::God in my everything::

I can't believe September is already here. This year has flown by and to think we are going to be getting ready for the holiday's here soon is unbelievable to me. Although I am getting excited that it feels a little bit like fall is in the air :)

These past 2 weeks have been eventful already. I celebrated by 32nd Birthday with some good friends on the 8th of this month. Marvin and I had planned on hopefully getting out of town for a weekend with the kids but that didn't exactly work out with our busy schedules and $$. I was happy to stay in town and celebrate here. Our anniversary is quickly approaching so we'll see about getting out of town for that.

As exciting as turing 32 was...(ya right) it was overshadowed by the excitement of my brother finally coming to California!!! As many of you might have seen from my post on Facebook, my brother recently returned from Afghanistan. I posted some pretty awesome pictures of him reuniting with his son so if you haven't checked those out, head on over to my page. Anyway, he arrived in SD a couple of days ago with his wife and son and we have LOVED every minute of it. He won't be here for long so we are trying to enjoy it while it lasts. Silvia's family lives in Simi Valley so they are off to visit them at the end of the week and then back to New Mexico. We are hoping to head out there for Thanksgiving or Christmas to visit so we will see.

Jumping back to my Birthday real quick..one of my favorite gifts that I received was a Bible from my friend Alison. I have always had an on and off relationship with God. More on then off, and even though I was baptized a few years ago {with my good friend Michelle though Calvary Chapel} I never felt like He was in our day to day lives as much as I wanted or needed Him to be. Lately I have been feeling like we really need Him. Maybe it's because our schedules are so busy and there is so much chaos a lot of the times, maybe it's because I need more discipline when it comes to so many things. For all of the reasons I know and some that I don't yet, I am excited to begin a journey towards a personal relationship with Him. I have been reading my Bible every night and am excited to have that quiet time to learn and connect with God. Marvin and I are also reading Children's Bible stories to Shay {and Kross} before bed so that he too can learn about Jesus and what He did for us. Marvin and I have even talked about doing a Bible study together. I'm really happy about his support and I know this will only bring our family closer.

Please pray for us as we start this journey.

A few pictures from my Birthday.

::Where does the time go?::

Seriously, where does it go? I can't believe it has been so long since I have blogged. Of course a million things have transpired since my last post..a new baby, a new job, a million little projects, no wonder this poor personal blog has been neglected. But in an effort to get back my personal life, I am making a commitment, today, to blog at least once a week! You heard be folks, once a week. It's in writing.

I would like to start this particular post off by saying this has been an amazing year. We started it off with the birth of baby Kross Emory Harrison on December 26th 2009. Our little Christmas present. He is prefect!! Now 8 months old, he is growing like a weed, with 7 teeth and weighing in at about 22lbs. He is sitting up, rolling all over the place, talking up a storm and amazing us every single day! We are so thankful to have added to our little family and Shay is so happy to have a baby brother. Those two are so cute together and Shay really has turned out to be an amazing big brother to Kross.

Speaking of the big guy, Shay turned 4 this past June and has since entered Pre-K which he is loving!! We could not be happier or more impressed with his progress over the last few years. He is so eager to learn, to do 'school work' every chance he gets. He knows how to count to 100, count backwards from 20, count by 10's and by 5's. He know's simple addition, all of his shapes, days of the week, months, how to spell his name, our names and Kross's name. He know's our address and phone numbers. The kid is a sponge let me tell you!!

Marvin is business as usual, working so hard to provide the best for all of us. Coming home and taking care of the kids while I juggle my crazy schedule between my brides and Bridal Insider. It is definitely a challenge at times {or should I say most of the time} but we are making it work. Somehow. We are like two ships passing in the night most of the time but we try to get our time in where we can. One of the things I am trying to work on is scheduling time for date nights either in or out of the house. Just quality time that Marvin and I can spend together and enjoy each others company. It is so hard these days to find a quiet moment with the kids and our busy work schedules. We have to always try to remember that without the two of us there is no family so while we are here nurturing our children we have to remember to nurture this relationship and keep it a strong foundation. So far so good but more time together would be nice any day!

Our 6 year wedding anniversary is right around the corner, October 2nd, I can't believe it

has been 6 years already. Time really does go by so fast. You have to stop and enjoy what is going on around you or it will all pass you by. This has probably been the craziest year for me and I am really starting to realize how important that time with family is. It won't stand still or come back to you once it is gone. The time is now to grab a hold of it and live in the moment. I am committing to more time with my hunny, the kids and the rest of the family.

I believe that I can find the balance between all of it.

