Fri-Diary?

Ok, so I've been seriously debating going down to just one day a week, two days a week or three days a week. All have a theme of course...just need to know which one you guys are interested in.

I have a couple ideas. I stole this one from Grace Helbig (who is hilarious, I seriously recommend buying her book...

Honestly...I listen to it in my car on Audible all the time.) -Fri-Diary which is basically a re-cap to what I have done all week.

-Recipe day, where I find a new recipe on Pinterest or something and try it out. I tell you what I think about it and Chris tells you what he thought of it. That would probably be on a Monday or a Wednesday, so if you guys come up with a fancy name for that, it would definitely help me out...

-DIY Day where I take the ridiculous things I've seen on Pinterest (the cheaper ones of course) and see if they actually work. Depending on the type of projects, it might eventually work it's way into a vlog. We'll see.

-Movie Recommendation Day, where I tell you about a movie I have seen and why I think you should see it. Simple enough. Yeah. :) They won't always be new movies, because I don't have the funds to see a new movie each week...unfortunately.

-Interviews with the kids/husband/step monster. Once I get a bigger following and people start asking more questions about us, then we can do this day...but I don't think we're ready for that yet.

-Any other recommendation you have for a special day. I will do them the same day each week. Every day is kinda getting really hard though.

So cast your votes now for how many days and which of these days I mentioned would be your favorite!

Thanks for reading guys and I'll see you soon :)

Twenty Questions

Ok, so I found a list of questions that I thought would be fun to answer to let you guys know more about me :)

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?  I would say mid to late 20's
2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?  Never trying. You never know how far you'll get until you try.
3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?  Wow...I never thought a list of questions on the internet would make me question my entire life...
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?  I hope so. I say an awful lot...
5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?  The way we think about each other. If everyone loved everyone, think of how different the world could be.
6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?  Spending time with the ones I love, doing just about anything.
7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?  I think I'm doing what I believe in.
8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently? I wouldn't live in Troy, MO...that's for sure.
9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?  My ability to choose who I would marry, what I do for a job, who I choose to associate myself with.
10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?  Most times, doing the right things.
11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do?  Speak up. Whether it's family or friends, I'll let you know the truth.
12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?  Never be lazy, you can relax, but never be lazy. (That's a problem that I have...)
13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?  Yes, there's nothing more important than family.
14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?  Yes.
15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?  Shuffle cards, show love, make chili, play Minecraft, think, see, live.
16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?  Everyone has a different personality. Believe it or not, killing makes some people happy. That would never make me happy. Love makes me happy, equality for everyone makes me happy, the same rights for everyone makes me happy. A lot of people think differently. Does that make them wrong? No. Does that make me wrong? No. It makes us different.
17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?  What's holding you back?  Go to Haiti. A couple more months and a couple hundred dollars.
18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of? A couple grudges. I've  never been one to hold grudges but if you mess with my friends or family, you have to work REAL hard  to get back on my good side.
19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?  Africa or Italy. Africa to work with kids and Italy, because who wouldn't move to Italy?!
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster? Yes and yes. I think it reads my thoughts through my fingers.

Alright guys, that is the blog for today. If you think I should blog more often or if I should blog less, tell me in the comments below or on Facebook!  Let me know what you'd ljke to hear about! :)

I hope you guys had a wonderful day and I'll see you soon :)

Wally World.

I don't know about you guys, but I could never go to WalMart again, and die a happy woman.

I have a list of pros and cons of going to WalMart.

Pros:
-Lots of lanes (not open, but they're there!)
-You can get certain things there that you can't get at Kroger, unfortunately.
-I can't think of anything else...

Cons:
-Some of the people that shop there act like they were raised by wolves.
-It's not Kroger.
-The parking lot is so ridiculously dangerous, I don't take the kids with me anymore.
-I've bought expired food from there, more than once.
-Like I said in the pros, there are 30 lanes and only 3 are open at all times.
-When I can't find something and I ask someone who works there, they look in the exact same spot that I was in. For 20 minutes before saying "hmm...I dunno."
-They already have Christmas music playing in the store -_-
-They say they have the lowest prices, I know as soon as I walk in Kroger that THAT is a lie.
-Their workers are never happy, never smiling. As soon as I walk in Kroger, I get a smile and a welcome.
-Maybe it's just me, but I wish I never had to go to WalMart ever again.

Please share your horrible WalMart experiences in the comments below or on Facebook, I would love to hear them! :)

I hope you guys have a wonderful day, and I'll see you soon :)

Helpless

Have you ever felt helpless.

One day everything just comes crashing down and you realize you're not following your dreams, you're not loving life, you're feeling like you have no positive impact on the world. You've tried so hard for so long to make everyone happy that you don't know who YOU are anymore?

I once had, what some would call, an eating disorder. I stopped eating...I thought I was not thin enough. I thought that was what the world wanted. I thought that was what my most recent ex wanted. It wasn't. It didn't really matter to him, it didn't matter to anyone.

No one really noticed when I just got a bag of chips at lunch and only ate three or four. No one noticed at after school practices, in class. My mom and dad mentioned I wasn't eating as much but they didn't know I wasn't eating at all.

I hid it because I was ashamed. I was ashamed of what people would think of me, I was ashamed at my reasoning that maybe if I did this, he'd take me back. I was ashamed that I actually thought that it might make me better. One day in the bathroom at school, I passed out from hunger. I quickly recovered, ate a granola bar and went back to class. I was losing weight, my clothes were loose fitting, still no one said anything.

