Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Awesome Sweet Giveaways!!

Say what?

Awesome sweet giveaways - no way?!?

It's totally 100% true!  

And the best part - you donate just a tiny bit of money - money you'd blow at McDonalds or Walmart in a nanosecond - and this money does something BIG!

That's right this money brings orphans home - to their waiting families!!

Go HERE & donate now and check out the awesome prizes you can win!


I even donated this necklace - you know you want a piece of Ollie Faith Designs around your neck!


Monday, November 28, 2011

Be The Change

Hey guys!  It's been awhile since I've posted about my fitness journey.

I wanted to share with you my new pictures because I am excited about my progress!  As of today I'm down 24.5 pounds and 23.5" since I started in July.


With Ollie's heart battle, I didn't care about my own personal health, and I do think that's completely normal as a Mama.  However, I quickly saw after she was fixed how bad I had let myself go and it honestly made me sad.  So I did something about it.

I threw the excuses out of the window after a week of hearing my negative complaints coming out of my mouth.  I'm busy.  I have 3 kids.  I can't find the time.  I love junk food...but those were all excuses because I did find the time to watch all my favorite television show, and I was aware of everything going into my mouth & later my butt.

So I committed to get success.  I now workout about 6 days a week.  I did TurboFire for 10 weeks and I'm into week 9 of P90X.  I also drink Shakeology once a day - it's amazing stuff!

The thing is that if I can do it, anyone can do it.  And we all owe it to ourselves to be healthy.  I never realized before Ollie the importance of our health, but it's truly one thing money can never buy and when your health is gone - you can't replace it.  So now I workout for myself, for the energy it gives me, and for how stinking good I feel.  I also workout for my family.  So I know I'm here for as long as God wants me here, and so I can teach them the importance of a healthy lifestyle as well.



If you are interested in making a change, please email me at housethatjadebuilt@gmail.com  I'm starting a private small group fitness challenge January 2nd on Facebook.  Beachbody has offered amazing packages at great prices & anyone can do this no matter where you live.  I'd love to help you change your lifestyle as well!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Giving Thanks

Today I thank God

I thank him for his Grace
I thank him for his Love
I thank him for his Son & the gift of eternal life
I thank him for carrying me through my storms when I couldn't carry myself
I thank him for my home
I thank him for my family
I thank him for my friends
I thank him for the surgeon that fixed O's heart
I thank him for an extra chromosome that changed my heart
I thank him for my church
I thank him for my life

I can't imagine my life without Christ in it.  I'm sure the fears I have faced wouldn't have been as easy to bear without faith in my life.

Sometimes we need to remember prayers aren't all about needs or special requests but that there is so much to thank HIM for.  Even though I have many prayer requests, today I'm making sure I thank him for all he has given me because I am *blessed*

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Date Night

Tonight I have a hot date with her and her tiny...


That's right folks!  BFF's Annie & Melissa reunite!  We will be out on the town with Tiny Ollie & Sweet Callie.  We are tearing it up Mexican style & then heading to the local theater to get our Edward and Jacob on.

We will be laughing until we cry and ogling men that are probably too young for us.  We think we are cougars and it's possible, so we will continue watching Jacob & Edward...and Jasper...and Emmit and imagining that maybe we were once Bellas - minus the Edward part + the Jade Reid part.

We will probably get home late to kids and husbands in bed, but a hot date with your best friend is priceless.  These nights come too far apart considering we live in the same time.

Get ready Aaron Clark - I'm stealing yo' wife!





Thursday, November 17, 2011

Proud

Do you ever have moments in life where you are just so stinking proud of your kids it brings you to tears?

I had that moment last week and with Ollie's ER trip & sickness I didn't have time to blog about it.  I did acknowledge Aubrie for her greatness, but not publicly.

Wednesday night before the ER, we had parent teacher conferences.  I knew Aubrie's would go well.  She's that over-achiever, loves school and learning, teacher's pet kind of girl.


As we are sitting with her teacher, she tells us about this Dimes for Down Syndrome fundraiser they were doing at school for an older student.  I knew about it and sent money with Aubrie, but that is all I heard.

What I didn't hear is that Aubrie was given the chance to talk to her classmates about Down Syndrome.  She stood in front of the classroom, in front of her peers, and proudly told them all about Down Syndrome and how special her little sister was, and how lucky we were to have a baby with Down Syndrome.

And right then in that tiny little chair I had big crocodile tears in my eyes.  I'm just so proud of the big girl I have raised.  She has a heart of gold and I just love her to death for it.

On a different note - school has just exploded what she's doing!  I am amazed!  She's writing sentences - real sentences!  She can tell time by the hour, count pennies, write all her letters upper & lower case & numbers & count much higher than she could before!  It's just awesome!  The highlight of her day every day is still lunch - bizarre I know - she is a hot lunch girl - I totally expected art or music - but nope something about those lunch trays just makes her day!


Thursday, November 10, 2011

Brave & Courageous

Prayer warriors, please pray for two of my friends & their families as their beautiful boys are preparing for open heart surgery.  Add them to your prayer lists.

Baby Logan
November 16th


Baby Maddoc
December 2nd



An Eventful Night

Yesterday Miss O started to get a cold, nothing more than a barely runny nose.  No fever, no cough, nothing.

At midnight she could barely breath & was coughing like a seal.  I knew she had croup.  It was scary.


I tried a breathing treatment, I took her outside in the cold air - nothing helped.  So Jade & I took off to Effingham to the ER.  It's nights like that when I am so so thankful that Maggie lives in the basement because we didn't have to wait on someone to show up to watch the bigs - they were already in good hands.

