Playtime

Yesterday, Blessing & I met my friend Amy and her 2 boys at Jefferson Pointe in Ft. Wayne to play at the play area they have. They had a good time overall. Micah and Nathan were kind of overwhelming to Blessing as they like to hug her a lot and she likes her space. Something she'll have to get used to anyway when she has younger siblings and its great to be loved anyway. Amy and I had a good visit and it was great seeing them. This morning we had our Christmas Brunch for Bible Study. It was a great time of food, fellowship, and just connecting with other moms and enjoying each other and the support that we give each other. I have a big day planned today. I have a massage at 4:30 and the Biggest Loser Finale tonight at 8pm, so don't be surprised if I don't answer the phone. I will call you back during the commercials, though because you are important to me!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL... :-) Enjoy today and live intentionally!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Ride 'em Cowgirl

When I was a little girl, I had a horse. Yes, I had a real one, but I also had this one that my parents got me on springs in the house. Well, it has been passed on down to Blessing now, and she likes to ride it now. Here are a few pix of the little cowgirl!!!

Family Night Out

Saturday after Blessings nap, we headed to town to get out of the house and have some family time. We went to the mall where Daddy & Blessing played in the new play area for kids while Mommy went shopping (retail therapy) at JCPenney (after a trip to the tool department for Andy, of course). Mommy got a sweater and it looked great on her. After that we went to eat at Applebee's. It was yummy! Then it was time to head home for bathtime! Here are some family pix I took tonight after church. We attended the kids Christmas play and 3 of our neices were in it! They did great! Good job Taylor, Abby, and Sierra... you did a great job serving God tonight.

:-)

Just another pic of the happy kiddo. I am so glad she is feeling better. And we all got a good nights rest last night. Yeah!!!!!!!

When it rains......

It has been an eventful and very exhausting week. We were at my (Joys) parents last week for Thanksgiving/Christmas. Blessing did get over the flu, but was fussy a lot. She is usually a pretty happy little girl, so we knew something was off. We finally decided to leave on Saturday. She coughed all the way home and cough medicine wouldn't touch it. On Sunday, she was just as bad and didn't feel good at all. I started giving her breathing treatments because her breathing was more labored and I thought she was starting to get RAD again. On Monday, I took her to Dr. J and she was admitted into the hospital with bilateral pneumonia. They treated her with steroids, antibiotics, and breathing treatments. She had a few rough days and nights. She didn't sleep much at all on Monday night, but had a much better night Tuesday. Dr. J released her on Wednesday and we continued medicine and breathing treatments at home. Let me just say the for exhausted parents: if your child is on steroids, a parent should be able to take them too. Blessing is feeling much better and has more energy than me and b/c of the steroids, she eats like 24/7. That should let up soon though. Ahhhh..... She has now been out of the hospital for 2 days and is well on the road to recovery. Thanks for all the prayers. I am looking forward to a good night's rest tonight. Hopefully, not middle of the night breathing treatments...

Baldwin Family Christmas

We celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with my (Joy) family today. Here are a few pix...

Flu

Blessing came down with the flu about 2:32 am this morning. Hopefully, she will keep it and not share it, although I wish it were me instead so she wouldn't have to be sick. Also, Aunt Alice brought over an ornament for Blessing's Christmas tree. Despite being sick, she still thought the little bear was cute... Enjoy the pix...

Finally... Date Night!

After rounds of illness and other inconveniences, Andy and I are finally getting to go out on a date without Blessing. I love spending time with Andy! Jessie babysat for us and she had a lot of fun with Blessing. Andy and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings for the first time. It's pretty new in the Marion area and when we walked in we actually felt like we were not in Marion because the atmosphere is so different. It was nice. The food was great, too. Then we stopped at the parts store to get wipers for our Jeep. To all who don't know, stopping at the parts store seems to always be part of a date when you are dating a mechanic. Then we went to Tree of Life and looked around, but we didn't find anything the tickled our fancy, so we left empty-handed. Our last stop was IWU. We walked around the new Student Center and I told Andy some stories of my time in college. The new student center is like something you would see in an upscale part of a big city. It is "the bomb" (that's really good for you not so young people). :-) We had a great time and are looking forward to our next date. I would also like to mention that it's been 3 days since I've had any sugar or sugar substitutes. I am proud of myself and am feeling healthier, too.

