And lest you not forget...

Dear Erin-

This year has been one that I know you will forget in the future year.  The reason I know this is because...well you have forgotten the finer details of every year so far.  We aren't sure if it is becuase of the fast pace that you choose to run your life or an early bout of alzheimer's, but none the less writing some things down to remind yourself of 2009 is a good idea.

Don't ever forget the health of your children during this year.  How the doctor still doesn't know at least one of your children because they are so rarely unhealthy and how even if there were a medical necessity there was insurance to provide for those needs.  And never forget how your husband was able to find the medication necessary to take the pain away from his long term injury.  How he lost weight only because he was able to move again, and how even though he frustrates you at times - has been more active with the girls enjoying the pool and wrestling on the carpet with them without wincing in pain.

Please don't ever forget how you were blessed with more work than you needed at times.  Not only for yourself but for your husband as well.  For the different training opportunities that you both had to furthur your jobs and the many customers that you were blessed to have been brought your way.  This has not always been the case.  And in the grand scheme of things this has been a rather easy year financially.

Don't forget how you never had a vehicle in the shop.  There was never a need for major repair or accidents regarding a vehicle.

Don't forget how this year we didn't bury anyone in our family or group of friends and how at this very moment  you don't have to worry about a terminally ill friend or family member.

Don't forget how your children served those in need this year.  How our church provides opportunities for them to actually show others how God loves them through acts of kindness and serving.  Never forget how happy this made them and how proud you were that they were so wonderful towards others who were in need. 

Don't forget how God orchastrated the sale of a home and timing of Sean's settlement to show that even when Sean was in pain and we questioned His goodness, He had a plan.  This still remains something that you are in awe of this year.

God has been good, that is no doubt.  We don't deserve his goodness in our lives, marriage and family.  We are blessed beyond measure and give GOD the glory!

Praise Him in 2010!

Erin

It's HERE!!!!! It's HERE!!!!!

My brand spankin new hot of the presses spring/summer 10' catalog!!!!!!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and can't wait to get out and show everyone! 

http://erin.uppercaseliving.net/

Before and After

Before(literally...I think RIGHT before he started the Biggest Loser Competition)

And this was just a few minutes ago in our living room...p.s.-Sean needs new clothes, pardon the baggy jeans!

How 12 weeks can change your outlook

My husband is a fighter. 

When he was a pre-teen and teen he was an actual fighter, and his ring of choice was inside the walls of a judo studio.  I didn't know him then.

He is still a fighter.

He fought through the pain that he was in during the time that he walked on torn ligaments to ensure that our family was still provided for.  I had no idea how much pain he must have taken head on.

And he continues to fight.

On Wednesday Sean will go through another step of his recovery for his ankle injury when he undergoes a pain block. 

In the meantime he has fought through another challenge.  His very last weigh in for the local Biggest Loser competition is tomorrow morning! As of tomorrow morning he will have lost 51 pounds in 12 weeks!  Crazy right?  I know!  I had no idea just how competitive he was.  I thought I was WAY more competitive, but he has proved yet again just how much of a fighter he is.  For me...I don't honestly care if he wins!  I am the winner!  I have learned SO much about my husband during these last 12 weeks, and I am just bursting with pride!

So wish us luck!  I am taking the girls out to see the results tomorrow morning at 11:30am so that I can get some pictures!  I am THRILLED to have the opportunity to show the girls that hard work pays off, and will update when I get the results.

Snowy Days Make Me Sleepy!

But unfortunatly...snow days don't make Grace sleepy...so I must stay awake with her :)

Karen Robbins has a new blog!

About 2 1/2 years ago we were referred to a family photographer named Karen Robbins.  She is Great, wonderful, warm and caring and has an eye to get the best shots out of your family and their surroundings!  I am continually astounded by the great atmosphere in her work and how she can coax the most wonderful expressions out of her subjects!

So!  If you like photography or know Karen or her work please go check out her blog!  You will be glad you did!

http://karenrobbinsphotography.blogspot.com/

The steps that have gotten us here...

Step 1 - Sean gets injured during a routine climb(my husband used to climb and build cell towers).  He tears ligaments(2) and starts a lengthy process towards recovery.

Step 2 - September 11th, 2006 - Sean is sent home to recover from his injury and is placed on temporary disability.

Step 3 - September 12th, 2006 - A pregnancy test confirms a VERY unplanned pregnancy with an estimated due date of May 5, 2007.

Step 4 - October, 2006 - We move into a duplex which we rent for more space for our growing family.

Step 5 - March 2007 - The insurance company has exhausted its resources(so we are told) and sean is cleared for work despite the fact that his previous employer hasn't returned his calls to return.  We are PAYCHECK less...

Step 6 - April 24th, 2007 - Sean interviews, gets offered and accepts an offer to work for WT Engineering for more money than he was making prior to his injury with a company that is more stable. 

Step 7 - April 25th, 2007 - Our fifth daughter, Kendell Seana is born!

Step 8 - April 30th, 2007 - Sean starts his very first day at WT.

Step 9 - Summer 2009 - My grandma moves to Woodstock across the street from us.

Step 10 - Fall 2009 - Our insurance picks up the treatment for sean's ankle as a re-injury when he falls on uneven ground.

Step 11 - October 2009 - Our house is in foreclosure.  We have been notified that our landlord isn't paying the mortgage anymore and we sign a 2 year lease for our own protection.

Step 12 - October 2009 - Grandma and I meet with a real estate lawyer to discuss the purchase of the duplex(both sides), an offer was made for the short sale of our home and the other side of the home where grandma will move in and live!

Step 13 - November 2009 - Our lawyer for Seans workmens compensation case contacts us to tell us that we are in a position to settle the case.

