Welcome to The Fabry's Blog!!

supermom vs. abiding mom

2011-02-21T12:32:00.005-05:00

Not too long ago I was cruising around on the computer, when I came across this chart. I think it was originally made by a website for homeschool moms, but as a mom of small children that I am blessed to stay home with it really spoke to me. So many times I worry about how I am as a mom... am I doing enough with my kids? Are they having fun/learning with me?... but then when I read this it helped to put things into long-term perspective for me so

in case you haven't seen it yet I thought I would repost it!

If you can't read that, you can check out the original link here.

First Post of the Year - And it's ONLY February!

2011-02-02T23:37:00.002-05:00

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted... One of my new years goals was going to be to blog more often... I think I missed that one :) Well, better to start late than never!! I feel like I redecorate this blog more than I write on it!

I am not really sure what direction I want to take this blog in... do I want to document my family's daily life, cooking/baking, what the Lord is teaching me, or what?? It will probably just be a blend of all of the above! I am just hoping that I will set aside more time to actually BLOG!! Fancy that!

Well, I sit here @ almost midnight and should get to bed because my children seem to wake up as soon as I close my eyes (ha! Or at least it just feels that way)! Nighty Night!

First Day in HAWAII!!!

2010-10-18T23:11:00.004-04:00

Hello Everyone!

We made it to Hawaii safe and sound! The trip here was a long and exhausting one! I am sitting in the hotel room right now because Caleb is down switching our room because they accidently gave us 2 double beds instead of a king... so we are switching tomorrow night.

Some highlights of the trip so far: We had to wake up extra early this morning (I think I might have got about 2.5 hours of sleep) and we arrived at the airport @ 6. Nothing too eventful checking in and going through security, however I think it is pretty obvious that I am not a seasoned traveler!! As we were boarding our plane there were a few marines who were saying goodbye to their girlfriend and the other to his family, which included his wife and 4 children! Of course I teared up...it was very emotional!

We flew into Atlanta and as soon as we got off the plane we had to quickly get to our next flight. They were boarding our plane as soon as we got to the gate but we made it in time! The flight to Hawaii was about 10 hours long. There was not a lot of room, especially for Caleb who is super tall!! Luckily there were tons of movies to watch and I had books, magazines, and my iPad to keep me busy. I took a couple of naps but did not get too much sleep. We started getting excited when there was only 1 hour left on our ride in!! As we were flying in it was amazing to see the ocean, and I even was able to see Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial while we were landing! As we landed the stewardess came over the speaker and explained that there had been a few of our United States military onboard our flight and some with their families and the whole plane erupted in clapping for them….it was a really sweet moment….I might have teared up again!

At the airport Colette got me the most beautiful lei!! It was made out of all fresh, sweet smelling flowers. I will be so sad to see it wither!! We didn’t do too much here last night because we were exhausted. We got to see some of the resort, but we plan to do a lot more exploring today. (I am finishing this post on Tuesday because I was way too tired to do it on Monday night!)

Now its time to get up and ready for our day! I woke up @ 5 am wide-awake! (Which is really about 11 back in NY so I technically got to sleep in! I miss my boys a ton, but we are having a great time!!! Here are a few pics from the trip so far:

Cayden-isms

2010-10-10T22:50:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone!

I have been wanting to write this post for a while, because I know I am going to end up forgetting a lot of theses, but I really want them written down so I will remember them!!! So...Cayden turned 2 in May, and let me tell you - he has some of the funniest things to say! We are all constantly looking at each other and saying "Where did he get that from?!" Well as the Bible says..."Out of the mouths of babes." Here goes...

We are in the midst of potty training. I guess you can call it pre-potty training. When Cayden has to go to the bathroom, whether it be #1 or #2 He will tell me that he has a tummy ache. One weekend he told me he had a tummy ache, so I put him on the potty. Sure enough he went #2 in the potty and was thrilled!! When he came out of the bathroom he was so excited he told his daddy, "I put my tummy ache in the toilet!"
My brother had bought Cayden a fishing pole for Cayden for his birthday. He thought he had bought a miniature pole, but really it was only half the pole... and since he already had one we decided to return it for another one @ Walmart... As we were walking into the store I said to cayden (not expecting a response) "Have you thought about what you want to get?" He says to me, "I'm Sinking of an Idea!" I know it's not that funny, but he seemed way to little to be able to put that sentence together! - He ended up picking out a tool set and when we got home he got all the tools in a toolbox and put a cell phone around his arm and said, "Bye Mom, I'm going to work!" - Don't grow up so fast!!!!
Last night Cayden's Papa said that he would take him to Chuck E Cheese while we went to run a few errands. It was around dinner time so instead of eating the pizza they decided to go to Bill Gray's first with some other family members... When they pulled into Bill Gray's instead of Chuck E Cheese Cayden was so concerned he asked his papa... "Are we taking the back way?" - TOO FUNNY!!! How does he know that?

Ok, so these may not be as funny to you as they are to me, but I just do not want to forget them! There are so many more, but it's late and I can't think of them. From now on I will try and write them down as soon as he says them so I CANT forget!!

In other news, Carter is cutting his 2nd tooth and has not been his usual self :( With Cayden I never even knew if he was getting a tooth because he never acted differently. Carter has all the symptoms - crabbiness, hands in his mouth, screaming, diarrhea, and the list goes on!! Hopefully he is out of pain soon!! (And let me tell you - this breast-feeding momma is not too thrilled about the sharp little daggers!!!!)

Countdown 'Til Hawaii - ONE WEEK!!! WOO-HOO Can not wait!!!! (Although I am going to miss my boys terribly :'( I will try too enjoy myself!!!

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you have visited!!! (And Lily, I know you will read this so I should get at least ONE comment!!)

Random Things I learned Recently...

2010-09-27T22:46:00.002-04:00

... Some may think that the life of a stay-at-home-mom can be boring. But, with a two year old and an (almost) 9 month old things around here stay pretty interesting! But, none the less here are a few things that I have learned recently...

Sillybands can also double as hair ties (I figured this out the other day when, as I was wearing Caydens truck sillyband I put my hair up in a ponytail...only to realize it wasnt a hairtie....
Meat Pounders make excellent hammers to hammer little nails into the wall :) (I have used this trick several times when I am in a bind... if you look at my meat hammer... you would know this!!)
Cold pancakes that are left at the table by your children make a delicious breakfast!
You can get quite the adrenaline rush bidding on something on ebay!! (I just won my first auction on ebay!!)
Lastly - I went to a friends house yesterday for some fall fun and to celebrate some first birthdays! The kids had a blast (I will post pictures soon). Anyways... she had made these beautiful cut-out cookies... they were PERFECTLY formed!! You know what she told me... you cut out the cookies, then put them on the tray and set it in the freezer for about 15 minutes and they keep their shape... think sharp edges!!! I can't wait to make cut-outs again and see if they will look half as good!!!

Well, that's about it for tonight!! I know I know its a pretty lame post, but I gotta ease back into this whole blogging thing!!! Leave a comment and let me know you are reading!!!

Another Blog Makeover!

2010-09-22T16:11:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone!! Not even sure I have any readers out there, but that is ok! I have not blogged in FOREVER, but starting now, I plan to change all of that!! There is too much funny stuff that happens around here from day-to-day now that I have a 2 year old and an-almost 9 month old, and if I don't start to document everything I am going to forget!!!!! So, I hope you all enjoy the new layout (It only took me all of the boys nap time to get it done) and I will be back later tonight to post!!! Please leave me a comment if you are a reader!!! Thanks!!!

It's been a while...

2009-08-19T21:50:00.000-04:00

... well it usually is a while between posts for me, but I was a little put off by blogger after I spent over an hour writing a post only to have it completely deleted!!! I was NOT too happy about that!!! Well in other news... we have recently found out that we are having another BOY!!! I am so excited. I can't wait to hold him in my arms and kiss his sweet face!!

Naming another boy is more difficult than I thought!! There are a few names that I like, but then I look up what they mean and I think, how could I name a child that. (For instance, Cameron means "crooked nose"... I would NOT like to put a curse like that on my child!!! ) Some of the other names I am mulling around with are Colton, Carter, Hudson, and Cameron... but probably not the last one for OBVIOUS reasons!! Well it is time for me to relax for the night!! I will try to update more frequently!!

