Masciave Family

It's almost time

2011-12-23T06:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas is almost here! Where did the month go? I am not quite sure. It has been pretty crazy. But it's almost here.

We finally did our Christmas picture. We attempted to do it on our own with the tripod, and that was a bad idea. It was the hottest day of December and it ended up with Noah sliding off Hannah and smashing his face on a rock. Poor guy, (he was ok) but it quickly ended our picture taking. I was pretty much over sending out a card, until last weekend, I thought I have to send one out it's Noah's first Christmas. So we did, I called Chela and we went out right behind our house and got some great pictures. I am so thankful for her. She was so flexible and squeezed us in. So after Jacob did some editing I uploaded to Walmart and cards were printed.

Last week Hannah and I decided to bless our neighbors. Well, it was a process that took a couple of months but we did it last week. Between pintrest and Ryan's service messages, I got a bright idea. I saved all our coffee cans for months.... and I mean months. I looked like a coffee hoarder. I cleaned them and then glued pretty wrapping paper on them over the coffee logo. Then we baked, well Hannah and Noah slept and Mama did the baking. And we filled the cans with cookies, chocolate covered graham crackers and rice krispie treats. We took them door to door and introduced our selfs to our neighbors in our circle and gave them out. Hannah even greeted all of them with a Merry Christmas. It was wonderful. We have lived in our condo complex for almost 5 years, and most of our neighbors we have never met. We have 12 in our circle and 4 neighbors are new the area. It was a great moment to soak in, showing Christ's Love in the form in baked goods. It stretched me a person, I am not the outgoing type, and as a parent, these are the moments that I want to instill in my children. It was great.

So it is almost here, the presents are wrapped, the tree is up, the cards are out... we are just about ready. The elves will come tomorrow to bring us new jammies for Christmas, we will take communion as a family on Christmas morning and read the story of Jesus of birth before we open presents. All preparation and gifts aside, he came as a child, in a manager, to save us all. This really hit me the other day, when I was holding my sleeping Noah..... only 4 months old, that is how our savior came as a child.

Thankfulness in the craziness

2011-12-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

These last couple of weeks have been pretty busy. Shopping, lots of birthdays and getting ready for Christmas. We waste no time, after Thanksgiving we put up the tree and deck the halls. It looks like Christmas in our home. We figure why wait, we only a tree in our home once a year so we should make the most of it. It was so much fun decorating with the kids. Hannah loved to put up the ornaments and then take them off and redecorate the tree again. She worn the stockings as slippers and of course the Christmas music was playing. The little Mr. and I sat of the floor playing as Hannah and Daddy decorated the tree. It was great.

I am so thankful for Gods timing. He really knows what he is doing even when I can't see what his divine plan is. I was able to go out and do nearly all my Christmas shopping on black friday. I am so thankful that I was because last week my hours at work were cut.... drastically. I took nearly 30% right before Christmas. My initial reaction was, what an answer to prayer because work was taking up so much of my time during the day that I felt like that I was not here for the kids. (although still so very thankful that I am still the one with them and they don't have to go to daycare) But after the reality started to sink in of how that much less income will effect our family panic set in. I was ready for anything, if we had to move, sell a car, whatever. I KNOW that God has a perfect plan, a plan for me, for my family and he will use this for HIS purpose.

So I am thankful that he knew that I would be getting a cut and he allowed me to get all the shopping done at amazing discounts. We also sat down and did the new budget, and yes it will be tight, but not impossible, I am so thankful we don't have to move. We still owe a great about in medical debt, but I have to trust that God knows what he doing. He knows our needs. He will use all of this for his purpose, after all its Christmas time, when you really think about it, he was born in a manager. It puts thinks all in persective. I think that is what I really need this season, new perspective, new hope, built faith. I have four little eyes that are watching my every move, my every reaction in this crazy season. We will get through this, it will get better, and if it doesn't, that is ok too, we are happy and healthy and have the love of Jesus...... that is all we need.

