and the winner is...

envelope please...(woops we did not use an envelope)
and the winner is...

Jen from Home... Hands Full, HEARTS Full, Quiver Full!
 

AND

Monica from life on the hilltop

AND

Lisa from MY JOURNEY THROUGH INFERTILITY

 

Yes, I decided to choose three winners.  And I can do that bc it is my blog and my give-away.  ;)
I just thought, this is a Pay It Forward and what is better than Paying It Forward X3. And now these three ladies will Pay It Forward @ their blogs. So be sure and check them out and stay tuned for their give-aways. All three of them are AWESOME ladies. And I consider myself blessed to "know" each of them.

Jen, I think you are the only one I need an address from. If you could email it to me please... closetohomeblog@gmail.com   (Thanks)

And for all three of  you...I will be getting your things together over the weekend and heading for the (dreaded) post office early next week. (weather permitting of course) ;)  I will be sure to let each of you know once your package is shipped.
THANK YOU so much for participating.

Snow, Ice & Staying warm

Well just like a lot of other people we have gotten all kinds of snow and ice. P has not worked in two days now and we are just hanging out at home staying warm. (or at least trying to) 
Take a look at our snow & ice...

Since there was no way we were venturing out this weather yesterday, we stayed in and played some games with C.

he won @ bingo

he also won @ Candyland
 
but I won @ Ladybugs  :)

He also played fix it man...

We finished our day off by watching a movie. (sadly not Fireproof, but rather Happy Gilmore) :)

It was a fun day, had by all!!!

A New Look

What do you think of my new look? I really like it. Thank you so much to Emily @ Blog Necessities. She was AWESOME to work with. If you are looking for someone to help you create a new look or complete makeover for your blog, check her out.  :)
Thank you too, to Lisa @ MY JOURNEY THROUGH INFERTILITY. She is the one who clued me into Emily via her own blog makeover.
THANKS to both of you Ladies!!!
I appreciate this very much.

Wordless Wednesday (update) Praise the Lord!!!

Today Kelly & Scott got to hold Harper for the first time.
Praise the Lord for he is Good!!! All of our prayers have been heard and answered.
If all continues as well as it has been, they could be headed home early next week.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for ALL of your prayers.

God IS Good!!!

Pay It Forward GiveAway!!!

A couple weeks ago MiMi @ He & Me + 3 held a Pay It Forward give-away and I won. (woo~hoo) This was the first thing I won in bloggy-world and was so excited. :)
As part of my winning her Pay It Forward, I agreed to hold my own Pay It Forward Give-Away. :) So there is no time like now to have it.
The rules are as follows...

1. leave me a comment (bc WHO does not enjoy some comment love?) for ONE entry
2. link back to my give-away post on your own blog for a SECOND entry (but be sure to tell me you did so)
3. if you are a follower (or become a follower) of my blog you get a bonus THIRD entry. (bc I love checking out new blogs and making new friends along the way)
4. If you win the Pay It Forward give-away, you agree to host your own Pay It Forward give-away on your blog.

Is that simple enough?
This give-away will end at some point this week. (not too sure when) I like leaving you all with a little mystery.     :)

Not Me Monday

 

Well it is Monday again. How is it that Monday comes so quickly, when Friday takes forever to get here?

So, do you want to know what I did not do this past week? Me too...
Let's review...

I did not make Oreo cake to serve at Bible study, only to get sidetracked and not offer it to anyone.  (gasp) Who would do such a thing?  NOT ME!!!

I then did not proceed to eat above mentioned cake as my dinner that evening bc I was hungry and did not want to fix dinner so late. 

I did not let C, go and stay with his Mackle (Grandma) Saturday night, knowing that she had a cold and did not feel well. (hey, she told him he could and he had a cold too, so no harm, no foul, right?)

I did not guilt P into taking me to dinner after dropping C off @ my Mom's bc we were kid free. Never, I would not do something like that...I would not have to. P would WANT to take me to dinner. :)

Ok, well I am certain there is more that I did NOT do, but right now I can not think of it. Maybe next week.

For more of this NOT ME madness, check out MckMama @   my charming kids .

 

****believe it or not this was my second post today, to check out my first click on the link below (or just keep scrolling down)  ;)
 http://kellyatclose2home.blogspot.com/2009/01/as-asked-by-my-sweet-son.html

As asked by my sweet son...

let me start by saying, I "never" wear dresses. (ever) I can honestly say in C's (almost) 4 yrs of life he has not seen his Mommy in a dress even once. I used to wear dresses/skirts ALL the time and just got tired of them. So...yesterday I were a DRESS to church and then to my (step) sister's baby shower.