Until next post,

Hollie

Summer Vacation... Day 1

2009-06-22T15:50:00.002-04:00

Ok So I have been away from my blog for quite some time... truth is I wrote the LONGEST post about how I told Caleb, and how we told my parents that we were pregnant... as soon as I went to post the blog (with pictures and everything) IT WAS GONE!!!! I was so frustrated I shut down the computer and have not come back to blog until now... So... I will still tell those stories sometime because I like to have my blog as a way to document my pregnancy... so look for it in the future...

...In other news SCHOOLS OUT FOR THE SUMMER!!! YES!!! I am so excited to be home with Cayden, and I am also so happy to get to sleep in :) YAY FOR ME!! There are a lot of things I have to tackle around my house in the next couple of weeks to prepare for out of town guests that are coming for my brother in law's wedding. We have a lot coming up!!! This weekend my husbands grandparents (who are like my adopted grandparents) are moving in RIGHT NEXT DOOR!! We are so excited!! They have lived in Toledo, Ohio/Michigan for EVER and now they are moving here!!!! Then there are all the preparations for the wedding which is in less than 3 weeks!!!!

Today on my first day of summer vacation I tackled one chore... LAUNDRY! UGH!!!! In my downstairs family room I had been separating laundry (which was all at one time folded) and just kept procrastinating putting it away (one of my LEAST favorite things to do!) So today I had to go down there, sort everything out, re-fold it, and bring it to where it needs to go. But of course I found many more dirty clothes and still have a few more loads to do to be all caught up! Well at least now I have the time to do it all!!

I went to the Drs. Back on the 11th and got to hear the baby's heartbeat... I LOVED IT! There is something about seeing/hearing your baby inside that makes it so much more real! I was glad to have heard that I had LOST weight instead of gain--yay! Of course, as long as the baby is healthy~~ I just have not had the desire to eat a lot of things... they gross me out... weird because I love food... I wont find out what I am having until August, but boy is this going so quick!!!! What am I going to do with 2 babies to take care of???

Last, but certainly not Least... I have to show you the awesome deal my mom found! Now of course I do not know what I am having (I mean there's always a lot of speculation seeing that this pregnancy seems so different from the last) but my mom found a deal she could not pass up!! She was @ Target a couple of weeks ago and saw a cute bedding set on clearance for $118 - not that bad of a price if its the one you want, but it was for a girl so she obviously wasn't going to spend the $$ not knowing what I was having... She went back a week later, saw the same set, and it was marked down to ... ready for this??? $12.47!!!!!!!!!!!! And you know what the funnier part is... it was the exact bedding set that I had picked when I was pregnant with Cayden if I had a girl!!! If I don't end up having a girl, I will either save it or re-gift it to someone who needs it!! There is a picture of it below.... Target sells this online for $150!!!

Until Next Post~

Hollie

Exciting Mother's Day News!!

2009-05-13T16:07:00.005-04:00

The Growing Fabry Family is GROWING again!!!! We are happy to announce that we will be expecting another baby in late December!!! I don't have a ton of time to post about all the fun stuff on how I told Caleb and our families, so I will save that for later!! Needless to say this was a very exciting Mother's Day!!!

Love,

Hollie

Cinco de Mayo and other stuff!!!

2009-05-06T13:56:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I've been a bad blogger again!! But there has been a lot going on around here... Well, when is there not a lot going on! Today is Wednesday, my favorite day of the week because I have off and get to spend the whole day with my baby!!! Starting next week I am going to be working for the full school days on Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Friday instead of going in @ 10:30. I hate waking up early, but it will be good for me. We are preparing for the NYS Social Studies Exam, so I gotta work a little harder now!! ALSO ~ SOME GREAT NEWS ~ I PASSED ALL OF MY TEACHER CERTIFICATION EXAMS!!! Which means ~ as soon as I pay New York State another $100 I will be a REAL teacher!!! (Which also means i get a raise @ my job~ woo hoo!) So thanks to all of you who were praying for me on that Saturday morning!!!

So yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. Obviously I am not Mexican, but I love a good excuse to make Mexican food!! For my birthday my husbands sweet aunt bought me a subscription to Family Fun magazine and they have some good stuff in there! They had a recipe for burrito pie (probably similar to a mexican lasagna) and it was delicious! I also made some homemade salsa... the BEST! It was actually a recipe for a salad, but it is MUCH better as a salsa!!!

Here are the links to the recipes:

Burrito Pie: (I added cream cheese to the recipe and spreaded it along with the sour cream - yummy!)

http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=52157&CMP=NLC-NL_Wkdr_0429_burrito_pie

Salsa:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Bean-And-Corn-Salad-II/Detail.aspx?src=etaf

So We have a lot coming up in the next few weeks... Mother's Day is Sunday and Cayden is turning One on the 23rd!! I ordered him the CUTEST birthday shirt from here ... She didn't actually have shirts on the website, but I e-mailed her and she said she could do it... I can't wait for it to come... in the meantime, I am trying to start planning his party... My husbands grandparents are coming to visit for a little while on Sunday, after they attend his brother's graduation from college in Tennessee. Sooo we have a busy few weeks coming up, but we are looking forward to it... Oh yeah, I got the most fun/special mother's day gifts for our moms, but I will have to wait until after Sunday to let you all in!!!

P.S. Thanks for the comments from last time... I am such a blog stalker, and I always want to leave comments on the random blogs I read, and I think I will start doing just that... then maybe some will return the favor!! I love it!!!

Thanks for Reading...

Love, Hollie

11 Months Today!

2009-04-23T15:13:00.004-04:00

I can not believe in 1 month, yes 1 month from today, Cayden will be 1 years old!!! Where has the time gone? I have enjoyed these past 11 months more than I ever imagined that I would. God has given me the greatest blessing!! Because he is 11 months old today I am just gonna write what he is up to these days...he is a very very busy young man!!

Cayden you are eleven months old and you are all over the place! So much so Daddy had to get you a play gate so I can keep you corralled while I try to get stuff done around the house, or when I just need a break from moving you and taking things out of your hand!! You have begun the adventure of walking!! You are walking EVERYWHERE!!! You are such a good little walker and it seems like it just happened over night! As much as I want you to stay little, I love seeing you doing new things!

These days you like to eat "real food." You hardly ever eat baby food anymore. You always want what we have, and I like to give you things that you can feed yourself... like mini raviolis... those are your favorites!! You are just like mommy ~ you have a sweet tooth! I sometimes give you some lucky charms in your high chair, and you eat out all of the marshmallows!!! (I only give you a few, so I am not a terrible, unhealthy mom!!!) You can suck down a juice cup in about 5 seconds... I literally gave you a little juicy juice juice box and you drank the whole thing in less than a minute!! You are sooo much like Daddy!! By the way, people are saying you are looking a lot more like Daddy every day :0) I guess I can't complain because your Daddy is pretty cute himself!

Your favorite thing these days is Bella!!! She just came back to live with us and you could not be more excited!!! Every day you wake up in the morning or after a nap all you say is "Bella, Bella, Bella..." She loves you too, although sometimes you are a little too rough with her and she gets irritated!! Sometimes mommy is sad that you can say Bella and not Mommy :( Oh well, one day soon! You also say "whats that," "dada," "hi," "bye bye," and something that resembles "grandma." When I try to get you to say mama, it almost sounds just like bye bye, so I am not sure!!! You are sooo smart - the other day daddy had a picture of a bee on his work shirt and asked you where the bee was and you could point to it... then he had another picture of a bee and asked you where the other bee was and you pointed to the other bee!! GENIOUS!!!

You love to watch Backyardigans... mostly only for the beginning song and then you kinda lose interest, but thats ok, I don't want you to be hooked on TV! Your favorite toys lately have been your pail and shovel you got for Easter, along with the plastic eggs! I can not believe how you can throw a ball... it amazes me everytime... I wonder if you will play baseball or basketball... you have VERY large hands... so I guess we will see!!

Every day we experience new things together. Every day I love you soo much more, and I never knew that I could love someone so much! I think that everytime I pick you up I have to kiss your chubby cheeks!!! You are growing up so fast, but I am treasuring every moment and thanking our Lord for a healthy, beautiful child! You have so many people who love you... but mommy loves you the most!!! Can't wait to see what God has in store for you! I love you Cayden!!!

