Our summer so far....

We went on vacation to Florida with some amazing people. I'm so blessed God has placed them in my life. Love you guys!

I got a new sister inlaw, and my girl's were flower girls. Lily's 3rd wedding and Sadie's first!

We watched Daddy play softball every Monday.

Brad also got a promotion at work! We are so proud of him.

Got to swim in our kiddie pool for a couple days before the dog chewed it up. :(

We've gone swimming ALOT!

Played in the rain. After the hail storm! Lily went around picking up the hail and eating it. EWWW!

We did acrobats in the living room. These girls can jump!

We still have my sister's wedding coming up on August 7th that we are looking forward to.

Sadie's BD on August 15th. The BIG 3!!

Lily starts school on August 17th. She is getting very excited, it will be very bittersweet for me! She is growing up way to fast.

And at the end of this year we are going on a cruise with my inlaws and the girls! We are super excited. I can't wait for the girls to see the ocean!

6.10.09

WOW!! It's been forever since I've posted anything. We are enjoying our summer around here so that means lots of activities and playing. I wanted to share a few layouts that I did this last week. Hope everyone is having a great summer!!

Anna Maria Island

On Saturday we leave for Anna Maria Island in Florida. Our plane leaves bright and early at 5:40, not 6:40 like I had originally thought! We will board our plane with our friends Casey and Jessica, and Chris and Erryn. We will fly into tampa and then drive to the island. We are all looking forward to spending a week kid free relaxing and being kids ourselves! We couldn't have done this without the help of our family and friends. Thanks guys for watching our kiddos so we can go!!

We are staying in this duplex. Doesn't it look so fun! Sunday we will run in a 5k to support the Children's Academy of Southwest Florida. The rest of the week we will lay on the beach, go shopping, play games, swim in our heated pool, the guys are going to a baseball game in tampa, go on a catamaran snorkeling trip, sleep, eat, and all that fun stuff! We are sooooo excited! Here are some pictures of the island, doesn't it look lik paradise!

4.27.09

Outside my window....have the window open, nice breeze I love it!


I am thankful for...completing the relay at the OKC Memorial Marathon yesterday, it felt great!



From the kitchen...
Making some banana muffins, peanut butter balls, and whatever else I come up with today
Mon-Jambalaya
Tue-Chicken pot pie
Wed-Sandwiches
Thur-Grilled chicken, baked potatoes


I am reading...the power of a praying wife



I am hoping...that my kid's behave while we are out of town



I am creating...Hoping to finish a project I've been planning for the girls room



I am hearing...bird's chirping out the window



Around the house...Laundry, cleaning, packing us and the girls for a week



One of my favorite things...finding dishes put in the wrong places in my kitchen, this mean my husband has been doing the dishes =)



A few plans for the rest of the week...
Mon-Watching the gray's kid's, getting my baby fix, maybe softball if it doesn't get rained out
Tue-Packing for my trip, cleaning house, and taking my car to get some work done
Wed-Working, lifegroup
Thur-Finish packing
Fri-Lovin on my kid's before we leave for our trip, one hair appt., and taking the kiddos to my parent's at bedtime
Sat-Flight leaves at 6:40am for FLORIDA!!!
Sun-Running in a 5k in florida, a great way to start our vacation!!



My photo to share....

The only picture I got on my camera of yesterday. I'll have to post some more when Erryn sends me some. This is us right before our relay.

My Burden

A while back Craig did a message on Godly burdens, actually it could have been a couple of years backs. For the life of me I can't think of what it was called but he talked about our personal Godly burdens. This has stuck with me all this time and I think about it often. My personal burden is hurting people. I have such a heavy heart for those going through troubled times, a broken marriage, losing a child, or dealing with a sickness. I often lose sleep over things like these. Lately it seems that there is something like this always going on for people around me. My problem is I don't know how to deal with my burden other than praying for these people. I always want to do MORE.

What is your Godly burden?

How do you deal with your burden?