It got to the point one night that I sitting in my room crying my eyes out, thinking that no one would care if I were there or not anymore. I cried out to God to give me an answer and when I opened my eyes, I looked in the mirror and realized I didn't recognize the person that was looking back at me. I knew at that moment, I needed to change or else I would never be able to crawl out of this hole again.

The next day, I got an actual lunch and a couple of my friends told me they were glad to see me eating again. They did notice. They just didn't say anything. I talked to them later on and they said they didn't know how to ask me about it without making it worse or making me mad.

If you have noticed this behavior in a friend, talk to them. You never know when someone's life could change in an instant. Maybe they just needed that one conversation, maybe they need more than that. If someone would have said something to me, maybe it wouldn't have gotten as bad as it did.

We'll never know. I'm much happier with myself now, and I'm glad that I could share this story with you guys. If any of you have ever struggled with body issues, know that you are not alone. You can talk to me, there will be no judgement. If you need someone to talk to, my inbox is always open.

I hope just by these few words, I was able to help someone talk to someone they think might need it, or help someone who needs it, ask for help. Don't just sit there and drown, save yourself. You are more than worth it. I believe in you. You are loved. You WILL be missed. Someone loves you, just take some time to love yourself and that will become clear.

I love you guys. I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow

SORRY!!! :/

I'm so sorry for not posting all weekend. Unfortunately I think that's how it's going to start being.

Every day is a huge commitment and sometimes I can't post until 10 o clock at night and then I'm lucky if anyone gets around to reading them.

So, I'm going to leave it up to you guys. Either I can write Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday...
Or I can write Monday through Friday.

Either way, I'm taking two days off...sorry, this is getting to be a lot and we're getting super busy!

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But now, I'm going to write my actual blog. :)

Friday morning the kids had friends over so I had six giggling, screaming bodies here other than me.

First, they did the baby food challenge. There were gross ones and good ones, like spinach and potato and strawberry banana. Wouldn't you know it, I bought more bad than good. Oops ;)

Next they did chubby bunny...which is probably the most fun, gross game you could ever play. NEVER play it inside...
Bethany got 12 in her mouth. I'm sure her mother is so proud. :)

Then, the did the egg roulette challenge like I promised...but I have apparently forgotten how to hard boil eggs so once we got through a couple of eggs the kids said, "did you hard boil ANY of these?!"
Ummm...apparently not. The whites were semi-solid and the yolks were still runny so it ended up being a 'let's make a mess' game. Which I'm totally fine with because they were outside!

After their friends left, they got into some comfy clothes and went with my mom and dad to do some camping. I'll sure more marshmallows was ALL they needed. I'll surprised they went to sleep!

Only Sadie stuck it out and slept outside with Grandpa Pat. She's our trooper, that's for sure.

And the next morning she asked for hot sauce on her eggs. I'm pretty sure she's the favorite grandchild in dad's book. :)

Then we went to Sadie's soccer game, they won 9-0! She's progressed so much with the help of her coach, I'm so glad she's on his team. He's a great soccer player and an even better coach. Sadie has been learning a lot this year, rather than the keep away she's played in the past. She has learned actual plays and helps a lot defensively :)

After that, we had about an hour to chill, I took a nap. I was exhausted...

Then, we went to rehearsal for Sunday's worship set, picked up another one of Sadie's friends and headed out to our church's fall festival.

The next morning we woke up early and headed to church, sang our songs and in the middle of service, I had to take the kids to the soccer fields, we had another game to get to. This one was INTENSE. Chris and I almost had heart attacks. But, in the end, they won! That meant that our last game would be at 2 o'clock that day, so we had to go get lunch and come back.

The last game was even worse because we were playing for 1st! Unfortunately, in the last half, we lost the game. But we can't complain about 2nd place! The girls did an amazing job this year and we couldn't be more proud of all their hard work and perseverance.

THEN, after we gave the kids to their mom, we went to another fall festival. This time it was for our old church, we so desperately missed everyone there that we almost cried when we pulled in.

We played some games, ate some delicious food and then parted ways. I'm sure we'll make it around again soon. :)

Anyways, that was our busy weekend, I hope you enjoyed yours as much as I enjoyed mine.

I hope you have a wonderful day, I'll see you tomorrow :)

Fun, friends and half boiled eggs

For any of you that didn't know, my page got over 2,000 VIEWS!

So, like I said, the kids did a challenge...actually, they did THREE!

First, they did the baby food challenge. There were more gross ones than good ones, like spinach and potato...blech. They did them and then I did them.

Then they did chubby bunny....I honestly thought I could fit more than 8 marshmallows in my mouth...I was so wrong

And finally they did the egg roulette challenge...which turned out to be a bunch of raw and half boiled eggs...all of them had runny yolks... :/ it was pretty gross.

I just got home from Brianna's Norwex party, which I'm having one of my own! She sold me on it.

Now Chris and I are sitting here eating dinner, the kids are at my parent's house camping out and I can finally breathe :)

All in all, it was a pretty wonderful day if you ask me.

I hope you guys had a wonderful day and I'll see you guys tomorrow :)

A little bit personal...

For any of you that have ever been the cause of a Parent/Teacher conference, it's always terrifying...but today, I'm going to be on the other side of things. I'm going to my first Parent/Teacher conference that's not about me!

