Sweet potatoes were a big hit!

Gracie LOVES sweet potatoes! She ate an entire container of them tonight! It's so funny, I think she was disappointed when then were all gone! Hehe... next its carrots on Saturday, and then her first fruit, applesauce! She rolled over three times while playing today, tummy to back. And she's been sleeping in her crib all night the last few nights, which makes us REALLY happy! She's five months old today, and getting so big and doing so good! We're very proud!

Happy Mother's Day!

We went to church, and my parents met us there for Gracie's dedication! It was a very special time, and other than a messy diaper, she did pretty good the whole service! We went to lunch at Village Grill with the family afterwards, and enjoyed a buffet-style brunch. Then David and I went home, changed clothes, and then went to Taste Addison! It was a GORGEOUS day, and after strolling around, we spread a blanket out under some trees and just relaxed and played with Gracie for awhile. When we got home David grilled us some steaks for dinner! I had a great 1st Mother's Day, and I hope all the other mothers out there enjoyed their day, also!

CRAWFISH Boil!

I LOOOOOVE crawfish, if you didn't already know! Our friends, the Koons, and their family have a huge crawfish boil every year, and we went to it today. We had a great time hanging out with everyone, and enjoying all the yummy crawfish, corn, potatoes and sausage! We got quite a bit of sun, but we were mostly in the shade and drank a lot. We left at around 3:45 to take Gracie home, but the party was still going strong! I wanted to go back later, but the Stars game is on so we have to watch that. =) Yay for crawfish and friends and the Stars!

Just a fraction of the 140+ pounds of crawfish!

Family picture (it was really hot and humid)
David with Gracie and the boys: Brian, Mark, and Zach
Playing with Daddy
Gracie (held by Brandi) saying "hi" to her new friend, Bailey

Yesterday was our 1st Anniversary and David's 28th Birthday!

David had to work, so I played with Gracie at home all day, then when David got home we got ready and set out to have our anniversary dinner. We had originally planned to go to Taste Addison, but none of our friends were going. David wanted to go play poker, so we decided we'd go eat first and then meet at Mark and Brandi's house to play. Well, we ended up taking some back roads up to Denton, just enjoying the gorgeous evening and sunset as we drove. We couldn't decide where to eat, and David wasn't hungry, so we ended up just going through the Grandy's drive-thru for dinner and going to the Koon's house. We hung out on their patio for awhile, and then set up the poker table at abotu 12:30 am, hehe. We played (and lost to the Koons) and got home around 2:30 or so. We had a fun time, but we will probably finally go to Taste Addison Sunday evening. So that was our wonderful day! =)

Gracie's first trip to the Zoo!

We went to the Fort Worth Zoo today! We rode with Brandi and Maelyn and met Brandi's friend Nikki and her daughter Lauren there. It was fun! Gracie didn't really look at the animals, she was more interested in the toys I had attached to her stroller. Aside from the bees that kept stalking me, we had a blast! =) She got really sleep at the end and passed out the whole way home. I can't wait til she's old enough to notice the animals, but that won't stop me from taking her again before then! Here's some pictures of us at the zoo:

In the Penguin Exhibit

Me, Nikki, and Brandi, and our sleepy princesses Gracie, Lauren and Maelyn

Bad news: Sinus Infection... Good news: Job!

I have a bad one. I was in bed all Saturday night, all day Sunday, and most of Monday. I finally got up to go to the doctor yesterday around 1pm, and they diagnosed me with severe sinusitis, and gave me a prescription. I've only got a couple doses in me so far, but I already felt better when I woke up this morning. Now if I could just breathe through my nose...

Needless to say, I wasn't able to make that cake for the children's ministry's dessert auction on Sunday. But I just heard that they made $10,000 at this year's event, setting a new record! That is AWESOME! Now every single kid will be able to go to camp, how neat is that? I'm very excited for them. Maybe my cake next year will help get them to $15,000.

Well, Chris called me from Bankston Honda yesterday, and told me to come in at 2pm today. I got the job! He just took me on a tour of the dealership today, and introduced me to most of the people I'll be working with. I will start on May 19th, so that gives me a little more time with Gracie, yay! I'm sad that I have to go to work, but I'm excited about the chance I have to get into a career field I've always wanted. I'm still not sure what I want to be "when I grow up", but I know I definitely want to be in this industry, and this is a great place to start. So I'm glad the cards fell just right to enable me to jump on this opportunity!

Busy day

This morning I went to the Ladies' Craft event at church. It was lots of fun! We got to make a few neat projects, and we had a potluck-brunch, which was super yummy. It was nice to spend time with some of the ladies I'd never met, as well as with some friends.

