My Blog Awards

I received these awards from LaVonne at Long Wait For Isabella and I am very proud to post them on my blog! It is so nice to know that people actually read my blog... honestly I started my blog for me. It is just a place for me to brag, vent, express myself, and share my opinions. It is just an added bonus that people read and enjoy it along with me!

Happy 101 Award

Here are the rules: 1. Copy and Paste the award on your blog. 2. List who gave the award to you and use a link to their blog. 3. List 10 things that make you happy. 4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and let them know about the award.

10 Things That Make Me Happy:

1. Praying to an amazing God who loves me unconditionally.
2. My husband, daughter and son.... everything about them and everything they do! They are amazing and I can't imagine life without them!
3. Coke-a-Cola
4. DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!! MICKEY MOUSE!!!!!!!!!! HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!!!!!!!
5. Cleaning and organizing
6. Saving Money
7. Long drives with my husband on a summer night with the windows down
8. Singing (alone...... for the most part!)
9. Sleeping in (with 2 kids I think this may be a thing of the past....)
10. Taking pictures of my beautiful gifts from God!

Honest Scrap Award

If you receive this award you must nominate at least 1 other blogger and pass it on. And list 10 honest things about yourself that no one knows!

Well the name says it all! It is all about being an honest blogger. They way I see it, if you aren't blogging honestly, why are you blogging at all? I enjoy reading honest blogs, and even more, I enjoy writing an honest blog!

10 Things You Don't Know About Me

1. I will never fly in an airplane..... by far, my BIGGEST fear of all!
2. I love being pregnant, labor and delivery! All of it! It is amazing and I would do it 100 times if I could!
3. I can play Super Nintendo with my toes.... yes I have monkey feet for sure! I can also strike a lighter with my toes!
4. I hate Dr. Pepper.... it tastes like medicine!
5. I talk to my Granddaddy, Granny and Uncle Mark every single day of my life (even though they all passed away while I was young)
6. I have NEVER tried/taken any type of drugs.... I can't stand for people to say "it's part of growing up... they are all gonna try it.... it's not big deal" I never did and I pray that my children make that same decision for themselves..
7. I talk in my sleep.... terribly!!!!
8. I walk in my sleep.... terribly!!!
9. I am very sensitive about my height.
10. I am too judgmental and I know it... even though I know it and pray about it DAILY... I can't change it.... only God can, and I hope someday He will!

Depending on who is reading this, you may or may not know some of these!

The Sunshine Award

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogging world.

What a huge compliment! I am so touched that LaVonne would pass this award to me! It is so nice to think that I just may be any type of inspiration to another Blogger!



Drum Roll Please!

The Happy 101 Award goes to............ Everything Matters Today

The Honest Scrap Award goes to........ reach in, reach out, reach up

The Sunshine Award goes to............. SK Photography

Way to go guys! Keep up the good work and happy blogging!

Blog Award

I recently got my first blog award! Hooray! But.... with Jayce being a little bit of a grumpy guy I haven't had time to post it! I will be working on that post tonight once he is down for the night! I think the only time I will get any "fun" things done will be in the wee hours of the night for a while! But that's just fine! He is a great baby and we are blessed to have him! My life is a little crazy right now, but I know it won't be for long!

You can read about my award here! Thanks LaVonne! (This is a blog that I love!!!) The award made my day! It is great to know that people take the time to join me on my journey through this blog! God may be using my blog for something big... who knows!

By God's Grace

By God's Grace...

I have conceived three babies.

By God's Grace...

I have carried two babies.

By God's Grace...

I have given birth to two babies.

By God's Grace...

I can take care of these babies.

By God's Grace...

I will raise all my babies for Him and His Glory!

Bringing home a new baby is not easy... but no one said it would be! I am learning all over again how to be a Mommy, but now I am a Mommy of 2! I am beyond blessed to have these two gifts from God! Even when I am tired from lack of sleep, stressed out by silly little things that don't really matter, worried that I am not doing things right or frazzled because my baby is crying and my daughter is begging me to play... I am still grateful for everything! Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for the stress that life causes! If I didn't have that stress then I wouldn't have the joy either! My life is so full! I can't even really describe how happy I am with my life and how thankful I am that God loves me so much! There is no thank you big enough for being able to have children...really there isn't. Life is hectic right now, but I am still grateful! My day begins with a prayer that God will help me take the day one step at a time. He helps me slow down and get through tough times and enjoy good times. He will continue to be my strength!

Do not worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own. -Matthew 6:34 (one of my favorites!)

My Beautiful Blessings!

Mother's Day

Mommy and Jayce

Mommy and her sweet little ones

Lula Mae loving Jayce

Lula Mae holding Jayce

Jayce Is Here!