Some Pictures from the Last Month:

You @ Grandma and Papa's the day before Easter:

Mommy and Cayden on Easter, I mean Ressurection Sunday, Morning:

At the park last week:

Another Picture @ the Park last week:

Here you are today, @ 11 months old, what a BIG BOY!!! :

Thanks for reading!! Please, if there is anyone who reads this blog, leave me a comment so I can visit your blog!! I love to visit and comment!!!

Until next post,

Hollie

2009-04-18T11:32:00.001-04:00

Hey! Just trying to blog from my phone. I haven't updated in quite a while! Things have been busy around here with easter and now with a walker!!

Home Videos...

2009-04-10T01:08:00.000-04:00

I just love my macbook~ it puts a new dimension on home videos... check out what Cayden is doing these days:

Love,

Hollie

Pray for Me!

2009-03-31T22:21:00.002-04:00

If you think about it this weekend, please pray for me... This Saturday morning I am taking the last NYS teacher certification test! I am getting a little bit worried about it... I know I shouldn't worry, but I would just really like to pass the first time... The test is @ 7:45 A.M.!! WOAH! Just pray that the Lord will give me peace and perfect concentration during the exam... and also, THAT I WOULD PASS ON THE FIRST TRY! I have had some people tell me it's easy and others have made it sound like God himself could not pass... so I really don't have any idea what to expect! I have woken up the past 2 nights having nightmares (ok, just bad dreams~but when it comes to doing bad on something education-related its a nightmare!) about this exam, so PLEASE keep me in your prayers!! Thanks!!

Love,

Hollie

My Little Easter Bunny!

2009-03-28T00:59:00.002-04:00

I sent this picture right from my phone.... how cool is that???

Testing... Testing....

2009-03-28T00:42:00.001-04:00

Testing Testing..... I installed the app so I can blog or send pictures to my blog on the go!! Just checking to see how this works!! Yay for success!! Now I can blog on the go, and upload pictures I believe.... no more excuses... you should be hearing from me a lot more now!!!!!!

Poor Baby!

2009-03-10T22:41:00.013-04:00

Today I stayed home with a sick baby! I was supposed to work for a few hours,but Cayden has had a temperature since Sunday! This is the first time he has had a fever, so of course I panicked!! I thank God that I have a husband who keeps me sane!! We got home from the grocery store Sunday night and I took off Cayden's coat and hat and realized he seemed a little warmer than usual. I asked Caleb's opinion and he told me he had thought a little earlier that he felt warm.... What a terrible mom I was... even after Cayden had acted a little uninterested in food earlier in the day I didn't know he was sick, but daddy did!!! We got his temp under control after a cool bath, some tylenol, and of course a reassuring call to my mom!!

So today, 2 days later, Cayden still had a slight fever, so I decided to take him to the Dr.s just in case he had an ear infection or something~I didn't want it to get worse... Usually Cayden is happy-go-lucky at the Drs. He loves everyone and barely makes a peep.... TODAY was different... everything people did made him SCREAM!!! Well, I guess I might scream if someone was taking my tempe

rature rectally!! I must say I do love my Dr.s office... my husband and his family have been going there FOREVER and they just love kids!! The Dr. said that he saw some bumps on the back of Cayden's throat, which was probably just a virus which was causing the fever... but just to be safe, cause he is so young, we had to go have a little blood taken.... I really think that that was harder on me... it is so sad to see your child in pain!!

Well we are back home tonight and hoping we can kick this fever soon! He has been so sweet and cuddly with both of us. We wanted to get him up from a nap so that he wouldn't get up in the middle of the night wide awake... so we both had to have a little fight over who got to get him, and after running to the door Caleb beat me and got to get him! I am so thankful for a husband who loves me and his baby, and is willing to help out!! Here are some of the pictures of Cayd

en from today... I just love this boy!

And another thing.....I did a little home re-decorating Sunday afternoon. A couple of weeks ago I was at Hobby Lobby and bought one of those cute wall transfers. I had wanted one for a while and after we moved I had the perfect place for one, but wasn't sure what I wanted it to say. HL had a bunch and they were 50% off so I knew it was my time to get one! After looking at a few I finally decided on this one because I wanted to make a statement as soon as people walked in my house!! I love it!!!

P.S. DOES ANYONE KNOW ANY TRICKS WHEN PUTTING PICTURES IN A BLOG??? IT TAKES ME F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UNITL NEXT TIME,

Lately...

2009-03-05T22:36:00.004-05:00

Right now I am sitting in my bed, watching TV and unwinding from the last couple of days. These past two days have not been out of the ordinary... it just seems that Cayden has had a mind of his own the last two days. Although Cayden is only 9 months old his already has his daddy's adventurous spirit!! He has been getting around alot better lately and he does not like to sit still!!! So this makes getting things done very hard.

Wednesdays are my day off from work. Usually Cayden sleeps in until at least 10 (after getting up around 6 or so for a bottle). I was looking forward to sleeping in until around 10 because I have been staying up late and needed the extra sleep. BUT Cayden decided to break away from his usual schedule and get up even EARLIER than usual... he was so tired - the rubbing of the eyes - I brought him into my bed with me and at one point he fell asleep with his arms over his head and suddenly woke up screaming, upset that he had ACTUALLY fallen asleep!!! After about 2 1/2 hours of screaming and whining, he finally went down for a nap. I was so stressed I had to take advil for my tension headache!!!

Cayden's attitude towards sleep was the same at bedtime last night. I know he thinks that momma and daddy are fun to hang out with... but he needs his baby rest!! After hearing him whine I knew it was time to put him to sleep. I dont know if I have mentioned this before, but I struggle with bedtime... part of me can't wait until it's time for a little relaxation and peace and quiet, but the other part of me misses him so much when he is asleep... am I crazy?!?!?! I must go in his room at least 5 times after he falls asleep just to look at him, love him, and thank God for him!! SO~ I decided to put on my favorite CD "Sing over me," as a way for me and Cayden to just settle down and unwind together. The CD is so sweet and just has a way of expressing how I feel about being a mommy through music... if you don't have the cd I HIGHLY suggest it. While listening to the music and singing to him We read a couple stories including, "I Love you Stinky Face." It was so funny...

Tonight seemed to go the same way... Cayden was whiny and likes to do this new shriek!! To add to everything, when I took off his diaper at bathtime I didn't realize it was a poopy one until it was all over my leg!!! But as I get in my bed each night, no matter how stressful my day has been, I would not want it any other way. I love my son more than I could ever express and although some days might not go as I have planned I need to have patience to get through it! Some laundry might not get done, and my house might not be as clean as I would like but I can know that I did my best to be the best mommy I could be!!

On a lighter note... remember Cayden's adventurous spirit I mentioned earlier that mimicked his fathers???? Well seems like sons like to do what their fathers do... at least my husband likes to be adventurous like his father!! Go HERE to check out some of their "adventures!" Anyhow, it is still rather cold up here, but today it was about 45-50 degrees. When I got home tonight I came inside and couldn't find Caleb but the back door was open... so we went next door to my in laws thinking he would be there, but he wasn't there either... after a little more snooping around, I realized that the kayaks were missing... Off in the sunset was Caleb and his Dad kayaking in the freezing cold water of the amongst the ice chunks!!! I'm starting to wonder what living on the lake will bring when its actually nice out!!!

Lots of Love,

Hollie

Back Again??

2009-02-16T12:03:00.006-05:00

Ok so, it seems that everytime I don't blog for a while I come back with a new page design and a post saying that I'm back once again... Hopefully this time I will actually keep up on this!! I used some tips from my sis-in-law suzi's blog which brought me to this awesome page that lets you design the cutest things online... I had a ton of fun doing it!!

Since the last time I blogged, Cayden has become VERY mobile!! Talk about life change! I dont remember what it was like to be able to leave him in one place and come back and actually find him there!! He now crawls everywhere, pulls himself up on everything, and the doctor said he will probably be walking within a month!! As I am writing this he has come to visit me in the living room. He is just the sweetest little boy to be around!!! He is full of smiles all the time. He is always clapping, loves loves loves to dance :) And just the other day he started to wave... where did he learn to do that?? I guess it just goes to show that you should be careful about who you let influence your children... I mean yes of course I know he only learned to wave, but what if he learned something that was not as cute!!?? Just a thought! I have also realized that Cayden is starting to understand what "NO!" means. Even though after I tell him no he still has to test me a little bit!! But I am sure thats just the beginning... what will he be like when he's a teenager!!