When leaving the shower, C was walking slightly behind me and he said...
"Mommy, why? Why Mommy did you paint your legs black"?  

I laughed so hard I could not even answer him. Once we got back home, I told P about it and we explained they were "hose" and he again said...
"they aren't hose, firemen have hoses".

So P explained they are pantyhose, to keep Mommy's legs warm since she was not wearing pants/jeans.

I guess that sufficed him, bc he has said nothing more about my painted legs. 

Where does the time go???

I have no clue how it is almost 5:30 pm already. WoW. I need to get started on dinner, yet it seems like I just had breakfast and I skipped lunch.
C & I got up about 9:30am...which is sad to say a little early for us lately.  (did I really just admit that???)  ;)
We got ready right away and my Mom came over. We went to Tim Horton's for breakfast (love their bagels) and then to Target bc, well the week is not complete for me if I do not make AT LEAST ONE trip to Target. (with the economic slowdown and stores closing left & right, I can not let Target be one of them)  HA!  I tease P (all the time) that we may lose our house (kidding) our car (kidding) and have to sell anything else we may own (again kidding) but I can NOT let Target go under.  ;)
(they really should pay me for ALL of my support)

Anyway, now that I got off track...after going to Target we went to get C's haircut and bonus, my Mom got her cut as well. My little guy now looks like a BIG BOY again. How is it that by trimming his hair he ages so much??? Does this work for me as well? If so I think I will keep letting my hair grow...forever.  ;) 

After the haircuts we ran to the post office and back thru Tim Horton's for my Mom to get more coffee. (she is addicted) And then we came home. C played with his new puzzles he got and I started working on organizing some online pictures...take a look...

What do you think? I am going to try and keep up with ALL the pictures we take and do a page or two each week of online pages. Maybe this will motivate me to start scrap-booking IRL again. (I wish...no motivation here)

Now it is time to figure out WHAT to do for dinner. And I am not even hungry.

Have a GREAT evening.

HARPER UPDATE...

She is doing so much better. Still a long road ahead of her and her parents. They have lowered her oxygen levels to 43% (I think). Which means she is breathing (more) than half on her own. PRAISE THE LORD!!! Thanks again for ALL of your prayers. If you check out Kelly's blog, ( Kelly's Korner ) you will see that a reader of her blog gave her life to the Lord after logging in and reading about Harper and the miracle that she was, is and continues to be. AMAZING.  In regards to this lady Kelly says...

"Every second of the last week has been worth it for that fact alone. And we truly mean that".

You MUST check out Kelly's blog. She is an inspiration to us ALL!!! Please continue to keep Harper & family and ALL the NICU babies in your prayers. THANK YOU!!!

Thankful Thursday

 

 

Today I am thankful for my healthy, happy little boy, C.
With all the sick babies and kids that we keep hearing about and praying for, I can not help but to PRAISE the Lord that C is a happy, healthy little guy.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

About a week (or so) ago I won MiMi's  (@ He & Me + 3 ) Pay It Forward giveaway. (YAY) It is the first blog giveaway I have won. :)

Today when I got back home from running errands, sitting on my front porch was this...  (ok, so that is not my front porch, but it was too cold to stand out there to take a picture)  ;)

I could not wait to open it and find out what was inside...

The first thing I see is a card (I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting cards, they are more important to me than gifts) ( I still have the cards from MY 1st Birthday)
 
Here is the rest of what was inside...
a five week devotional booklet with pen, a yummy smelling candle, a cozy pair of socks, hand lotion (which those of us who live in the mid-east NEED this time of year, DRY skin) and my FAVE FAVE FAVE a snowman chapstick. (the chapstick matches the lotion)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU MiMI. I LOVE IT ALL!!!
I browsed over the devotional this evening before our Bible study and found it interesting that the first devotional is for the book of Hebrews. This is the book we are studying in our small group. So I will have extra insight.
THANK YOU so much, you could not have done a better job.

This was so much fun.

By participating in MiMi's Pay It Forward, I have agreed to also Pay It Forward. So please stay tuned. In the next week (to 10 days) I will be holding my own Pay It Forward giveaway.

favorite memories

My dear friend and fellow blogger Hilltopper from life on the hilltop, tagged me to share my top 4 in each of the categories listed.
Here they are...

