Famiily

There is a family that we are very close to. I have known Jason and Nicole since I was in the 5th grade. I played basketball, volleyball, and was a cheerleader with Nicole in junior high and high school. Her and Jason dated almost all through high school and have now been married for over 10 years. Their very first child, Keaton, holds a very special place in my heart. I was his nanny for the first 10 months of his life.

Keaton Nicholas, 6 years old

While I was keeping Keaton, Nicole got pregnant with her 2nd child. I kept Keaton until September and in December she had Isaac and started staying at home with both boys.

Isaac Michael, 5 years old

Not only did I "work" for their family, but was best friends with them. Jason is a great friend also. He has just been a great support through some very tough times in my life. I have so much respect for him. A couple years later they had their 3rd child, Carder. Olivia and Carder are only 6 months apart and have a true love/hate relationship. They are best buddies one minute and the next they are fighting like brother and sister.

Carder Ellis, 4 yrs old

When Carder was about 2 or so Nicole got pregnant 2 more times and they both ended in miscarriage. The first one was very early on in the pregnancy, but the 2nd time, she was 20 weeks along and had gone in to find out the sex of the baby when they found that she had lost it. That baby was a little girl. Jason and Nicole were heartbroken. They trusted God though and knew that He had a plan for their family. They made the decision that they were done having biological children. They wanted to foster/adopt. They went through The Call and very quickly their home was open for placement. A couple weeks after their home being officially "open" they got a call about a brand new baby girl that needed a foster home. They weren't sure for how long or what the outcome would be. Nicole and Jason said yes. Nicole actually picked up the baby girl from the hospital and brought her home. She was 3 days old. She was a "crack" baby and they weren't sure who the father was or what, if anything, would be wrong with her. Her name was Rical. Everyone opened "baby rikki" into their home and hearts. We have a very close group of friends and we were all so excited to have a new baby around. Olivia is the only girl of the group. We all felt that God had placed this baby in their home and that she was here to stay. Jason and Nicole were hesitant to get their hopes up. After several "no shows" from the biological parents, the courts terminated their rights.

Ella Joy, 8 months

Last week, on January 27, 2010, Jason and Nicole became the parents of this baby girl. A mere 8 months after bringing her home from the hospital. Ella Joy is now a part of this family with 3 older brothers! She is blossoming and is beautiful and we are all so very excited for our friends. I babysit for them alot and have really enjoyed getting to know this baby girl. Because Olivia and Ella Joy are the only girls out of all the kids my friends and I have, I am really trying to encourage a relationship between the 2 of them. I know they are 2 and 1/2 years apart but when they get older that won't matter. Nicole and I are 4 years apart and are very close. Nicole was Matron of Honor in my wedding and we have talked about are kids growing up together like we have. It is awesome for us both to have daughters now and we hope and pray that they grow up to be best friends and maybe one day be in each others weddings. I love Keaton, Isaac, Carder, and now Ella Joy as if they are my own children.
Congratulations!!!

Snowdy days

We have been home all weekend because of the snow/ice that we got on Friday. I have to say that I was shocked that we actually got something. The weather people always say that we will and we never do! So when it actually started snowing on Friday afternoon I was pretty excited. Olivia had never actually played in the snow so I wanted to make sure she got a chance this time. We have never had anything stick for her to go out in. She was so excited to see it falling. We have her wagon on the balcony and she kept going over to the door and seeing if the snow was still falling in her wagon. Today when everything was finally melting she was so disappointed to see the wagon with water in it and no snow.


Ben was supposed to go to our church's men's retreat up North for the weekend. He had taken off of work on Friday and was planning on leaving at noon. He was so disappointed when they cancelled it Friday morning. It all changed so fast on Friday afternoon. One minute it was barely sleeting and the next it was snowing hard. They are probably going to go this coming weekend instead. So, Ben ended up with just a day off. I am glad that he had taken off for the retreat because if he hadn't of done that then he would have had to go to work on Friday. It was nice to have him at home.