Last week both my husband Caleb and Cayden had the stomach flu! It was only by divine intervention that I did not get sick. Everyone I knew got sick including my mother in law and Caleb's grandma who watched Cayden one day last week. I felt terrible... especially because his Grandma got sick when we were in Niagara-on-the-Lake... Those were the worst diapers of Cayden's that I have EVER changed!!!

Well this was short and sweet, but today is the first day of my week of vacation, so I HAVE to get some work done around this house! I am having some girlfriends over tonight so I have to prepare for that... oh yeah and Cayden is screaming right now!! Must be mommy's favorite time ~NAP TIME~ For now I will leave you with a some cute pics from our trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake!!

Until the next post, Hollie

Survey just for Mommys - My baby will be 8 months old tomorrow!!!!!!!!

2009-01-22T22:35:00.007-05:00

So I wanted to blog, but wasn't inspired... so I thought I would fill out a fun survey... then I tag Suzi and Jenna to do the survey too!! Have fun reading...

How long have you been a Mom? 8 months tomorrow
How old were you when you became a Mom? 22
How many children call you Mommy? 1
Girl? Boy? or both? boy
Was your pregnancy planned ? yes and no... we weren't trying to get pregnant... but we weren't preventing it either... we just thought it would take a long longer than a week!! :)
How did you find out you were pregnant? I took about a gazillion tests but finally I made my hubby go out and buy the digital one... I took it and sure enough I was preggo!!
What were your reactions? I sobbed... I don't know why... I was excited but completely scared to death because I thought -- that's it... there is no turning back now... Am I even going to be a good mom???
Who did you tell first? Well right when I found out I told my husband I didn't want to tell anyone for about a month and I wanted to tell my Dad on his birthday... well he couldnt keep a secret and we told his parents on "grandparents day" and told my mom the same day, but my dad was on a business trip so I ordered him a "worlds greatest grandpa t-shirt" and gave it to him on his birthday to suprise him!! He was definitely surprised!!!!
Did you know what you were having? yup... we found out right before Christmas...there was NO mistaking that he was going tobe a boy!!!!
Were you married at the time? yup for over a year
Was abortion an option for you? NEVER NEVER NEVER
Did you have morning sickness? nope :) I threw up one time - after I drank way to much orange juice on the day of the anatomical ultrasound... I wanted to make sure that baby was gonna move!!!
What did you crave? Ice!!! All I wanted was to chew on ice or drink ICEES (the blue ones!!)
Who/what irritated you the most? hmmm not sure EVERYTHING????
Favorite place to buy maternity clothes? TARGET!!!!! You can get the cutest and CHEAPEST maternity clothes there... many times I caught my non-preggo friends wearing their maternity clothes just because they were so cute!!!
Did you have a baby shower? yes!! A big one!!!
Was it a surprise or did you know? I knew... and I even inputted some ideas :)
Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? in the beginning I thought that I was spotting... now I know I was overreacting majorly... other than that I retained water like a WHALE!!! My legs were tree trunks!!
How did you know when it was time to go to hospital? Well lets see... after my husband gave me Castor oil mixed with a wendy's milkshake... I was in the bathroom all night and then @ 3 in the morning the cramping (thought it was diarrhea cramps from the LAXATIVE!!!) We decided to go to the hospital after calling the Dr. who said to take two tylenol and go back to sleep... grrr... and then calling poison control who told us to go to the hospital just to make sure the baby wasn't in distress because the castor oil should have worn off by then... only to find out when I got to the hospital that I was in FULL ON LABOR!!! When my contractions started earlier that night (which I thought were diarrhea cramps...) they were 1-2 mins apart and lasting about a minute!!! I DID NOT HAVE A BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who drove you to the hospital? Hubby (Caleb)
How long were you in labor? 15 hours
Was it natural or C-section? Natural... almost had to have emergency C-section twice throughout labor... then thought I should have after the vacuum and 50 stiches....................
Did you take medicine to ease the pain? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ASAP I GOT THE EPIDURAL AND I WOULD DO THE SAME THING AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That anestisiologist was MY HERO!!
Time of birth? 2:15 p.m.
Who was in the room when baby was born? Caleb, My mom, my sister, my Mother in law.... MANY MANY DOCTORS AND NURSES !!!!!!!!!!!!
Weight? 9lbs. 6ozs.
Length? 23 3/4 inches
Any hair? yes... it was really dark, but now its really light!!
How much weight did you gain during pregnancy? I really dont even know... I want to say40-50 lbs... alot was water, but I still want to lose 20 lbs!!!!!!!!!!
Was baby early or late? 2 days late (hence the castor oil...thanks hunny!! :/ )
Who drove you home from hospital? my baby daddy aka caleb
Did you go home or somewhere else when you left the hospital? we had to run to rite aid to get some infant tylenol for the circumcision pain :)
Anyone spend the night with you first night home? just me daddy and baby... but daddy took nyquil....
Do you wish you had the opposite sex of what you got? at first I thought I wanted a girl more than anything ... but NOW I want another boy before I have a girl....
What's your favorite thing about being a Mom? having something to look forward to all the time... I look forward to the simplest things like having him wake up and his tired little body resting on me!!!
What's your least favorite thing? not being able to TOTALLY control his schedule/ sleeping patterns... he sleeps well, but not ALWAYS when I want him too :)
Do you plan on having more soon? not really sure yet.... whatever the Lord wants for us... hubby wants them close together... I am just struggling with what I am going to do about starting my masters and teaching, etc... because most of all I want to be the best mom I can be and stay at home with my kids as much as I can!!
How many times have you been pee'd on? I dont think I have really been peed on... maybe once or twice during bath time, but he did pee on my sister when he was 3 days old!!! It was bad!!
Barfed on? I can't even remember how many times... my mother in law got it pretty bad a few times!!!!!!!!!!
How did you come up with the name? I really loved the name Landon... but my husband didnt like the meaning of "grassy/peaceful meadow" so he told me he like the names Cayden and Colton... So eventually I gave in and we decided together on Cayden because it meant "strong/brave warrior" ... Then when he was a couple of months old I found a notebook I wrote in when I was first pregnant and I had 3 boys names written in there... Landon, Cayden, and Colton.... HOW WEIRD IS THAT??? God must have totally given us his name!!!
Is your child named after anyone? His middle name is after his daddy - Cayden Caleb
What is the longest you have been away from your child? 1 day - we went to Niagara on the Lake for our 2nd anniversary... IT WAS A BLAST~ caleb suprised me with a spa pedicure, afternoon tea, and ALOT of other fun stuff, but I was happy to see Cayden at the end of the day (p.s. this was the time I learned that I better never go anywhere without a pump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PAINFUL!!!!!!!!)
Bedtime routine? Usually eats around 6:30, gets in PJs around 8, goes to bed @ 9:30... sometimes he takes a bottle but usually doesn't finish it... we turn on his Twilight Turtle (Love it!) and his Sing Over Me CD from aunt Krissy (A BEAUTIFUL Christian Lullaby CD) and I tell him I love him and give him kiss!!
Last movie you saw in the theater? 4 Christmases
One thing you will not give up just because you're a mom? Hanging out with my girlfriends... whether I have to take him or not, I think it's really important to take time out to talk and have fun with other adults!!!
One thing you did give up now that you're a mom: shopping for myself..... as all mommys know... everytime you go shopping (even if its for yourself) you end up buying EVERYTHING else besides something for yourself!!!
Best Mom perk: Having someone who loves you and you love UNCONDITIONALLY... and the ability to have the BIGGEST positive impact in someone's life - it is an AWESOME responsibility!!!
When the kid is napping, you are: cleaning, laundry, resting, catching up on TV
When did baby start sleeping through the night? probably around 2 months... or when I started giving him more formula!
What’s your favorite activity with baby? SNUGGLING, Singing, and laughing!!!!

SUZI AND JENNA YOU ARE TAGGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I realize this will take you a LONG time to do so you don't really have to, only if you have tim... or you can do a little at a time and just save it until your done!!!!!!! AND ANYONE ELSE WHO IS A MOMMY I WANT TO READ YOUR SURVEY SO FILL IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until Next Post,

HOLLIE

Where Have I Been?????

2009-01-03T00:10:00.002-05:00

Have you ever been so overwhelmed with life that you just needed to write someone a letter or something just to "vent?" I guess that's how I am feeling right now. I obviously haven't been in blog land for a long while now, and frankly I sort of forgot about it!! Noone probably even checks back here anymore because every time they did nothing new was here!!! Oh well!!!