Family, Turkey

2011-11-25T21:11:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving. It was stress free and drama free, the best kind. We drove out to my sister's house, hit no traffic, ate way too much good food, and had two very well behaved kids. On the downside, we didn't take any family pictures :( boo.

Family has been a very "hot" topic for us/me lately. I have been reading some really good books, and the more I learn, the more I want apply it to my family/ children. When I was a child, my parent divorced at a young age, I lived with my mom and she played the role of both father and mother. Jacob on the other hand, parents are still married. He had a great example of how a family should ideally work. Finding balance on how Jacob and I were raised verses how we want to raise our children, and how we can be the best parents is a process.

I really do enjoy learning the different ways and styles of parenting. I do have to remind myself not to compare myself and my style to others. What works for me, may not always be the "right" way for someone else. I still don't even really know what I am doing. But I do pray for wisdom and guidance on what to do and how to do it.

Letting go of the little things has been so challenging and yet so freeing for me. I decided if it is going to have the same outcome, why stress over it. Like walking to the car: Hannah loves to stop and enjoy life, look at the leaves, jump off the steps and say "bye bye" to EVERYTHING. Bye trees, bye leaves, bye house.... so cute, but when we need to go somewhere and I am carrying a heavy baby Noah in the car seat it doesn't make for a very happy mommy. It was making me stressed out just trying to get from point A to point B. But I started to think about it, does it really take sooo much more time for her to stop and enjoy life, why does it stress me out, it was just silly. I have embraced Hannah for who she is, and let her take the time to enjoy life, and it makes me slow down a little bit too.

I think there is a reoccurring theme of my life... Slow down and enjoy it more.

We are getting our tree soon, so hopefully some pictures will be up soon. Enjoy!

Fall

2011-11-02T13:09:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween.... and now onto November

Wow, Fall has come so fast this year. Well it seems that everything has come and gone so fast this year. We had a great year so far. We went trick or treating on Halloween. Hannah had fun being meme or Minnie Mouse. Mr. Noah man was a football. He mostly slept once we going. Hannah totally milked the system, she would let the people put the candy in her bucket and then stick her hand in the candy dish and take another handful. She has enjoyed some candy and her mommy has enjoyed way to much candy. I am going to take the rest into work to get rid of it. I am still trying to lose the Mommy weight that Mr. Noah has blessed me with. Its a work in progress.

I Love this time of year. The changing weather, cold mornings, hot coffee or hot chocolate, warm dinners on a dark night, comfy jammies and a blanket to snuggle, its even better having two little munchkins to snuggle too. It is also a great time to stop and reflex on Thanksgiving.

I have been reading some blogs on how people using this season to give back to others. I think that is such a great idea. But being a little low on funds, I am going to use this time to reflex on what has been given to me, and be thankful for all that I have and have not been given.

Today is day two. I am thankful that God has been providing for us. We have had a little bit of a rough time finically since I have had Noah. Living on a much lower income is sometimes a challenge, I don't get to shop like I used to, or even buy the preferred groceries at times. But in exchange I have got to spend some awesome time getting to know the little blessing that God gave me. There was a time a couple of years ago when I longed to have a baby. I felt like I would do just about anything to have one. And now I have been given not one but two. I prayed and he answered. It was a long time waiting for the answer, but here we are. And he is still faithful. Even with the money seems to run out and it is a day or a week late, he provides, sometimes in an expected way, but has always provided for us.

Entry from my journal today: That you love me, you hear my prayers and you answer them. You know my needs and meet them.

Ezra 8:23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this and he answered our prayer.

Unplugged. Unprocessed. Challenged.

2011-10-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

Family:

I have been really challenged lately. I really want the best for my family, for our life. I am really sad that my time off is slowly coming to an end, I go back to work in two weeks. I know that it is the best for our family at this time. And I am so very thankful that I get to work from home, but there is a great deal of time that I spend working at home and not playing with my kids. I do pray that there will be a time that I can stay at home and devote my days to my children. But until then, I will go and work. And use my time that I have and make it quality time.

