{ Pulling at my heartstrings..... }

I often sit and wonder just where time has gone?



How could it be possible that just yesterday I was holding this beautiful little tiny baby girl in my arms and today I'm faced with a stunning young lady?

She's pulling at my heartstrings, she's making me smile, she's making me grit my teeth in frustration, she's making me smile with her quirkiness and awesome sense of humor and then she's making me shed tears with her independent streak and her need to separate from under my wings.

Time has flown, literally whizzed past us, leaving us stumbling and dizzy with memories of when she was just a baby, taking her first steps, uttering her first words.

We're looking at her today and overwhelmed with feelings of pride and of joy and deep down, sadness because we know she's getting older, she's becoming a teenager and she's spreading her wings and before we know it, she will be out of the house, living her own life.

I'm dealing with it better than my husband is. He is struggling, he is holding on to every little glimpse of the baby girl he adores.

I can see it in his eyes when he looks at her, I can hear it in his voice when he says he loves her, I can see it in the way he hugs her and tells her she will always be his little Jasmine.

Time doesn't stand still!

It does not stop for you.....

It does not allow you to freeze it and enjoy those moments with your children.....

It just does what it's going to do, it flies as fast as it can and leaves you breathless.....

I just pray that the Lord gives us both the strength and the wisdom to be there for her through every single day of her life, no matter what may come her way.

Be still my heart, I've fallen in love all over again!

Nothing that some mommy love won't cure!!!

Isn't it amazing that no matter how the little ones are feeling, just a mere kiss on the cheek or a hug from mommy makes it all go away.

It's no wonder that even at this age, how many times do we find ourselves wanting mommy around, to help us through a hard time, to give us a hug and make us some soup when we're feeling under the weather. It's just an amazing bond, that of a mother and child.

My little one is feeling a little better, he still has a hard time turning his neck, but that's not surprising, whenever I do that to my neck I know I'll be in pain for at least a week. He's a trooper though, Jasmine wants him to play and he gets right in there, yelping once in a while about his neck hurting....but he loves his sister to death and would rather be in pain that disappoint her. I just hope they keep this bond throughout their lives.

Well, I just got back from doing my taxes, I have to say usually it takes forever but it was pretty fast today and everything is done and taken care of. Now usually we use our taxes to pay off bills or splurge on something nice for us. This year, all that money is being saved for our trip to South Africa, and let me tell you we still have a LOT more to save to be able to accomplish that wish.

We always go to H&R Block, yes I know a lot of people do it themselves but quite frankly, I would rather pay the $100 fee and let them deal with everything than try to do it myself and screw up majorly. I do NOT want to get bad faction with the IRS.....here's what I find funny though....after the taxes are done they always try to pull you in with more money. Oh here you go, do you want us to give you a check right now for the full amount??? I mean really, you can if you want to, but obviously we need to deduct another $300 from your Tax Return....am I really that desperate to blow that money that I would pay those extra fees???
My answer is always "NO, thank you, I'm not in a rush to get the money" LOL

Really, I am kinda, but not really desperate enough to end up almost loosing a thousand dollars just to walk away with it when I can be patient and wait a week or two. PATIENCE PEOPLE PATIENCE

Remember yesterday I said I wanted to start my Spring Cleaning??? I'm so glad I didn't even try to this week, there is so much going on and I'm constantly running around I have absolutely no time to tackle organizing, windows, curtains etc....it WILL have to wait until next week.

Anyway, I was looking through some of my favorite blogs online, some of which I just browse and lurk in the shadows, I don't comment because, well because I have nothing interesting to say to them LOL They are crafting blogs and let me tell you these women are brilliant, absolutely brilliant. They are always chock-full of sewing and decorating projects and yummy, did I say YUMMY recipes??? Good grief, you can't visit these blogs before having your tummy nice and full, lest you want to go around devouring everything in sight.

But, yeah I was looking through some and I'm keeping a list of things I want to make, and I ran across one which I am definitely making this weekend. Homemade Granola....come on, who doesn't like fresh homemade granola??? So yeah, that one is definitely on my To Do List this weekend.
Then I have these in mind too, I'm hoping to make them for Valentine's Day, I think they would be perfect. I also want to give these a try sometime, don't they just look divine and so easy to make? I'm thinking I'll start thanking the teachers with homemade food, you think they would object???

Yesterday I managed to stop by some of my favorite blogs and say hi, and if I didn't make it to yours is because I ran out of time. I always go with the best of intentions and hoping to get to everyone, but for some reason by the time I get to 3/4 of my bloglines list, I'm out of time, I think today I'll start on the bottom and work my way up. This is what happens when you have a gazillion blogs that you're interested in. Can't you people just become boring so I can stop reading you??? LOL

Is it me or do my blog posts seem to be getting shorter and shorter?? I feel like I'm babbling away but yet I haven't said much at all. WEIRD!!!



Last night I watched "Wife Swap" and I have to tell you I was so envious of the Christian Family, I mean the mom seemed to be so put together and to have everything running so smoothly, and here I am pushing and trodding through my life trying to act like I have everything under control when God only knows how hard it is at times.
The fact that she managed to do the housework and homeschool and cook from scratch everyday, bake fresh bread and fresh pies....see I look at stuff like that and it's MY IDEA of a perfect life.

Of course others will think, wow, that's a bit too much, or, where does she get the time. Yes no one said that being a wife and a mother and taking care of your family, is easy. It's not, Lord knows it's definitely not easy to do the same things day in and day out and keep a smile on your face, but when I look at what I have around me and what I do, I don't see it as a chore, I see it as my contribution to the family and I take pleasure and pride in taking care of my house, in doing the mundane things such as laundry and cleaning up, cooking and baking, ironing...all of that stuff, YES, even scrubbing the toilets. It's not the most glamorous job on earth but I think it's the one with the BEST benefits and rewards. Either that or I'm living in a totally deluded state of mind LOL

Anyway, I have GOT to get a move on, I need to vacuum and steam clean my living room carpet, do a load of laundry, go by the post office and get my menus and grocery list ready for thusrday. I hope you all have a wonderful tuesday, don't forget American Idol is on tonight.

God Bless,