Belton Baseball.... So Much Fun!

Well, the kiddos just left to go home, and I'm at the house left pondering what to do mixed with smiling about what we all did today. Today, we played the Belton Family Baseball Game....... kinda. Scott, Evan, Izzy, and I got out in the yard in our "goof-off" clothes and played baseball together for a while. I played softball for years back in the day, but both of the kids have no idea (even though I just randomly had my OWN glove...ha). It was hilarious to listen to Evan give me pointers and tips on how to catch the ball. I love it, because that lets me know that he is learning and taking in what he is taught by his Daddy and coaches. And you know what? The little guy is a pretty much on the road to being the next Chipper Jones... after I explained to him who Chipper was.....ha. And it was quite a confidence booster to hear Evan tell Scott that I am a "way better" baseball player than Daddy is. Although Evan did admit that Scott might not be "really trying," because that's just what Daddies do when they play with their kids. :) He's a smart little fella.

Izzy, on the other hand, is at that age where she wants to play sports, but she doesn't think it's the "girly" thing to do, so she "participates." By participates, I mean she didn't want to ruin her nails so she spent half the game attempting to catch the ball with no glove on (Ahh... you threw that at ME!) and we had to be careful where we hit the ball for the chance that she may be laying on her back... sunning. ha! She is growing up so fast, but I still see that sporty little girl come out. Particularly when she was doing everyone's favorite part, batting of course. And she "absolutely could not" bat unless Daddy gave her his sunglasses... Another necessity to complete the cool look. She is such a sweet little girl!

We all took turns batting, and we only had one almost mishap, when I almost took out the back window of my car, which the kids thought was HILARIOUS! Scott gave me those "I'm glad they thought that was cute but you know that would have been bad" looks, and we were back playing again. The weather today was beautiful, with everyone in their shorts and t-shirts except me who opted for hot pink pants. They were perfect for the celebratory run I did when I hit what I know would have been a world record... right into the field in front of the house. When we were finished, I promised Evan that I would try to buy a few more baseballs so I could help Daddy practice so he would be better next time we played, and then we all went back inside for some grape drink to cool off.

All in all, the day was great! I arranged junk in the house while they all had "Daddy Time" exploring in the woods and camping in the yard, yes during the day. They set up a "campfire" (NEVER LIT!) and I think Izzy brought every art supply she has to fill the tent. So, Evan was satisfied with his adventure tent while Izzy had her classroom inside it. The day could not have been better, and I wish we all could do it all over again. The only thing I would add is a bigger bat, because Evan's T-Ball bat was so tiny! Until next time....

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of our wonderful day!

Much To Write, Too Little Time!

Hello Strangers! I have so much to fill you in on, but I just have not had ANY free time lately. If it makes you feel any better, I mentally write my blog posts all the time on my way home.  Transferring them from my overflowing and underpaid brain is another story. So, just be patient please! I want to fill you in on details about our wedding, my new job transfer, recent medical issues, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and so many other recent happenings! Oh, and this is my little princess, my baby girl, JoJo. Isn't she precious!? Check back soon...

Halloween Crafts!

 As I said earlier, we had a Halloween Party at the house recently. When I went to take my Halloween decorations out of the closet, I realized I had a small problem... This was my first Halloween Party and I didn't have any! So, I went to work making most of our decorations. Here is what we ended up with.






This skull was on the spare bathroom counter. I bought it from Michaels, and it was brown like paper mache.  I painted two coats of acrylic paint and let that set. Next I glued tin foil in his mouth for teeth... Otherwise known as a Grill...haha. Last I free-hand painted the design, lips, and eyebrows on the skull. I have to say, I was pretty surprised with the final outcome!




All three wood items in this picture were initially brown wood when I bought them. I put two coats of paint on each item, and then painted whatever words came to mind when I was writing.  The left coffin says BEWARE, the the right coffin says HERE LIES JOHN, which I found to be humorous, simply because this was placed on the back of the toilet...in the John.