We got to the ER and they were awesome.  They immediately took us back, did a quick eval & started a different type of medication for her breathing treatment.  She immediately started to sound a whole lot better.  They gave her a steroid shot & did some xrays for precaution & two hours later she was good to go!

After all this heart business, I would think I'd be a more calm Mommy, but when your baby can't get a good breath - you panic & I did & I prayed like I always do.

Today she goes to her pediatrician.  Fortunately we already had an appointment scheduled for today for her 9 month well baby checkup - can you believe she's 9 months old!?!  So he will check her out and make sure we are good to go!

I have a feeling it's going to be a long winter for our family!


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Thankful Hearts

Here are some big and little things I am thankful for this month:

My husband - he was made just for me - thank you God!
My kids - 3 bundles of me and Jade to hug & kiss
My big ole family - they make life a lot more fun & are always there when I need them
My house - I feel very blessed to have the things we have & the home that Jade has built for us
Our wood boiler - it keeps the house nice and warm without the electricity bill to match
Furry boots - yes I love them all!
Surgeons - Ollie's doctor's hands amaze me to this day!
Early Intervention - these ladies come see us in our home weekly & teach me and Ollie amazing skills so she can be the best that she can be
Burt's Bee chapstick - yes I love it
Christmas stockings by my Mom - they are always amazing & perfect!
Trudie - her snores and snorts are comforting in some weird way
3 of the 21st chromosome 
Beachbody - I have lost 23 pounds & I went from a size 14 to a size 6 - yes I love this just for me!
Jesus - he gave me eternal life & God carried me through Ollie's surgery by giving me faith
anything old & rusty that I can cram into my house
Diamonique jewelry - I can look like a million bucks for much, much less
furry blankets
popcorn in the popper like Dad makes it
memories of my family in our big farmhouse as we grew up
memories of Christmas with my Grandparents
my best friend in the whole world  - you know who you are & we NEED  date!
Twilight - yes I'm one of those girls & excited about a new movie!
date nights with the husband
hibachi grills with a cook throwing up some killer friend rice
when Maggie makes amazing cookies
that my sister & brother in law agreed to move in with us, and that they like it!
the opportunity to be a stay at home Mom - a dream I've held onto since I was a child
snuggles with kids when they don't feel well
doctors that make them feel better
a church that makes me want to dance and sing like mad & then cry when the pastor is just amazing & he always is!
a driveway alarm - it has made my life remarkably easier - bizarre I know!
new sheet day - something about new sheets just makes me happy so I change them often
winter smells - cinnamon, coffee, banana bread - any of those candles are usually sold in a heartbeat to girls like me
Ethel Edith days where we sling paint & laugh hard
dancing with my sisters like idiots in paint splattered clothes in a dirty old shed as we sling paint
Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre - wish I could listen to them in my Mom van but with 3 kids that never happens
Jason Mraz - he is my happy music
memories of my car from high school - buttercup - a 1976 Ford Gran Torino - I drove her in 1998!
memories of selling said car on eBay to the highest bid in the UK & shipping the car to the UK where it's being completely gutted & rebuilt - and not even kidding you - Buttercup rides again!
pug puppies
kittens
gator rides around the cows
watching the cows chase the gator as the kids yell to them
fires in the back yard
kids belly laughing
skinny jeans
sweaters - I can finally wear them at home b/c I used to roast in them in my old office when I worked!
freshly painted toenails
making a perfect piece of jewelry that makes someone else cry with joy
hugs when I need them most


apparently the list could go on and on but I will spare you!  I'm mostly thankful of where I am in life - I feel extremely blessed with everything God has poured onto my family - last year I wasn't in this same frame of mind so it's nice to be here now!


Friday, November 4, 2011

This is what happens

when Everett steals your camera...








Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Go Tiny Go!!

Tiny has a new trick!

That's right baby girl has been working her booty off & she can sit independently for a few seconds!!


When she breaks out a prop sit she can hang out in the sitting position even longer.


However, the moment she breaks her concentration to whip out a smile, she collapses :)


I am so proud of her!  She got such a late start on her gross motor skills since her surgery & post-surgical healing took 5 months!


We got started in August working on pushing up & I can't believe she's already sitting!  My goal was to be sitting by the end of October & she did it! 


She's such a rock star!  Now we need to master the sitting & transition to crawling position!


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Master Bedroom - Junktastic!

OK so my old master bedroom was hand me down furniture I had painted to match & I liked it, but it wasn't me.

Thankfully Pinterest inspired me in a big way with a project I could easily duplicate with absolutely $0.

So off I sent Jade to the concrete plant to pick up old beat up pallets & then to the car wash to clean them.

This is why he is the man....


I purchased my night stand, an old tool box, at an auction for around $30.  It has a ton of storage and it's totally my style.  Anything rusty, metal, and manly and I'm digging on it.


I scored this fabulous dresser at an auction for $85.  It was painted black on 2 sides and turquoise on the other - it was bizarre.  The inside was FILLED with mud dobbers.  After major cleaning - I painted this baby silver, and oh my I am glad I did because it's amazing!


Seriously aren't you in love with this?  It's a very heavy, old piece - what a steal!


And see that - it has a secret drawer in the middle!


Trudie got a new dog bed area & yes that sweet painting was made by yours truly.


My desk area got a small makeover.  I want to find an old metal chair instead of the turquoise floral one.  It's on my to find list.


The little metal cubbies Mom gifted and they are amazing & store a lot of jewelry making stuff!


I now feel like our master bedroom is finally a reflection of our personality and the rest of the house - hooray!


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