Curtain project

A quick and easy project I did for my girls room. It was super easy except I suggest measuring before you get your supplies. I ended up making two trips to hobby lobby before it was complete. =) I started with two plain black panels. I love the black because it keeps the light out of the girls room while they sleep. But I wanted to make it a tad more girly.

I started by picking a print fabric that matched the colors of their room. I wanted trim to hang down onto the black part of the curtain. I picked this plastic circle and bead trim.

You can sew the fabric and trim directly onto the panels. Or if your lazy like me just iron the rough edges of the fabric down and hot glue to the panel. Repeat by hot glueing the trim the the print fabric. That's it, it's super quick and you get a unique look that can't be found in the stores.

My plan of action

My last post got me to thinking about what steps I need to take to follow through with my realization. So I've decided to make a list of the things I need to change so I don't fall right back into the same habits. I would love for whoever else that struggles with this to do the same.

1. Develop a stronger relationship with Jesus

2. Go to scripture when I feel Satan attacking me(I would love for anybody that comes across scriptures about self-image to send them my way)

3. Stop letting the number on the scale dictate the way I feel about my body

4. Eat healthy so I can take care of my temple God has given me(at all times)

5. Do not and I mean NEVER say anything negative about my body.

6. Accept compliments(especially from my husband)

That's all I've got for now, I will keep writing them out as I think of them. If you have a list you can leave a comment or e-mail it to me at aliruhman@yahoo.com

Lessons From Children

I had one of those moments today that made me feel like I failed as a mom. Over the weekend Lily said something to someone that wasn't very nice. Today as I was telling Brad about it he said, you know where she learned that? I was like where? DUH from you, he said! In that moment when he said that, I could just feel my heart sink I didn't even realize that she was picking this up from me. It was just little comments that I make almost daily that she has heard me say.

Are you wondering what she said? I'm not going to tell you exactly what she said but I have taught her through my bad self image the word FAT. How awful is it that already at the age four I have started teaching her a bad self image. Because pretty soon she is going to start looking at herself and saying those same things I say. After having my eyes WIDE open today I am no longer going to say those things about myself. I want more for my children, I want them to know that they are beautiful in Jesus's eyes and it doesn't matter what their outside apperances are. I want them to go through life knowing that they are beautiful inside and out.

So please pray for me as I try and change my whole outlook on myself, I know that God can work on my heart in this area. I also challenge anyone else who struggles with this especially if you have little ears listening to everything you say. Watch what comes out of your mouth because they pick up on everything! Let's try and speak positive words into our children's life so they grow up knowing the truth.

1 Peter 3:3-4 (New Living Translation)
Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

"Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly."

~ St. Francis De Sales

"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."

~ Unknown Author

Happy Anniversary!!

Exactly six years ago today I married my best friend. I can't imagine what life would be like if I hadn't. I'm one lucky girl. Not only do I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend, I got two beautiful little girls in the last six years. Thanks baby for a great six years and many more to come! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!

Outside my window...looks like it will be another pretty day

I am thinking...all I want to accomplish this week

I am thankful for...my weekend with my family, sad when they are over

From the kitchen...
Mon-Jambalaya
Tue-Pork chops
Wed-Sandwiches & Soup
Thur-Chicken Meatloaf
Fri-Tacos
Sat-Hot Dogs
Sun-Creamy beef noodle casserole

I am reading...Biggest loser fitness program

I am hoping...to lose 10lbs before my vacation in May

I am creating...actually got a layout done this weekend, need to do alot more!

I am hearing...quiet, the girls are sleepy this morning

Around the house...organizing office, hall closet, and sorting through girls winter clothes.

One of my favorite things...Coffee, which i've switched out for green tea this morning. Trying to cut some calories from my creamer :(

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Mon-all my family girls coming over for lunch, work later this afternoon
Tue-Watching some friends kiddos
Wed-Work, and maybe lifegroup(No childcare this week)
Fri-Taking the day off, having a Lily and Mommy day
Sat-Family day
Sun-Abbi's wedding shower

Decorating dilemma

Ok I'm not much of a decorater. As you can see we have this entertainment center that houses our tv. I have no idea what to put in it. You see I don't want to put our monsterous dvd collection in there because it has glass doors and I think that would look tacky. I also don't want to put all our books in there for the same reason. So my question to all you would be what would you do with this?