It's equally as terrifying in my mind though because I've never been "great" at being an "adult"...so this should definitely be interesting...

Luckily, it's just Myles' conference. 

Look at that cute little monkey :)

There won't be much to it I'm assuming, but who knows, I could be totally wrong. Should I bring a note pad? I have ADD, should I record the conversation? I KNOW I shouldn't be this nervous, but for someone with pretty severe anxiety when it comes to people in charge, it comes as a challenge.

Even when I was younger, if the person that was in charge got on to me (or even if they were just talking to me) my brain would melt and I would have a meltdown to the point of tears. It was terrible because it happened all the way through college and I would break down into tears after classes with my teacher, even if I was doing amazing in their class.

It even happens now when it comes to my job. I have panic attacks when I'm getting ready to call my boss and tell him I didn't hit the goal for calls that day, or if something came up and I had to leave the house, I cry just thinking about the fact that I have to tell him I missed an hour of calls.

A lot of people don't understand it and I can't make them understand, I don't know if it's a personality thing or maybe there's something in my brain that just can't handle that little bit of stress. It's really frustrating, especially when I get so upset that I forget to do things. I forget to file reports or call back the people that I have scheduled to call. 

When that happens and I remember later, I get mad at myself and break myself down. No one normal does this. If you had a normal brain, this wouldn't happen. Why in the world would anyone want to interact with someone who can't hold a conversation without looking away. You're not supposed to cry when you get a critique, you're supposed to take it and use it...

Dealing with ADD and anxiety, going on and off medication for them, it's not easy. I know there are many people out there that think ADD isn't as serious as people make it out to be, and some times there are different cases, but if you think you have ADD or your child has ADD, please take them to the Doctor at least to be tested. It could help tremendously in school and social life.

Be watchful if they are given medication for ADD or ADHD. There are different side effects with each medication but I went through a period where I only wanted to be in my room. I didn't talk to my friends, I barely talked to my family and I almost never ate. I went a month with this behavior before I was switched to a different medication that actually worked for me. I was finally able to focus when teachers were talking, I was doing better in classes that I was completely failing, I was getting my friends back and gaining new ones.

Unfortunately, I'm not on that medication any more. I can still make friends pretty easily but sometimes it's hard to focus and my anxiety gets pretty bad sometimes. I think these two coincide and maybe some day I can find a way to combat both things. But as for now, I'm still adjusting.

If you have any more questions for me about my experience with ADD or anxiety, you can ask me in the comments below or you can message me on Facebook.

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On a lighter note, I did get my hair chopped off last night and so far, I love it. It's nice to be able to run my fingers through it. :)

Tell me what you guys think in the comments below!

I hope you guys have a wonderful day and I'll see you guys tomorrow :)

New things...

I'm not usually one to be terrified of change...but when it comes to the length of my hair...I'm literally terrified...

I've had long hair for the entirety that the kids have known me and today, I'm gonna cut it off.

I'm excited, but I'm also scared to death. I know that it'll probably grow back to the length it is now but it's gonna take so long :(

But then I think aboht how long it takes me to brush my hair on a normal day...if I've driven with the Windows down that day, it takes a little over 30 minutes to brush the tangles out.

I have thick hair...very thick hair. I have NO IDEA where it came from but it's there and now it won't be there after 1:30 today.

Yikes.

Pray for me that I don't start crying in the salon chair...and I'll post a picture of my new hairstyle tomorrow.

I hope you guys have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow :)

Living my life on a Charter Bus...

So, my middle school and high school life consisted of choir, show choir....and some other stuff. I absolutely love music and I couldn't imagine my life without it.

We're at a choir concert tonight and it's gotten to the point to where there's no one I'm related to that I get to come and see...I'm just coming for fun. :)

I love the fact that we have such an amazing music program. It makes me really happy that my step kids and future kids get to participate and have such a wonderful opportunity.

My choir directors have definitely had a hand in making me the person I am today. Without them, I wouldn't have traveled like I did, I wouldn't have made the same friends and I definitely wouldn't have met my husband.

My middle school director, Cathy Whitworth instilled in me a love of being on a stage filled with lights.

My high school director, Andrew Drinkall gave me the courage to sing out loud and shaped my voice to where it was comfortable.

My husband taught me that I sounded pretty good by myself, but, with the right voice...we made a great combo. :)

So, I have to say, music had a great impact and brought great things to my life.

So I'm gonna go, the music's about to start.
I hope you guys had a wonderful day and I'll see you guys tomorrow :)

RUNNING! MADNESS! DRIVING FAST!

You know those times when you're doing something important and you lose track of time? Sometimes it's ok and no big deal. Sometimes, you almost forget to pick up your step kids from school.

Yeah. So that happened. I have an alarm on my phone that goes off everyday. 45 mjnutes before they get out of school. That gives me time to come back to earth from work mode and kinda chillax before I have three tornadoes of energy enter my life again. :)

But, that alarm didn't go off today. I don't know why but I was still in work mode when I looked over and saw that it was 3:00. Usually I leave the house around 2:45, I pick them up at 3:30 and we head home. I get there early so I don't have to wait to pick them up. If I'm in the front of the line, they jump in and I drive off. I don't have to wait or anything. It's nice.

I am here to tell you that God was smiling on me today. I'm still in the front of the line! Thank you Lord.