We stayed inside all day Friday and then later that evening I realized that we hadn't taken Olivia outside. We were just going to wait until Saturday, but I was a little afraid that we would wake up Saturday morning and it would all be melted. Sooo, we all bundled up at 9:30pm and headed outside. With the ground being covered in snow, it was really bright outside. I took my camera out and got some good pictures. Olivia LOVED it!! She made snow angels.


She tried to make snowballs to throw at me. The snow was very dry and most of it was ice so it didn't pack very good at all. The thing that she was fascinated with was seeing her footprints. Because the bottom layer was ice, everytime she would step the ice would crack. So she kept saying she wanted to see her footprint cracking. It was funny. we couldn't find both of her gloves before going out so I stuck socks on her hands. She laughed at me at first and thought I was so silly, but once we got out in the cold, she was glad to have them on! We stayed out for about 30 minutes and then had to drag her back in. She DID NOT want to come back in.


We had planned to get up Saturday and go out but we never did. It snowed alot of the day and we just stayed in the warm house.
Today our church still had church, but we didn't go. I had not been feeling too great all weekend. I had what I thought was a bladder or kidney infection. I had them the whole time I was pregnant with Olivia and was actually on antiobiotics for them the entire 9 months, so I knew what it felt like. I was needing to go to the grocery store this afternoon but just didn't feel good and was starting to have alot of discomfort. Well, ends up it wasn't an infection, I ended up passing a kidney stone!!! I have had major issues with kidney stones in the past~even have had lithotripsy~I knew that I still had alot of stones I needed to pass but it has been a while since I have had any problems. I kept the stone that I passed so that I can take it to my urologist to have it analyzed. I really want to know why my body is making them.
I went on to the store and cooked the rest of the afternoon. I had to make dinner to take to a friend in playgroup that has a new baby boy, Emory. Olivia went with me to take dinner to them and did not want to leave. They also have a 2 year old son, Paxton, that Olivia has been in playgroup with since she was 1. She wanted to stay and play with him!!
We are home now after making a run through Starbucks. Yummy!


I think this week I am going to try and get out more with Olivia. We used to go to playgroup alot and to storytime at the library. It has been a long time since we have done either one and I think although Olivia doesn't realize what she is missing, I know she is missing out by not going. One thing I always wanted to do when I wanted to stay home was be able to go do all these things~now that I can~I don't. So I am going to try and start making that change.
Hope everyone had a safe weekend. I am ready for life to get back to normal and move on to Spring!!! We had our snow/ice for the season and it is time to move on!

Good...Morn...um...Night....Mornight!

That's it! Good MornNight!!! It is 2:32 AM so although I should be saying Good Night to most people, technically it is Good Morning! I have been staying up ENTIRELY too late the past few nights. I have always been a night person but this week I have taken it even further. The main reason is because I have been staying up and playing the New Mario Brothers on the Wii~lame~I know. It is a great game though and it has elements of all the past Mario Brothers from older consoles added into this one game. I have really enjoyed it AND Ben and I have been enjoying doing something together. You see, most of the time, Ben is in the living room watching tv or playing xbox and I am in the bedroom on the computer, watching tv, or snuggling with Olivia. Olivia tends to go back and forth between the both of us. So this week Ben and I have joined forces and have been spending time in the same room! What?!?! I know~shocking!

