Confessions from a Stay-At-Mom- Mommy!

First, let me prefaces this post by saying that I know that I am BLESSED far greater that one person should be or deserve. God has graced my life with an EXTRORDANARY husband, a DARLING baby girl, and WONDERFUL friends. However, with all that said I feel like I need to be authentic and own my feelings right now.

For two and a half years, Marion and I prayed and tried to get pregnant and with a little help (really God’s will) we were given the most perfect gift. God entrusted us to be Kaitlyn’s parents. Words can not even begin to express the love that I feel for her as a mother. I will ALWAYS be proud and humble that God picked me to be her mother. With that said, I can’t help but shake the overwhelming feelings I feel sometimes.

Once I had Kailtyn, there was no where else in the world that I wanted to be, except at home taking care of her (and I still love being here). Yet, there are moments when I feel like I am running ninety miles an hour making sure that she is happy, the house gets clean, finishing homework, ….. and the list goes on. And like I already mentioned, I have a wonderful husband that totally supports me with whatever needs to be done, but sometimes in the mist of all the hustle it hits me that being a stay at home mommy can be blissful, chaotic, lonely, delightful, and any combination in between.

I am a people person so at times being at home can be isolating. My husband says that I could talk to a wall and believe me I have tried :o) Please do not get me wrong, Kaitlyn and I get out but I think not having a structured schedule of social interaction can wear on you. Although with that said, I love being at home with her and value this sweet time in life that I am able to do this. Ok, so I feel a little bit better now! Thanks for listening and I promise that I will have a fun post in a day or so :o)

Going to the Chaple and We're gonna get Married...

" Bells will ring, OHH.." I love that song. I remember watching Father of the Bride a HUNDRED times when I was growing up. I dreamed about meeting the man of my dreams, planning a beautiful wedding, and relishing in our special day. It is hard to believe that eight years ago today Marion and I were married. Although we did not hire "Franck (the crazy wedding planner)" the wedding turned out nicely.

We were married on Saturday, May 5th at 5:00p.m. At this point in the day some small nerves started settling in, but there was no time to worry about nerves. I had go and get my hair and make-up done. A funny little side note to the day was that on the way back home to pick up my dress, I realized that no one had picked up the rose pedals for the flower girl. So I high tailed it to the nearest floral shop and thank goodness they had some for us to take. I wanted everything to go so smoothly and for the more part it all turned out great.

The past eight years had been WONDERFUL! Marion is a compassionate man of God and truly loves his family. I love how he balances my personality, opens my car door, has a heart of gold, seems quiet at first, but really is a comedian, is a leader of our home, has a vision for our marriage and family and works hard to maintain and reach that goal, and there are so many more things I love about this man that God has blessed me with, but I will save that for another post :o)

Thank you for a wonderful eight years Marion! I can't wait to see how the love story that God has written for us continues to unfold!

Where Did the Time Go?

So, I am realizing that my last post was in the middle of March. The absence of posting was not due to a therapeutic adventure to some secluded island, to a drug induced coma, a whirlwind trip to Thailand to build a school for orphans, or a broken arm. No, all those excuses would have been, a little crazy, but a better excuse for not having blogged in almost a month in a half. Life has just been like the Kentucky Darby and every second seemed to count. Not to say that every second does not still matter, however I am enjoying a little more "breathing" room :o) With that said, I have a lot to caught up on.

Little Miss Sunshine!

OK, this weather is so wild! Just a few days ago we were all enjoying WARM, beautiful, and sunshiny days. An now Old Man Winter has blessed us with his presence again. This time with a few snow flurries dancing in the air. Well Old Man, I do not heart you, but I do heart this little ray of sunshine. Kaitlyn and I absolutely loved last week. We took the time to soak up the sun and play, play, play. We had a blast this past weekend in Norman, I know it is so good to be close to Mecca (SOONER COUNTRY!). Aunt Wendy came to visit from Arizona. We really enjoyed visiting.

Happy Birthday!

