Oh, and I forgot, Hannah got her first kitten! Baby Belle!

A lot to catch up on...

Sorry I haven't been back in over a year. A lot has happened! I have been having serious back issues, Jim's sister went through surgery for breast cancer, our best friend had to have her son taken into state custody (for violence towards her and her fiance) and he went into a special needs school where he lives on campus, Hannah took Jim's epilepsy medication and nearly died, my sister was diagnosed with cancer (around November) and died from liver failure due to the cancer in January, my father died two days before Christmas, Jim's mother has had some health issues throughout it all (including just recently having a pace maker put in), Jim had a heart attack in January and had to have a stent put in to keep his arterie open, and my best friend had to have a hysterectomy (her uterus was twice the size it should've been). It has been insane!

On top of it all I've been out of work since December of 2007! I am beyond the stressed out point and am feeling like an emotional cripple these days. I cry for no apparent reason! I was wondering if I was pregnant, but I'm not. Thank God for that favor! We couldn't handle all of that, too!

Oh, and Jim found his son (from a previous relationship) and now we see him as often as possible. He's seventeen and looks just like Jim and Hannah! He will now be spending one week a month with us as well as getting together for holidays and just too hang out. He's seventeen and has a part time job and a girlfriend, so we won't see him all the time.

Oh, and my niece had a baby in October. Lily Rae, she is cute as can be!

Well, now you are caught up on my life. It has been exciting!

This is (from left to right) Alex (Jim's son), Jim and Hannah. Don't they look alike?! Same facial features! It's uncanny!

It's been too long...

Here's a picture of Hannah and Daddy (Jim) making homemade pizza one night for dinner. She is such an awesome little helper. She helps with dinner nearly every night! She seems to think that the stepstool is hers. She uses it to help us, but now I'm not supposed to use it. She yells at me whenever I try to use it! She's such a little character! I had no idea that a 2 year old had so much personality!

Anyway, I've been busy with life so I haven't had time to post anything. I hope to get back to doing this more often. I, also, hope to do another layout soon. I have so many fun pictures to share! Well, I'm going to get going for now. "Talk" to you again soon.

Been "Missing In Action"...

So sorry that I haven't posted lately. We were without internet until today. It's been complete chaos around here. Between getting ready for Christmas and shoveling nearly every 2 days we haven't had time to think. We, also, had a bit of a scare from my mother-in-law. The poor woman went into the hospital 2 days before Christmas and just got out 2 days ago. She is alright, but we had a rough Christmas Eve here. Jim's family was coming here Christmas eve to do the big party and gift exchange and we were all kind of downtrodden because of her not being here. Jim was with his mom at the hospital until about 3:30 a.m. and I was making pies and cookies all night getting ready for the party. We went to bed around 5 a.m. and were back up around 8 a.m. to finish getting ready for the party. We were so exhausted by the time the party was over and all was cleaned up. We wanted bed but, we headed over to the hospital to bring mom her presents and a little 6 inch tree all decorated. Everyone who came to the party filled out a little slip of paper with a well wish for mom and tucked it in the tree. So, when we delivered it we explained it to her and she decided that she would read them all on Christmas morning. I thought that bringing her a tree would help brighten her spirits... little did I know that it would brighten the spirits of her nurses for the next couple of days as well. Anyway, so with Christmas, hospital and snow it's been pretty crazy around here. Oh, and of course Hannah thinking that she's still going to get more presents because the tree is still up! She had so much fun this year! It was such a joy to see her light up over every present. I savor ever moment with her, especially the happy ones! I will post pictures of her "Holiday Extravaganza" soon. It's getting late and I'm so wiped out. So, Happy New Year everyone and stay safe and warm. Remember to always cherish the people around you...you never know when they might not be there.
Goodnight.

Tis the Season...

I have been so busy the past few days. I worked and then had my mother and stepfather here yesterday. My mother and I went out to get stocking stuffers and some Christmas gifts for Hannah. Her Santa wish list has been fulfilled.
She asked Santa for:
movies
puzzles
books
coloring books
cars
Skittles

So her list wasn't too tough. We went and picked it all up yesterday. Now we just have a few more things to get when I get paid this week. Jim and I wrapped it all yesterday while Hannah was napping and stashed it in the closet. My mother even got her (to give from Santa) a "clean smile set". It's Disney princess and it's too cute. It's a set of 2 toothbrushes, a rinse cup (so tiny!), and a holder for it all to sit in. She even got her toothpaste that's Disney princess, to match. She's going to be so excited! I can't wait for Christmas morning! Her first 2 Christmas' were fun, but this year she is really into it. She really can't wait to open presents! I can't wait for her to open presents either! I love the look on her sweet little face when she gets "surprises". Of course, I will be posting pictures after Christmas. This Wednesday we are going over to our friends house to celebrate with them. So, I will post pics from that. Hannah is so lucky. She gets to celebrate 4 times! Once with our friends, once with my in-laws, once with us, and then with my family. She is going to have so many presents this year! Our family and friends all know that we have had a very rough year financially so they are all going all out with gifts for her (to make sure that she has a good holiday). It breaks my heart that we can't do more for her, but luckily she's at an age where she really won't know the difference.
Anyway, enough rambling on for now.
I hope everyone is safe warm today. May you not get buried in snow lilke we are. We were supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow today. So far we have about ten and the storm is supposed to continue through to tomorrow morning. Winter came in hard this year, I hope that it means that spring will come early!
Well, hope everyone has a good night!
Happy Holidays to you all!

Awesome new Collaborative kit...

There is a new HUGE collaborative kit out there, "Christmas Around the World". Over 60 designers went in on it. Here's the link to a website that has all of the previews and links to get it all:
http://christmasaroundtheworldkit.blogspot.com/
There is something in there for everyone (who celebrates Christmas). It's only available until until December 16th, so hurry. It's worth the time to check it out.
Well, that's it for today. Nothing else exciting in my world. "Talk" to you all soon.

Check out a new site...

You need to go check out a new website (online store). It's called sterling pear. It has some awesome Christmas decor. Go check out Derekm's blog for the link and a code to get 10 0/0 off your purchase. There's a link to Derekm on the left. This store belongs to his cousin, so he's trying to help them out.
Oh, we took the side off of Hannah's crib today. We decided it was time, since she has been climbing out of it for the past week. So, now she has a "big girl bed". Right now I'm in the midst of doing battle to keep her in it. While we were putting on the safety rails she couldn't stay out of it. Now we can't keep her in it! The trials and tribulations of parenthood! I know it's just the beginning, too. lol
Anyway, that's all for now. That's all that's exciting in my life today. "Talk" to you again soon.