So in the past 2 months ALOT has happened!! I started my new job and we moved into a new house. I love my job, its only about 20 hours a week and I only have to leave Cayden for a little bit each day and he always stays with family, either my mom, caleb's mom, caleb, caleb's dad, and he has stayed with caleb's aunt too. I was working every day of the week from 10:30 to 3:30 but now I am not going to work wednesdays so I can be with Cayden even more!!! I just love my little boy to pieces and I can't stand not being with him!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the kids I work with too... they are soo much fun and I loved to see little victories everyday with each of them!

OK... now for the emotional part.... who would have thought that you could get so atattched to a house!!! Leaving our first home was one of the most emotional things I HAVE EVER DONE! Does this make me crazy??? I broke down so many times as we packed things up, cleaned, and finally drove out of the driveway for the *tear :'(* last time... On the bright side, a family from church is now in the house, so we left it in good hands, but all of my memories since I have been married have been at that home!! The hardest part for me was leaving the nursery that we worked so hard on for Cayden. I sobbed and sobbed when we cleared it out (I am even tearing up now, how pathetic!)!! We put sooooo much love into that room and I had imagined him getting big in there!! I remember the day I brought him home from the hospital and I brought him up to his room and rocked him and cried because I was SO Thankful to have a healthy son and I felt so blessed that I was just overwhelmed with emotion!!! I am really going to miss that! I was also so sad to leave our bedroom! It was the first room I shared with my husband... I won't go further ;) but I guess I get emotionally attached to some stuff!

We are now in our new house which is right on the water. I love the view, but the only problem is that I don't feel like I am at home. I feel like I am camping!! I don't know where a lot of things are... it's just not home. I know I don't have the right attitude right now, I keep praying that God would help me to have the right attitude as my husband is working SO HARD to make it beautiful (and believe me they are doing an AWESOME job... I'll post pics eventually-before and after shots--you won't believe it!! Its just that I MISS "HOME"... I know with time this will begin to feel like home, and one day Ill probably be just as sad to leave here too!

On the bright side, my inlaws live right next store which is nice... they love to help with Cayden and Caleb's dad has helped him with a TON of the work... we really appreciate all they do for us! My parents are basically right up the street... if you pull out of our drive way you can take just one road all the way to their street... and there is a nice view too. My family has helped us so much with the move... packing us up, loading and unloading, and fixing up the house for the new family to move in... I dont think we could ever repay our families for all their help!!! But I understand their desire to help... I would help Cayden with ANYTHING!!!

I know its winter out, and you think there wouldn't be much to do around here but we have the lake on one side and a pond on the other. For Christmas my mother in law got us all ice skates and yesterday we got to skate on the pond!!!!!! Then, last night, a bunch of guys came over to play hockey. It was a ton of fun! I know Cayden will have fun growing up here!!!

Look, now after writing all of that I feel a little bit better!!! Just pray for me that I will have the right heart attitude as we continue to fix up the house as we live in it.... it gets very messy VERY fast!!!!

Well I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! Hopefully I will be on here more!!! Thanks for letting me vent!!

Until next post,
Hollie

Back From a Blogging Vacation

2008-10-29T15:51:00.002-04:00

WoW! It has been a long time since I have blogged. So much has happened in this short time and I hope that I won't forget anything...

I guess the biggest news since I last blogged is that WE ARE MOVING!!! During the last week of November/ first week of December, we will be moving into a house on the lake!!!! I am really excited about this for a few reasons: we are going to be living right next to my in laws (like 5 feet away...). I am just so happy that Cayden is going to grow up being so close to his grandparents, especially Papa 2 (thats what we call matt?!) because its going to be an adventure EVERY DAY!!! And the other reason I am excited is that this is a dream come true for my husband.

I will admit when he came to me with the idea to move I was totally against it. I LOVE my house now. I didn't want to stay here forever, but he basically told me on a thursday that he was thinking about moving, put a roof on our house that saturday, and by the next friday our offer had been accepted for the house on the lake. Because this was such a hasty decision, we made sure to pray ALOT about it! I just prayed, "Lord if this is not the right thing for us to do, PLEASE close all of the doors!!" But he didn't!

I will just tell you a little about the new house... when you walk in you feel like you have stepped back in time to the 1960s... the lady living there has been there for 45 years, and I don't think the decor has changed since then!!! BUT... its in perfect condition ~~ that is clean and everything. But let me tell you... IVE GOT PLANS FOR THE PLACE!!!!!!!!!!! So, once we get in I will take before and after pictures so you can follow me on this journey. I am pretty excited because if any of you know my husband and his family THEY CAN DO ANYTHING!!!!!! You should have seen the house I am in now when we first bought it --can we say D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G!!!! And now its going to be so hard for me to leave it... especially Cayden's nursery that we worked so hard on!!! :'( It will be a bittersweet departure!!! For now we are renting our house so if you know anyone that is looking to rent for $1000/month + utilities let me know!!! If you want to see pictures you can go here :)

Well thats the biggest news... other than that alot of things have been happening within a group of friends from church which I am so encouraged by. I have a friend who has been trying to get pregnant for over a year. She began some infertility treatments back in august, but so far the 2 she has had done have not taken. So the other night a bunch of girls were at my house, and I suggested taking a day to pray and fast over her and the situation. We do know that God wants to give us the desires of our hearts!!!! So we decided to pick on day this week and yesterday was that day. At the end of the day we all got together for a prayer meeting... it was so awesome to be able to get together with a group of about 10 girls to make our requests known!! We should find out in a about a week if this 3rd treatment took... so if you remember her, please PRAY! We do understand that God's timing is perfect timing, and he is ultimately in control, but it hurts to see a friend with such a longing!!!!!!!!!!!

Soon I am going to dress Cayden in his costume and take him to a party at my work. NOW I know how a lot of people feel about Halloween, and to be honest, I completely understand. Growing up I was never allowed to really participate in Halloween, although we did go to some "harvest" parties and handed out candy from home. I always did feel sort of left out when everyone else was having so much fun getting dressed up, but my parents always did something like give us some candy so we weren't too depressed. Through talking with my husband and a lot of girlfriends about the issue, we came to the decision to allow Cayden to dress up... never in anything scary of course, but he's going to be a Tiger this year (mostly for me to take pictures and stuff because he will be so darn cute!!!)... What do you think about Halloween? No matter how you approach it I am sure I would agree with most people. A friend of mine did point out the fact that it is a great opportunity to minister to your community by, as a church, hosting an alternative event like "Trunk or Treat" where families pull up and hand out candy out of the trunk of their cars... even having a theme so noone comes with an outrageous costume!!! I just hate to see the devil have so much power in a holiday.... so its great to see when people can turn it around and use it to glorify God!!!

Alright I am sure you have read enough!! So I will leave it at that!! Missed you all, and I should be back sooner than later!!!

Until next post,

The McFamily Connection

2008-10-06T12:06:00.006-04:00

Yesterday my family from my Dad's side got together for a family picnic. This was the first time that my Nana and one of my aunts met Cayden. Crazy, I know, but everyone is busy so I can't hold it against them for not being able to meet him sooner. I guess somethings you just come to expect as you get older! Anyhow---We had a fun time eating, talking, and playing games as a family. It was also such a nice fall day here in upstate New York!!

We took a lot of pictures so I thought I would share some with you on here. I have to say that I think my son might be the cutest thing ever...but I guess I might be a little biased!!! Of course since we were not at home, he wasn't able to take a nap and by the end of the day he was being sooooo CRABBY!! Noone else thought he was, b

ut since I know him best, I could tell he was completely overtired! Not to mention he is getting two little teeth on the bottom that are just poking through!!! I do have to be thankful that his teething hasn't taken a toll on us! Well my mom is just about to come over and we are going to meet my hubby @ Pizza Hut Buffet for lunch!! YUMMY! Then I guess later I will have to work EXTRA hard at the gym :( -- by the way I love being @ the gym...but why is it so hard to get my lazy self up to get there?? -- Hope you enjoy these pictures.

Oh yeah, PS. if you haven't heard of the website Picnik.co

m, you must go there. You can upload your pictures there and change them, write on them, do all sorts of fun things with them. Then they will upload right to facebook or you can save them on your computer. Thats what I used to make the new banner for my page... so check it out!!

The Best Sugar Cookies EVER!!