It goes without saying, but time really flies by when you are having fun! Today is Marion's 33rd birthday! What really blows my mind away is that is coming July we will have been together for ten years, wow! Since we have class on Mondays, which that is an entirely different blog :o), we celebrated last night. We started a tradition a few years ago that on birthdays, for each other, we make something that we have never tried to create before. Knowing that my precious husband loves Chili Reno's (SP??) I decided on that. However I substituted some of the recipe. I used the:
1)poblano(sp?) peppers, which are not spicy in the least.
2)strips of NY Strip Steak, that had been marinated in cilantro, red onions, garlic, lime juice and rest, olive oil, and steak seasoning.
3) stuffed the steak, grilled onions and bell pepper into the poblano(sp?) peppers
4) drizzled yummy cheese sauce on top
5) sprinkled monetary and pepper jack cheese on top of all that.
6) placed it all into the oven to melt together.

When it came out it was a heavenly sight! Marion absolutely loved it! Kaitlyn seemed to love the steak, it was totally soft and tender :o), and beans. And Last but certainly not least was the dessert. Marion's all time favorite cake is Red Velvet cake. So I stayed safe on that end. This cake was not the best icing job, but it tasted good! P.S.~Sarah I totally love the cake plate! It keeps the cake so fresh. I can't believe that I live without one for so long. Thanks again!

Girls Night Out!

When you think of a "Girl's Night Out" one would generally not envision the little ones. However, this past Saturday we enjoyed a "Girl's Night Out" with Miss Kaitlyn McKenzie! Mimi, Aunt Sarah, Miss Kaitlyn and I went to this FABULOUS little restaurant off of Brookside, the Garlic Rose. This restaurant is a prefect date place. I love the dem-lite atmosphere, the yummy roasted garlic and bread that they serve you with you appetizer and salad, and the delicious Italian dinner. I was not certain how Kaitlyn would do that evening. Don't get me wrong, she is a total sweetheart, but the slower pace that the resturant displays is not always suitable for energetic little people :o) However, she was AMAZING! They had a cool piano player there that evening and Kaitlyn went CRAZY when he played. She dancing up a storm in her chair and singing along to the tunes. Needless to say we had a great time!

One-Year Pictures

We had Kaitlyn's First year pictures made a few days before her birthday so that we could have them back in time for her party. In a short version, we are happy with these pictures, but it took two different settings and photographers to finally capture something that was decent. So, if you all have any suggestions on some where to start taking her I would GREATLY appreciate it. We just don't want to struggle with getting good pictures and felling like we are being rushed through like a fast food restaurant.

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!!!

It is so hard to think that an entire year has passed since our lives were so richly blessed with our Princess Kaitlyn. I can still remember the day that we found out that we were finally pregnant, as if it were yesterday. Kaitlyn's pregnancy was such an amazing experience and a joy to go through. We loved preparing for her arrival. On her first birthday I kept remembering her birthday a year ago. Marion and I arrived at the "Pink Palace" at 7:00a.m for our induction. On the way in to the hospital Marion looked over at me and said, " this will be the last day that it is just you and me." We both smiled and said how exciting!!! At 6:00p.m on January 8th, 2008, Miss Kaitlyn McKenzie was born weighing 7lbs, 5oz. She had the fattest cheeks you had ever seen, but they were AWESOME for kissing. This year has been the most amazing year of our lives! Kaitlyn is such a ham. She loves to showoff when she laughs and dances. She loves to snuggle and give kisses. She will talk you ear off, even though the words are not in English :o) She loves to try to catch the cats (even though they won't let her). Kaitlyn has such a zeal for life and love to discover new things. She is such a happy little girl and loves her family. Her favorite thing is her "lovie" which is her blanket. She carries it around the house and refuses to go to bed without it. We love her silly faces and her sweet disposition. Thank you God for blessing us with far more than we ever hoped for or imagined in a child. Kaitlyn you are such an incredible little girl and we are so honored to be you parents.