Jayce Moreland Bell
May 4, 2010
8:41 am
7 Lbs
19 3/4 inches

Jayce's journey started on Monday when I went to the doctor for my 38 week appointment. Dr. Erickson told me that I was 4 cm and 100% thinned out. He stripped my membranes and told me that he would probably be seeing me within the next day or so. He was right! By 1:00pm I was contracting mildly, and by 4:00pm they were still coming. They were still 5 minuets apart so I wasn't sure labor was really starting or not. Well, since my labor went so fast with Lula Mae we figured we better head to the hospital just in case. By 4:45pm we were settled into our room and put on the monitors. I was contracting every 2 to 3 minuets, but was still only 4.5 cm. So Charlie and I walked.... and walked... and walked! My contractions were great (longer, stronger, closer) but my cervix still hadn't changed. I knew it wasn't going to change unless my water broke and I kept telling them that. I told them that once my water broke it would go really fast... just had to wait for it to break! Well, we settled in for the night (after walking around the hospital countless times) around 2:00am. Even though my contractions were not hurting to the point of needing the epidural, I opted to go ahead and get it at 6:30am. One thing that made me get it even though I was managing my pain well was the thought of tearing again. My 4th degree tear with Lula Mae was a very painful experience and I wanted to avoid it if possible. Plus, I loved the anesthesiologist that was on call (by love I mean trusted) and I knew she would be getting off soon so I figured getting the epidural at that point was my best option. Dr. Erickson came in and checked me at 7:30am and I was still 5 cm! I told him things weren't going to progress until my water broke, so he went ahead and broke it for me. I had TONS of fluid! Dr. Erickson was amazed at the amount of fluid! (This is where the story gets fun!) Ok, so 7:30am he broke my water.....at 8:20am I started feeling pressure and was ready to be checked. I was 10 cm and ready to push! I went from 5 cm to 10 cm in less than an hour! At 8:30am I started to push! I pushed through 2 contractions with my nurse (a total of 5 pushes) and then Dr. Erickson walked in the room and they started to set up for delivery. I pushed through one contraction for Dr. Erickson (just 2 pushes) and Jayce was born at 8:41am! So from the time my water broke to the time Jayce was born was and hour and 10 minuets.... I told them once my water broke it would go quick! My delivery was amazing! Jayce was beautiful! I can not tell you how much I love having babies! Not only was my delivery amazing, but my recovery has been fantastic! My pain is nothing basically and I feel fantastic! God's grace is amazing! I am so thankful for a such a wonderful labor and delivery!

200 Challenge: May

Can you believe that we are almost halfway through the year already? If you are like me you are begging 2010 to please slow down! We are still going strong with The 200 Challenge and are very focused on saving money this year. Well, April did not go so great with the challenge. It wasn't impulse buying, luxury items or bad planning, but we still didn't do well. Unfortunately when we run out of staple items it seems to come all at once. This past month I had to pretty much stock up on much needed items (olive oil, flour, sugar, several spices, etc.) It just seemed like half of our budget went to "stocking" instead of to "food". But, life goes on. We are going to buckle down in May and do a much better job. Also, I need to be more aware of when we are going to need to "restock" and look for coupons and sales. Even if it is time consuming, I know it is well worth it! Anyway, our grand total for the month of April was $226.73. Yuck :-( You can't expect to do well every month I guess. Still, I'm a little bit disappointing in myself for going so far over budget this month. Even though we went over, I know we still are spending much less on groceries than the average family. May is a new start! I hope this month goes well for all of you doing the challenge! I am going to stay focused and try and make up for the overage from April... not sure how low we can get it, but we are going to give it a try!

Previous Months: Feburary, March, April

Since Jayce will be here any day now, I have planned on making lots of easy meals through May. Charlie is a great cook so he will also be helping out with the cooking more and more. This is a list of my ideas for May... although I have not yet made a full menu yet... I am waiting until nap time so that I can enjoy lots of one on one time with Lula Mae! Good Luck in May everyone!

Cheesy Chicken & Rice with veggie (2)
Shepard's Pie with veggie (2)
Taco's with chips and salsa
Brinner (Pancakes and Bacon) (2)
Brinner (Biscuits and Gravy) (2)
BBQ Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and veggie
Chicken Fingers with Mac-n-cheese and veggie
Pigs in a blanket with tater tots
Tater Tot casserole
French Bread Pizza
Shrimp and Pasta Salad
Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Fries
Mexican Pizza
Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes and Veggie
Baked Chicken with Baked Potatoes and Baked Beans
Crock Pot Stew over Rice
Hot Dogs with Slaw and Deviled Eggs