Not-So-Sunday Find!

Art Description:
The Good News of Salvation! “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound Isaiah 61:1

So I stumbled upon this artist today. He is amazing! I love abstract art, but his has Biblical inspirations behind each peace! He is an amazing witness to the art community! Just thought I'd share! http://www.marklawrenceart.com/

Lateset Pics of Addison

Daddy & Addi at Chuckee Cheese

Memorial Day With Cousin Caleb!

Pa and Addison at the Wild Seed Farm

The Pressures of Blogging

You know when something happens, or you have an amazing moment either where you begin to understand a situation you are in, or there is an incredible amount of emotion that needs to pour out?

No words... No eloquent way of describing this moment... Just me understanding the thoughts that have raced through my mind, the things that have weighed so heavy on my heart... and until I put them into words, I feel disconnected and still uneasy...

This is my problem. I yearn to write... to get things off my chest... to be completely honest with myself and God... but I sit down to share, and I hit a dead end.

Maybe I don't have enough time to write everything I am feeling...
Maybe I am overwhelmed with all the emotions I want to share, and don't know where to begin...
Maybe I feel I wont give justice to what I am writing about, the subject deserving more than just random thoughts from Tami...
Maybe I feel I don't have it completely figured out...

Whatever the reason, the hesitation, I have been writing "easy" posts if you will. No depth, no emotion...

That's why I love posting pictures! It's easy!

This is a start! I will make an effort to blog about things that are actually meaningful to at least me, that is why I started a blog in the first place!

Just don't expect more than one a week! (you know who you are!)

The Zoo

The Zoo Was Fabulous!

It totally lived up to my expecatations except for a few slow walkers and too many heat complaints! We are in Houston, yeah, it's hot!


For some reason I remember it bigger, I'm glad its not, but crazy enough I kinda felt like "that's it"? I know Addison on the other hand was totally overwhelmed with every moment being filled with a new experience! We started off in the Aquarium, she was so excited staring into the glass as fish passed by! She screamed and ran in place to show her enthusiasm!


Next, it was onto the birds... not so cool... and the hooved animals... again not real exciting, but Addison pressed on intently, like she new there was something amazing ahead!


We got to the Childrens' Zoo which was probably the best part! They have a small water park Addison would have enjoyed if we had her bathing suit, and they have a petting zoo full of sheep. There is a little covered park area and other random animals in this part as well.

So, below is Addison checking out one of God's other beautiful creechers!

"How you doin'?"

They were both totally flirting with each other! Daddy didn't see it, thank goodness!

We were sure to see the elephants and giraffes. The monkeys were okay, but anything you have to try to find in a cage, loses our attention pretty quickly!

BTW- the gift shop is great too!!

We were all exhausted and ready for a nap by noon! Josh and I have decided to make this a yearly tradition!

~Thanks Ashlee~

Oh Yeah, I meant to personally thank Ashlee for helping me get out of the mundane! I am sorry if any of you are still there, but try to spice up your page! Ask Ashlee if you need help!

It's the Weekend!

I am so excited the weekend is here! Not that I had a bad week, just a full one! Saturday we are going to the Houston zoo! That's right, Addison's first time at the zoo! Are we crazy for taking her at such a young age? She is only 16 months, but she is so observant and interested in the world around (except for when it comes to learning her countries)! She loves animals (she calls most of them puppy) and she has been learning names and sounds, so what a perfect weekend event, especially since the weather is supposed to be wonderful (still hot, but no rain) and she gets to share this new experience with her Mimi, Abuelita and Papa Joe! Can't wait to share the pictures! Have a great Memorial day weekend!

The Office

I love my job! There are so many cool things about what I do, I plan on sharing them periodically! Today, you are going to get a look into where I work! Yes, about 1/3 of the time I am out on job sites or meeting with vendors, but the other 2/3's I am here... in the building shown below!

This is not your typical office building! That is why I love it! It is an old warehouse conversion, there is a residence, architect's office and another office that I have not fgured out exactly what they do... and Croix Custom Homes! We are right off of Main street just past the Univeristy of Houston downtown Campus (Just in case someone wants to bring lunch!!!). About 3 minutes from Minute Maid Park.

This is kinda embarassing, but its' my desk! Guess I was busy the day I took the picture! Excuse the mess! We actually just put another little table behind my desk to give me some more work space... I promise it's not always like this. Half the time I am in the showroom (not pictured) with buyers or putting together the Spec houses.