Also as you can see in the first picture the wall above looks very bare. I'm scared to hang anything on my walls for fear of it looking stupid and having nail holes everywhere. I was originally thinking a clock but now i'm not sure. I think it would have to be a pretty good sized one. Anybody have any ideas? Please help!!

Silly Sadie

Remember me telling you yesterday how Sadie is my comedian? Well yesterday after a rough day of discipline, both girls had to get spankings. Lily went first and when it was Sadie's turn she came up to me and said "I like spankings", then I proceed to give her a spanking and she says "oooohhh that tickles". I gave her 4 spankings and each time she said "that tickles". I tried so hard to keep a straight face and give her my best lecture but I just couldn't. All four of us were laughing so I think they might have missed the whole point of the spankings! These picture truly express her personality and her silliness!!

3.10.09

Here is what we've been up to lately.
The girls love riding their scooters around in the driveway. On this particular day Sadie had just woken up so was not in picture taking mood. :)
On Sunday they wanted to ride the scooters to the park, we ended up carrying them most of the way!

This is the day Nana brought them their house warming present. New comforters and pillows! They were so proud of their new bed! I think they were even more excited that Nana climb to the top bunk with them.

This is a fabric I found online the fabric designers name is Patty Young. Check out her blog here and all the cute stuff she makes. I love all the cute little dresses. I had four small canvas's and decided to cover them in her fabric. They turned out really cute, and of course Lily had to be in the picture. :)

Here is some cute pictures I took of the girls this week. I have a frame that needed some picture so these are some that I'm using. Except the ones I printed are in black and white.

The picture on the bottom is about the only good one I got of Sadie. The top one is how most of them turned out! She is my comedian.

I got the sweetest pictures of Lily. She is growing up so fast and her sweet little personality is shining through.

I just love sweet sister pictures. Most of them they were being silly but that's how they act most of the time! I'm just glad they love each other so much.

That's about it for now. I'm over here today Christi's 2 Cents go check it out!!

I'm still here sorta....

We got moved into the new house a couple of weeks ago. I'll post pics soon! I'm just taking a break for awhile until I feel like life is more normal.(Is there ever such a thing?)

2.10.09

A day late but that's Ok!!

Outside my window...It looks cloudy hope it doesn't rain!

I am thinking...about taking a break from packing today and get out of the house to do
something fun for a bit

I am thankful...for all my wonderful friends and family who made my birthday special yesterday

From the kitchen...trying to use up all the food I have around here so I don't have to move alot of it. It should be interesting!

I am reading...yet again nothing....

I am hoping...this week goes by fast I am anxious to move into our new house

I am creating...notta

I am hearing...the girls watching backyardigans and quietly talking about which ones are there
favorites

Around the house...boxes boxes boxes

One of my favorite things...cuddling with my sweet girls

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Mon-we had a wonderful dinner at mom's and dad's
Tue-need to get out of the house
Wed-Work, lifegroup
Thur-finish up packing
Fri-close on our house 9am
Sat-big moving day
Sun-unpacking and a birthday party for two precious little friends of the girls

Please join in with Peggy and others here.

2.2.09

Outside my window...No sun. I'm ready for some sun!

I am thinking...about so much, my mind is on overload right now

I am thankful for...no ice or snow

From the kitchen...

Mon. Roast/carrots/pot., broccoli
Tue. Chicken and broccoli casserole, salad
Wed. Potatoe soup, Cheese toast
Thur. Tamale pie, zuchinni
Fri. Tilapia, Turkey brats(for Brad) Sweet potatoes.
Sat. Taco soup
Sun. Grilled chicken, zuchinni sticks

I am reading...right now just my bible, I just can't seem to focus on any books right now

I am hoping...my girls won't be cranky today!