2008-10-05T23:50:00.003-04:00

Alright Ladies (and gentlemen if there are any who read or bake...) I am about to give out the softest sugar cookie recipe... they are delicious. Now for those of you who like to go to the grocery store and just buy the refrigerated cookie dough, this may be a little tougher for you, but they are easy~~they just take time, but don't most good things take time??? Ok so here goes:

Aunt Yvonne's (previously belonging to a great-grandma Opal) Sugar Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:

5 cups Flour
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
2 cups Sugar
1 cup crisco
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKIES:

In a large bowl combine the flour and baking powder and set aside.
In a small bowl (or mixer) combine the buttermilk and baking soda until it bubbles.
In another bowl, mix sugar, crisco, and eggs. After they are combined, add with the buttermilk mixture. Then add the vanilla.
Finally, add in the flour mixture.
Refrigerate for at least one hour - I usually let it refrigerate overnight but you dont have to. You just want it to be firm enough to roll out.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Roll out the dough to about a 1/4" thickness...you want them to be sort of thick. Cut out cookies.
Bake for about 10 minutes...you don't want them to brown at all... they are done when they are still white, but completely cooked through... this is what keeps them soft!! So make sure you keep an eye on them anytime after 9 mins!
Cool, Frost, and ENJOY!!

FROSTING

Frosting Ingredients:

1 lb. powdered sugar (about half a bag)
1/2 cup crisco
1/4 cup sugar
5 tbspn water

Frosting Directions:

Heat water and regular sugar in a saucepan until it bubbles.
Mix together the powdered sugar and crisco.
When sugar/water is cooled (you can put it in the freezer to speed up) add it to the crisco mixture.
Beat until well blended then either use it white or seperate it into small bowls and color with food coloring.
The frosting is super-sweet, but it is a great compliment to the cookie!!

IF YOU MAKE THESE, LET ME KNOW HOW THEY TURN OUT AND YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM!!! ENJOY!!!!!!

p.s. I got permission from my mother-in-law to give out this recipe... my hubby thought that it should be kept a secret... but I wanted to share it!!! Have fun!!

Until the next post,
Hollie

Baking and (another) Blog Makeover

2008-10-04T16:10:00.006-04:00

Hello All!! As you have probably noticed if you visit often, I decided I wanted anew look to my blog, so today I updated it!! Hope you like the look.

Lately I have been getting the itch to bake a lot. I think fall does that to me. Right now I am thinking that I would love to make some pumpkin or spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting... delicious!!! Anyhow, Caleb's cousin moved to Rochester in June, and sometimes I think he might get a little homesick so I decided to make a recipe for sugar cookies that his mom makes every Christmas!! (Not to mention they are Caleb's favorite!!!) So the other day I made the dough and let it chill then yesterday I baked and frosted them. They are so delicious and they came out so cute!! They are the softest and best sugar cookies I have ever made and the recipe has been in the family for 3 or more generations!!

For those of you who don't know me that well I wanted to let you get a peak at my kitchen! Brace yourselves because my kitchen is PINK!!!! HAHA!! I absolutely love the color pink. At one point probably all of my clothes were pink (like senior year of high school!!) And when I got married, I really LOVED all of the new pink kitchen accessories, and my mom found some pictures of a retro pink kitchen so I decide d that was what I wanted to do with my kitchen. I love baking in my kitchen so here are a few pics.... I have to run to the store now to buy some groceries...maybe i'll get the ingredients for the cupcakes!!!! mmmmmm!!!!

Until next post,

DOES ANYONE ACTUALLY READ THIS BLOG????

2008-09-23T22:42:00.003-04:00

Ok, I have had this blog for over a year, but I haven't really started using it faithfully until recently. The only problem is that I think I only have 1 faithful reader (besides myself)!! I know I'm not that interesting, but everytime I look at how many people have viewed my site, its over 200, but I only get comments from my sis-in-law Suzi who by the way is my only faithful reader!!!

Soo... if you are ever reading my blog, feel free to leave me a comment... I love hearing from other people... but I guess I still like to blog so I can record my thoughts for the day :) So if you are on here, I would love for you to introduce yourself to me!!!! Look forward to meeting a ton of blogging friends!!!!

Packing Away Baby Clothes...

2008-09-22T23:53:00.006-04:00

CAYDEN: APPROXIMATELY 4 Months OLD

*********************

Today I got a little emotional!!! Cayden turns 4 months old tomorrow, but today I had to pack away some of his newborn clothes to make room for his new fall/winter wardrobe! As I was looking through all of the clothes and folding them, I couldn't believe that it was already time for me to pack them away until the next baby boy enters my life. Most of the clothes I packed away had certain memories attached to them. There was the first outfit I bought from old navy when I found out I was having a boy, the first outfit I put on him at the hospital, and the outfit I brought him home from the hospital in. I got the most emotional over the first outfit I put on him in the hospital. It was white with little green stars and I found a cute little green hat to match...looking at it today, I could barely even imagine Cayden being able to fit into it!!!

I remember when I first started buying the clothes I would look at them all the time and it felt like I was never going to be able to hold my baby in my arms. Now, I am packing them away and won't be using them until I have another baby (boy). After I had Cayden so many people told me, they grow up so fast...you turn around and they will be teenagers!!! In my hyper-emotional state at the time, this saddened me beyond belief. I would sit and cry (okay I had a few days of "baby blues) and it was hard for me to read books like "Someday," "God Gave us You," and the mother of all books, "I'll Love you Forever."

After a while I decided that instead of being so sad that this time with him would go by so quickly, I decided to start savoring every second with my baby so that I would have no regrets when he was grown... it seems to be working so far. Although he will be 4 months old tomorrow, I still feel like I have been able to take in every moment we have together...(ok there are those few times where he is unconsolable...sometimes I would like those moments to pass a bit more quickly!) So for now the newborn baby boy clothes had found their place in a rubbermaid storage container in Cayden's closet...that is until baby #2 comes around...

So I will leave you with a couple pictures of my precious little Cayden in those "special" outfits...

#1: The first outfit I bought him when I found out he was a boy:

#2: The first outfit I put him in @ the hospital (don't mind his "swollen" look--He just went through 15 hours of labor and had to shimmy all 9 1/2 lbs and 23 1/4 inches of himself out of me with the help of a vaccuum!! He was still so cute!!):

#3: The outfit I brought him home from the hospital in:

Until Next Post,

Memories from my Bible...

2008-09-16T17:03:00.008-04:00

Today I started doing my homework for the Beth Moore bible study "stepping up" which I started doing with a bunch of girls from church. If you don't know much about the study, it focuses on the Psalms, particularly the Psalms of ascent (Psalms 120-134). As I was doing my homework I came across a bunch of verses that I had highlighted or underlined earlier in my life, and I thought it was fun to re-read them to remind myself where I was at that time in my life, and what those verses had really said to me... I have a pretty good memory, so that is why I know specific situations that I was in the midst of when a particular verse spoke to me, and When I came across Psalms 27: 14, I was reminded of the time in my life right before I started dating my husband. This is the verse:

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

AUGUST 2004

It was the summer after I had graduated from high school. I had been dating someone for two years and that summer we broke up. It had been my first "serious" dating relationship and when you are in high school 2 years is a BIG deal!! Needless to say I had had my heart broken. I remember feeling so sad, depressed, and lonely thinking I was never going to be able to meet someone and fall in love.... One day in my quiet time I came across the verse and I started to feel at peace. The verse spoke DIRECTLY to me! I felt as if the Lord had written it and placed it right there just for ME! He was telling me "Don't worry, I love you and want the best for you. I know you are hurting now, but something greater will come of this--I promise." And we know he will never break a promise!!! That verse meant so much to me at the time so I wrote it down on a heart shaped piece of paper and stuck it to my mirror so I could be reminded of it every morning.

FAST FORWARD ABOUT ONE MONTH FROM THE BREAK-UP (SEPTEMBER 2004)

I had started college and my life was changing. I was so busy I barely had time to even think about a new "love interest." A few of my friends had joined a traveling singing group and they were scheduled to come home for a week. My friend Jake was one of the people on the group and a lot of the activities of the week were held at his house so I spent a few nights hanging out there. (I say friend because anyone who knows the relationship I have with Jake--it's been more like brother and sister because of the way we fought all the time throughout school!!) One night at his house he came up to me and said, "My mom and I have been talking and we really think you should go on a date with my brother!" I was shocked... I automatically shot it off because #1 I had barely ever spoken to him, #2 I think he and my sister may have gone out to lunch a couple of times, #3 He was older than me by 2 1/2 years, excuse after excuse... however as the week went on I started to see him in a different light... Oh yeah and not to mention I thought he was GORGEOUS!!!!

