He Is

This is always a tender time of year. What an example we have to follow. To try to be like Jesus Christ. He heals our hearts. I do believe in Him. I know He lived on this earth. I know He died for me and you. And I know He lives again. Oft times we don't understand the great plan or why somethings happen. But He is always there to comfort and guide us. He is my strength. He is my friend. He is my Savior.

these two besties do the besty give aways

Big Buck Giveaway times 2

are you rolling with the high rollers?

writinglikeiampopular.blogspot

by JEN

do you follow her? 

check her out, maybe you should! 

she does awesome give aways 

and is pretty funny/ entertaining with her posts! 

and if you win- YOU OWE ME! big.

$30 to

and...

there is yet another! 

justlikemarypoppins.blogspot.com

by AUBRY

$30 to 

Aub also contributes to a great cooking blog:

http://www.justcookalready.com/

i love it!

s'more cookies

Can I eat you please?

{i found this slice of heaven right here}

Dearest VISA bill,

$0.00

Eat that zero balance!

Wahoo! Thanks, Derek, for all your hard work! It DOES pay off. Eventually! :D

I never want to use a credit card again! hahaha

Joyful Macaroon Cookies

...for Derek's prego cravings! hahaha Derek has wanted sweets just as much as me. But of course we have to be good girls and boys. Considering that I haven't made cookies in a while, I thought it was time.

Growing up we had a family friend named Joy that made these cookies. She made them the BEST! And today yesterday I think I got it!

 They may not look great, so take our word, they taste YUMMY!

I usually leave them in too long. But you take them out looking puffy and a lil golden... for me it was 9 mins. Want the RECIPE?! Click HERE

AND THEN they thin out and are Mmmm Mmmm Good! Thanks, Joy, your trademark lives on :> xox

SNOW CITY!

 Saturday night we had a snow storm. So all of you in Hawaii, California and anywhere else that's sunny or at least not freezing, CHECK THIS OUT!

 But we had fun with it! :> Like our SnowManStump? He's just JoJo's height

 xoxox

 All bundled up!!! :> Thanks Aunt Candi for JoJo's jacket! It's going to fit perfectly next year... but we thought we'd try it out a lil early. hee hee

 Merry Valentine's!

Derek shoveling our driveway... and in the morning you couldn't even tell! :*( But as you can see this street goes UP UP UP! So also helped a lot of people that we stuck! It's quite the entertainment! Glad no one has gotten hurt!

 Now HE has a hat... so working on the final touches!

ALL DONE! Now to pry her inside and have some hot cocoa! Surprisingly Jocelyn was super warm! But she's still not quite use to having to put it all on. She'd prefer a swimsuit!

forever yours

be mine. 

ok.

My dear hubby gave me this chocolate fish! 

HAHAHA

we had a lovely day. nice and relaxing! hope you did too.

Thanks for casting your votes... here is the verdict!

Yesterday we took Jocelyn with us to have our ULTRASOUND! And boy was that a flop! :( Jocelyn wasn't interested. She was concerned that the machine was hurting my tummy, she said the doctor was scary hahaha and she wanted OUT of that dark room. SO MUCH for that family idea! I tried to explain what was going to happen! But I enjoyed every other moment of it. I told the doctor I'd be happy to just sit there all day and see that lil one! When the doc asked if we wanted to know the gender we said "YES!" And I think Derek & I were both VERY surprised! ... (watch the first balloon video to find out!)

The plan was to have some cute pictures of JoJo but it was SUPER windy, sorry you can barely even hear! and she wasn't in a super mood. She was hungry and tired which means grumpy... {where does she get that from? hmmm. ME!}

{sorry it's sideways}

If you want to see the WHOLE ultra sound here it is... Grandparents, ENJOY!

(i also apologize because i wan't paying attention to where the mic was... SORRY! it's our new Christmas toy!)

So the majority was incorrect! 

We are so excited... but I do think Derek was excited to be able to name a boy! 