I had to leave early to get ready to go eat lunch for Great-Grandmother's 88th birthday. We still ran a bit late, but everyone got to see Gracie and we had a great lunch at Abuelo's. I love my family so much. We're all so unique, but when we all get going you can tell we're pretty alike! (Also, most of us are blonde, so that's another clue, hehe). I'm so happy to be related to some of the classiest, funniest, and honest people on the planet. And I just LOVE spending time with Gran, she's one of my very best friends. We can talk about absolutely anything at all, without judging each other, and understand each other perfectly. She's an incredible woman, and I'm very blessed to have her in my life. We are also feet twins, did you know that? Hehe, no one else in the family has such long pretty toes like we do. And I'm starting to come down with the, "Sassy, Sally, Dyana, .... what's your name again?" syndrome, HAHA. That's one of her trademarks. (;P)

Ugh, I think I'm getting sick. My throat started hurting yesterday afternoon, but I thought I just hadn't been drinking enough water. Then today it was still hurting and now I have a horrible headache, and am achy all over. Great, I might get offered this job this week, and I can't be sick! I need to make one of those Pink Lady cakes I made for Mom's birthday tonight. The children's ministry at church is having a dessert auction tomorrow to raise money for camps this summer, and I think it will be a big hit. Guess I'll go lay down awhile and see if I feel better...

I'll miss these lazy weekdays with Gracie...

I filled out the forms consenting to my background check and went and did my drug test (after an hour wait, ugh) yesterday, and the results from all that should come back in 3-4 business days. I should expect a call by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week to tell me their formal offer. I can't wait, but after the excitement of the last few days, I am really realizing how much I will miss Gracie when I start working. Today has been really relaxing so far, sleeping in with her, watching cartoons, playing, eating her cereal, and she's now on her second nap while I catch up on some housework. I'll miss these lazy days with just us, but I know that working will be great for our family, and I won't be so lazy all the time. =) I know Gracie will have a great time hanging out with her Grammy and also Mrs. Brandi from time to time, but I hope I don't miss too many milestones. Now I know how David must feel when I called him at work to tell him she rolled over on her own, or laughed for the first time. Maybe I will just tell them to not tell me if she does anything new, to let us see for ourselves and think it's the first time. Aw, now I'm getting sad. Well, I will just have to enjoy the few days I have left with her before I start working. I'll go up there now and read a book while she's napping.

Enjoy a few pictures from the last few days!

Found her toes!!!

A beautiful field of wildflowers at Arapaho & 75, in Richardson.

HONDA interview!

Went great! It's for the Service Cashier/Receptionist position. I'm supposed to be getting a call from the HR lady about doing the background check and drug screen, and once all that comes back they will make a formal offer. I got a really good vibe off the Service Manager Chris, who interviewed me. He said he had never met a girl who was so interested and knowledgeable about Hondas! He even said he didn't think he would need to interview anyone else! My schedule will be either 7am-3pm, or 11am-7pm, and I would have to either work Saturday mornings or afternoons, or work out a rotating Saturday 8-5 shift with the other girl. I'm really excited though, this will not only be a big financial help to our family, but also a great opportunity to get my foot in the door at HONDA! I'm so excited, this is a place I've dreamed of working, and if I had to choose a long-time career, I would want to be with this company.

Also, our great friend Brandi will be able to watch Gracie for us whenever Sherrie isn't able to, so that takes care of the main concern we had about me working full-time! We're so grateful to her and her family for that.

I'll let you know what I hear from the HR lady! Pray for me! =)

Interview tomorrow... at Bankston HONDA!!!

I'm so excited! It's for a Receptionist/Cashier position in the Service Department. The shifts available are 7am-3pm or 11am-7pm. Don't know yet which one I will go for, but just to get into a Honda dealership is what I've wanted for years! My interview is at 11am, I can't wait!

Green Beans it is!

I couldn't wait to start Gracie on veggies (we were going to start on May 1st), so we went ahead and gave her green beans tonight (Mommy's favorite). She did NOT know what to make of them, haha. She made some really funny faces, but ate about half the whole container. We'll try again tomorrow night, and continue with green beans for 3 more days, then we'll do squash on Saturday for five days before we try peas. Thanks for voting on the poll!

Mom's SURPRISE birthday party!

So about a month ago, I went to lunch at this place called Scotty P's with my Dad, and realized how much it was like Johnnie's, my mother's favorite hamburger place in Oklahoma. So then I thought it would be a great idea to take her there to eat for her birthday. I got online to see if they had any closer locations (they didn't), and saw they had party rooms available. So that got me thinking... and long story short, I invited a bunch of Mom's friends and we totally surprised her on her birthday! At first I told her that I just wanted to take her to lunch at a place I found, but didn't tell her where. Then she said she had to work that day, so to convince her that she needed to be off that afternoon (seeing as how it was a week away at that point and everyone was coming) I told her where I was taking her. Then the day before she didn't understand why we had to wait until 3 to go eat when she got off at noon (I could only get the party room from 3-5) so I panicked and told her Mrs. Debbie was going to meet us there and that was the only time she could meet. So walking into Scotty P's she thought we were just meeting Mrs. Debbie and Nicki to eat lunch on her birthday... and she comes around the corner and bunch of her friends were there with cameras and said, "Surprise!" It was so cool. =) My 16th birthday was a surprise party and to this day I consider that my very best birthday so far, so I wanted to do that for Mom. We all had a great time, loved the food, took lots of pictures, and enjoyed the Pink Lady cake I made. Here are a few pics!

