"Family" October 2009...not blood related well all of us anyway but related by love!

Life has been awesome!

Hello all! I know I am not on here as much as I have been in the past. Life is busy! Alison continues to grow and grow...We have gone 2 days without a bottle (no I am not starving her..lol) we have just transferred to a sippy cup since she now has 2 chompers on the bottom (her little weapons is what I call them) she has decided to chew the nipples on her bottles so I thought what a great idea and time to start her on the sippy! Yeah I know great mom skills..lol....She loves to play patty cake and I cant believe she is 9 months old now!

Dustin got all B's on his report card (big yay!) If he keeps this up he will be headed for student of the month at his school. His tuba playing is going well also and he had his 1st concert last week and I think I have some pictures that I will post on here soon as I get them published off my camera.

Matt continues in 1st grade. He is having some issues but we are working with him and he is getting better! Its amazing how having stability in his life is changing him. I cannot believe he is 7 years old now. I am seriously going to have to post some pics of him and the kids (they are already on my facebook)

As for me, I cant complain. Life is awesome. My divorce has taught me how to be a stronger more confident woman. It also allowed me to love again and I do love Rey with all my heart. I actually enjoy spending time with him...Halloween weekend we went back home with the kids and we had such an awesome time just kicking back with my family plus thanks to my ambitious sisters who took the kids trick or treating Rey and I got to spend the evening together..something that doesnt happen very often...that was the bomb for me. I am starting to enjoy shopping and makeup and getting my nails done...kind of sprucing up the outside package to match the inside. Its so funny..I see these beautiful women but in actuality they have very ugly insides and so they dont seem as beautiful. An example would be the show "Ugly Betty"....I admit the glasses and everything the outside isnt that pretty but her heart she just has this amazing heart that when she walks in she lights up a room...Its just like us we can spend hundreds of dollars on makeup and clothes and everything but if we have an ugly heart then it isnt going to matter.

God is a God of 2nd chances. I know I went through all the hell I went through because God had something better for me in the end...God had Rey a man who knows how to treat me like a woman and honor and love me and cherish me. I didnt understand how awesome 1st Corinthians 13 was until now. This love is awesome, its this true love...no wonder he makes my heart skip a beat when he walks in the door at night. I have never had love like this. In my marriage my exhusband was all about himself even now with his life its all about him. REALITY CHECK! Life doesnt work that way...no matter how much you think you are in control, no matter how manipulative you become to get what you want you will never get to your "mountaintop experience". The sad thing is that some people never learn that and its so sad when they come to the end of their lives and realize how many doors could have been opened how many opportunities could have been given if they had just taken their eyes off of them and put them onto God and others. I realized it thank God before it was too late and now I am enjoying my "mountaintop experience." For the first time in my life I am in love with the love of my life who calls me his "superwoman" I so love that. Loving him has made me want to be the best mom, girlfriend, sister, daughter,friend, and niece I can be. I took control with God's help and got rid of the drama and chaos in my life. Its so nice to be able to come home at night and make dinner and help with homework and keep up the house and the finances and take care of my family...yes ladies I dont stay home...I work full time and lately even more than full time. Yeah go ahead and bash me but this is my blog so I will say what I want to say and if you cant take it then you dont have to read it. I have survived cancer, divorce, reposession, and forclosure and I have done it and still managed to have a job and keep my family stable. I dont buy this garbage that a woman's job is to keep her home and family and she isnt to work outside the home..that to me is a line of bull. I hear so many women gripe because they have no money and they are struggling and here is the husband/father working 2 jobs and not taking care of himself or his health and worrying about his family 24/7, sorry ladies but you need to be out there too. blah blah blah the welfare system would be alot less crowded if they made women get out there and work..I know of someone who's husband worked 60 hrs a week at one job and 40 hrs at another so he could support his wife and 3 kids. One day a freak accident happened and he died leaving his widow with 3 kids and massive bills and boo hoo she had no skills so she couldnt work...she couldnt get any government assistance because with the kids social security she made too much...did she give up..nope she pulled up her bootstraps and got a job at McDonalds and went to school and now is a nurse and is remarried but working. Women need to be able to make a living for themselves and not depend on a man. After my divorce I could have wallowed, etc but I didnt I dove into my job dove into my family, found a church, joined divorcecare, got proactive with my life and getting proactive thanks to my awesome son allowed me to meet Rey and even now I dont live on him. He pays his bills and I pay mine but it is nice for the 1st time in my life to be saving money and getting to splurge once in awhile...it has put this awesome inner peace within me. And also by having that inner peace within me has helped me to give even more to others. And the doors Christ has opened are truly awesome!

Keeping up!!!

Okay ladies and gentlemen between work and school and keeping up with the antics of a 7 year old and 8 month old and 11 year old life around here has been pretty hectic!!! We are all settled in here (house should be coming around late spring) so for now its close quarters but we are getting through it. Matty got his 1st report card last week not the greatest needs improvement but we can work on that!!! Dustin is doing well in 6th grade and its funny because he is playing the tuba and the band teacher says he is a natural. Should be getting his report card soon but I bet it will be good like always.

Ali is all over the place now. She sits and crawls and has begun to not listen to me or Rey. She is a stubborn thing and into eveything. I have forgot what its like having a little one in the house but Alison is giving me a refresher course.

Matty is now a 1st Grader!