Food:

Wanting what is best for my family, I have been really watching what we are eating. We have been eating less processed foods. I am feeling great, and eating the way that God intended it to be has been really good. After learning about what some of the ingredients that are in our foods that we eat everyday it is kinda scary. It makes me want to make everything from scratch. But that is unrealistic, so I have been trying to make better decisions for our family. Jacob was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about 4 years ago. Ever since then our food world has been totally turned upside down, we did really good at first, the slowly faded back into the life of processed. It is really easy to live processed, it is convenient and much cheaper, but not so heathy.

So with a little planning and reading of labels, we are making some progress. It has been over a week since we have eaten out, with the exception of frozen yogurt, my weakness ;). Bottom line, it is worth the extra time in the kitchen.

Tv. Internet.

In short, I am going to unplug more. Spend time where it really matters. I was pouring milk for Hannah yesterday when I suddenly realized, I am not going to get back the time I wasted today. Life is soooo short, and I do waste so much time watching tv or online or doing whatever. That being said, I am still going to have time for myself, wasting it away online and sitting in front of the tv. Just not when I could be doing something more fun with the kids or going outside and enjoying God's beautiful creation.

The World.

I want to make the most of today. Not living for tomorrow. I recently listened to a sermon by Pastor Barry that really brought new perspective in my life. I am no longer going to wait for tomorrow before I start living. If I wait for tomorrow to start serving, or doing the work of God, it is NEVER going to come, there will always be a distraction or hindrance, or I will never be good enough. So today is the day. Ministry starts at home, and that is perfect because that is where I am. I have thought that life would be so great if.... we had a house, a large lot of land, lived in the county somewhere, had all our debts paid off, had more time, but all those if's have been holding us (me) back from living for today. Today is the day that GOD gave us (me). So TODAY is the day to live for. Sure it would be great if we had all those things, but it is no reason to NOT live for today. Make the most of each moment.

Life starts today. Why wait. Be challenged.

Blog a Log

2011-09-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

Life is feels normal for me, again. I feel adjusted to having to little munchkins. And I LOVE it.

I also Love pinerest. It has so many ideas for food, decor, style, ect. it's so much fun. I have done a couple of projects with the ideas that I have found on there.

I made a pumpkin spiced latte. It was good, but not quite starbucks. I am not sure how to make it extra creamy, but am working on it.

I also made a door wreath. It came out ok, I used a tube to make the wreath. I think next time I will use a bigger tube or stick wreath.

So aside from little projects here and there I have been trying to change my life style on food. That is one thing that I love.... FOOD! Jacob was diagnosed with diabetes a couple of years ago. When he came home from the hospital we completely changed our lifestyle with food. We both lost a lot of weight and felt great. But over the years we slowly let some bad foods back into our diets.

He recently went into the Drs and was told that his sugars aren't doing so well. In effort to get him healthy again, and to lose the rest of this baby weight, I meet with a dietitian. She is has such a great passion for health and gave me some great pointers on eating. So for the past week or so, I have putting her wisdom to practice. And what a difference.

I am feeling great, eating better, and losing weight. I haven't measured a thing, still eating whenever I am hungry, and haven't even counted a calorie. It has really made me think about what I am putting into my body. What God intended for me to put into my body. When did the world turn into everything packaged and processes. That is not how it was meant to be. Jacob and I have both lost weight. I am praying that this new life style sticks. It really helps that we are both on board and that I want my children to know what real food is.

So that's it for now.

2011-09-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

I have found some balance in this crazy mommy world of mine. Hooray! I am still only getting about 3 hours of sleep at a time but Hannah has been sleeping much better so for now I will take my 3 hours and not complain.

Noah is now 7 weeks old. He is so chubby, and Happy. I love him so much. He is so easy going and just goes with the flow.

Hannah is still a great big sister. Hasn't tired to kill him. I started taking her to the library for story time. She really seems to like it. It is just enough structure to help her prepare for school but fun at the same time.

Well it has been about an hour since I have started this entry, and that is all I have been able to get done because I am constantly interrupted. And I am being summonsed once again. Until next time.

FInding Balance

2011-08-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

This whole Mom "thing" is much more difficult that I had thought it was going to be. No one said it was easy, but trying to juggle two kids is so much more than I thought it would be.

