Savannah's 9th Birthday

Posted by Poki
Each year I struggle with ways to keep Savannah's birthday separate from Christmas as her birthday is Dec. 12th. This year we had a Winter Wonderland Party and found some great ideas online. To go with the theme, we chose white with a bit of blue for the color scheme and ran with it. Savannah apparently told her friends that they should wear these colors to the party! (Goodness...she is her mother's daughter forever coordinating!) I made these snowflake invites:

I forgot to rotate the pic! SORRY!


Next I planned the craft which was this sock penguin that the girls really enjoyed and it also doubled as a party favor!

We decorated the table with white and blue. I made a glittered "tree" like center piece out of foam balls that would be sufficient to hold the cake pops. As the party was in the evening, we turned the lights down and had snowflake votives. Hung snowflake ornaments from the chandelier. Made snowflake cutouts that we put everywhere.



Along with their penguins, we had favor bags that included a snowflake ornament, a blue lollipop, a fingernail polish (blue, white or silver) and a large white chocolate snowflake. I had also made favors with TP rolsl filled with candy, then wrapped with blue tissue paper and tied the ends with white ribbon so they looked like a piece of candy (look close and you'll see them on the table). Then on to the menu!
  • White pizza
  • Cauliflower with ranch
  • White corn tortillas with white queso
  • White popcorn balls
  • White cake pops
  • White chocolate covered snowflake pretzels
  • White chocolate melting snowmen
  • White chocolate hot cocoa
  • and White almond cupcakes with White/blue swirled icing topped with white chocolate snowflakes!
All the planning for 2 hours of special time for a special girl. Wish I had thought to include a picture of her when she was born into the blog. But this will have to do...







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Posted by Poki
Want to know what I was up to the last two days? This!
A day (or two) of fashion anyone! Well, I just had my fill! I received a call from my hairstylist last week wondering if I could help her team out! They were looking for someone to do makeup for the Procter&Gamble team at the Fall 2011 Fashion Focus show in Indy at the Convention Center. My first response was "are you crazy!" But after thinking about it (and getting Monday off from DPU from my awesome boss's!) I thought..."why the heck not!" Opportunities like this don't come around often so I said "let's do it!". :) And then....the nerves set in! >8-(


For those of you who know me, know just how much I love hair, makeup and fashion! So, going to this was going to be 2 full days in makeup and hair paradise (even if it meant waking up at 3:30am and driving through terrible construction traffic!). So, I loaded up my suitcase (yes, a full suitcase!) of makeup and went! I met some great people, got some great products (a free Nioxin scalp therapy treatment on stage!) and had an all around wonderful experience. I got to do some great makeup that I wouldn't usually have the opportunity to do (not your everyday looks, thanks to Omar Antonio from Sebastian for wanting some crazy looks!). If I could make a living at it, I would totally do this full time! Maybe I should quit the business school and go to beauty school! LOL! I would save a ton of money from paying for haircuts for a family of 6!

There was a photographer there for the first day and I can't wait to see some of the pictures.

That's it for now, just wanted to share a bit about my experience!
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Overwhelmed:::sigh:::