We're Engaged!

Quite a lot has happened in our little world since the last time I blogged.  I mentally blog all the time, but I have more difficulty actually remembering to take twenty minutes every now and them to catch up on everything.  FIRST of all (because I am way too excited still!), Scott asked me to marry him at our Halloween Party on October 30, 2010! It was so exciting, and I still do not believe that I am going to be a WIFE, and I am going to have a HUSBAND in about five months. It sounds crazy, but every time I look at my BEAUTIFUL ring on my left hand, I lose all concentration, and my mind just goes into wedding planning/shut down mode.

When Scott asked me to marry him, we were hosting a Hallloween Party with some work friends and family members at our (future) house.  We were winding down the night, and Scott suggested we all play campfire games, which I thought was a way for him to stall and keep people from leaving. Nevertheless, somplete with Halloween spirit and dressed as the mom from Harper Valley PTA, I agreed to play a "question" game with Scott.  He asked our friend Sandra a question, and she just did not cooperate, so he told her to sit down and he called me up to the plate. At this time, he proceeded to ask me my question: "Will you marry me?" I was crying, laughing, smiling, and burning my legs in the campfire, but I was totally surprised and glowing for the rest of the night! And best of all, the kids were able to be there and they were right up front in the action.  He had spoken to both Evan and Izzy about how they felt about their Daddy remarrying, and they both were all smiles and so supportive, which is a true blessing! Not only am I blessed to have an amazing fiance who treats me like a QUEEN, but I also have two awesome future step-children who love for me to spoil them!That night, after all of our guests left, we all four just sat on the couch and looked at my ring, talking about the engagement continuously, and we just let it sink in that we were about to form a solid family in a few months!

So, we have set a date, and we are so excited. I have so much to plan, but I can't seem to find the time to do much planning right now... but don't worry. When I set my mind to planning this wedding, I'm going to make sure everything is beautiful, but also unique and fun for everyone. This is our big day, but there are so many people putting their time and money into this event to make this our special day, so in a way, it's everyone's big day! I thank Jesus every single day that he sent me such a sweetheart!

Alabama National Fair!

Well, Scott and I took both of the kiddos, Evan and Izzy, and my little brother, Micah, to the fair Saturday night. One 12 year old, one 10 year old, and one 7 year old at the crowded fair with 9000 different people who are obviously more engrossed in their polish sausage than finding the start of the line, trying to walk the wrong way on the wrong side... that whole scenario equals a GREAT fair night! We had a great time, although we got separated half way through the night.  We ran into Matt, my older step-brother while we were waiting in line, and Matt, Micah, and I waited in line to enjoy a ride that Evan and Izzy did not want to ride.  While we were waiting in the extremely LOOONG line, next to the 14 year old future hookers and the Black-N-Mild couple who were WAY more engrossed in each other than being at the fair might I add, Scott took Evan and Izzy to ride a few rides around where we were in line.  We were going to ride the huge ride that was ABSOLUTELY amazing, and then we were going to meet back up with them. Or so we thought. 

After we rode the ride and found our feet again, we never saw them again for the rest of the night.  But, Scott knew I was safe with Matt and I knew he had Evan and Izzy having a great time, so we all continued to ride and we met back up at the end. Luckily, there was only about thirty minutes left until closing time.  And just in case you are wondering, I left my phone in the truck, so I could not call. Ironically, I had made this HUGE deal with the kids about the scary fair men and how creepy they can be and how the kids needed to find a police if they got separated from one of us. I even took the time to write each kid a teeny little post-it note with both of our names and phone numbers on it for them to put in their pockets and give to the police to call one of us if they got lost. It was a good thing Scott took his phone in, because my phone stayed right beside the rest of the un-used post-it notes in my purse the whole time.