Sorry honey! :0)

Our lil lady is measuring a week behind the due date... they aren't going to change the due date, but according to her measurements her due date would be July 9th, not July 3rd. Jocelyn was born June 25th so that makes me very happy! Because she and Jocelyn wont have birthdays too close! :> You know, like the same day. So here's hoping! We are so excited and look forward to Jocelyn having a sister to play with and to share clothes and girls stuff with! YAY!  We will just ignore that they will have sisterly quarrels! hahaha That will be NEW to me! Derek, grab the ref shirt and whistle! :> 

ALSO all those other girl cousins that are going to be born this year! Derek's two sisters are pregnant with girls! Add me to that! YAY! Madeline, Natalie's, is already here! YAY!!! She is so precious! Can't wait for Laura's lil lady in March!

Katherine, Andrew & February 13th brought Madeline! 

SHE'S SO PRECIOUS! xox

From Derek

... PRETTY much unreal!

She did it. I did it. Now, it's your turn!

ENTER TO WIN!

a give away a set of the OPI Katy Perry Collection. 

The collection includes:

Last Friday Night

Not Like The Movies

The One That Got Away

Teenage Dream

Black Shatter

BECAUSE WHO DOESN'T LOVE NAIL POLISH?!?

Click here to see cute Suburban Beauty and win.

HAIRSPRAY to see Jen Parker as TAMMY!

Cast Photo

WAHOO! Jen, the other MiaMaid Advisor, has been working SO HARD at each practice for MONTHS now! I can ONLY imagine! But all that hard work and dancing is paying off! Cause the musical is HERE! Feb 14th - March 12 at the Center Point Theatre in Centerville it's a MUST SEE! For our activity this week we were fortunate enough to go and see the Dress Rehearsal! IT WAS AWESOME! Jen is Tammy, one of the Council girls. I loved the movie and in person was just so much better! We loved every minute of it!

Sadly, they're very strict about taking pictures so we couldn't until after. And Jen had to change out of her outfit, but STILL! It was awesome! The girls were SO happy to see Jen after! When we left they realized they forgot to get her AUTOGRAPH! So Jen, Sunday, be prepared for the paparazzi! : >

What a blast! You look amazing Jen! Sang and danced PERFECTLY! We LOVE you!

hello world

 jojo in a couple hello kitty items... being my cute lil lady!

my newest BFF's... my Mia Maids! we went to Cinderella the high school musical 

since Kristen was in the PIT! it was super fun to go and hear! 

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Lately. 

Well, I feel that this year has already gone by quite quickly! I feel like my sloppy house shows for it. Why is it that cleaning never stay that way long enough? I keep looking for that magic wand! UH! :>

Well, I believe this is my 3rd week going to the gym 4x a week. I totally latched onto my new friend Aubrey! haha She's also pregnant and she's so motivated! I asked her if I could come with her and poor thing she's stuck with me now! :D Here's the impressive part. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday I get out of bed at...

in the morning... before the sun! And this week that's been too difficult since it's about 8 degrees at that time! I've never been so cold in MY LIFE! But we work out for about an hour. We have a trainer that tells us what to do. I got a hook up for a sweet price! It's a $90 discount! That's all I'm saying! And there are no contracts. So I'll do this as long as my doctor says I can then after baby I'll get back to it. I have to admit to the world that when Aubrey doesn't go, I have a hard time going that early on my own! *We go that hour because of her work/family schedule... and really by the time Derek gets home there's little time for us all to hang out as it is. So morning is best. Why am I telling you all this, because then I have to keep doing it :> 