Later, I will post some pictures of our current projects!

I know you can't wait! Thanks for acting interested!

Pics From Mother's Day

Thought I'd share some pictures from our trip to Oklahoma for Mother's day. It was hard not having mom for the occasion, but it was so good to share this day together. I am incredibly blessed with a wonderful family!

Here are all the kiddo's! It was pretty hard to get a good one!

Me, Josh and Addison

Dad, and the Wilfong kids
(miss you mom)

Donut Hole Theif

This morning I decided to treat myself to donut holes! Yes, there is a Shipley's right next to Addison's school, and every day I pass by thinking "I'd like a donut, but maybe someone brought them to work today", and every day, there are never donuts waiting for me at work... so I was tired of getting my hopes up and being let down... that is why I treated myself today!

Upon arriving at work, I am greeted by our office cat. This happens pretty much on a daily basis, but today she wanted me to share what-ever was giving off that heavenly scent from within the paper bag. I sat down and shooed her away, but she wouldn't leave! She really thought I was going to share my donuts!

Leave it to this crazy kitty to get what she wants on her own! I went to go check the fax machine and when I got back, found her with her head and paw in the bag fishing out a donut hole. I was too late grabbing my camera and taking a picture of the kitty thief in action, but I sure did get one of her enjoying one of MY donut holes... Guess I will have to get a full donut next time- donut holes are the perfect size and weight for kitty-theifs that like donuts!

Reason #237 to have a kid

So there are many perks to having kids. Of coarse, the overwhelming love towards another human being and their love reciprocated is a wonderful feeling, as well as the pride in their achievements big or small... but there are other little things you don't exactly think about before the baby is out of the tummy. No I am not talking about the tax deduction for children, I am talking about the fact that most restaurants have a "kids eat free" night one day of the week! This is the best! I don't know why I am just now figuring this out. As a full-time worker, I don't go home and cook. I hate dishes, and honestly I hate cooking in my tiny kitchen with no counter space... so needless to say, we eat out quite a bit!
Last night, Josh and I enjoyed dinner on the patio at Ninfas. We were enjoying the evening when Josh looked up at the marquis and found that Addison would be eating for free that night. He looked at the children's menu and decided she would probably like the chicken fingers.

We liked the chicken fingers in addition to our shared plate of fajita nachos (Addi enjoyed them too)!

I need to figure out all the restaurants that have this deal, and what nights it occurs- dinner plans now depend on where and when Addi (and mommy & daddy) can eat free!!

Growing Up

Addison seems to be doing new things on a daily basis! I like to think of her as being the smartest 15 month old ever! Her vocabulary is impressive and even her gibber-gabber is so matter-of-fact, I should completely understand what she is saying! She says the basics- mommy, daddy, ball... she says eye, nose, puppy, shoe, bow, pa, Ashlee, bird, belly button and of course, the word "no". That one is not so cute! It is so funny to see her personality coming out, except sometimes it seems she could be hitting those terrible 2's a little early! Yikes! She is so independent, doesn't like help, or to be told "No". Her favorite thing right now is to sit on the dishwasher (pulled down) and eat there or take out her spoons and bowl and stir the air! It makes it a little difficult to work around, but its just so darn cute! She has a Dora chair that her Abuelita and Papa Joe gave her when she was a new born. She now loves to sit in it and watch TV with mommy and daddy, and maybe sit and have a snack... she's so big!




It's crazy how fast they really do grow up! Josh and I would get annoyed when people told us that early on... we thought "yeah, yeah, the typical response from someone with kids of their own". Who knew that we would be that annoying couple telling others "They grow up so fast, I can still remember when..."

Defeated by a Frustrating Routine

Why does if feel that once you have accomplished something HUGE (something you can put a big fat check next to on your to-do list and never have to see it again), you are just waiting for the next big thing to come along and overtake your life again? This seems to be a common pattern in my life! I don't know if will ever end! I used to get excited when I completed a project- that overwhelming sense of accomplishment was something to really look forward to! But now, it doesn't come as often. This happened, or didn't happen after the official ending of a busy, productive 2 weeks. I was able to complete my personal and business taxes (if you saw my record-keeping system you would understand how big this is!) and my dad's taxes AND a board project for a builder I work for on the side. All while working my regular job and taking care of Addison while daddy was away. I guess spelling it out like I just did makes me feel a little better about it all! But for some reason, I am just ready for another project of some sort to consume my time and frustrate me all over again... How do I change this routine? I am open to suggestions!