Posted by Poki
According to dictionary.com overwhelmed is "to overcome completely in mind or feeling". I think we have all felt this way at some point. Some of us feel this all too often! With work, school, kids, and all those mundane tasks like paying bills, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping and personal hygiene (LOL! totally kidding!) our daily lives and busy schedules often make us feel overwhelmed.
For those of you that know me, I stay pretty busy and I am constantly asked how I keep up with everything: 4 kids, a husband with a crazy schedule, 3 children are in extra-curricular activities, I'm in school, I work at DPU and as a Realtor®, we try to stay active in church and try very hard to make good, healthy choices for my family while shopping for bargains and still have special moments in between to spend with my family! >8-( Yes, it's a lot, but it's what I know. I don't know what I'll do with myself when our lives slow down!
Personally, I think it's normal to feel overwhelmed, but it's what we do with ourselves when we are feeling this way that matters. I think we need to examine what is causing this feeling at the time and really find solutions to relief. We each have our own personal struggles and what triggers the feeling of being overwhelmed.
For me it's usually organization and planning: I want everything to be neat and organized because I feel this is the best way to be more efficient. I want to know and plan everything in advance and have a plan B in place so I don't have to stress out when something goes wrong. I'm a list maker and really find pleasure in checking things off!
For my husband I'd say he gets overwhelmed with his job (and who wouldn't as a police officer). I cannot imagine what his daily life is like on duty. Right now, as a result of the stress, he has Postherpetic Neuralgia (say that 3 times fast!) from shingles he had over a month ago! Poor guy.
For Tyler, I think he gets overwhelmed with the whole pre-teen school life and drama. He wants to do well in school, in sports and have a good group of friends and right now, everyone is changing. He has not yet hit his growth spurt like others have and he is super worried about his size.
For Savannah, right now, she is struggling with a few things academically and it really overwhelms her. She literally cried for an hour the other day! Broke my heart. She's always done really great in school and to now be challenged, she feels that others may think she is "stupid" and judge her and make fun of her! This is 3rd grade...really!?
Oh Addison, is probably my least overwhelmed of them all, she is so care free. Maybe its because she's only 5 so she just hasn't come in to that phase of life yet. If only we could freeze time and make everyone feel this way again!
And Griffin. My little man is still quite overwhelmed with our schedules. Daddy went to days, then mommy went back to work after having the summer at home and all his siblings went to school and that leaves him alone with mawmaw (who he adores, but still gets lonely I think). After almost 2 months, he still asks me daily not to go to work (which is heart wrenching!).
So...what overwhelms you? Time, work, school, kids, money? I think as long as we try to remember that we don't have to "keep up with the Jones'" we'll be just fine.
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." ~Romans 12:2
Until next time. 
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Football!

Posted by Poki
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!

Okay, so you probably thought I was talking NFL (I do love some Colts football, but this season will not be the same without Peyton)! This time, I'm talking about good ole youth sports. Particularly GMS 7th grader football, because, they happen to have on their roster, one of my all time favorite players, Tyler Edwards :)
The season started out a bit rough, but I really believe it's because we lost some practice time waiting on the hire of a new coach and that we just needed time to really practice on working together. You see, I've been waiting for this year for a while! Tyler has played youth football since he was able to and he has played on multiple teams with different, new team mates and coaches each year. So, I've been waiting for the time when they all got the opportunity to play together, as one team because we have some real talent that has always been split up between youth teams. Now, all of our boys are all on one team and can unite together as one and really embrace each others talents.
Tyler has had some issues with confidence and as I parent I have struggled with how to build his confidence without making him arrogant. It's nearly impossible to force you child to be more confident (trust me, I've tried) and then you just feel helpless. Tyler is a good athlete, he's very humble and a great team player. He does exactly as he is asked and will play just about any position, he just never seems to be confident, which to me, makes it seem like he goes in already defeated. He a past experience with a a coach where his spirit was completely broken and that's when this all began. It's been so frustrating for me.
I've talked with other parents and coaches and everyone said to just give him time and wait for a moment. Not just any moment, but a rare moment that something happens and his spirit and confidence will be regained. I've been patiently waiting, and pray that this season is it.
Last night our team played a tough game and held off their opponents until the ladder half of the 4th quarter. Then the game got really great! Our boys really turned it on and I was super proud of all of them. Tyler had a few great defensive plays and even an interception. Then his best friend ran for a really long touchdown. All in all, all of our boys in purple looked great! The whole vibe on the sidelines had changed and the boys were so excited. I waited after the game for Tyler to tell him how proud I was of him and the rest of the team. When he finally came out of the locker room, his smile said it all and deep down I thought "this is it, this is the moment!" And of course, it made me smile! I hope that this is the case, but if not, I'll gladly take any suggestions on how to build his spirit and confidence!
CONGRATS TO MY #31 AND TO THE REST OF THE GMS 7TH GRADE TIGER CUBS! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! :)

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To blog or not to blog!?