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Ok, so today I noticed that I am up to 1,800 page views. Holy Moses.

I've decided that if we can get it up to 2,000 before the kids go back to their mom's on Sunday, I'm gonna have them do a challenge and I'll post it on here. You can comment below with any of the funny challenges you've seen on youtube (the egg roulette challenge, the smoothie challenge, the baby food challenge-just to name a few. If you haven't seen these, go look some up on youtube!)

So yeah, share this on your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, MySpace, Bebo, Facetime....whatever you do....and we could have the kids do some pretty funny stuff!

I hope you guys have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow :)

One Take Sunday! Second Installment!

Today's the dayyyyy!!!

Yay! We get the kids today!
We have both missed them like crazy. When they're not with us, it feels like something's missing.

Every Sunday that we give them to their mom, it usually only takes about an hour before I hear Christopher mumble, "I miss my babies..."

My best friend, Michael, came over last night. Christopher decided that he just wanted to grill chicken, so I didn't get to try any of your recipies yet, but I do have them saved!

It doesn't really matter where we are or what we're doing, we always have fun. I've missed him so much and I'm really glad we got together.

Well, that's about it for one take Sunday! Let me know what you guys think I should talk about this week. Leave me a message in the comments or on Facebook.

I hope you guys have a wonderful day and I'll see you guys tomorrow :)

Dadurday: Installment #2

Happy Dadurday all.

First, a joke:  What do a church and a lazer fight have in common? 

pew pew pew

I've been asked to discuss my tattoos, which is awesome, because they mean a lot to me.  Each one tells a certain tale about my faith, and are built to remind me of what it means to be me in the Kingdom of God.    

The first two tattoos were done on my inner forearms, and were done as a pair.  They say 'Temple of God' in Greek and Hebrew, with Greek on the right and Hebrew on the left.  If you open the Bible at the two testaments, you'll see Greek on the right and Hebrew on the left: The Old Testament and the New.

I got them for my 19th birthday as a gift from my mom, and they mean a lot for that reason as well as the fact that they represent a truth in my life, that I am now the place where God means Earth, I am His temple, and He dwells in me.  

Next are the two 'gauntlet's' on my wrists: fire and water.  God lead the people of Israel out of Egypt with a pillar of fire and pillar of water (cloud), and so these represent the journey that I am being lead on through all of this life, a journey out of ignorance and into knowing, out of subjugation and into freedom.  As I've been in recovery, these have come to mean even more to me, as they represent the movement I am taking to move away from slavery and bondage and into true freedom of choice and responsibility.

The next most visible tattoo is one that is a work in progress.  It is a fox, snout covered in juice, as he eats from the grapes that surround his head.  This tattoo was inspired by scripture by way of the song "The Soviet" by mewithoutYou (which also inspired the title of that album), 'Catch for us the foxes, in the vineyard [which sneak in and eat the choicest grapes]'.  This is a reminder of the truth that words sneak, worm and wheedle their way into our hearts and destroy.  Foxes are fleet of foot, and words are even faster.  I mustn't let them steal from me what truth I know about myself.  

All of my tattoos were done by Dave and Robbie at Inkspot in Troy, and more beauty and truth has come into my life (not to mention sobriety and recovery) through that ragamuffin band of brotherly men than anyone could ever have expected.  

Next time I'll talk about the half sleeves, but I think this is enough words for today.  

Go forth and make beauty.  

Long Haul

Another day, another post I almost forgot to write... : / sorry guys.

So, for these past two days, Christopher and I have been on the road to and from Illinois. Our business requires us to travel some times and yesterday was no exception. We visited a couple libraries in Illinois and had to stay the night in a hotel.

Christopher and I love the times when we can just stop off at a hotel if we're tired of driving and just relax. We don't have to worry about dishes or laundry, we can just relax.

If you guys ever have a free night, take a road trip a couple hours down the road, eat at a place you've never heard of and book a hotel for the night. Bring your laptop and watch some Netflix, sit on the bed and eat some pizza, tell some jokes or just sit and talk. It's amazing how being in a different setting will open up the conversation and make the evening more interesting.

And if you guys are anything like us, three straight hours of driving, calling, emailing and laughing really wears you out so, we're gonna take a nap!

Oh! One of my best friends is coming over tomorrow and I have a request! If you guys have an amazing chicken recipe, please send it to me on facebook or share it in the comments below! :)

Thank you guys,
I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow :)

Unique Situation

"You're friends with her?"

Yes, I consider my husband's ex-wife a friend.

I am so blessed, I couldn't ask for a better situation. We're all pretty good friends. I know I can text Brianna any time and ask a question or if we want to talk to one of the kids the weeks we don't have them, all we have to do is call her.
Christopher is an amazing father and Brianna is an amazing mother, just in different houses. That's why I'm thankful we have such good communication. Rules are rules, in both houses. We all get to have opinions when it comes to the kids and we all have a say.

I was once in a situation where the ex was my enemy and that was not a good time, I can tell you right now. It was so easy to have a genuine relationship the first time I met the kids because Brianna was very nice and trusted me completely with the kids.

We think it's very important to the way the kids view life to have two strong, unified (and pretty awesome if you ask me) families to look to if they ever need anything. I think in the situation that they are in, (two sets of parents) we're setting a pretty good example.

I wish there were more stories like ours. The fact that I can text Brianna at any time during the day or that I can joke with Drew on Facebook makes me happy. I'm glad that I can call them friends and I never want that to change.