Good night friends.

Happy Halloween!!

We had so much fun this past weekend!! A big difference from last year since Shay was not quite old enough to understand everything. Friday we went to Kidsville to Trick or Treat, do crafts, listen to the Hullabaloo band and see some good friends. Saturday we went to the Mall across the street to Trick or Treat, then came home and did some more trick or treating around our house, and once we were done with that we came back home and passed out candy!! Shay loved this part!! He sat on the porch for over an hour and waited for all of the kids to come trick or treat!! This Halloween was a huge success and we are so looking forward to teaching Shay about all of the upcoming Holidays now that he is big enough to understand :)

Thomas the Tank Engine :)

Bella, Amber, Kelly, Me & Christine!

Michelle & I passing out candy @ KV

Kidsville fun!

Morrissa's Wedding!

The pro pics are in!! All compliments of Josh & Ariel!! LOVE THEM ALL!!!

This was pretty much at the end of the night! Shay was so tired from dancing all night!! He had more fun then any of us :)

Mr. & Mrs. Cardoza with little Shay


Sealed with a Kiss!

Shay RUNNING down the isle with the ring pillow.

Awww. I missed him so much. This was when Marvin & Shay first got there and I had not seen them in 2 days because I went up there early in the week. Missed my little bug.

Love this shot! Marv helping Shay with his buttons and my baby belly! Even Cross was there :)

The beeautiful room set-up courtesy of me & Morrissa :)

BFF's

Love this one too!!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Cardoza!! It was perfect :)

XOXO

Happy 5 Years!!

Marvin and I are celebrating 5 years of marital bliss today!!! :)

Even though it has not always been blissful..it has been well worth it. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful man in my life who lives to take care of me and our son. I would love to renew our vows one of these days/years because I think it has really taken this long to realize what marriage is and to appreciate all the ups and the downs of it all. When Marvin and I first got married, we were definitely in love but how much do you really know about marriage and what it is going to be like. You say those vows to each other but do you really know what they mean? what they will mean? what they look like in real life? I finally know the commitment I made 5 years ago and plan on recommitting to those promises we both made to each other back then. There is no place else I'd rather be then with Marvin. He is everything to me and I never want to imagine my life without him. He truly is my partner in life and I am looking forward to many more years ahead!!

Happy October!

I am SO ready for fall!! I found this yummy and super easy to make recipe and it made me think of the cooler months coming up! Enjoy :)

Quick Apple Dumplings

2 medium Granny Smith apples
1 (8-count) package refrigerated crescent roll dough
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
1 teaspooon vanilla extract
1/2 cup very finely chopped pecans

1. Preheat ovent to 350F. Grease an 8-inch-square baking dish.

2. Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into fourths. Unroll and separate crescent roll dough. Wrap each apple section in a crescent roll. Place in pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

3. Combine butter, sugar, and orange juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over dumplings. Sprinkle pecans over top.

4. Bake 30 minutes, or until crust is golden and beginning to bulle and apples are just tender when pierced with a fork.

5. To serve, spoon some of the syrup from the baking dish over dumplings.
Serve with ice cream, if desired. Serves 8.

Growing and showing!

6.5 Months!! Not too much longer :)

Too Long!

It has been way too long since I updated this blog!! I have been extremely busy with life, work, Shay, the house..and on and on :) Here are a few updates of what's been going on.