 

favorite memories of 2008

#1 30th Birthday get together with just the girls

#2 watching/witnessing all the new things C is learning each day

#3 starting my blog & making awesome new friends

#4 going on a date with just P to see Fireproof and have lunch @ Cracker Barrel.

favorite movies of 2008 (not necessarily 2008 movies)

#1 Fireproof

#2 Sweet Home Alabama

#3 Catch Me if You Can

#4 CARS

favorite foods of 2008

#1 one of the specials that Olive Garden had over the summer, can not remember the name of it.  (argh)

#2 pb toast

#3 veggie pizza

#4 tacos

favorite places of 2008

#1 home

#2 Aha

#3 Target (how SAD is that?)

#4 church

events in 2008

#1 C's 3rd birthday & party

#2 announcement of my (step) sister's 2nd pregnancy  & her wedding

#3 P starting a new business venture

#4 our FIRST wedding anniv.

things i liked in 2008

#1 buying our (much needed) and new (to us-2005) car/suv

#2 getting new carpet in most of our house & finishing the interior painting

#3 having monthly family dinners with my brothers/sisters and Mom & step dad

#4 being able to spend another year @ home with C. (Thank you Lord, for the small things)

things i look forward to in 2009

#1 C being 100% potty trained. (we are almost there)

#2 becoming closer to Jesus and honoring him more each day

#3 selling our house

#4 getting pregnant

 

Now I will tag 4 to play along...
#1. MiMi @ He & Me + 3
#2. Lisa @ MY JOURNEY THROUGH INFERTILITY

#3. Susie @ Mommy, Just One More Minute!

#4. Nancy @ Faith, Family & Friends

C goes to the "Motor Home" Show

This past weekend we took C to the Annual Boat & R show.  He has been asking to see "inside" the motor homes, so we thought this would be perfect for him.  He had a blast. And has asked repeatedly to go back again. He is now ready to sell our house and buy one.  (me too)  ;)

 
this one was a mini pull behind camper

he kept calling this the "driving" room.  HA

My 2 Boys  ;)

all buckled up & ready to hit the road

taking a break before leaving. it was a long haul to the car.

bye bye

  

***Harper Update...
 

I just want to Thank each of you that has lifted Harper, Kelly & Scott up in prayer. God is listening and Harper is improving a little at a time.  PLEASE continue to include them in your prayers.

Here is an update from Kelly's blog (Kelly's Korner)...

"We were able to meet with Harper's doctor today for the first time since she has been there. It was a very good meeting. He gave us a lot of details. It was very difficult for me to sit and listen to him talk about how sick my little baby is. Our families felt it was very positive but it was just scary for me. Basically it is a long and gradual process. They believe she got an infection which has caused the problems with her lungs. They think her heart and brain are both good. Very, very slowly - they are trying to get her off the oxygen that is supporting her lungs. They think ECMO is a final resort. We will most likely be here for weeks. Her numbers seem to improve little by little and we do have a lot of hope. She is critical but stable."

would you like to know more?

Lisa @ MY JOURNEY THROUGH INFERTILITY tagged me to tell you all 16 things you may or may not know about me.  I enjoy doing these, bc I always enjoy sharing more with you and even more, I enjoy learning more about all of you.
I am not sure that I can come up with 16 things that I have not already told you, but I will give it a shot.  :)
ENJOY.

1. I had no intentions of getting married before I was 30 and no intention of having kids before I was 35.  I had C @ 27 and married P @ 28.

2. While I was pregnant with C, I wanted a boy SO BADLY, that everyone was just sure that I would have a girl. (obviously they were wrong)  ;)

3. I am a very picky eater.

4. I would like to have red hair. (like Marcia Cross, from Desp. H-wives)

5. Until I had C, I did NOT cook...AT ALL!!!

6. I always wished I came from a big family.

7. I would love to have twin boys.

8. I do not like to have my picture taken, never have.

9. I have never once smoked a cigarette. (not even one puff)
    ( I am VERY proud of this, since my Mom, Dad and sister ALL smoke/d)

10.  I love the show/family Jon & Kate +8 and want to meet them some day.

11. P & I have been trying to get pregnant for seven months now, with no luck.  :(

12. I collect Boyds Bears.

13. We (as a family) made the decision to turn off our cable for 2009. We are now deciding to turn the tv completely OFF. (as it getting rid of it)

14. I was excited to 30 and did not dread it at all.

15. I am ten months older than P.

16. P and I sat next to one another in homeroom for two years, went to school together for four years and had a lot of the same friends, yet never "knew" each other until "meeting"  in 2002. (I knew who he was and vice versa, but we did not talk, hang out, etc)

So there you have it...16 things you may not have known about me.  :)
Now for the hard part...picking who to tag for this.
I am going to tag any of you ladies who have not yet done a getting to know you post. (or at least not done one recently) I enjoy getting to know each of you more. Please let me know if you choose to play along.