Wow

We just did our budget. How in the world have we been living?! Forget the 6 hours-per-week teaching job. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to work more hours just to get ahead. *sigh* Oh well, it would have been fun teaching those little kids. I'm really disappointed that I'm going to have to turn it down, but if I start and then leave when I find something better, that will be taking advantage of the company, and hard on the kids. They apparently get attached to their teachers and don't take to turnover very well.

Anyone know of a good nights and weekends job that pays at least $10-$12 per hour for at least 30 hours a week? I'm open to just about anything, but it has to be nights and weekends. And I can't lift more than 40 pounds at a time. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

She's just so cute...

Here she is playing with the pouring water in her bath last night. It's so amazing how fascinated she is at all the little things we take for granted... =)

Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover!

We have been struggling financially, and a lot of my old debt has started to catch up with me. Sherrie let me read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book, and we are hooked! We are still on Baby Step #1, setting up our $1000 emergency fund, but we will have our budget ready by May 1st and will be ready to start Baby Step #2 (the Debt Snowball) as soon as we have the fund complete!

I am really excited about this. So far I am the only one who has read the book, but David will read it next and we can be debt-free in only a few years! This will be a great gift to not only ourselves, but to Gracie as well. She will grow up in a debt-free home and will learn from a young age how to manage her finances so that she will not run into debt problems at all! I just can't wait to really get going on this. It will be a very difficult journey, that is for sure. We will drive a cheap little used car for awhile, buy only basic necessities for ourselves and Gracie, and give up a lot of the luxuries we are used to having every day. It will all pay off in the end, though, when we have retirement all set up and invested, Gracie's college fully funded, our emergency fund will have four-six months of expenses in it, and we can buy everything in cash! Including a house! I will post regular updates of our TMMO journey.

If you are interested in this Total Money Makeover for yourself or your family, tune into the Dave Ramsey Show daily to get a feel for his program. In the DFW area, his radio show is on 570AM (KLIF) from 1pm-4pm (you can listen to it live on your computer: http://www.daveramsey.com/tdrs/# ), and his TV show is on at 7pm and 11pm on Fox Business Network. Visit http://www.daveramsey.com/, enroll in his 13-week Financial Peace University at a local church, buy his books (I found them at Half Price Books!), ... just get going! ANYONE can do it!

Sara's new job!

Well, I have been looking for a job lately. I finally landed a position as a preschool computer teacher! The company, Floppy's Mouse Club, goes into various daycares and teaches children ages 2-5 basic computer skills to make sure they meet the TEA's Technology Knowledge requirements for kids entering kindergarten. It is a neat program, and the curriculum is planned out very carefully to ensure maximum learning capability for each child. I observed a class immediately after my interview today, and was blown away by three-year-olds who could open and close programs, name parts of the computer, and use the mouse and keyboard with confidence. It was amazing! I always said that if I were to be a teacher, I would love to teach computer skills, because I have a lot of patience with it. I will start out slowly, with only two daycares, one on Mondays, the other on Wednesdays, for two-three hours at a time. The company pays for me to be CPR and First Aid certified, and for 15 hours of continuing education as required by the state. I start training at a daycare on Monday, and I'm very excited!

Sara joined a church!

I haven't regularly attended church since I was 18. Back then I was a member at Vista Ridge Church of Christ, and after our Senior Sunday, I never went back. I can't really describe why, I just didn't "feel" anything there anymore. I went to Memorial Road C of C in Oklahoma City the first Sunday in college, but I never went back there, either. Dad and Angela moved to Richardson East C of C, and I visited there a few times, but it was too far away. I attended First Baptist of Colleyville wtih my good friend Matt a couple years ago, and liked it, but his pastor was leaving so he was looking for another church. We attended Fellowship Chuch in Grapevine a few times, but it was such a mega-church that I never could feel like I belonged there. I knew I wanted to start attending again after Gracie was born, not only for her, but for myself as well. I just couldn't find a church that I could call home. Finally, our good friends Mark and Brandi Koon told us about Northview Baptist Church. We attended their huge Easter service at Lewisville High School, and I was blown away. I loved the music, the message, and God really seemed to speak to me there. We went a couple weeks later when Mark was baptized at their regular building, and I was again just floored by the experience. I went by myself the next weekend, and that service just sealed the deal for me. So today, I brought Gracie with me, and after Pastor Wells' sermon we went to the front (accompanied by Brandi), and joined the church! It was amazing to feel so welcomed by everyone, and I am very excited to be able to raise Gracie in a church she can call home.