I am creating...I got 1 1/2 pages finished over the weekend. Also need to finish up a hat and flower that someone ordered.

I am hearing...Letter Factory, Great DVD

Around the house...Finishing up packing. It's looking pretty bare around here. I miss the homey feeling.

One of my favorite things...sleep, i just love to sleep

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Mon. Sanding and painting some furniture, work
Tue. Grocery store, packing
Wed. Work, Lifegroup
Thur. Packing
Fri. Work
Sat. Church
Sun. Nothing yet



Please join in with Peggy and others here.

1.26.09

Outside my window...Cold and not sunny at all

I am thinking...How much I need to get done in the next two weeks

I am thankful for...fresh hot coffee this morning

From the kitchen...Brad made our menu this week, can you tell? haha
Monday - Steak, mashed sweet pot., yellow squash
Tuesday - Pork chops, salad
Wednesday - Brat's,baked potatoes
Thursday - Brocolli/chicken casserole, fruit
Friday - Taco Chili
Saturday - eggs, sausage, and fruit
Sunday - Roast, carrots, potatoes

I am reading...Nothing I just can't get into anything. I'm going to try and make myself sit down and read a couple more chapters in Rich Dad Poor Dad this week.

I am hoping...to run my errands today without freezing to death

I am creating...Nothing, but get to scrapbook at my friend Nichole's on Friday!! Yay so excited.

I am hearing...Mickey mouse clubhouse the girls are watching

Around the house...Packing, packing, packing and more packing. My house looks very bare.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Monday - tons of errands, grocery store, bank, etc.....
Tuesday - Packing and hopefully attending Parenting Q & A
Wednesday-Busy day at work and lifegroup
Thursday- Packing, parent's house to talk about rich dad poor dad.(which I need to read)
Saturday - Work, church
Sunday - I think it's the super bowl, am I right?


Join in at Peggy's blog.

Shopping

Since the weather was so nice yesterday my girls spent alot of time outside. They decided to get there grocery carts, purses, and babies and go shopping. The funny part of this story is something Lily said(I'll come back to that).

There is a joke in my family that Lily reminds us of my sister Anna and Sadie reminds us of Katie. If you knew my sister's when they were younger or my daughter's you will probably see the resemblance. See Anna was always a bit dramatic, very girly and always into princesses. Katie on the other hand was more of a tom boy that was always getting into mischief. The best way to describe her was a pest. This describes my girl's to a T.

So anyway back to the funny part. After I took their pictures because they are just stinkin cute. Lily say's to Sadie " I'm Aunt Anna and your Aunt Kate-Kate. So off went Aunt Anna and Aunt Kate-Kate with their babies and purses to go shopping!

Fried Rice

Beef or Ground Turkey Fried Rice

3 Scallions

2 garlic cloves

1/2 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey

1 tsp. chinese five spice

1 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. red pepper

10 oz. frozen mixed veggies

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 TB Soy sauce

cook ground beef or ground turkey. add scallions and garlic and cook until soft. add seasoning, and veggies. cook until veggies are tender. Add rice and soy sauce and cook until heated through.

1 1/4 cup serving = 4 WW points

This is a super easy recipe that can be cooked really fast if you cook your brown rice ahead of time. I usually double the recipe so we have leftovers for lunch.

My Night Owl

My Sadie is a night owl. We have the hardest time getting her to go to bed. It takes her anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 hours to fall asleep. She did not get this from me! We have been trying different things to see what works with her and have not found anything yet. The other night we put her down around 8:30, by 10 it had gotten really quiet so we thought she had finally gone to sleep. Just a few minutes later she appeared in the doorway wearing her bikini swimsuit(pictured below) and said (" I'm going swimming at Mimi's"). We tried with everything in us to keep a straight face and let her know that we were dissapointed that she wasn't obeying us. But just look at her! She is so stinkin cute that we just started cracking up and of course I had to take a picture.

The point of this post is to not only show you how adorable my little night owl is, but to also get some advice from other parent's out there. Have you dealt with a night owl like Sadie? How do you get them to go to sleep?