Some of these things were direct blessings.  We know that.  Some of them were challenges that we have faced together and as a family.  We know that.  But what we didn't know at the time was how this tapestry was going to look while standing back and looking at the big picture.  We only saw the little piece that God was painting...and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't angry with God at times, or found myself asking Him if He really knew what he was doing, but when it is all said and done this is what these steps will have brought us to..

-the purchase of our home at a great price
-grandma living on the other side of our wall(a true blessing)
-Sean getting the treatment and pain block that he needs to be pain free
-the ability to say that we are DEBT FREE!
-a job for Sean with a stable company where he has been able to bring other guys on.
-a spunky and amazing daughter, one that will certainly live up to the "baby" role quite well!
-health insurance
-a 401k
-a stronger marriage

If these aren't things to be thankful for, I don't know what is.  We truly are blessed and the timing of this couldn't be more perfect!

James 1:17 - Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Step 1 - Making an offer on the whole house

Today an offer was made on the whole house(duplex).  I would be lying if I said that I wasn't completely nervous about the whole thing...actually...I go from resting in His promises to stressing over the details pretty quickly...maybe it is time to refill the welbutrin...

I think I would like to document this process.  If for no one else but myself.  Like some prayer journals, I like to look back on different documents, pictures, journals to see "where I was" then compared to NOW.  There is a common theme in all of these cases...and that is that God was there.  He was there and even though I often feel like I am standing up all alone being punished for mistakes that I know that I have been forgiven for, HE IS HERE!  And again...back and forth, back and forth in my head.  Stress vs. Peace.  Seems to be a common theme in my life.

Please join us in prayer that this short sale process goes smoothly.  I know that this could potentially take forever to get the banks approval and everything else in order so I am not feeling rushed by any means.  I mean...this is going to be the easiest move ever ;) AND in the end, Nana will be in the other unit!!!!  If that wasn't a God move, I don't know what is!

Update, prayer and a thought...

Yep!  I did it again!  Got too caught up in the here and now to update the blog!  Sorry!  I promise there wasn't anything TOO interesting..(oh yeah except needing stitches b/c I slammed my head in the van door...smart right?)  This is the busy season at work(but so is February so who knows!), and I have 15 parties this month.  I am thrilled with the work, customers and extra commission check on the 10th of December!  I am looking at another $1000 just in an extra check!  Enough about that.

There are things going on with our house.  As some of you know the landlord here is in the process of foreclosure.  This has been a difficult transition for me(at least mentally).  I was pretty angry that even though we faithfully paid our rent on time, the landlord CHOSE to drink our money.  I go back and forth in my mind between being angry with his feeling sorry for him because of his alcholism and being angry because I was taking the choice pretty personally.  So...to make a long story short, we have the opportunity to buy our side of the house and we ask that you join us in prayer for God's will to be played out in this transaction.  If God were to answer every prayer we have we would have my grandma on the other side of our wall(we live in a duplex) and us in ours so that we can finish the basement, make some improvements and work towards paying off our mortgage.  I think there could be some major bumps along the way(short sale bumps) but God has never let us down and I am resting in that truth!

Yesterday for the very first time EVER I thought about going back to school.  I was at Kyla's 1st grade musical and noticed that there were about 8 children on the stage who had 1 on 1 aides by their side or at least close by.  I was shocked...8 kids!  That seems like an awful lot of 1st graders who have special needs!  In fact, please tell me if you can think of 8 children in your graduating class who had special needs...because I can't.  And so the shocking part was that I first felt SO grateful that we don't face some of the challenges that those parents face.  I can't imagine how difficult that must be.  And second I actually felt a great deal of compassion for those who are willing to work with these students every day.  They are standing in the gap for the parents, and so I have been thinking about becomming a teacher, maybe an aide...I don't know.  I think I might go to the principal about it to find out exactly what would be required for certain jobs.  So...anyways...that was my "thought".  I am working out the kinks in my mind.  I am honestly too lazy to want to go back to school despite the fact that I know that I would kick a$$.  We will see...maybe this is a new journey for me. 

So...in other news, Sean is getting his pain block for his ankle!!!  This is HUGE!  It could mean permenent relief in his ankle!  Oh yeah...and he is down 30 pounds and is in 2nd place in the biggest loser competition!  He is just as annoying :) as he was when I met him! 

so...if you are still reading you deserve an award!  This was a rambling post...sorry!

Alice!

I saw this site on facebook(thanks Molly!)and had to try it out!  Alice.com is a website that sells household items.  Garbage bags, laundry soap, nail polish remover, and SO much more!  I thought I would search the site and see just how much it would cost to get the things that I knew we needed for the rest of this month.  I bought 21 items and it cost me $48.89.  My items included some larger quantity things(toilet paper, paper towels) and some things that I bought specifically the brand that I was used to(toilet bowl cleaner, laundry soap), so I think that overall the cost was VERY comparable to Walmart if not better.  Granted, you could certainly get some of these items when they are on sale and the price would probably be lower, but the great thing about Alice is that they apply any existing web coupons that they have found to items in your cart!  There are also great clearances and items that they have put on sale as well. 

After placing my first purchase yesterday morning and receiving the box this afternoon with ALWAYS FREE SHIPPING(29 pound box mind you!), I decided to look again today for coffee and fake sugar(aka splenda) and was thrilled to find coffee on clearance!!!!  I also found crystal light on clearance! 

My only complaint is that I didn't go through a referral.  If I had I would have scored a $10 credit on my future purchase.  I wish I had known that!  So if you are interested in checking this awesome site out, please feel free to use my referral to get your $10 credit. http://www.alice.com/referral/50088B40

And if you have questions please let me know!