They have made our lives so much easier, just by being them.

Thanks guys! Thank you for sharing your amazing family with me :)

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If you guys have any questions for me or any topics you would like me to talk about, please let me know in the comments below. Today, my brain was fried. A business trip to Illinois just to end up staying there for the night kind of takes it out of you!

I hope you guys had an amazing day, I'll see you tomorrow :)

Those will look terrible when you're 80...

Let me just start out by giving credit, where credit is due. My tattoo shop is the Ink Spot in Troy, MO. I go to them for all of my work and I'll stay loyal for the rest of my life. I couldn't ask for a better group of people. Big Dave and his crew are the best artists in the area (in my opinion.)

Today I'm going to show you a couple of my tattoos that Ink Spot has blessed me with but first, a message from me to anyone thinking of getting a tattoo.

1. Tattoos hurt. Anything that's absolutely permanent SHOULD hurt.

2. Tattoos don't always HAVE to mean something. It's always nice to hear a story to go along with a tattoo. I also love a beautiful piece of art that you or your artist came up with.

3. Again. They are permanent. So, make sure that you really want this on your body for the rest of your life. Getting tattoos removed is a painful and expensive process I've been told.

4. Tattoos are expensive. It's a permanent piece of art that you carry around with you. If you are going to a quality artist, they will be pretty pricey but you'll be happier in the end getting the tattoo that you wanted instead of "that guy's" free hand drawing of what was supposed to be a bird but ended up being a sea lion.

5. If you're going to have someone sit that close to you for that amount of time and listen to you talk about your life story, (or let's be honest, say ow a million times) then you should tip them. This guy/girl is an artist and they deserve a little credit. It's up to you, there's no law stating that you have to tip your artist, but I do. Always.

Now it comes to the fun part! I get to show you my tattoos I'm only going to show two because I have so many pictures of them :)

The first tattoo I got was a birdcage with 2 birds around it on my right thigh. It has a million different meanings but the main one to me is one bird is me and the other is my parents. The open door to the cage symbolizes them as well, always being there for me, with arms wide open, giving me all the support in the world. Big Dave did this one and needless to say, it is my favorite. It's beautiful and I wouldn't go back and change a thing.

It took 5-6 hours total. I was pretty proud of myself being able to do it all in one sitting. It's around 9 inches tall and about 5 inches wide. So my first one was a big one, but I love it. :)

The other tattoo(s) I want to show you guys are on my wrists. These were by Shane Amerosa, another talent from Ink Spot. This one says Let Go...let God.

These...hurt... Much worse than my leg. Once he was done, I couldn't really move my fingers because my tendons were too busy being mad at me for putting them through that. After a couple seconds I could move my hands normally again. Places like your wrists, feet, ankles and other places that are close to the bone will probably hurt the worst.

I love my tattoos. They allow me to show things on the outside that normally, people wouldn't see. They also bring up a lot of questions. Some people hate answering questions about their tattoos, but I'm not tired of it yet :)

I do plan on getting more and maybe on Dadurday I can have Chris write about his tattoos. His are much more interesting than mine.

http://theinkspottroy.com/

This is a link to the Ink Spot's website. Please go check them out and if you ever have the opportunity, go have them create a masterpiece for you!

I hope you guys have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow :)

"I RUINED EVERYTHING!"

Ok, so I asked on Facebook what you guys would like to hear about today. It was between 20 questions about me (boring) or our Engagement story :) and guess which one won!

So, it was getting to the middle of December and we had talked about getting married in passing and I had hinted about some rings to him but he always said, we'll know when it's time. I thought that meant another couple months or even a year! I was so wrong...

I was at work a little late on December 19th and I was in sweat pants and a hoodie. I didn't have any makeup on and I just wanted to go home. It had been a long day and I was just ready to relax with my boyfriend and his kids. But, he called me to the church to work on a worship set for Sunday. usually we would work on it throughout the week but it had been such a busy week that we were doing it a little last minute. I walked into the basement of the church and right then I should have suspected something. No kids. They were always downstairs waiting for me to get there but I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to get to some place warm so I could cuddle up and forget about the day.

I start walking upstairs then I started running. Someone was crying and it sounded like Myles. I burst through the doors and found him in the fetal position in a back pew. Not even looking up, I crouched next to him and said, "buddy, what's wrong?" (I later found out that he was crying because his sister had sat on his head -_-) He looked me right in the face and started crying harder then said, "I RUINED EVERYTHING!" What is he talking about I thought as I looked up and saw the other two holding signs that said "YOU" and "MARRY." I looked up at Chris who was standing at the communion table and I finally figured out what was going on.

"DANGIT!" Christopher said. I was still in shock when I turned to Myles and said, "Hey, you didn't ruin anything. But I need you to do me a favor." He nodded his head and wiped the tears off his face.
"I need you to get up, stand in your spot and tell me when to come upstairs so I don't come up to early again, okay?" He smiled, nodded and ran to his spot with his sign that said "WILL."

I walked half-way down the stairs. My heart was pounding. I thought I was going to faint when I heard Myles yell, "OKAY LYDIA, WE'RE READY!"

I pushed open the door to see four of the happiest faces I've ever seen. Myles' little tear stained smile, Sadie's giggle and Bodyn's beautiful grin were nothing compared to the giant smile I saw on my soon to be fiance's face.