I'm so glad you're home!

Josh is home!

2 weeks of girl time, we were ready for Josh to be home! I know Addison missed daddy. She repeated his name quite often. Sometimes while looking out a window, it was almost as in a sad story of a little girl wondering if she would ever see her father again! I tried to explain that Daddy was away and would be home very soon, but who knows what exactly she understood mommy to say...

I missed Josh too! He doesn't believe me when I say that. He thinks I just missed his help, which I did, but ultimately I just missed him being here. I love my relationship with Josh. I love our time together, how we can just hang out, and its just as special as a romantic date. I feel like I can be brutally honest with him, and usually dont have to worry about feeling dumb. I love coming home to him after a long day of work and traffic.

Just so you know Josh, I do miss you when you're gone... not just your help!

Easter 2008

I know, I am a little behind with this post, seeing how Easter was a week ago, but I have been having these thoughts since before the Holiday, and have been waiting until I have enough time to write exactly what I want!

So this Easter was pretty neat! I had always dreamed of doing the Easter traditions with my own kids and how much fun it would be. Buying a basket and filling it with goodies, dressing the little one up, looking oh so precious and teaching her how to find eggs, put them in her basket and move on to the next! She was so funny to watch! Since Addi doesn't really like to walk in the grass, she would point to an egg, like she expected someone to go and pick it up for her! She didn't much care what was inside the egg (until she realized what was actually in there), she liked the fact that she could shake it and it would make a cool noise!

I had a realization myself this Easter! Not that every other Easter hasn't had significance in my life, b/c lets face it, I experience the need of Easter on a daily basis! The need for Christ's blood to cover my sins, my stupidness... Maybe realization is a bad way to put it... I was enlightened... Well anyways, I really understood the importance of Easter first hand. It is because of Jesus' death on the Cross that we celebrate this Holiday called Easter, it was because of His death on the Cross that I have any kind of HOPE- HOPE that my mom is in a much better place, HOPE that she is with Him now, HOPE that I get to see her again someday! And b/c of that HOPE, I have PEACE. This Amazing Grace that God has given us, this Sacrifice, has redeemed my mom!! Thank you Jesus! I have hope!

I'd Like to Give a Shout Out!

In honor of 2 of my greatest friends on their birthday~

I hope that in your lifetime you get to experience TRUE friendship the way I have! I truly believe that God has sent me the Most Wonderful friends in the world! Yes, you should be jealous!
What is TRUE friendship? I don't have eloquent words to describe it, but I do have experiences that prove my friends know exactly what it is! I don't know how I got so lucky, but I am so very Thankful for every one of you!
The true friend test!
1. Have your friends taken care of your children day after day, without expectations of returning the favor
2. Have your friends taken care of your pets for 3 weeks straight?
3. Have your friends driven 3 hours to come see you just for a moment when you needed them most and then had to drive back 2 hours later?
4. Have your friends prepared meals for you on several occasions?
5. Have your friends set aside their own emotions/feelings to be strong for you?
6. Have your friends lifted you up in prayer?
7. Have your friends called you even in an awkward situation to ask how you are REALLY doing?

If you say "No" to all of the above, you need some new friends!
I have learned so much from my girlfriends, I hope I can make the same impact on my friends' lives!
Happy Birthday Ash & Ber

To be continued...

Where to begin... If you know me well (which most of you reading this probably do), you know that I have had a rough past month and a half with the loss of my mother. So many new thoughts and realizations run through my head, thoughts I believe God has given me to help me understand, comfort me, and to grow in Him. I had a really hard time accepting God's will for my mom, as most people do in death situations. I actually understand what it's like to be so angry with God that I don't want Him to interfere in my life. I had a great life, almost perfect, and in an instant, God decided to throw me trial that I never imagined facing. It still doesn't feel real, but I have to remind myself on a daily basis that it is.

Where am I going with this? You will see over the course of time!!

Ready. Set. Blog!

Well, here I am!! I know this has been long awaited for by a few of my friends... huh, little weird! It's like I have stage fright! I'm afraid of disappointing you, not performing as well as you may expect. What if I am uninteresting... such pressure in the blog-world! Hopefully I will meet all expectations... actually I don't care if I meet expectations! I decided to do this, not to fit in with my friends who have blogs (okay maybe just a little), but because I wanted a way to express my feelings, serious or silly! Hopefully I am better about keeping up with this than with myspace!! Here we go!