Posted by Poki
Okay, so again it's been awhile. Yes, I admit that I too get so caught up in life that I often forget that I started this blog as a purposeful way to document our lives. Because, once you post, it's there forever! And, often, it feels real when I finally post about something.
I've recently returned to work and deeply and truly miss being home with my children. After such an amazing summer with them, going back was hard. Especially as I was off from school for the ladder part of the summer and they had my undivided attention. Griffin has struggled the most with my return and often reminds me that he doesn't want me to go to work because he misses me too much. For any parent out there that has heard these words, you know how killer it is. Breaks my heart! EVERY TIME! :(
Sadly, we live in a 2-income world. It's almost impossible to raise a family (especially a family of 6) on one income solely (especially when one is a public servant!). Real Estate isn't what it has been in the past and who knows when it will come back. I start my bachelor degree in less than 2weeks and we now have 3 kids in school, sports and activities. Of course, it also doesn't help that I don't feel fulfilled at my full time position either. I'm sure there are others who've encountered this and I wonder how you deal with this? It's something that is constantly nagging at me.
I've always been a thrifty shopper and we do not have any real luxuries that we could cut back on, but I still secretly hope that something will happen and I will be able to come back to being a SAHM. By the time I finish school myself, Griffin will be going in to school and it would be just perfect timing.
I've been a coupon clipper for a while, but have become interest's in extreme savings. I want to know how to save 50% on my grocery bill by couponing, price matching, buying in bulk etc. I want to be wiser with my meal planning and potentially get in to cooking one day a week and freezing all my meals. I want to make my own cleaning products and be super efficient with our energy usage. All the things that could not only save us money, but make our household better for all of us.
I know, a bit boring...but I also just started reading a book called The Digital Mom Handbook. About 2 women who started blogging just for a release from being SAHM's and now have fully sustainable careers AT HOME! Now, I know that the chances of this happening for someone else, as it did for them, are slim to none, (especially with all the blogger, vloggers, etc. out there already), but it got me thinking. I need to really know what my passion is. I found this difficult when returning to school and picking a field. There are so many things that interest me. Of course, I love being a mom and doing anything and everything for my 4 children that I've been blessed with. I love fashion, makeup and hair, I love to read, love to write (I truly feel like I could write about anything if you just gave me a topic), I love to cook and bake, I love to be a bit crafty, I love to find great deals, and try the next BIG thing, I love organization (yeah, totally TYPE A here) and neat ways to decorate. I love running, working out and trying to be the healthiest version of me I can be. I would love to know more about photography. I love real estate and helping people live the American Dream of home ownership (I hope one day to make some great investments to help supplement our income)! I love Christ and love sharing His word and learning about Him. I love to listen and help people with their troubles and people often seek out my ear (which I love). I feel at the age of 32, I've had so many experiences that I almost feel really old.
So, in writing all this, it's still not clear to me, what my one true passion is. How do I take this list and narrow it down to just one thing?! So, that's my thoughts for now.
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Prayers for safety. Prayers for healing. Prayers for justice.

Posted by Poki
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.






As I start this blog, there are sirens running down 231. I say a quick prayer that God keeps the emergency service workers safe and that wherever they are running, there is a better outcome than what took place on Monday afternoon in Terre Haute. Then my thoughts run to the family and friends of Officer Brent Long in Terre Haute. Such a terrible situation and my heart aches for his wife and children.
It's times like this that I really want to thank all of the police officers, along with all other EMS workers (military, fire, etc.) as we often forget how much they really do put on the line. Right after this terrible event on Monday, there was a storm of status changes of Facebook, talking about how he got up and went to work without knowing what would happen. I wish I could find and copy it to this blog, but I cannot. It was sad and humbling to see so many people acknowledge what Officer Long did that day, along with his K9 Shadow and the other officers present. I just read in an article that Long's wife is a dispatcher, and was working when this situation occured and cannot imagine what she endured on Monday. While I do not know her name, I continue to lift her up in prayer daily.
With Adam being a state trooper, things like this hit close to home. Many, many people in our area feel as though police work is easy because we do not have truly dangerous crime here. That, especially in the Midwest, police work is easy because it's basically traffic work. Well clearly that is not the case. To those who feel this way, don't assume anything, espeically that you know what our police men and women encounter or what their job is like. Like the old adage "until you've walked a mile in their shoes" you know the rest!
We need to all remember that we are not guaranteed that anything "is as it seems" and that life is never "easy", especially for police officers. These police officers, all police officers, put themselves in situations of the unknown willingly, on a daily basis, to help serve and protect all of us. Can you imagine what they have to do to mentally prepare themselves for going to work everyday? To go to work not knowing what the day holds? To prepare themselves for all of the "what if's" they may encounter in that shift? I, for one, cannot. I cannot imagine. I don't want to imagine. I just want to say thanks. Thank you to all of you!
Many of you saw Adam on the news Monday night and called, text, messaged a word of prayer that he was safe (to clarify, he was not one of the original officers there). I want to say thanks to all you. Thank you to all who pray for his safety continually. Adam is just one of many, please pray for them all. Please pray for the Long family and for the Terre Haute P.D. in their time of mourning.