It has been three weeks now since Noah came into this crazy world. He is doing great. He is still a great eater, and sleeper, although he is sleeping less than he was when he was first born. He had a check up this week and has already gained a little over a pound. We don't have to go back for another check up until he is two months.

Hannah is adjusting. She is not really sleeping through the night, and has slept in our bed the last couple of nights. I have no idea what is going on with her. I am sure it's part teething, and part Noah, but it just makes for even less sleep for me and Jacob. She is super cute with her babies, she does everything I do for Noah for her babies, burps them, tries to put diapers on them. She is such a little mama.

I am almost fully recovered from delivery. It has gotten a lot easier to get out, although with this heat, I haven't really gone anywhere. I do look forward to doing more on the weekends when Jacob is home with us.

So here is the balancing act for me. Where do I find time to be a mom, wife, study the bible, and have time with friends, let alone plan dinners, keep up on housework, grocery shop and start thinking about when I can exercise? I haven't! It has been difficult for me in that aspect. I want to make the most of my time with my babies. I want to sit and just stare at Noah, like I did with Hannah. I want to take Hannah to the park for walks like I did before Noah was here. But the reality is, I can't. My time is now divided, it's been hard for me to accept this change. I knew that there would be change in having another child, but I didn't think it would be so hard for me to adjust. I have had some awesome women in my life speaking encouragement to me and reminding me that it is just a season. The biggest factor is this season is so short, as tired as I am I want to take in every moment with my babies, because before I know it, he will be the size of Hannah and she will be even bigger. Having Noah has made me realize how fast 21 months goes by because it was just yesterday that was Hannah.

I wish I could just press the pause button. I need to slow down. The housework is not as important as the memories I could be making with my family.

Family of Four

2011-08-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

We are officially a family of four. Noah Jacob Masciave arrived 8/1/2011 at 4:51pm, weighing 8lbs 4oz, 19 1/2 inches long. He is now 11 days old and we are home and all doing great. I love it! Hannah is doing so well. She is such a great sister. Noah is such a champ too. He wakes up about every four hours to eat, and is a great eater too. I feel so blessed. I love being a mom of two! I am so very thankful for what God has given us. Masciave, family of four. Thank you Jesus!

9 months!!!

2011-07-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

So I have made it 9 months. I am considered term now. Now will someone please tell my new little bundle of joy, Noah to get OUT! I am so done and as big as a house. Mainly I am just concerned about the delivery, the Dr said that he is big, and I don't want a C-section. At my appointment yesterday, my Dr striped my membranes, and I am still pregnant so I am hoping that it will hurry up and work soon. I have started to have contractions just not regular, and not very painful.

I am super excited for Hannah to be a sister too. She is such a sweetie. I have really been enjoying the last days of just "us", even though I am so done with the belly.

I guess I will just have to wait.... and wait and wait and wait. Only God knows the time.

8 months and almost there.....

2011-06-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

I think that nesting has kicked in HIGH gear. I am not sure how I made it through this day. So here is how it goes.

Up at 6:01am thank you Hannah :)

Work, make breakfast, start laundry, pick up toys, start Thank You cards.

10:00 go to work, work and take Hannah to Moms group.

11:00 chase Hannah up a hill, she is a quick one.

11:45 go home, make lunch, put Hannah down for a nap, Work some more, finish Thank You cards, Hannah wakes up, finish laundry (3 loads) and put it away.

3:00 back to work, meeting..... over at 6:00

6:00 Target run.... gotta pick up stuff for the sick Hubby

7:00 still out, pick up dinner, come home eat dinner, give Hannah a bath, put Hannah to bed, shower and now blog.... it's 9:00

Boy I am tired! And I am going to add another one to the mix in about 5 weeks.

Lord give me strength!

7 1/2 months pregnant

2011-05-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

My life at 7 1/2 months pregnant, with an 18 month old:

It took me almost three weeks just to paint my toe nails. Week one- remove nail polish. Week two- trim and file. Week three- paint.