Unfortunately, I can't remember if he said anything after that. All I remember was shaking my head yes and nothing has been the same since.

Whenever I would tell that story to people, they would laugh and say, "Well, that didn't turn out as planned." And I'd say, nope, but it wouldn't have been like our family to get it right the first time. :)

It was perfect and I couldn't have asked for a better proposal. So, for all of you out there hoping for the perfect proposal, remember, if it's the right person and the right time, then it'll be perfect no matter what.

I hope you guys have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow :)

Cooking with Step Monster

If any of you actually know me, you know that I'm no chef.

I used to burn toast, if that gives you any idea of how bad I actually was at cooking. Or my husband's favorite example...I boiled over tomato soup...all over the stove. Smelled like a hot mess for the rest of dinner.

So now, I've been basically teaching myself how to cook, with the help of Youtube of course. :)
Each time I make something new, the kids add it to the list of things that I've made.

So far, I have:
Spaghetti (which I'm surprisingly good at. I got that from my Grandma and Mother)
Stroganoff, it's from a box but still...good. :)
Eggs, only scrambled so far. But I'm getting there
Smoothies. You can ask them, I am the smoothie queen.

Hobo Meals. Can't go wrong with Hobo Meals. I'll have my favorite recipe at the end for these :)
Pies (apple and pumpkin)
Cakes. Rainbow cakes. :)

I'm pretty proud of that list to be honest. I know some people who can go out and whip up whatever they like (my mom) but unfortunately, I did not get that gene. I wish I had, then the kids and I would be set. But as for now, their dad is the master chef...I'm catching up with him though!

For any of you out there who have a husband that does all the work in the kitchen simply because you don't know how-tell him about this new idea that you came up with. Hobo Meals. As long as you (or he) can work a grill, you'll be set because shopping for this is gonna be a walk in the park.

Literally, put anything you want in it.
My favorite consists of:
Hamburger
Mushrooms
Hashbrowns
Peppers
Salt
Pepper
Garlic/Garlic Salt
Onion Salt
Cheese (LOTS OF CHEESE)
Worcestershire sauce
Spray Butter
Tin Foil (to wrap it in, not to eat)

Basically, all you have to do is spray the foil with butter, break up the hamburger, season the hamburger,and then put it all together. Wrap it up and throw it on the grill! That's it, but honestly, the possibilities are ENDLESS!

Hopefully, this gives you guys a new recipe to add to your cook-book!

If you have a recipe that you would like to share with me, please put it in the comments or send me a message on Facebook! I'd love to have some recipe's to add to MY cookbook :)

I hope you guys have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow :)

One Take Sunday!

ONE TAKE SUNDAY!!!
Had some fun, last night, at my Aunt's house. We had a hay ride, the kids had a good time and we had some good food.

Although, they were kinda draggin' their butts this morning. :)

Since we are the worship Leaders at our church, we have to be here a little earlier than most. So we were all kind of draggin' this morning.

Sunday's will be shorter posts than the rest of the days that I write because it's a day for Family. :)

So I hope you have a wonderful Sunday, and I'll see you guys tomorrow :)

Dadurday: The Husband Responds!

I like this idea.

Not only the part where my wife tells everyone the story of our relationship as we go through it, or the part where she goes on and on about how awesome our kids (she went over the our thing, right?) are.

I get the opportunity to make a post which leads with a Dad Joke.

Dadurday was my idea.  When Lydia shared with me that she was writing a blog, I was like, 'Hey!  I should do a post on there like once a week where I give my point of view!'

I have a big mouth.

I am so incredibly proud of my wife.  She has taken on this task, and is not only doing it, but is doing it well.  You guys have responded really well, and people are reading!  Which is amazing.

Because she is amazing. This week, on Wednesday, we all traveled over to my mom and dad's place for Taco Night.  When we arrived, I found my mother is a state of severe confusion and agitation.  She's been having these spells for some time, and doctors are still struggling to discover why it is happening.  I sent Lydia and the kids on to her mom's, called 911, and proceeded to deal with the situation at hand.

I was able to deal with the immediate emergency because I had a partner to help.  I had someone who was not only there and ready, but happy and willing.

She took over all of the parenting duties for the next 48 hours, as I had to be with my mom in the hospital.  My dad would have loved to help, I'm sure, but he was being discharged from the same ER we arrived at on Wednesday, being that he'd just flipped his concrete truck earlier that day!  It was the perfect storm of just absolute chaos.  Through it all, Lydia was firm, strong, and able.  It was a beautiful thing.

She took on a lot when she took us on as a family.  She's younger than me, she was getting three kids, and she was getting a husband that, statistically, wasn't doing so hot on the whole marriage front.  Indeed, I spent the entire first date telling her she was making a mistake.

I hope she keeps making it.  Because this has been a beautiful, crazy, wonderful run, and its only two months in!

I'm sure these posts will get less sappy as time goes on, and I'll respond to the actual things my wife is writing during the week, but come on--how could I not take my first opportunity to post to brag on my beautiful amazing wife?

I mean, think of the brownie points alone!

Til next week,

Christopher

Being the Wife of an Addict

Good morning everyone, I hope you are all having an amazing morning.

We're still moving a little slow from our trip to the hospital. Christopher got home some time around 12:30 last night and we're kinda dragging today.

Alright, I'm sure you're curious about the title. Some of you might not know but Christopher is an addict.