While we were there, we ate a cheeseburger, corn dog, hot dog, french fries, chicken fingers, a really BIG turkey leg, a polish sausage, three sweet teas, one sprite, on pink lemonade, and two monster bags of cotton candy. We were stuffed! I think everyone kept switching food, because it was all so tasty, and we could not decide what we wanted. In the little farm section, we petted a camel, several goats, cows, a llama, and so many other things.  We saw a chicken that grew his feathers backwards, and for a minute, I laughed to myself as I thought about her laying an egg through his mouth instead of her... egg layer area. There was this one goat that had huge loppy ears, and it would steal your bag of carrots if you got close enough and got distracted. Evan was so fascinated with the baby goats and how cute they were.  Micah really enjoyed seeing the wolves, and I have to admit they were beautiful. Izzy liked petting the camel, and I think Scott just enjoyed everything.  He kept making strange noises to a goat there, and the goat would make the exact same noise right back to him.

One of many highlights of my night was when I GOT TO HOLD A MONKEY! I have always wanted to hold a monkey! I sat in a chair and the little monkey just hopped right up in my lap and put his sweet little hand over mine.  There was a photographer there, and when she flashed a five dollar bill over the camera, he would perk up straight and smile in his own little monkey way.  He knew that his Cheeze-It prize would come next, and then he let me pet him on his head. I think he was probably the cutest little animal I have ever seen... well, maybe besides my JoJo.

At the end of the night, we were fortunate enough for the fair to stay open 45 minutes longer than it was supposed to, enabling us to ride many rides without long lines.  We spent a wonderful night together, and the kids could not stop talking about how much fun they had! I have a lot of pictures, so I will post a few on here.

The Start of My Blog...In Three's!

I started writing this blog three years ago, and until today, I had written in here exactly ONE time. After editing and writing my interests and goals for this blog (for the second time), I thought I was finally ready to start blogging. Not quite. While it is unfortunate that I have not written down one single activity or aspect of my life in the past three years, I have the luxury of seeing just how much my life has changed from my first (and only) post. Three years passed, three birthdays, three boyfriends, three houses (if you count one house I never moved in to, one apartment where I for one year, and one trailer I lived in when I first moved out), three college major changes (Biology, Business Management, Criminal Justice), thirty-THREE pounds lost, and three different jobs. And I think the sad part is that I do not have physical proof of these last three years, just the memories and lessons learned along the way. For some people three years is three years with no major changes, but my years growing from 20 years old to 23 years old has been anything but normal. I hope I can keep writing this time, because who knows where I'll be if I wait until 2013.

Starting Out

When I moved off from home, I thought I knew all the questions, all the answers, and where to turn. Soon after, I realized that the real world was a place for survivors and would crush anyone with a weak link in a split second. From the time that you first pull out of that old familiar driveway to the time when you get your first bill in the mail, strange emotions are coming out of the woodwork and consuming your life. When I look back to when I first moved out, I realize how naive and stupid I must have been. So confident that life was easy and go-lucky, I failed to see the struggle that everyday life can impose. I started to notice the life my parent had provided for me growing up, and I realized that I needed to get my gears together if I was going to be successful even based on my own standards. Suddenly, my goals went from dreaming of being famous to dreaming of making a successful living for myself. I started to see how quickly life can throw you curveballs, and I realized that the only way to better yourself is to learn from struggles. Of course, struggles then were totally different struggles than they are now.

Running out of shampoo before class doesn't seen quite as significant as the toilet overflowing when you're already late for work. And, missing your favorite show because mom wasn't there to remind you took last place compared to not being able to start the car because of a dead battery or getting an outragous power bill because the heat was left on all day. I started to realize how my parents had been right about so many things in the past when I thought they were nagging me. I saw the time and love they selflessly devoted to my practices and games on the days when it took all I could do to drag myself out of bed. I wondered how single mothers cope with daily life when I could barely take care of myself. Suddenly, I was truly scared of growing up, and I longed to climb in the middle between my parents where I knew nothing but love.

I knew that I had so much to learn, and to this day, I believe that people never stop learning how to grow up no matter how old they are.