wedding anniversary and it has been an amazing six years.  We now have 2 beautiful children who make us laugh and remind us everyday how lucky we are.

Not every moment has been easy but we are stronger today then we were the day we got married. 

This time next week I will be waking up in the most magical place on earth?  Where you ask?  Walt Disney world of course!  I am so excited because I have never been and neither have my kids.  This will be our first trip and we get to take it together.    We leave next Thursday and provided I can keep my family healthy it will be an amazing trip.

Now on to keeping the kids healthy.  Last Friday about 4pm Andrew looked at me burped and threw up all over the place.  That lasted for 24 hours and I thought to myself okay well at least we are getting this out of the way and everyone will get it and we will be better by Disney.  Well all week has gone by and no one else got sick so I have been so relieved.  The this morning we are sitting here and Maiya is next to me on the couch.  She does that same burp, my eyes widened and I looked over at her...not 2 seconds later she has vomit coming out of her mouth and nose.  All of her milk from this morning all over her and the couch.  Nothing worse then milk that comes back up. 

Now I am just praying that she was just overheated and not really sick, but my guess is she has the same thing Andrew had, but I am going to hold out hope that she will be okay and is not sick.  She has no fever but neither did Andrew when he was throwing up.