I have learned to use my feet as hands, to pick up laundry or Hannah's toys.

It takes me about 10 mins to walk to the car, I am too big to hold Hannah so she walks with me.

I have to alternate washing my hair and shaving, standing too long in the shower is too tiring on the feet.

The buddha belly is too big to do lots of things..... but it is all worth it, I can't wait to meet my little man, Noah.

Last couple of weeks

2011-05-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

Time sure does not stand still for anyone. I am really enjoying this season that God has me in right now. I love being a Mommy, that for the most part gets to stay home, a wife, and a housekeeper. I am still reading my "Book", but have paused, I am on the chapter of organization and am not finished getting my home organized so I have paused. This last week has been kinda a drag, I have a sick little Hannah. I am going to take her to the doctors today. It is no fun with a little sick baby. I wish I could take all her pain away.

Last weekend was Mothers Day. It was very nice to spend time with family and just remember what is really important and the importance of being a Mommy. To be discipled by God to raise my children. Sundays message was really great, I felt like the Lord was confirming in my heart why he chose this season in my life to bless me with children. And how I need to focus on them, train them.

I also have a doctors appointment today for myself. I get to see my lil Noah. I am excited to see if he has changed at all. He sure has been very active, I guess he doesn't want me to forget that he is there anymore :)

So What has Hannah been up to:

My little baby is such a big girl now. She loves to give kisses to Noah before she goes to bed. She loves her Baybee (baby), she will play for hours with one. The hair brush is her new friend, she carries it around everywhere with her, and she knows where to get it from too.... mommies bathroom. Oh how I could just squish her she is so cute.

5 Days later I finally get to finish the Blog that I started, LIFE as a MOMMY. Hannah is still sicky but getting better. Noah's appt went well, he is going to be a big boy. He is a thumb sucker too :) I can't wait to meet him. You would think that Life without cable (TV) you would think that I have so much time on my hands that I would just blog all day. Well this week I plan on getting the house back into order, being sick with a sick baby got the house out of balance. Looking for new Menu items. Working and hopefully when Hannah is better taking her to the park. Off to my next adventure.

Family Time

2011-04-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

We have been on the go. And it is just going to be better. We cut our cable as of today, and are going to be investing into each other. I am so excited for more family time. I know that the Lord will bless this time with each other as we build our relationships and strengthen our family. And as we also get ready to welcome little Noah Jacob too. Praise the Lord for all he has given to us, I am richly blessed!Family Time! We went down to the park to play with Hannah and blow some bubbles. I love my family!

Hannah dug around in the sand.

She really is little Mama, she was making dinner.

You might think that by the picture that a child took it....nope just Jacob, and I only have half a face. Love you babe!

My loves. I love that Hannah loves her Daddy so much! He is such a great Daddy.

Honor Thy Husband

2011-04-13T14:05:00.001-07:00

I love The Home Experience! Seriously the Lord has been showing me so many principles to live by through the book and the scripture that is in it. Here is what I am learning and living.

My Husband, Jacob Masciave, my gift from God.

Serving:

Often we serve our children and train our husbands, Instead we should train our children and serve our husbands. --- this principle really hit home to me. I was raised in a home with a single mom. My parents were married but divorced when I was really little. I do desire to serve my husband. I have been doing really practical things for Jacob these last couple of weeks, like making his lunch for the next day, and getting the coffee pot ready the night before. I have also been trying to keep up on the house so that it is a comfortable place for him to come home. I don't want him to come home from work and feel stressed out at home, with his family. I am still in the early stages with Hannah, but with another one on the way (baby "Noah") I want her to learn to serve with a joyful heart, and that Mommy does it out of love, not with a bad attitude. She is so sweet, she already is learning, she loves to help with what she can. She helps unload the bottom shelf of the dishwasher (gotta love Corral, they really never break) and putting away laundry with me).

His Helper:

I was created to be his helpmate. He was not created to be mine.----- So simple, yet so hard to swallow. This was the way that God intended it be.

Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said,"It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him"

Genesis 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

I have really been trying to be a good helper to Jacob. It is not always easy, when my tired pregnant body just wants to sit and not make dinner. But God has really been doing great stuff in my heart and even when I don't want to do something he gives me energy to do it. And our Marriage is so reaping the reward.

There is so much more that I am learning and I just finished the first section. Part of me just wants to read as much as possible, but I really want to practice what I am learning. I want to have it make a difference in my life. And the slower I go, the bigger I am seeing the differences.

Here is what I am seeing so far:

A clean house- I used to just try to clean once a week or so, but doing the little stuff daily has taken off so much pressure. I love going to sleep at the end of the day with the dishes done and the laundry put away. It has also encouraged Jacob to put his laundry in the hamper and rinse the dishes when he is done with them.

Friendships- I love being busy, but I now feel that I am investing in the Friendships/ Relationships that I have. Instead of chasing down someone that is too busy for me, I am taking advantage of the ones that are here, now. And the time seems to be blossoming.

Quiet Time- Oh this is my favorite. I am challenging myself to get up early everyday to spend that time with my Maker in the morning. It has been so incredibly rewarding. Even the mornings that I just don't want to get up, some how I do. I feel like I am seeing parts of the Bible in a whole new light. And the encouragement from my Husband has been so amazing too. He has been making my coffee in the morning, and leaving a love note/ word of encouragement for me. I just love waking up and getting that love back from my husband, and then my Maker. The Lord has been so faithful.

Mommy- With everything that I am doing around the house, you would think that I am just cleaning or out with friends all day long. Not true. I am not sure how, but after getting into my new routine of things, I have found I have so much free time! I am spending a lot more time at home with Hannah. I really want her to see how a house runs, and we have lots of playtime together too. I, by only the Grace of God and the Holy Spirit, have had so much patients for her. She has been teething like crazy, and was sick for two weeks straight, and not sleeping (both nap time and overnight). But God is so good, he has been giving me everything I need at that moment so I can keep it together. I have been praying a ton more too! Both for her, and myself in those moments.

And my Husband! He is amazing. I love seeing that God is doing such great work in his heart. You would think after being married almost 7 years and together 11 years, we would totally know each other by now and have it all figured out. NOPE. But that is ok, I love being on this adventure with him, especially when I know who is steering our ship :)

So YES, I do recommend this book to everyone. Be inspired. Do something.

So BIG

2011-04-03T07:18:00.001-07:00

Hannah has so many new loves I thought I would share.

Like shoes, even high heels. She was walking on the entry way so she could hear them clop.

And getting herself dressed. This is Daddy's shirt, her head is in the arm hole and arm out the head hole.

She played in the shirt for a while. She also takes the kitchen towels and wears them around her neck like a scarf.

More shoes. She actually had a harder time walking in these. She used the stroller like a walker, like an old lady.

And anything she can sit on. She will make a chair out of any toy she can. I really need to get her a little chair and table set.

Change is in the home

2011-04-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

Awww the house is quite. Hannah is napping, which is great because she has been such a bad napper lately. Not to sure why (she has a cold) but is refusing to go in her bed, but today she finally went down for a good nap. I usually work or do house work while she sleeps but today I am having some me time. Jacob is at worship practice at the church. He probably won't be home until 7:30 or 8, so I am on my own.

A couple of weekends ago we went to the Art of Marriage, it was so amazing reignited passions in our marriage for each other. This year we will be married for 7 years and together for 12, crazy how fast time flies. I truly did marry my best friend, but over time of doing the day to day and starting a family, we kinda forgot about each other. God kinda got pushed aside from the center of us and just getting things done and laziness entered in. It wasn't terrible, but not balanced, not the way God intended it. So after going we are now rebalanced with each other and God is back in the center. Seeing Jacob as my Gift from God has totally shed a new light to him on how to see my husband. After all God did give him to me.

The weekend of the Marriage seminar I got a book in the mail that I had ordered for my birthday, The Home Experience. I have wanted this book for some time after hearing Devi Titus speak a number of times I knew that it was going to be great. I was really excited on God's timing too, I wasn't expected to get it just yet, and I was excited to continue what God had already started to do in my heart over that weekend.