Preggy update: I am 24 weeks along (6 months) and cant believe how fast it is going by!! Baby H. will be here before we know it :) We picked a name, it's going to be Cross Emory Harrison and we are SO excited!!! Oh, did I mention we are having a boy??? Not sure if I posted that in the last post. I have been feeling great up until this past weekend when I decided to clean out the garage. I was up on a ladder, lifting stuff, filled up the Tahoe twice with stuff to take to the Goodwill, and sweeping etc. and I might have over done it a little bit. I started to feel very intense tightning in my stomach for about 20 hours after and had to go into the Labor & Delivery at the hospital! They monitored me for about and hour and told me all was well with Cross! They told me I was feeling like that because I definately over did it and they put me on modified bed rest! Not sure how that is going to work out seeing how I have lots of work to do but I will certainly try to relax as much as possible.
Wedding update: Morrissa got married Sept. 5th and it was amazing!! It was very busy leading up to her big day but well worth the final result. I drove up there the Thursday before her wedding, picked her dress up on the way and once I got there we headed to dinner with the family. Then we headed to the Rehearsal which was very smooth and then back to her place to just hang out with her parents. Friday we got up, hit Starbucks of course, got our nails done and ran a bunch of errands. The rehearsal dinner was that night at her house and that went very well too!! We exchanged gifts, cried, and remembered our many childhood memories. It was great being with Morrissa and her entire family!! Saturday was the big day, we woke up (too early) and got ready for hair/makeup! Stephanie and Mary came over to work their magic on all of the girls and then Josh & Ariel came to shoot the pics! It was a perfect start to a perfect day!! The wedding was flawless, nothing went wrong, we had so much fun and I want to do it again!! :) Sunday we had a family brunch and said goodbye to out of town family that was leaving that day. Shay was awesome as the ring bearer too!! He had so much fun, danced all night on the dance floor and didnt go to be until about 1am!! What a little trooper :)
~Work wise things are going amazing!! I am filling up my calendar for next year and things are very busy! I got a new website last month, a new blog and am so excited for what next year has to bring. I am so thankful also to still have Richelle with me (it's been almost 2 years) and excited she has agreed to stay on through part of next year :) LOVE HER and could not do it without her! Other very exciting things we are now doing are Candy Buffets. Specific to theme and color. I will try to post some pictures soon.
Marvin & Shay: Marvin and Shay are doing great. Marv is busy as usual with work and taking care of us. I feel so blessed to have him in my life. He truly is the best husband ever and I love him so much!! Shay is as amazing as ever! He surprises me every day, makes me laugh and just smile in awe of him. He is growing fast and getting too smart :) He's in school twice a week and is LOVING it. We are thinking of putting him in for 3 days since he likes it so much. Might also help me have that time once the baby comes. Things are going great here at home with our little family. We could not be happier with what we have and for baby Cross to arrive on January 1st!


My bro: was supposed to be shipped off to Afganistan but thankfully got sick and was placed on a medical hold..they had to send someone else instead and we are so thankful to God that he does not have to go at this time! We know he will still have to go at some point but believe that everything happends for a reason and we are all so happy he will be here for the holidays :) His little family is doing great, Christian is growing fast also and Silvia is trying to make the best of living in New Mexico :) We hope to visit them out there soon!!




I think that is it for now. I will try to update more often. I am so excited for Fall and the holidays this year I have already started to decorate :) Hope everyone is doing well also!!


XOXO

Preggy update!

Well I'm 16 weeks and doing great!! We went to the doctor last week and were told that we are possibly having a girl but that she couldn't guarantee it and don't go out and buy anything pink just yet. When we got home I got really impatient and made an appointment at the 4D ultrasound place down the street. We got an appointment for that same day and headed right over!! After about 15 minutes of a regular black/white ultrasound (not 4D) they told us we are having another BOY!!! I can not say I was exactly thrilled at the moment he told us but I am very excited now. Excited and thankful that we have been blessed with another pregnancy!! :) We could not be happier. Anyway, we are still not 100% convinced that it is in fact a boy because of what our OB said and then they guy at the 4D place saying he was 90% sure. Haha! We are wondering why he didn't say 100% or even 98%. I know, wishful thinking ;) We have another appointment on Aug. 6Th with my OB so should get a 100% by then!! This boy/girl thing has definitely been a roller coaster so we can't wait to find out so we can really start planning and getting his/her room together! I'm sure it's a HE! Either way we are thrilled!!

Here I am at 16 weeks. Not the best picture because I just woke up from a nap but you get the idea!

What?!?!

A friend of mine (thanks Vanessa) had this posted on her blog and I about died... ok not really, but I felt REALLY LAME for having NOT known this... I haven't even gone in my kitchen yet to check and make sure this is for real... I'm not up for the shame tonight... Here ya go...

Was this something we were supposed to learn from our Mom's?????I can't believe it's been there all this time. I had to go into the kitchen and check this out for myself.Whoever looks at the end of your aluminum foil box? You know when you try to pull some foil out and the roll comes out of the box.Then you have to put the roll back in the box and start over.The darn roll always comes out at the wrong time.Well, I would like to share this with you.Yesterday I went to throw out an empty Reynolds foil box and for some reason I turned it, and looked at the end of the box. And written on the end it said, Press here to lock end.Right there on the end of the box is a tab to lock the roll in place.How long has this little locking tab been there?I then looked at a generic brand of aluminum foil and it had one, too.I then looked at a box of Saran wrap and it had one too!I can't count the number of times the Saran wrap roll has jumped out,when I was trying to cover something up.I'm sharing this with my friends.I hope I'm not the only person that didn't know about this. I know you're going to go and check your boxes, so go ahead!