Not a practicing addict, mind you. But an addict none the less. He was addicted to over the counter, prescription drugs and alcohol. Now, I wouldn't be a good wife if I didn't brag on him a little bit. He has been clean and sober for 4 1/2 years now. :)

He even quit smoking a couple months after we started dating. Now, if that's not something to be proud of, I don't know what is.

To answer some of your questions:

I love the husband I have now. Do I love the things he did in the past? No. Are they in the past? Yes. Forgive and forget.

Would I stay with him if it happened again, I would try every outlet to help...but if that didn't work, if he chose narcotics over me or our family, I would definitely leave.

Have I ever done drugs? No, I've been around people that smoke and I do have the occasional drink.

Do I drink around him? I tend not to, but there are times (when we're out with friends, we're at a concert, or if we're at Buffalo Wild Wings and we're watching the Cardinals or the Blues) when I always ask first. If he says no, I completely understand and I don't drink that night. The last thing I want to do is make him uncomfortable.

Is he okay with you drinking when he's not around? If I go to the bar or if I'm with friends, all he cares about is me getting home safely. I don't go out much so he understands that when I'm out, I do drink. But he trusts me to make wise decisions and get back home to him with a sober driver.

Has he ever mentioned wanting to try drugs or alcohol again? Everyone has one of those days where all you want to do is go home and have a beer or a cigarette (if you smoke, I've never wanted to smoke a cigarette). So, yes, there has been times where he says, "man, I could use a cigarette." Or, "That beer looks tasty." Always joking, mostly. Sometimes it's scary, sometimes I can't tell if he's joking. We haven't had any slip-up's yet so...let's keep it that way.

Does he go to meetings? He used to, and I would go with him. Granted, I don't have a drinking or drug problem, but the meetings I went to were open and I went for nothing but support for him. I enjoyed the meetings and the people there. For all of you wondering what they are like, it's not an interrogation. You messed up, but you're here trying to do something about it. Good for you. Come celebrate life and recovery with us.

When I met him, he was clean and sober. Would things have been different if he wasn't? Absolutely. I think God brought us together at just the right time and said, "This is unexpected and weird...let's try it." Well, so far it's working. :)

If you guys have any questions for Christopher or about Christopher, please leave them in the comments. Tomorrow is Saturday so he will be home. I asked him, since I was doing this post today if he would tell his story and answer any questions you have for him. He agreed to it :) so please ANYTHING you have to ask, please ask it. He's an open book.

Thanks for reading today guys, I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow :)

Don't Panic

I've always been a bit of a worrier, so when I hear "don't panic"...I do the exact opposite.
I wish I didn't worry so much because I honestly think it takes days off my life.

But yesterday, as I sitting in the waiting room of a hospital, I did nothing but worry.
Yep, we had a code red emergency yesterday. Two of my in-laws were taken to the hospital.

Luckily my mom saved the day. As I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, my mother graciously took the kids so Christopher and I could go to the hospital.

Everyone's fine and we're running tests but we would still appreciate thoughts and prayers. :)

Step Monster's

HOW TO SURVIVE AN EMERGENCY SITUATION 101:

1- Have a loved one with a level head. (My mom in this case)

2- Remind yourself to breathe (In...and out)

3- Always remember to eat (An empty stomach makes any situation worse, especially an emergency)

4- Have super amazing kids that just go with the flow (Usually they don't like the flow, but today, they were so good.)

5- Never ever EVER suffer through an emergency by yourself. (Life is hard enough in itself, throw an emergency in the mix...you're guaranteed to lose your mind.)

------------

So with the craziness of the events last night and Christopher and I getting home at the butt crack of dawn, I'm kickin' it at home with these crazy kiddos. We knew with their nana in the hospital, they weren't getting any sleep and they wouldn't want to be at school not knowing anything.

So cuddling and movies are on the agenda today. :)

I hope you guys have a wonderful day and I'll see you guys tomorrow :)

Ready Made Family

Hey guys,

Today I'm going to talk about something I've been asked about a lot since I started dating Christopher. I've gotten questions like "how did you feel about him already having kids?" or "what happens if you want your own kids?" or "how do you like your ready-made family?"

Well, to answer the first question, I was ecstatic. I love kids to begin with (especially well behaved ones like ours.) Yes, I said ours. I know that sounds weird and I get weird looks from people all the time for saying things like "oh no, our kids are with their mom."
Yep, I'm a step mom. So I'm going to love them, discipline them and talk about them the same way I would treat the kids that we'll have.

Yes, I said it. The kids that we will make. We plan on having kids. Together. How many? I don't know. I definitely don't think I'm ready for a Noah's Ark Situation. I mean heck, I have a Kia Soul. You can only fit so many people in that clown car and they're squished as it is. And if you had any doubts that the kids would even want another sibling, just ask their mom. They never stop talking about their new baby sister. I mean, I don't blame them. She's a sweet heart and an absolute doll. So, I think I'll be okay if we have just one. I know he or she will have some amazing siblings to look up to. :)

As for my little "ready-made" family, I love it. It gives me a chance to try out the teens before we get to the terrible two's. And I could not ask for three better kids to give my love and support to. I have found myself more than a few times holding a crying child that I never thought would come to me for anything. I drop them off every morning for school and I get a kiss from each one of them as the jump out of the car. (Don't worry, I'm stopped...most of the time) :)

I'm cutting this one short this morning because there are two little goofballs that are going to make us late for school unless they get their butts in gear.