Yes today in the city of Indianapolis is the 1st day of school. Last night Matty was not excited as he had to go to bed early, and he even tried to get in bed with me he was so scared. This morning he put on his polo and khaki's and new tennis shoes and combed his black hair, and crabbed about tucking in his shirt (Rey explained to him that he has to do it and so he can and grabbed his fully packed backpack with his lunch money and headed to the van where mommy or Rey depending on who gets moving first will take him to the Y program and will pick him up in the afternoons. I cannot believe my Matty is a 1st grader, it seems like just yesterday we were walking through the doors of school onto the 1st day of kindergarten. There are pictures on my facebook and myspace of Matt ready to head out the door. Actually I cannot believe that in less than a month he will be 7 years old. Where does the time go?

I have come to find out....

That there are people reading my blog..lol....someone from a debate group used one of my posts as a dig to me the other day..yeah whatever! I am proud of who I am where I have come from and certainly where my life is going! Last Saturday night Vineyard CC did their whole service as a service of worship...the music the candlelight, the communion was so awesome! I am glad I am back home on the South Side of Indy where I belong! Not to say I didnt love the west side and the over 1 yr I spent up there and the people I met and Chapel Rock and Divorce Care--which really helped me heal and get over my divorce and helped heal the hurt and allowed my heart to learn to love again, but the South Side is home! I cant believe the way everything is falling into place with the childcare and the car insurance and just everything altogether God is so awesome! I have had a bad week, but today is Friday and Sunday is my birthday I will be 32 years old. I had some time to myself this week and so I was doing some thinking about how far I have come and this point right now in my life is my true "mountain top experience." Its like everything I have been waiting and praying for for so long is finally happening, the pieces are just falling into place. I have met the love of my life and we enjoy each other and enjoy the kids and thats something I never thought I would allow my heart to love again or to trust or to share and God is a God of 2nd chances. I have 3 of the most awesome kids! I cannot believe how far we have come with the discipline, it has so made life easier to remain consistent with the discipline, also I cannot believe how mature Dustin, my little baby has become. He is going to be in 6th grade this fall. Matty will be in 1st, he has come so far as well. He used to be very selfish, very demanding, very challenging, and its like the stubborness and the disobedience is gone...last night I took the van to the car wash and he wanted to sweep out the van, I didnt know he knew how to do that and so he did. He did an awesome job, he is getting so much better at listening to directions and helping when needed...so yay me and to mom and dad and aunt kris and aunt kelly a pat on our backs for working with him..to see the change in him is awesome! And then there is Alison, my little Ali, my princess and Rey's princess...It has been amazing to see her grow up I cant believe she will be six months old tomorrow! She is just the most happy, bubbly baby who is so easygoing and calm I cannot believe how easygoing and calm she is. My life in the last 3 years has come from anger and frustration and bitterness to joy, peace, happiness, and love..its amazing that every day I see God working in different things, the small things and I never used to notice that before. So go ahead throw your digs, I know who I am and where I am going and so far it has been an awesome "mountain top experience."

Life just keeps getting busier and busier!

Life just keeps getting busier and busier! I cannot believe its August already! Matty came home from an extended stay with nana and papa last Thursday, thanks to Chris and Dean for bringing him down here since they had to go to Amy's appointment at Riley, so it was perfect them bringing him down, its so nice to know that I have friends still up north despite everything that has happened. My family isnt by blood its by friendship, I think I need to make a sampler for the wall with that on it.

I am officially moved in down south. That said my drive this morning was 22 miles way different from the over 100 miles I was traveling to go from south to west and then back down south twice a day. It was so nice to get up at 6am rather than 445 and then not have to rush around and I still made it into the building at 730--so go me! I will be out of my apartment by August 31st, its weird having all my stuff in storage, but its so cool knowing that I am closing a chapter in my life and opening up a new one with a man who treats me and my kids like totally awesome.

As for the house thing its still in the works! I keep telling Rey that God has a plan for all of this, I am slowly getting him to understand where my faith is. This past Saturday night we went to church and he participated in communion and prayer time. Slowly but surely we are making progress, God is opening his eyes and even with the cluster headaches we are moving forward in so many things.

Well gotta jet, busy,busy summer, prayers are always welcome!

Life has been busy around here. Besides working 7 to 9 days at a time, we have been busy house hunting. Last week we went and looked at like 8 of them. I learned something in all of the house hunting...dont believe what you read about the houses or even the internet...go out and look at them. One house listed MINOR cosmetic damage. ..hello I dont think a skylight leaking causing water damage is minor, and then going down to the basement and seeing the ceiling hanging there is minor either. Another house we looked at emphasized it was family friendly... which it was not. First of all there was NO backyard and then the inside looked like it was straight out of the 50's including the very small rooms of the 50's. Beds were smaller back then, then they are now..this is definitely not the era of Ricky and Lucy I like my queen size bed and I like snuggling up with my honey at night. I could definitely not do the 2 twin beds in a room thing. Then with this house there was the garage. It was HUGE! Perfect for Rey and working on his cars but thats all there was to this house. So family friendly well if you plan on not seeing your honey for days at a time, then it was perfect..lol...

I found the house of my dreams. 4 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths pool, patio, garage, sandbox, deck it just had everything I was looking for. And then as I walked into the kitchen there on the radio under the counter..our song was playin..THEN by Brad Paisley. I was like eureka I found my house! We are going to look at a couple others but still at this moment its our top pick. As we walked through the house I could just imagine me and Rey and the kids living there. I have never had the opportunity to own a house and I cant wait. I see all these home improvement shows and I cant wait to dive into a house and make it our home, a reflection of our lives.

Its so funny its like all the pieces are there, now we just have to figure out how they will fit. Uggh I hate that part. I hate growing and changing. I wish there was a way we could just "be" or as my 11 year old says, just "chill". But God doesnt want us to chill, He wants us to grow and develop in Him. He is the vine, we are the branches.