1.19.09

Outside my window...Not bad out...the girls already jumped on the trampoline this morning.

I am thinking...How excited I am to move into our new house. We close on Feb. 17th!!

I am thankful for...My hubby and all the hard work he put into going to school with two kids and getting a great job.

From the kitchen...

Monday: BBQ chicken pizza/Salad
Tuesday: Burgers/sweet pot./Zuchinni
Wednesday: Sandwiches/Soup
Thursday: Sausage Breakfast casserole
Friday: Going to the moore's bringing enchilada's
Saturday: Steak/Mashed sweet pot./green beans
Sunday: Creamy beef noodle casserole/ yellow squash

I am reading...A time to embrace....still haven't gotten very far. Rich dad poor dad. I just haven't been motivated to read or had time.

I am hoping... House inspection goes well

I am creating...Nothing...need to scrapbook bad!!!

I am hearing...Never let go by David Crowder on itunes. Love this song so much!

Around the house...Need to shampoo the carpet

One of my favorite things...Homemade granola with yogurt and blueberries

A few plans for the week...

Monday: Work
Tuesday: Grocery store, house inspection
Wednesday: Work, lifegroup
Thursday: Nothing
Friday: Work, Moore's house to plan our beach vacation!!
Saturday: All day homebuyers class for a grant, church
Sunday: Nothing


If you would like to join in on the FUN, visit Peggy's Daybook!

1.12.09

Outside my window...Sunny and cold


I am thinking...about how we might make a offer on a house today. a little nervous/excited!



I am thankful for...my sweet friends. We threw a baby shower for one of our friends yesterday I just love all those girls!



From the kitchen...Today I'm trying to make a two week menu instead of just one week. We'll see how that goes. This is what I have so far.


Monday: Chicken Stew
Tuesday: Ground turkey fried rice, edamame
Wednesday: Sandwiches & soup
and that's all I have so far. Looks like I need to get to work!


I am reading...a time to embrace by karen kingsbury only have read a couple of chapters so far. Also reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad" a book that my whole family is reading and then discussing. I have only read one chapter in that book also, Brad has been hogging it.



I am hoping...For a busy week at work



I am creating...Nothing!



I am hearing...My girls singing



Around the house...Trying to touch up paint around the house but it's not coming out like I would have hoped. I'm not sure what to do about that.



One of my favorite things...a clean and organized house



A few plans for the rest of this week....


Monday: Meeting with our realtor
Tuesday:Grocery store
Wednesday: Work and lifegroup
Thursday: Nothing yet
Friday: Work
Saturday: Work, Miss Briley's 3rd BD party, and church
Sunday: Nothing yet

Here is my photo to share this week. Lily at her 4th birthday party at Incredible pizza! Abbi made her princess cake and she just loved it!





To join in on the fun every Monday, visit Peggy's Daybook Blog.

Proud Momma

Lily wrote her name this morning for the first time ever! I'm so proud of her. She thinks she is so big now that she is four year old!

Ruhman family update

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy new year. We have had so much fun with Brad's time off but am ready to get back into the swing of things. We have had so much going on in the last few weeks I haven't read any one's blog or posted anything on mine.

Tomorrow my sweet baby girl turns four! I can't believe she is growing up so fast. Here is a sweet little picture when she was just a few days old. She came out with a head full of dark hair and dark skin. Not exactly what I thought she would look like but she was a beautiful baby.


We have recently started house hunting which has been exciting and scary all at once. We probally saw around eight houses on Tuesday and I can't hardly remember all of them. But only one house really stuck out to me so we are going to go look at it again sometime this weekend or next week.

Brad had his end of the year salary adminstration and we are so blessed he got a raise and he still has his job. It wasn't much but we are just relieved he got something and most importantly still has a job.

We both are so thankful for what God has blessed us with in 2008 we have learned so many life lessons and grown in our relationships with God and each other. We are looking forward to what God has in store for our family in 2009.