This is a huge step for me, as an adult, as a mother, as a child of God, and I already feel Him working in my life. A month ago, I hadn't opened my Bible in over two years... I didn't even know where it was! I found it last week, and I've since been "catching up". Prayer is a daily, humbling experience for me, as is a little bit of Bible study. I want to be as involved as I can, volunteering for VBS this summer and I'll start attending Sunday nights and a home team during the week. I feel so much happier with my life right now, and God will give me the confidence I need to stay focused on our goals, and be the best wife and mother I can be.

I know a lot of people have prayed for me to "come back" to God in the last five years, and I really appreciate it. Thank you!

4 months old!

I can't believe 4 months have already gone by! Gracie is such a big girl, measuring 15 lbs and 8 oz, and 25 incehs high at ther doctor appointment today! She is not overweight by any means, though, Dr. Len said her extra height is balancing out her weight and she will just be a tall girl! We are feeding her rice cereal every morning and evening, just a tablespoon or so at a time, and she is really getting it down. We will start vegetables in two weeks, and try each veggie for five days before introducing another. Then we will start on fruits, and do the same thing. When she is 6 months old, we will be able to start her on Gerber 2nd foods, which are combinations of two or more foods. It will be exciting!Teething sucks, though. Ugh. She cries so hard every few hours, sometimes with such intensity that we aren't able to calm her down. The only thing we can do is hold her and let her know we're there until she finally starts hiccupping and passes out. It's so sad not being able to help her, but it will be over one day, so that's what we look forward to. She is pretty much sleeping through the night, but still not in her crib. Once she started really teething she started having a really hard time going to sleep, and wouldn't stay asleep unless she was with us. We will really tackle that this week, though, because the regular rice cereal feedings seem to make her sleepier and sleep longer. Hopefully that will help to get her to settle down and sleep in her crib. Otherwise we might have to resort to using the Ferber method of letting her cry it out to go to sleep in her crib at night, only letting her see us every ten minutes before we leave her alone again. I really really want to avoid that though, so hopefully we can get it all worked out!She's getting into all of her toys with such an interest. She has a little frog that sings the ABC song, and she "hums" along with it in her own little language, hehe. Still hasn't rolled over on her own yet, but she is getting closer and closer every day. We'll see how everything is in a couple of weeks. It all is going by so fast!

Toys & rolling over!

Gracie flipped over from her tummy to her back unassisted for the first time today! She was having trouble getting her arms in the right position to allow it, but she did it and was quite pleased with herself. She can go from her back to each side, but not all the way over yet, all though that seems easier, so it will probably happen any day now. She's mastered switching toys from one hand to the other, and using both hands to bring objects to her mouth. She's not quite interested in teething rings yet, but she's definitely mouthing a lot of things. She keeps gnawing at her hands, and she's found her thumbs. We're trying to break her of that and give her her pacifier instead. Up until this poing we've only been using pacifiers to put her to sleep, because we didn't want her to get too dependent on them, but now we'd rather her suck on them than her thumbs. In a few years, we can take a paci away, but not her thumb.Her favorite toys are still brightly colored or contrasting colors that crinkle, and her very favorite is a pink poodle with black and white crinkle skirt. She takes naps with it and it can always get her attention. She's starting to be able to entertain herself on her playmat and with toys in her swing, which is not only important for her development but allows me to get a few things done! She will take a face over a toy any day, though. She's fascinated with smiles and laughs and noises, and loves to explore faces with her hands. She imitates noises really well, and concentrates really hard when you make the same noise she does, hehe. She's just getting so big!

3 months old!

Wow time is going by much faster now! Gracie sleeps in her crib most of every night, and only wakes up to eat once or twice. She's napping well during the day (although not on any sort of schedule), and loves to play with her toys! She's grabbing, lifting and starting to mouth (safe) objects. She smiles so big, and is really starting to giggle out loud more often. Her latest joy is going outside! The other day I took her for a walk in her stroller without the carseat for the first time so she could look around and see everything, and she did great! She watched birds go by, and was cooing the whole time! She loves to be carried out to the backyard, and is fascinated with leaves crunching under our feet. It's very cute. She's definitely getting bigger! Don't have a weight measurement since 2 1/2 months, but we're sure she's pushing 14 pounds! Not too big, just perfect. She's fitting perfectly into her 3 month clothes, and we find she has a bit more room in 3-6 months sizes. Overall, she's doing great, and we're so proud of our big girl!