First Snow of the Year....

Yes, today is the first snow of the year..... and the first time that Blessing has ever really played in the snow. And of course, she loved it. The first thing Daddy did, of course, was teach her how to eat the snow. Yeah... you guessed it, she thought it was great. That afternoon, she did an excellent job drawing a great picture for my fridge. She is soooo advanced that I can't even tell what the picture is of (ha)! I still can't figure out if she's going to be a professional snow eater or artist. Maybe I'll be able to tell you by the end of the month....

Yeah! It's Friday!!!

It's finally time.... Yes.... Blessings FIRST EVER haircut! There's before and after pix for you. Also, today was Blessing's first time out of her highchair and sitting on a big girl chair. She did really well, so the high chair is GONE!!! (Until another blessing comes along.) Anyway, since daddy had to work through lunch, we had a big girl time for lunch. We did really miss daddy, though. And I'm so happy it is Friday!

Final Fall Hurrah!!

So for lunch today I fixed my wonderful mouth-watering famous and world-renowned Chicken Marsala (Gluten-free of course)!!! I also fixed Herbed Potatoes to go along with it. It was so yummy! After lunch, Blessing and I went outside to play in the cool (more like cold) fall weather. It's supposed to really get cold after today bummer. Blessing ran around outside having a grand ole time and I took some cute pix. So thankful for heat when we got inside!! God is good ALL the time!

11/11

Yeah! It's Tuesday, besides Saturday it's my favorite day of the week because of MOMS Bible Study! This afternoon, Blessing had a ball reading and having me read to her for awhile. Then tonight, I decided to do crunches (I did 300, I know, awesome!!!). Anyway, here is a pic Andy took of Blessing doing crunches with me. She's learning great habits young!

Spa Treat

Today, we're all still under the weather and I was feeling pretty yucky. So.... Andy said to take a little time for myself while he watched Blessing. I treated myself to a mask and took a looooooong warm shower. It was wonderful. I took some pix of Andy and Blessing playing. I don't know who has more fun playing blocks: Andy or Blessing.

Apple pie

This week, we are still all recovering from this vicious cold that Blessing caught and shared with all of us. On Tuesday, Blessing and I went in to vote and then went to Bible Study. That evening, I made Andy homemade apple pie. He really liked it. Personally, I think that I'm his favorite wife. I made the pie gluten-free, so that I could eat some too. On Wednesday, Grandma Rickner took Blessing on a golf cart ride while I visited Tammy for a bit. Today, Blessing put on Daddy's socks. She looks adorable, of course! I also took a picture of what my floor usually looks like, no matter how often Blessing and I clean it - she seems to like the clutter. I've gotten used to it so I don't end up in the hospital with a broken neck.

Happy November!

Well, I'm not happy with the weather getting cold, but its supposed to be warm a few more days. Anyway, today I was working while I had a Boz the Bear video on for Blessing. I checked on her at one point, and noticed she was praying along with the video. Oh, that did my heart so much good. Sometimes you wonder if all the work, examples, and teaching you are doing will take root. Hallelujah! God is so good and faithful. We'll continue to pray for her and set the example of Christlikeness for her and watch the Lord work in her life what a Blessing!!!!!!!!!
Also some pictures of her wearing my shoes ealier in the week.

Halloween

Today we went into town, ran some errands and went out for some yummy Mexican food at La Charreada. We saw Juan and Becca there. They're getting married in April and they were dressed as a Dr and a nurse for Halloween. When we got home, Blessing played in her car outside for awhile. Then she came inside and climbed up and down, up and down........ her mountain in the living room. This girl LOVES to climb. If we had stairs, she would probably put miles on them everyday!