A new leaf!

Well, this is certainly not a new thing for me to say but it sure has been a long time since I have posted anything here. I have decided to spend less time on Facebook so I think I am going to use my blog to post things that may have originally gone on my Facebook status. So my goal is to post a little something everyday. Whether it be about family or work or what God has been teaching me I hope to keep this up and maybe encourage others through my experiences.

Just to recap about me... I am a stay at home mom of two beautiful girls. My daughters are Hannah (2) and Zoey (6 weeks and 3 days). I am married to my wonderful husband Mike and we live in a bi-level house with a big back yard. I have my own garden in the backyard and I am super excited to get out there and start planting. I love playing with my kids and gardening. I have not really enjoyed cooking/baking since Hannah was born, it was more of a chore. Now that Zoey is here I would like to get back into it but not just start cooking again, I want to cook meals for my family that count. What I mean by "meals that count" is that I want to make a main course, salad or vegetable and dessert. This is brand new for me as I have never cooked meals for my family that contain all the food groups that they should be eating. I want to cook so my family is healthy and that they enjoy meal times. So this a new adventure. If you have any good meals that your family loves please feel free to send them my way.

Hannah has what we like to call Hannahisms. She has had a very large vocabulary from when she was very young and she says some of the funniest things. A while back I was lying in bed reading my devotions on my ipad when Hannah (who was lying in our bed with us) leaned over and flipped my screen up. I looked at her and said "Excuse me, I was reading that." Hannah says "looks like you have some stiff competition." Another time she asked if she could watch a movie I said yes but when we went downstairs I could not find the movie she wanted to watch. I went to check in the dvd player and Hannah leans over my shoulder to watch. When she spots the dvd she says "it was already in the dvd player, how convenient." On Saturday we had to take Hannah to the ER because she had fallen and hurt her arm. While we were in the room waiting for the doctor to come she says to Mike "My arm hurts just remember that. That is why I am sad. Just remember that." Then when Mike went to the bathroom Hannah started having a fit on the floor because she wanted to go to the bathroom too. She said "I have to pee, I have to pee, I have to pee... just kidding" She comes up with some of the funniest things. One day she came out of our room with Mike's belt draped on her shoulders and  said "look mom, I'm Pastor Dan." Or another time we were eating lunch and she did not really want to eat what was on her plate so she looked up at the ceiling and said "God, do you see what is going on down here? I don't want to eat my lunch." It is so hard not to burst out laughing especially when she is being disobedient or talking back with her words but she is just so funny. She has an amazing personality and she is my encouragement. The other morning I was sitting in the rocking chair in my housecoat with my hair all crazy from sleep and Hannah came to me and said "I love your housecoat, I love your hair. I just love everything." She is so encouraging which picks me up on days when I am not feeling pretty.

I will try to keep you updated on all the funny things she says and does but there are just so many that I am sure you would get bored from reading all of them.

God is good!!!

It has been sometime since I last posted a blog. If it were not for my wonderful sister Christine I would have forgotten all about blogging. So thank you Chris. God has been changing things in our lives in a big way. Hannah is going to be two in just a few short weeks. I cannot believe that she is going to be that old and yet it seems as though she should be older than two. Hannah is a very verbal girl and she is very smart. Just this morning we were driving down one street and she looks out the window and says "look at all the garages". I did not even know she knew what a garage was. She is pretty much potty trained. I feel comfortable leaving the house to go to the grocery store with Hannah just wearing underwear. I think we are very close to saying that she is completely potty trained. Mike and his dad have one of their flip houses for sale and the last one is close behind. It will be very nice once these houses sell so Mike can relax and maybe start working on kid proofing our back yard. Mike is almost done work for this school year and he is very excited to start his summer break. I have started a new job. I was offered a position as the massage therapist at Harvest Chiropractic and wellness center here in Brandon. My first say was June 1st and I am reall enjoying it. My hours are 9-1:30 every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. So if you are reading this and you live in this area please call and book an appointment (717-8000). The wife of the chiropractor here keeps Hannah while I am at work. She will sometimes cry and make a big deal when I leave but when I come back she always says"have fun at miss Taralee's" so I know she really enjoys going she just wants to make me feel loved. Mike and I became members of our church on May 27. We are excited to start working together with the other members of our church and to reach out to our community. I will be starting out with working on the nursery committee. I am very excited to see what God has in store for us in this next chapter of our life. I know that He is walking with us and teaching us new things everyday. I tried to add some pictures but I have not quite figured out how to do this with my new iPad. When I figure it out I will post some updated photos.

Wordless Wednesday!

My big girl!!!

So we have started to potty train Hannah. I started to take her whenever she said "poop". She has done such a great job of telling me. We have caught a pee a couple of times so I thought that maybe it was time.

We are on day 2 of no diaper during the day (except for nap time and bed time). I have put some pants on her to catch any pee that does not make it to the toilet. Yesterday we went through every pair of pants she has so she ended up wearing a diaper for the evening. Today so far she is in the pair of pants I first put on her. She is down for nap number one now but I have great hopes for the rest of the day. I will post again tonight to let you know how well she did and I will add some photos of her eating her breakfast today (she is just so cute!!!)

Busy summer!!

Well, summer has just been flying by. Graduation has come and gone, and so has Hannah's first birthday! My baby is one year old, walking on her own and she has 7 (almost 8) teeth. Our basement is finally finished and everything has been moved down here to make a family room and play room and guest bedroom. It feels so great to be able to use all of my house.

Mike and I are leaving for Minneapolis on the 22. We are going for our anniversary and we are leaving Hannah is the care of her Grandparents while we are gone. I am so nervous about leaving her for 6 full days but I know that she will be well taken care of. She has been coming into herself so much more these days that I am afraid of missing something. I am sure that everything will be just fine and that I have to put my trust in God. Our message this morning in church was about trusting God and not worrying about things so I am going to do my best.

The joys of being a mom!!

There are so many days when I feel like pulling my hair out and then she giggles at something little I did or she falls asleep on my chest or sits by herself and talks to her teddy bears and my heart melts. Words cannot express what a blessing it is to be a mom and to see this child changing day by day right before your eyes. Their personality changes, their looks, their height/weight. As they grow they just seem to get cuter and cuter. They also start to develop an attitude and start to do things to push the boundaries. God has given me a strong willed child and I know that He has a wonderful plan for her life. I can't wait to see how He uses this will for His purpose!!

It has been way too long!

Hey everyone!! I was just reading the last post on my blog and I realized that I have not posted something in a very long time. So just a quick over view of what our lives have been like for the past 7 months... Hannah has four teeth and she is such a happy baby. She has her moments of sadness and she even has an attitude but for the most part she is just a happy, funny kid. Mike is still at the school division but he is working part time trying to finish our basement. We now have a bedroom that is almost move in ready, a laundry room and a bathroom with a working shower. The family room downstairs just needs to be painted and carpet put in and we will be able to use the other half of our house. I cannot wait!!!

I am three weeks away from writing my final exams and being done with school forever. Whoever said that going to school with an infant would be easy clearly had never tried to complete such a task. Not only do I want to be with my baby I also have a house to clean, meals to make, school work to do... and the list goes on and on. I cannot express how excited I am going to be when they hand me my diploma and tell me that I am finished!!! Oh the anticipation.

Well, here are a few pictures of Hannah so enjoy.