You see, in the beginning of our marriage, almost 4 years ago, I didn't think there was anything strange about the fact that we had this "set-up" I ended up pregnant after 6 weeks of marriage, so alot of the time I was napping or propping my feet up and wanted to do it in my own bed, watching what I wanted to be watching. I also went to bed earlier in those days so it just worked out better for us. After Olivia was born, I tended to stay back in the bedroom because she was very colicky and I didn't want her crying to bother Ben. He went to work all day everyday so I didn't want him to have to come home to a screaming baby. As Olivia got older, she would watch cartoons on our bedroom TV and I would stay back here with her. We never made it a priority to change our now formed habit. We didn't think anything of it anyway.

the moment I was "given" to Ben by my family
March 18, 2006

My mom was the one who pointed out that it was weird for us, as newlyweds, to spend so much time apart. I would laugh it off and just say that it worked for us. And it did. At first. Even now, it is not so much that it is not working for us but rather than we have developed separate lives. Sure we live in the same house, go to the same church, sleep in the same bed, but that is about it. We are cordial to one another and try to keep up with what is going on with each other, but we aren't really interacting with each other. I don't think I know anymore about what is going on with my husband than I do what is going on with my friends.

The happiest day of my life
March 18, 2006

It could work for us~we could continue on this way and probably be just fine. But I do not want just a "fine" marriage and relationship with the man that God has put in my life to share it with. God intended for us to know each other intimately~in more ways just one. God designed marriage for 2 to become 1. I want that in my marriage. I want Olivia to grow up knowing what that looks like. I do not want seeing her mom and dad hug and kiss each other to be the exception instead of the rule. I want to change this now.

I believe that God has started showing me this because He wants me to address it. God wants more for Ben and I's marriage than what it is currently. There is SO much more to marriage than what we are experiencing. There are levels of knowing one another that we aren't even close to understand just yet.

Neither Ben nor myself had the perfect picture of what marriage is supposed to look like shown to us by our parents. Ben's parents divorced when he was in junior high and although my parents are still together for over 35 years, they definately have had their share of ups and downs. I do not want to look back in 35 years and regret what we have taught to our children regarding marriage. I want to show my kids what a God-centered, love giving, affection showing marriage looks like. My marriage should come FIRST after God and before anything else. And let's just tell it like it is~right now it is not coming first.

Very proud to call him "husband"
March 18, 2006

I write all this as a first step. I am committing right now to pursuing a more Godly marriage. I vow to begin to take steps in making my marriage a priority in my life. I want to show Olivia what it means to love unconditionally and wholeheartedly. I ask God that right now you begin to start a new work in Ben and I. I surrender my time, thoughts, and intentions to You and ask that You direct them as You see fit. Show me the choices to make in order to start this process. Stir me on, pour me out. I want Ben to know without a shadow of a doubt that his wife loves and adores him. I want his home to be a safe haven for him and not somewhere that he dreads coming home to. I want to be the kind of wife that he dreams of having. I want to be for Ben what he needs. I love Ben and I am so thankful for the gift I have been given in him. Lord, do not let me ever take him or our relationship for granted again.

New Look

Finally! Christmas is over here at Full of Hope!! I have been wanting to have a new look but wasn't sure if I should invest in it because I don't update very often. But after Christmas I hated the thought of going back to the ol blogger headers so I contacted Faith about giving me a new look. She was awesome to work with and I am so pleased with how it all turned out. This is something I am proud of and I think it will make me want to write more. So thank you so much Faith!! If you are looking for a new look you should definately head on over to A Design of Faith! You will not be sorry!

On to other news~I have been potty training for the last couple of weeks. Olivia is doing great. I started the week she was going to turn 3 and it seemed to just click with her. I had tried about 6 months ago and she would have NO part of it. I let it go and I think that was the key to her doing so good~waiting until SHE was ready. We have had very few accidents and she pooped in her panties 2x and now she has that down too. I was afraid that might take a while but it really didn't. I am sooo very proud of her!! There are times when she wears a pull-up when we have alot of errands to run, but other than that she wears panties. The pull-ups are really because of me~I am afraid that I won't get her to the potty in time if we are out. She probably would do just fine. She has done really good at telling me and then waiting until we get to a potty. I need to have confidence in her and just put them away. She still wears a diaper at night, but I know that very soon we will be done with those too. Most nights she wakes up dry in the mornings. I never thought she would be potty trained!! Next on our list is getting her to sleep in her own bed! We are taking it one thing at a time though!! :)

Give Me Your Best Shot

First...I promise the Christmas will be gone VERY soon!! :)

I am attempting something I have never done before. I am trying to learn photography~on my own. I got a new Canon Rebel T1i for Christmas from my husband. I am IN LOVE with this camera. I don't know anything about taking pictures. I have found A TON of blogs with tutorials and that has helped tremendously and I am now attempting to get out of "full auto" mode. I know this camera has GREAT potential. So I am trying all sorts of new things.