Although things didn't go smoothly--we went out a few times but then took a hiatus-- in December of that year (mind you the "heartbreak" had happened in August of that year) We finally became serious about pursuing a relationship with each other...

6 MONTHS LATER (JULY 2005)

He PROPOSED!!!!! (I said yes of course!!)

1 YEAR AFTER THAT (JULY 8, 2006)

I Married my best friend!!!

22 MONTHS AFTER THAT

We became parents to the most precious gift from God, our son Cayden!

And there you have it. God kept his promise to me like he always does. I knew the verse said "wait" but I didnt know how long I would have to wait... I am so thankful that he didn't make me wait very long!!! Well I just wanted to share that because I thought it was fun, and amazing how, although the words of the Bible never change, it sometimes feels like it was custom written just for me!!!

Do any of you have a fun story like that? I encourage you to look through your bible to see a verse that you have underlined and see if you can remember where in your life that verse really spoke to you and share it!! It is amazing!!!

Until next post,

Day of Shopping with Mom and Sister!!

2008-09-16T00:08:00.003-04:00

Today I went to the outlet mall with my mom and sister... I LOVE GOING TO THE OUTLETS!!! We had such a great time just spending time together and doing what girls do best.... SHOPPING!!!!!

After spending the entire day @ shopping I got home and was showing my hubby all the fun stuff I got, I realized that EVERYTHING i bought, minus one little jacket, was for CAYDEN!!!! And I began to think, at what point did I stop buying anything for myself and instead started shopping only for my baby. I realized that that is just what happens when you become a mommy... you start living your life to better someone elses... and you love every minute of it!! I used to get excited if I found something cute for myself, not I can't wait to go in every single children's store there is!!! I just love it. I can't wait to put everything on him!! (He still has a million things from summer that still have tags on it, oops, hopefully I have another boy, although with this Rochester weather he could be wearing shorts in the middle of winter for all we know!!)

Oh yeah, I just thought of another reason why I didn't buy anything for myself -- I AM STILL SOOOOOOO OVERWEIGHT FROM HAVING A BABY!!! He's just about 4 months old and I have now realized that I can't use the excuse that I just had a baby, because hes not a newborn anymore!! I must face the fact that this weight will not magically disappear, especially not when I am addicted to sweets and junk, and I will be joining the gym this week. (Last time I joined the gym I only went maybe 5 times, needless to say I am going to have to prove my dedication to my hubby this time!!! Whatever happened to the days where I could eat whatever I wanted and my figure never changed??? I feel like I am not even looking at my own body when I look in the mirror----will it ever be back to normal??????)

So that was our trip to the outlets...not to exciting, but fun for me!!! Now it's time for bed---alot to do tomorrow!!!

Until next post,

Ever Wonder if God was Really Real???

2008-09-12T23:47:00.002-04:00

Last night a bunch of me and my friends got together to start beth moore's bible study "Stepping Up." It has been fun to be able to really get to know these girls and learn more about the Lord with them... before we started last night some of the girls gave prayer requests and one of the girls shared an awesome testimony she had heard from another lady from our church... I will try to tell is as best I can (just remember I am re-telling this so forgive me if I get some of the details wrong--you will still see the greater story!!)

The woman at the center of this story and her husband are some of the most kind, caring, and giving people I have ever met. I do not know them very well, however her husband ministers in the bus ministry with my family. This family is know for taking in many foster children and also attempting to adopt some of them. My friend had brought this woman up for prayer because one of the little girls they were in the process to adopt, was given back to her "father" who had been clean from herion for only 20 days!! Also this week a girl who she had taken in in the past had been killed in a car accident... needless to say this woman could use a lot of prayer... but now for an awesome testimony..

... One day this woman went grocery shopping at a store that was close to their home. As she was walking in the door she saw a woman coming into the store with a bunch of kids. As they walked in the mother told the children they could all pick out one treat and put it in the cart. (They don't live in a very good area of town so the people shopping here would mostly be on welfare or living close to poverty...) As the children were picking out their treats their mother started to panick. She took out her calculator and began to get flustered as she began to add up the total knowing that she was short on funds....as she got flustered she began to start yelling at the children making them put back some of the things they were picking up. The woman from my church had observed the situation from the beginning when the mother wanted to treat her children to her change of attitude when she became stressed that she didnt have the money to fulfill her promise (we've all been there, eh?)

... Both groups of people finished their shopping and headed to the check out line. The woman and her children were next in line, but the line curved and the woman from my chuch didnt see the curve and got in line. The mother of the children thought she was trying to cut her and began to scream and cuss at her asking why she thought she could cut, what did she think she was doing, $@#!, etc. Now this woman is very sweet, meek, and humble--she apoligized kept her attitude under control (that would be VERY hard for me to do I think!!!) and went to the back of the line... the mother rang up all her groceries only, swiped her Foodstamp card, only for the clerk to say loudly and obnoxiously "YOU DONT HAVE ENOUGH FOR ALL OF THIS!" Flustered the woman tried to put some things back when the clerk repeated "YOU STILL DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH." From the back of the line, the woman from my church went right up, swiped her debit card and payed for the woman's (who just cussed her out) groceries!!!!

The mother was stunned!!! She began to ask how she could do that after how she had just treated her. The woman responded saying "I had a little extra money this month and I just wanted to be a blessing to you." she also had the opportunity to explain that Jesus loves and blesses us even though we may not think we deserve it!!! WHAT AN AWESOME EXAMPLE... BUT IT GETS BETTER!!!!

2 weeks later the woman from church visited the same grocery store... she picked out everything, got in line to pay, swiped her debit card, and the clerk said "Sorry but your card is denied!!!" The woman was stunned... it wasn't possible, they definetely had enough, it must have been a misunderstanding... She tried again... DENIED!?!?!? Then, from behind her, a man came up, swiped his debit card, and said I just wanted to be a blessing to you today!!!!!!!!!!

DOES THAT GIVE YOU THE GOOSEBUMPS OR WHAT????????????????????

I hope the woman doesn't mind that I re-told her story, but how could I not??? I was so moved by that! How can you hear stories like this and not KNOW that God is SO REAL! I can think of many stories like this that I have heard over the years and they can never get old!! There are so many things we can learn from this, but I just wanted to bless you all because I was SO incredibly blessed by this testimony!!

Hopefully this post wasnt toooooooooo looooooooooooonggggggg but I know it was WORTH IT!!! Just remember to keep her family in prayer!!!

Until next post,

Open Mouth Insert Foot....

2008-09-10T16:44:00.002-04:00

Ever had one of those times where you said something and then instantly you wanted to take it back? Like congratulating someone on their baby to be only to find out they arent even pregnant??? Well I had one of those happen to me yesterday...

... my father in law has been gracious enough to give me some little things to do for his business to make a little extra spending money (love love love to buy Cayden clothes of course!!)... so yesterday he gave me the task of calling people who had their carpenter ants treated last year to see if they would like to extend their warranty blah blah blah boring I know.... so I had called about 15 people and got to this one phone number.... here is the synopsis of the conversation:

Older Lady: Hello
Me: Hi may I please speak with Ronald?
Older Lady: Who?
Me: (Thinking maybe he went by a shortened version of his name) Is Ron available?
Older Lady: Um excuse me but Mr. so and so EXPIRED in February
Me = SPEECHLESS

Oh man... EXPIRED??? Could she have said something like passed away, or perhaps just tell me that he was not available??!??!? Needless to say I just wanted to hang up right then and there... when I told my hubby - he found it amusing! - he said that he wasnt aware that we had "expiration dates" .... oh well

gotta run and make more phone calls.....

Maybe I should send her this shirt I found on the net:

Inspired by the RNC...

2008-09-04T22:55:00.003-04:00

Ok, this post is going to sound a little political... after all I am watching the Republican National Convention :).

I have always been totally pro-life, and it was not until I gave birth to my first son in May that I could truly understand what it meant to be pro-life. As we look toward this next election we are faced with people who either believe in the sanctity of life, or feel that a woman has the right to choose whether or not to allow the life growing inside of her to take a breath. HOW DISGUSTING!!! I know that this is an ongoing debate, and I don't intend to get in to the nitty gritty of what I believe, but I just wanted to take a minute to commend the VP candidate Sarah Palin and her firm belief in the right to life...