God bless my family when I am away,

Leave the lights on I'll return from harms way,

Grant me courage and strength to protect others each day,

So they live in peace without worry, fear or dismay,

Bless those who have fallen given their life for another

May their spirit live on from then and forever,

Return me home to my family at the end of each night,

May I pass through the door before the morning's first light,

Shall I give my life for another before the dawn breaks today,

God bless my family when I am away.

By D. Adams





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Vacation! Much needed!

Posted by Poki
As you all know, we are really, super busy and run ourselves ragged most of the time. With our opposite schedules and busy-ness, we rarely have time to just relax and enjoy our family. We were so excited to finally take our first, real family vacation last month. We had a connection to rent a home in Cape Coral, Florida and were able to go down for a week and a half and just relax, enjoy our family and rejuvenate.  We were even blessed that my wonderful parents were able to come along with us. It was not full of running 24/7, but more relaxing by the pool or on the beach. :) Although, I did have to do homework while there, because it was my last 2 weeks of school before finishing my Associates Degree (which I did graduate, and with a 3.94! Very excited to start the Bachelor program this fall!).
Anyway, it was nice to be in a house while there because it was like our home, away from home. We hardly ate out and we had a pool there and were able to do laundry! Yes, we packed half as much because we had this feature and that what wonderful. Not to mention, we didn't come home with a bunch of dirty laundry either!
We spent some time in Ft. Myers and had an amazing day at Sanibel Island. The weather was absolutely perfect!
Yes, this is a picture I took of one of the many sunset we watched while walking the beach at night shelling! The kids all became quite the water bugs and Savannah even learned to swim better above water thanks to her pawpaw! Though, by day 3 she had a bad outer ear infection that sent us to the Urgent Care for meds, and it but a damper on things as she couldn't swim for 2 whole days and then had to use both ear plugs and a swim cap, she still enjoyed her time there!
Tyler, who is the only one who said he would not move to Florida, missed his baseball tournament this year because of vacation, but didn't complain. He was a little sad to miss his best friends birthday, but found the perfect gift. Just had to know how his team was doing and was thankful for the updates from everyone. Turning 12 days before we left, about killed me because he's turning into quite the young man, and I'm proud to say he's mine!

We did go out to an aquarium one day and saw alot of neat creatures there. We mini golfed on the hottest day we were there (then when home for a nice, cool swim!). We had the best ice cream in waffle cones one night while strolling the boardwalk and beach. We really enjoyed ourselves and were blessed with a fabulous trip. Even the 20 hour drive there and back wasn't too bad! The nature lover in Adam, had a blast shelling and finding all of the live sea creatures on the beaches.

Adam, who needed the vaca more than anyone, even let loose enough to let the kids bury him in the sand at Sanibel, which, for anyone who knows him, knows that is a big step for him!
Our little tree climbing monkeys did well, especially being away from home for so long. There were even quiet moments that they proved they loved each other! :) Made my heart smile!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Addison! Her eyes are just amazing! And rarely do we get a good smile from her in pictures! She looks so big in this picture! And, Savannah was totally jealous that her baby sister had such a great tan! LOL!


I know vacations happen all of the time and are no big deal to most, but for us, it was a special time. We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to DO NOTHING, for a while at least. So thankful that we had a good, safe time together as a family. And even more thankful that my parents joined us, especially since they just celebrated their 25th Anniversary. On a side note, I was so proud of my mother for really challenging herself against her fear of water. She became quite a waterbug too! We had some great conversations sitting on the back deck at night with my parents after the kids were in bed. Great laughs too!
Griffin, though only 3, was wonderful around water. He never even remotely ventured in without Adam or I and had a great time in our pool because it had this little ledge that he was able to use as his own little baby pool.

Here's a great pic of all the guys on the boardwalk in Ft. Myers.
Cannot wait to go back. Cannot wait to go with the WHOLE family! Though, we'd def need a bigger place.

Oh, and once we returned, Adam went to dayshift for the first time in 12 years which has been another answered prayer. It's making a huge difference in our lives.

That's our story for vacation this year. Hope you all have wonderful times as well. I hope to get to go back to Mexico next year! Happy summer everyone, take time to enjoy the little things!

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