And please continue to pray for Harper. She is in stable, but very critical condition. She is also showing some improvements. She and her family have a long road ahead of them.
God is AMAZING and if you want to see that amazement yourself...check out Kelly's blog,Kelly's Korner and read her posts re: the outpouring of support they have been shown by fellow bloggers. 

Sunday's Scripture

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

Update on Harper

 

First Thank you for adding Harper & her family to your prayers. Keep it going, she is improving.

Last night she was sent to Tulsa, OK instead of the Children's Hospital in Little Rock, as they had no room for her. Here Father and his parents went there with her and her Mom and her parents stayed behind as Kelly was not yet released from the hospital. (that should happen today and then they will drive to Tulsa)

Harper is doing better each hour. She may not need the bypass machine after all, which is AWESOME!!! God is so good!!!  His miracles NEVER cease.

Scott & Kelly are so touched by the out pouring of prayers and support everyone is showing them.

Isn't it amazing how us blog addicts and sisters in Christ can pull together for the greater good?

We are all so blessed.

For continued updates on Harper's condition please check out Kelly's blog...Kelly's Korner

Prayers Needed for Harper

Many of you know Kelly from Kelly's Korner .
She went in to the hospital today to deliver her precious Baby Girl Harper. For details please check out her blog. It is late and I am tired and I do not want to mess any details up.

PLEASE pray for new Mom, and daughter. Harper is not doing well and has been flown to a nearby Children's Hospital to their NICU.

For those of you who do not know Kelly. She is a very spiritual gal, who gives God all the glory all the time, even in this very troubling time.  She suffered for infertility for years and turned it all over to God to bless her with a child.

She is still, through this, giving God the glory he deserves.
PLEASE pray for her daughter to pull through.

We all know first hand that PRAYER works.

Scott, Kelly & Harper you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Many many hugs and prayers to you.

I had an interview with...

Stacey from McCrakensx4 .
Here is what she asked and my responses...

1.  What have you gained since starting your blog?
Oh my...I have met some AMAZING women since starting this journey.  I am reminded everyday just how important sisters are and how we pull together when they need us. Even if we have never "met" them. I see each day the miracles that the Lord works in each of our lives and I am so thankful to have this thing we call a blog to share with all of you while you share with me too.

2.  How many TVs do you have in your house and what is your favorite TV show?
4 tvs (yikes) 1 has just a dvd player hooked up to it and another 1 is hooked up for C's games.
None of them have cable.
My fave show...not sure really...I like so many...
Jon & Kate +8                    Brothers & Sisters             Rita Rocks
Samantha Who                   Desp. Housewives             Gary Unmarried
Worst Week                       Private Practice
Property Virgins                Grey's Anatomy

See why I need to have my tv SHUT OFF???  ;)

3. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
please don't laugh...but Alaska. I have always had a weird obsession with Alaska. 

4.  What's under your bed?
extra blankets and my exerciser

5.  If you had one day to do anything you wanted, with no limits, what would it be and why?
I am sure this would change depending on the day and my mood, but my answer this day is...get all my bestest girls together and go shopping around the world, by plane of course.  (shopping, eating, laughing, worshiping, sharing, etc)
I would do this bc I think it is important to set aside time to just get together with the girls and forget everything else. It makes us better wives, Mothers, and friends. And who would not want to go on a shopping spree all over the east coast? (or west coast?) :)

Would you like to be interviewed? If so, just let me know in the comments and I will send you your questions.  :)

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little better. Wanna know more??? ... stay tuned bc Lisa from MY JOURNEY THROUGH INFERTILITY tagged me and I will be posting 16 things you may not know about me soon.  :)

Baby It's Cold Outside...