Jocelyn is 25 months old! She's months what I am years. She's 2 and a half. And let me tell you that I have had a rough patch with her. She's been testing my discipline and pushing for independence :> Bless her lil sweet heart! I had to watch about 4 episodes of SuperNanny to be pumped up for discipline! I was reminded some great things and the first few days were hard but now Jocelyn IS GETTING BETTER at listening to me. KNOCK ON WOOD. The whole, "this is your warning" then "time out" and how to do a proper timeout! Jocelyn stopped staying in her spot and she'd start walking away... but I was reminded to just put her back NO TALKING! And it's been working, Ladies & Gentlemen! It's magic. That SuperNanny knows her stuff! But aside from that difficult moments she's SO full of fun! Full of energy and LOVES animals! She is STILL growling like a tiger at people and I'm STILL embarrassed hahaha She's really tall for her age and it's crazy to see how tall she really is... more like a 3 year old. Where is that coming from? Derek's an average height and I'm barely 5'4"! But she has been good at stores, which for a while never happened! And she's a chatter box! Even though I can't always tell what she's saying! hahaha. I love her with my whole heart! And I do enjoy this age. There are lots of challenges, but her world is changing a lot! So I do understand. She's starting to communicate, and having to use a potty and THINK about things, she wants to do things on her own and gets frustrated when it doesn't happen right off. But she is persistent! :> And she is my sweetie! I love watching her sleep. And when she's sitting on the couch she'll hold my hand. THAT is what makes my day! Even if the dishes AREN'T done! Those tender moments make me gleam! 

Potty training? I was going to try the 4 day deal with her, but this week has been a little too busy. But I AM READY for no more diapers! I am ready for the potty to get it's FULL usage and for that money to go to other things! I hope she's ready and that this will go smoothly! Maybe next week I can carve out time!? 

Derek. Dear Derek! He rolled his ankle playing b-ball. He came home limping on Saturday and I thought for sure it was another "cry wolf" scenario because I DO get those a lot! But it was for real. The first couple days were pretty bad... lots of hobbling or laying down but he's already able to walk better and it doesn't seem as swollen. He did say this isn't as bad of a sprain as he has had before. So no more bball for him for a while. He is loving his job! We are blessed that he is employed and with such a great company. I know how lucky we are...

BABY #2

I am 18 weeks! I have an apt on Friday and then Feb 15th we find out the gender! I hate that I'm having to wait until the 20th week but that's just when the schedule the SPECIAL ultrasound. However, my Mother QUICKLY reminded me that she had to wait the full 40 weeks! :> So of course I' m loving the technology to find out. And sure, we could go pay to find out sooner but I am trying to be patient. Derek's insurance changed at the beginning of there year. MINI HEART ATTACK! But I can keep my same doctor and the coverage is actually better. So that is nice. I felt baby move last week as I laid in bed! It was so exciting. Derek could even fill him/her. I will be shocked if it's a girl and shocked if it's actually a boy. I tried saying "I'm having a boy" and it just seemed weird. haha I find perks to both and am equally excited. I am trying to make sure I don't gain the same amount of weight as last time! WOW that was a mistake! And I don't want to get gestational diabetes again! So I'm trying to eat right. But it just so happens I enjoy my carbs... be it pasta or fruit!!! ANY SUGAR even if it's natural. I have to really monitor what I take in. I think I have about a month before I take that test... so I really am praying. I mean, sure I can monitor my diet but I'm more concerned about baby and my long term health if I do get it again. It can be a scary thing ... it increases my chance of get real diabetes. ANYWAYS, I'm feeling great, I see a bump, some people have said that can't tell, and Derek hasn't taken a picture of me when I asked, THROWN UNDER THE BUS RIGHT THERE! hahaha But hopefully soon. We hope to be able to take Jocelyn into the gender ultrasound apt. I think she'd enjoy it. NAMES? Not discussing it... Derek and I can't agree on anything so we're just waiting to find out the gender. That eliminates half the battle! :D hahaha If it is a boy, I warn you. Derek gets to choose. And he wants a "unique" name... his first choice was Slayter. But we shall see what happens! hahaha OH BOY. 

I will post pictures soon of the most recent haps. I hope you're all doing great! STAY WARM! I'm frozen!