...After being told that her son would be born with downs syndrome, she welcomed him with loving, open arms and to her, he was perfect. Every time his picture flashes up on the TV screen I feel overwhelmed with emotion because #1 God blessed me with a child who was 100% healthy and I am so overwhelmingly thankful to him for that and #2 Sarah Palins son, Trig, is the sweetest, most perfect, child I have ever seen and to think that someone could be so selfish and eliminate an innocent life because they do not have the ability to think of anyone else besides themselves at that moment. (Of course God's love and forgiveness will cover all sins, therefore there is hope for someone who has made the wrong descision....)

I guess I just felt the need to write this because I was disgusted by the two women who were taken out of the convention tonight wearing pink bras and plastered in PRO-CHOICE statements... its only a shame they don't allow abortions later in life (ok, I don't really mean that but had to say it anyways... ;) So I will leave you with a picture of Trig Palin and wish you would think for a minute how anyone would or could terminate the life of a child because of a disability or for any reason at all.... it makes me so incredibly sad... Lord please forgive us!!!

Extreme BLOG makeover

2008-09-04T00:44:00.004-04:00

Ok so to anyone out there who ever even looks at my blog, I have updated it a little bit!! I have been a little busy the past few months and have not blogged. After reading my sis-in-laws blog and looking back on some of my old posts I was inspired to start up this blog again!!! I went back and read some of my thoughts when I was first preggo and thought, wow its nice to have some of the things I was thinking recorded and to be able to read them again so I am going to try to stay updated on this thing.

Since the last time I was on here we have added the sweetest little addition to our family!!! Cayden is such a blessing from God, and I could not love him anymore!! Every day I am so excited to spend the day with him... just mommy and Cayden! It's amazing how much he has already changed and grown in only 3 months!!! I could probably talk about him forever, but it is getting really late and I need to get to bed so I will just leave you with some sweet pictures of my baby boy!!!

p.s. I know this post was really boring but it is just to prove that I am still alive and kicking :) more to come I promise...

Post just for Suzi:

2008-01-07T15:34:00.001-05:00

I wanted to post this in a comment for you but it wouldn't let me so I just decided to do it in a blog just for you!!! You are prob the only one who ever looks at it anyways!!

Look what i bought last week haha how funny... they have the cutest things for boys...!!!!! What a coincidence... too bad we cant get them together when they are wearing them!!!! I can't wait to meet him (and her)!!!

Some Baby Stuff!!!

2007-12-29T02:08:00.001-05:00

Just sitting here bored... and not too tired, so I decided to post some pics of the cute baby stuff I got for this little boy!

Here's a little slideshow of some of my favorite things I have so far... (this is mostly for you suzi... can't wait to find out what you are having!!):

Now... here are some pictures of the things/themes I have picked out for "baby boy" Fabry:

The bedding/room theme I am going to do:

The stroller/carseat/pack-n-play/highchair theme I like:

the coolest swing thing:

Back to Blogging

2007-12-25T16:57:00.001-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Well it's been a while since I have been on this thing... I really don't even know how to use it and I just spent the last hour or so trying to find a cute background for this blog... but it wasn't working... does anyone know how to find them on the internet or anything??? Myspace is WAY easier!!! Anyways....

I am with my husband and his family in Ohio for Christmas, and everyone is laying around after getting stuffed with ham and Aunt Yvonne's delicious Christmas cookies, so I decided to write a little bit on here.

Since the last time I wrote we found out that we are having a baby BOY!!! I really thought it was going to be a girl, but I am excited none the less. As long as I can have one girl I will be happy. I have already gone out and bought a bunch of clothes... most are camoflauge because thats what his daddy likes :) I also bought the cutest little Nike Air Force ones in a size 2... he's gonna be just like his dad!!!

I've been able to feel the baby move for about 3 or 4 weeks now, but every day it seems to be getting stronger. The most exciting thing happened this morning though... Caleb, my hubby, was also able to feel him move!!!! What an awesome Christmas present... hes funny though because he doesn't want to press too hard because he thinks that he will squish him... although I have assured him that he wont!!!

I missed being home for Christmas this year, but it's ok because I will be there next year with my little boy!!! I am already thinking about how I will spoil him this time next year!!! I talked to my family this morning and heard what they got---- boy do my parents (and my in-laws) spoil us!!!

I just finished a semester @ school.... just one more to go and then I will GRADUATE!!!!!!!!!!!! Next semester is student teaching!!! I am going to be one big fat mama when i get up there in front of those kids!!! Oh well I will be glad to get it over. I thought I was gonna get all A's this semester, but I was totally bummed when I got an A- :( oh well its still good!!

Well I have probably bored you with all of this... but just wanted to post an update (mostly for you Suzi, because I don't even know if anyone else reads this!! Lastly, I will leave you with some photos from Christmas Eve... hope everyone has enjoyed their Christmas!!! We miss y'all down there in Texas!!! You better come see us soon!!!!

2007-10-19T20:40:00.000-04:00

I have been tagged by Suzi and Liz...

The Game of Tag about your MAN:

1. Who is your man? Caleb Mathew Fabry
2. How long have you been together? Since about December 2004
3. How long did you date? 8 months before we got engaged
4. How old is your man? 24
5. Who eats more? He does... although at this point in my life I feel like I am always eating!!
6. Who said "I love you" first? He did!
7. Who is taller? Caleb is... hes 6' 3" and I am about 5' 3"
8. Who sings better? not sure... I bet he can sing better but he never really does
9. Who is smarter? Caleb is smarter when it comes to common sense, fixing things, and technology, but when it comes to academics I probably am :)
10. Whose temper is worse? probably his....
11. Who does the laundry? ME!!!
12. Who takes out the garbage? I always have to take it out of the garbage can, but he brings it out to the road.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do, although sometimes he tries to steal it.
14. Who pays the bills? Caleb
15. Who is better with the computer? definitely Caleb, I can work one but he knows them inside out...he even built one once
16. Who mows the lawn? It depends, he usually does but I did it for the first time this summer and I loved it! Something about seeing those lines, just like when
17. Who cooks dinner? me, although I dont get to do is as much as I want because of school and work
18. Who drives when you are together? he does, i hate driving
19. Who pays when you go out? he does, hes still a gentleman!
20. Who is more stubborn? we are both equally stubborn, but I probably cave in sooner just so that I don't have to put up with the fighting anymore
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? me me me me me... I wonder if he has ever admitted that he was wrong??? j/k he has but those times have been very few
22. Whose parents do you see the most? His. They fly here more.
23. Who kissed who first? he kissed me, but it was just a peck
24. Who asked who out? his mom and brother asked me out :) j/k he did
25. Who proposed? he did, on his birthday with both our families there!
26. Who is more sensitive? we both are... probably me more
27. Who has more friends? we both have a lot of friends... he probably has more though but im more social and see mine more often
28. Who has more siblings? me, I have 2 sisters and 3 brothers... Caleb has 2 brothers
29. Who wears the pants in the family? We make decisions together, but he usually has the final say!

I can't tag anyone because the only 2 bloggers I know have already done this!!!

2007-09-26T10:40:00.001-04:00

Ok so I am new to blogging!! I am going to try to do this as often as I can mostly to keep in touch with suzi, my sis-in-law who is in Texas. So I guess I will just start with introducing you to myself. My name is Hollie and I am 21 years old. I have been married since July 8, 2006 to my wonderful husband, Caleb. We just found out that we are expecting our first baby!!! We are so excited. We didn't expect it to happen as soon as it did, because we weren't even really trying, but I guess God had this planned for us! As of today I am only 6 weeks/2days preggo and I feel great. I also go to school full time, and I am a senior at SUNY Brockport. Im so excited that I graduate this year. (well next spring....hopefully!!!) I am going for teaching with a concentration in history.... i know noone understand why I would study history but I LOVE IT!!! I don't necessarily love school right now though!

Lately I have been spending my time watching countless episodes of a baby story, brining home baby, and runway moms (my favorite!!).... But I realize I have a long way to go, but its fun to look ahead. I am going to enjoy these next few months with my husband and relax before the next chapter of my life starts!

Well this blog was short and sweet but now its time for me to get into the shower and get ready for school! (boo!) But then I get to go work in the nursery tonight and get some practice with the little babies :)