Easter 2009

He is Risen!!!

How amazing is that? God loves us enough, with all our flaws, to send His only Son to die for our sins. Thank you Lord!!!


I am sorry for not updating this much lately. I have been so busy with the new job. It has been great though! I have worked with some really amazing surgeons. I am at a smaller hospital now. Tuesday, my second day, I put in 4 1/2 hours of overtime! Pray from me as I journey into week two. I am going in early tomorrow and staying late, plus Maddie has a cheerleading meeting, and a PTA meeting later in thr week. Here begins Super Mom mode!!!


Happy Easter everyone!

Our Past

I am now into week two of Beth Moore's Esther. I have already been moved so much. It is amazing to be able to truly dive into God's word. I have also been deeply touched by the other women in the study.

During last night's study video, Beth Moore said something that immediately took to heart with me.


"You can not amputate your history from your destiny."


How beautiful is that!? As I wrote in a blog a few months ago, I have finally been able to forgive someone that has hurt me in the past. However, one of my biggest struggles is forgiving myself of my past. The closer I get to God, the more I find myself asking God why I couldn't have just followed Him to begin with. Why did I have to go through my dark past to get to where I am striving to be now? Why did I have to hurt the people I love? Why did I have to hurt myself? The answer to all of those questions is that God was always using me as a precious vessel of His. He knew that I would be able to reach out to others that are going through what I did then. I would not have been able to relate to others pain if it was for the fact the I felt that same pain. I can truly say that I have overcome my past. I am free from captivity of Satan. I can now help others reach that same freedom.

Beth went on the say how both our past and destiny share the same root of Jesus! Amen to that!!

Allie's 1st Haircut

We took Allie to get her haircut this morning. After what she put us through a few hours prior, when needed to get out and do something! We took her to Cool Cuts for Kids. They did an amazing job! They were so patient with her. She was treated like a princess. Here are some pictures of our baby girl getting her first haircut!

Allie and Daddy waiting to get started




Allie and Mommy




getting buckled




the haircut






Where did my hair go!?




All Done

Only Read/View If You Have A Strong Stomach!

As I wrote yesterday, Allie had her 15 month shots. We knew that she would still be tried from her appointment and agreed that we would let her sleep in this morning. Allie normally gets out of bed around 6. I left the house at 7:40 to take Madison to school. Allie was still asleep. I got home and made Matt and myself some breakfast, which we ate together. Allie continues to "sleep" through this. We begin to get worried and Matt says that we should check on her again because it didn't feel right.
So the morning chaos begins. As I walk down the hall to Allie's room, I am overcome by the worse smell ever! I open Allie's door to discover that she was wide awake. Not only is she wide awake, but she has also decided to take over her diaper, which was dirty! She smeared the contents all over her legs, fingers, face, crib, bedding, and bottle. It took Matt and myself, working as a team to get Allie cleaned up along with the rest of her room.

We learned two valuable things:
1. Never assume your child is asleep. Silence is always a red flag!
2. Always put your child to sleep with pants on!!

Allie is 15 months!

Allison turned 15 months on the 27th. I am amazed at how fast the kids are growing up. They all make us proud on a daily basis.

Allie went for her well check-up today. She is in the 30th percentile for both height and weight! She has moved up on the chart!! It is funny because those that are close to Allie think that she is really big. We remember her from when she was a little over 4 pounds...

She had to get a shot today which broke my heart. Matt is normally the one that takes her to these appointments because of me being the one that works. Today made me really wish that I had been able to start my new job early! Allie's "allie"gator sized tears bought her a ball pit to play in when she got home.

After taking a three hour nap, Allie was finally able to play with her "I'm sorry" toys! Enjoy the pictures!!

MS Stampede

Matt thought he needed to take a close up of me right after I finished!


Saturday was the day I had been preparing for for weeks now. There were many days that I just could not bring myself to get out and run. I realized that I was as prepared as I could possibly be. What I would never have been able to prepare myself for was the weather condition.

When Matt and I woke up at 6am, the temperature was maybe in the low 30s. The constant wind made it feel much colder than that! Matt told me that there would be no hard feelings if I decided to stay home. I knew that I would regret not going.

We get to the event to be pleased by the turnout. I was worried that the weather would keep people in. It was very hard to go around to the vendors because of the wind blowing. We had the opening ceremonies and lined up for the race to begin.

While going through the opening stretches, snow flurries began to come down, HARD! I looked over to Matt on the sidelines when a "Can this really be happening?" look. The race begins and I am up with the front pack. The first mile and a half was ran directly into the wind. It was one of the most challenging things I had to overcome. I so badly wanted to turn around and quit. I had to meditate on 2 Timothy 4:7 and the fact that I was really wanting to show Matt that I support him and will always be there for him.

I did not win the race. I did finish though. Other people actually finished after me! It was a big accomplishment for me to have gone through with this, especially when it became physically tough. I can now say that I have finished a 5K race. Maybe now I can start training for the New York Marathon... Or not!


"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."




Crossing the finish line with a t-shirt, sweatshirt, and jacket on!

Crazy week!!!

Talk about a crazy week...so far!

Madison made it home from North Carolina. She made it back with a fever, strep, and bronchitis!! Talk about a souvenir! She missed Monday and Tuesday of school. While being home sick, she read two Junie B Jones books! I had a parent-teacher conference on Tuesday. Madison is testing on a third grade level in Math AND Reading.

I had my interview on Monday. It was a Medical Center of Plano. They offered me the job! I will actually be making a little more than I was at Baylor. It is a smaller hospital with a smaller case load which equals less stress! I am so excited!! I can't wait to start.

I started my first Beth Moore bibly study last night. It is over the book of Esther. I am truly excited to be able to do this study. Lisa, one of my favorite people from our Adult Bible Fellowship class is also doing the study. I look forward to getting to know her better. I especially look forward to what God is going to do in my life through this study.

The big race is Saturday. I was feeling better about it until I realized it is supposed to be in the 30-40 that morning. I also woke up in the middle of the night with a horrible sore throat. Thanks for sharing Maddie! Who knows? Maybe the temperature will help me run faster! I will post pictures from the event later on in the weekend.

I hope that everyone is having a great week. Let me know if you need anything at all!