Sooo...today I am linking up to Better in Bulk and her Give Me Your Best Shot. I took Olivia out to our playground behind our apartment this week and while she played I tried my hand at some "manual" photography. Trying out some of what I learned. I got a few good shots and I think this is one of them. I then played with it a little in Photoshop Elements. WOW there is a ton to learn with that too!!

So it's not much but I am pleased and think it was my best shot this week. Let me know what you think and any tips would be SOOO appreciated!!

Something new and 3rd birthday

So I am sure you are wondering when I was going to decide to take Christmas down around here at the blog...well I am working with Faith over at A Design of Faith and I am sooo excited to see what she comes up with! So very soon is when Christmas will come down!
Olivia turned 3!! I cannot believe my baby girl is 3. Her birthday is January 15 and we celebrated today (16th) with friends and family at Chuck E Cheese. It was crazy, but fun. I am working on the pictures from the party and will get them posted soon and tell you all about the party. That just means you will have to come back!

More to come...
Jen

Christmas and stuff

I just wanted to write really quick to document this Christmas. I don't think many people actually read this and that is ok~I don't do to good at updating~but I wanted to post some pictures and some memories so that I can look back on them in the future.

I was really excited about Christmas with Olivia this year. She is at such a fun age and really "got" the concept of Santa. We also talked alot about baby Jesus and read lots of books. Olivia asked for one specific thing this year~a purple thing with a pencil~AKA Leapster. This is ALL she has talked about since before Thanksgiving. We had told Santa about it, told EVERYONE about it. So I went Thanksgiving night at 10pm and stood in line at Toys R Us and got it 50% off! I was so excited about it and couldn't wait to see her face on Christmas morning.

Well, I wrapped this gadget and had it under the tree. Of course, I had to tell Olivia several~a million~times to leave it alone. I even went as far to say it wasn't her present, it was someone else's. On Monday or Tuesday of last week, Olivia and I were sitting in the living room playing. I got up to get the phone and right as I turned back around she had ripped the paper off the top of this "purple thing with a pencil" !!! "OOOOH!" she exclaimed!! "just what I wanted" I was speechless~on one hand it was HILARIOUS but on the other i had told her over and over to leave it alone. So I sent her to her room, put the gift in the closet, and told her I was taking it back to the store so another little girl who obeyed their mommy could have it. This broke her little heart. She cried and cried. As the week went on she mentioned several times about this gift and I told her that I took it back, but that MAYBE if she was good then Santa Claus would bring her one.

On Christmas morning, she ran to the living room to see if Santa had come and I captured this:


I guess Santa thought she was a pretty good little girl after all.

We spent lots of time with family. Olivia got tons of goodies. Her favorites are her baby doll, pink scooter, and her very first bicycle! We are having lots of fun enjoying all of it.



We will be spending lots of time outside this week I am sure~especially since Daddy is off this week and can help Olivia with her riding skills.
We did spend some time out this afternoon riding the scooter and she is getting the hang of it. I got some good pictures of it with my AWESOME Christmas gift from my hubby~the Canon Rebel T1i!!!! LOVE IT!!!
Happy New Year!!!!
Jen

Knock, Knock

IS ANYONE THERE? DOES ANYONE READ MY BLOG????

just curious! :)

An AMAZING give-a-way

You have GOT to go to www.kellyskornerblog.com and check out the awesome thing she is giving away!!!

Check this out~but only until tomorrow!!

If you want to see some super cute blog designs and look at some free ones (but only free until tomorrow) then click below!