I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll see you guys tomorrow :)

A Little About Me

Alright guys,
I noticed my about me was a little scarce in that last post, so I'll tell you some more about me and then we can get back to important things like Family, Friends and stuff I've found on Pinterest that I don't think is going to work. :)

Let's start at the beginning. I was born in June of 1991 to Norma and Patrick Guyot, the most amazing parents anyone could ever ask for. I have one sibling, a brother, Nick. I know I couldn't live without him because I can't and don't want to imagine my life without him being there for me. I was born and raised in a small town about 45 minutes outside of Saint Louis, MO and I'm still here.
Everyone thinks, I'm gonna grow up and get the heck out of here...I'm just not ready to do either of those things yet. :)

I wasn't the most popular kid in school but I was one of those kids that had friends in every kind of group. I had lots of friends and that mattered much more to me than being a "popular" kid.
I liked a lot of my teachers too. I can't really think of a teacher I didn't like. They all were extremely helpful in making me who I am today.

I got through school with average grades. I thought I was going to be a forensic scientist. If I would have pushed myself a little harder, I could have done a lot better. You can ask my mom, I was a very laid back kid. I didn't really ever stress about anything. I can't think of one time in school that I stressed out about anything other than getting to my extra curricular activities on time.
I was in choir, show choir, I had solos and ensembles and I was in color guard. I wasn't really a sports person. I liked playing volleyball but only once and a while at the Sand Lot. After school was busy most of the year for me.

After I graduated in 2009, I went to a community college near by and took my basic classes and I also took photography. If you know anything about me, it's that I take pictures of just about anything. I love photography because if you have a good eye, you can change the way people see the world.
So in college, I thought I was going to be a photographer. I took pictures of babies and flowers and weddings and people and...well, anything.


During college, I was running low on funds so I started applying for jobs. January, 20th 2010, I got my first job at a Sprint store in town. It wasn't anything special but I learned a lot, did a good job and found my best friends in the world while working there. Four and a half years later, I'm getting married and moving on to a different job but I won't ever forget what I learned from my first job. I do not enjoy working with the public.

Now, I work with my husband, for a company that sells books to libraries. Gumdrop Books. It's the job that allows me to work in my pajamas basically. :) I call librarians and set up appointments for Chris to go to and sell that library the books they need for that year.

Speaking of my husband, we started dating in April of 2012. We got engaged in December of 2013 and got married July 19th, 2014. Now I have 3 busy step kids, a new car and a new house that I should clean every day. Emphasis on should.



Life is good, life is great. And I thank God for mine every day, no matter how crazy it gets.

If anyone has a suggestion about what I should write about tomorrow, or if you have any questions for me, let me know in the comments below. :)

Have a great day and I'll see you tomorrow.

Introduction to the insanity that is my life.

Hello world. It's Monday, October 6th, 2014.

My name is Lydia. Better known as "Step-Monster" to my step kids. It's a term of endearment, I swear.

This is my husband. His name is Christopher and he is the man of my dreams. He has an amazing heart for God and our family.

Do you want to know how we met?

Well, I'm going to tell you anyway.

I was on a show choir trip watching my brother perform and in between shows, I was talking to a couple of people from my brother's school. We were talking about dating. All of the sudden, this giant of a man with amazing facial hair and drumsticks joins the conversation. He was the drummer for the show choir my brother was in. He immediately caught my eye, but then...he said it..."I would never date a 20 year old."
"Darn," I thought. I was 20 years old at the time and crushing hard, but alas, he was 9 years older than me and clearly not interested.

So, we went on with our lives until 2 weeks later, I get a message on the dating site I was currently using.
"Hey, you look really familiar. Do I know you?" IT WAS HIM!!! I was speechless, I didn't know what to say. "Yeah, we talked a couple weeks ago at the show choir competition." I stared at the screen and waited for his reply. "Oh, cool. :)" A smiley face?! He was totally in to me.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the computer, he wasn't expecting a reply...but guess what he got.
A full blown 3 day conversation. We talked, we joked, we laughed.

After a couple days, I get a message that says, "Hey, I'll be back in town on Thursday. Would you want to go to dinner?" I was floored. "Of course! :)"
That first date was the last first date I ever went on. It was also the strangest, most amazing, and fun first date I've ever been on, but I'll save that story for another day.

On our dates, he was always talking about his kids. 2 girls and 1 boy. He was so proud to be a father. I couldn't wait to meet them because if they were anything like him, I was going to love them. And love them I did. :)

How can you not love those faces??? But guess what, their faces weren't even the best part! Their hearts and personalities are amazing. Sadie is in the red, Bodyn is in the yellow and the little guy is Myles. They completely melted my heart and now they hold it in their hands.

Bodyn, the oldest, is a girly girl. She loves to dance, sing, draw...anything a girl loves.

Sadie, the middle child, is a tomboy through and through. She loves sports and cuddling with her daddy.

Myles, the youngest, is the definition of a boy. Loud, messy and as sweet and kind-hearted as can be.

Like I said, they're amazing. You'll definitely get to know them as time goes on.

As for me, I'm a laundry doing, lunch packing, book selling, smoothie making, forehead kissing, shoe tying, loving step-monster. And I don't claim to be much else. :)

Have a great day guys. I know I will.

Lydia