We ventured out today in the negative degree temps. (I was sick of sitting here starring at the walls) The good news is after a few hours out and lunch the temps are now above 0.  It is now a humid 7 degrees.  (ha ha ha) Hey it is better than negative 7!  :)
The bad news...my pipes to my washer are FROZEN!!!  Wah...I really need to do laundry. I am working on that now and if it is not fixed when P gets home, I will be taking my laundry to my Mom's to do. 
P took my car today bc his work van has NO heat. It went out this week and he can not get it fixed until next week. So he will be using my car whenever possible. Can you imagine NO heat in this weather???  Yikes.
In other good news...our house is toasty today. Yay!  Normally it is COLD in here. (no matter what the heat is set on and no matter what time of year) It is an old old old house. (build in 1899) (doesn't that qualify it as an antique?) 

Here is a picture of C all bundle up for the cold. (I even put pj pants on him under his jeans for an layer and added warmth)

he does not like when I zip AND button his coat all the way up. Today it was a must. 
Do you notice that the sun is shining bright through the windows, even though it was -2 at this time?  :)

and it is still falling...

I took these about 6:30pm or so last night.

 

We have around 5-6".  And it is to be in the negatives tonight.

WW: a boy, a dog & a flyswatter...

 

**notice the dog got past him...this time.  ;)
These were taken at my Mom's house with her dog, Hershey.

follow up to last weeks WW

Many of you asked if this picture was CJ's bedroom or playroom. It is his playroom. Though many times his bedroom does not look much better.
His toys are supposed to be kept in the playroom and it can be as messy or as clean as he wants through out the day, but at night, before we go to bed, it HAS to be cleaned up.
I hate getting up to a mess in the morning.  (starts my whole day off on the wrong note)

So, to refresh your memory, though if you are like me at all, the image is burned in your head, last week's WW picture...


What the room looks like before going to bed each night and prior to CJ waking up in the mornings...

Little does CJ know, in about a month A LOT of these toys will be getting boxed up and put into storage.
WHY? Because we need to maximize the space we have, and make it look less cluttered for potential buyers.
We have finally made the FINAL decision to list our house for sale. We are fully aware that the market is slow, but we also believe this is the right thing to do for our family and have prayed about this for several months.

In the upcoming weeks I am going to be asking for some help/ideas on a couple areas of our house. Stay tuned...

Sunday's Scripture, update & announcing a give-away

Happy Sunday to you...I have been busy today. We went to church this morning and then to lunch and the grocery. After that I went to Target with my Mom. Now I am home snuggled up on the couch in my jammies. Ahhh...it feels good.  ;)

I have decided to start something new on Sundays, here on the blog...I am going to share with you the scripture/verse that I sent to my MIL for the week. Maybe it will encourage you or speak to you as well.

This week I will have two, one for the first week of '09 and one for this week.  I am also still looking for for uplifting/encouraging verses to share with my MIL. When I use your scripture/verse here on the blog, I will link back to you bc I am very thankful to those all of you who have sent me verses.

The first scripture I want to share (and have shared in the past) is...
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future".

The verse for this week is...

God is working in you. He wants your plans and your acts to be in keeping with his good purpose.
                            Phil. 2:13

Stacey @ McCrakensx4 just reached her 101st post as a blogger and to celebrate she is having a give-away, so go and check out her blog and leave her a comment to be entered. What is she giving away, you ask...a gift card to Target or Starbucks.  So on second thought, don't comment on her post, so that I have a better chance of winning.  Just kidding...good luck!!!

Can I ask for a favor?

|
                                        PJ and his Mom, July 2007 in TN

I told you a couple weeks ago about my MIL having cancer. Well she is not doing well. She has had some trouble in the past with depression and that may be resurfacing with this recent cancer. With her chemo treatments she is very week and does not have much of an appetite. She is very shakey. (is that even a word?) So she takes medicine for that, which kind of zones her out. (this was the case at Christmas)

PJ has asked me to send her a scripture each week to lift her spirits. So I am going to.
The first scripture I have is this...

 

I have some others in mind, but I thought I would ask you ladies if you had any uplifting scriptures that I could pass along to her in the coming weeks. If you do and you don't mind passing them along to me, I would greatly appreciate it. As would my husband and his Mom.

You can leave them for me in the comments or email me at closetohomeblog@gmail.com

Thank you so much ladies. Your the best.

Turn Back Time Thursday

 

Our first family picture...2005

*please do not pay attn to my hair...it was a little crazy

for more Turn Back Time posts head over to MY JOURNEY THROUGH INFERTILITY and check out Lisa's comments.