So I am still on the first section of the book, but WOW! So many great principles. It really all begins in the home. Relationships for example, I never thought that what we practice and set in our home will carry over to Hannah and what she will consider to be the normal. I came from a house of chaos, not necessarily bad chaos but chaos it was always full of people, there was always a sink full of dishes and stuff, lots of stuff. It was the normal, and it did carry over to me. Chaos was ok in my house, granted it was more organized chaos than growing up but still I was ok with it. But I don't want Hannah to grow up thinking chaos is ok, that her mommy has a level of laziness that she is ok with. I started with my "Grand Central Station" my home, and began to clean and organize, I want to feel comfortable inviting people over without excuses or having to say, sorry for the mess. And its been great. I love having a clean home, dishes done, freshly dusted and the laundry is done and put away.

It has been really great having a clean home in the sense of Relationships. With a clean home, we have so much more family time. I am not so worried about what I should be doing, because it is already done. I can focus on my family. I am also spending way more time in the word, it has been so amazing fill my soul with quality time with the Lord every day. We are still fine tuning little things, and I must admit sometimes I really don't want to put away something or pick up Hannah's toys for the 50th time of the day, but when I do I have such a sense of accomplishment. I also feel like it carrying over to my character, and if I can that much more of an example to Hannah it is so worth it. I have noticed big changes in Jacob, like he started putting his dirty clothes in the hamper..... which is huge, without me even asking, it looks like it can be contagious.

Overall based upon what I have read so far, I LOVE it. and even more so the amount of scripture that is in the book too. I feel like it's the guide to becoming un-lazy in the modern day, how God really created a home to be. I can't wait to read more.... I am sure more Blog is to come about it.

Side note- it's now 8:14, life as a Mom, nothing ever goes as planned :)

Spring has Sprung

2011-03-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

So where does the time go? I feel like it has been flying by me. I am so enjoying my little Hannah and getting so excited for our new Baby BOY to come this summer. We have been keeping busy so here is a little bit of what we have been up to.Playing at the Lake with Daddy. We had some really good weather a couple weekends ago, recently it has been raining and cold. I am looking forward to the change of seasons. I do really enjoy the rain, but I have found that I really do enjoy change. The warmer weather will be nice so we can do more outdoors again.
We went to a birthday party a couple of weekends ago. It was cowgirl themed and they had pony rides. So Hannah had her first Pony ride, as you can tell it didn't go so well. She was fine until they strapped her in.

She loves to do things just like mommy. Like wear my glasses or pretend to work. Her little personality has really bloomed the last couple of weeks. She really does love to pretend. She will pretend to pour a cup of water and drink it, or talk on the phone, or play with her babies. She is still babbling not much in the talking department, but don't let her fool you she does understand just about everything.
We went to the park the other day. In between the rain I took the opportunity to get out of the house and let her burn off some energy. I can't wait to have this next one, our little family will just have more fun as we become more complete.

All in a Day

2011-03-09T06:51:00.000-08:00

Emotions. Yesterday I had about the most emotional day I have had in a very long time. A very dear friend of my lost her unborn child. It is so hard to think of the pain and the suffering of carrying a child for 5 months and not get to keep her. Baby Abigail went to be with the Lord yesterday. Baby Abigail had very server under heart developments, my friend was strongly urged to terminate the pregnancy. Yesterday she went in and did just that. It is just so beyond me that a Dr can even give you the choice to do that. Being pregnant myself, my heart just hurts for the loss of my friend and Baby Abigail. I know that she is now made whole with Jesus rejoicing in heaven with my unborn babies. But the pain is still there. I prayed and prayed that Jesus would heal her little heart. And that the Dr's would see something different.

It began to challenge my faith. Why did God not answer? I know he could. I know that he could heal her and bring her parents to Jesus. I know that she was not conceived without purpose. But Why?

Last weeks service that Ryan did was so appointed by God, especially for me. He spoke on disappointment, and that God does not disappoint. He cannot miss an appointment. That in the path of life, we have to chose to stay on course, to pick ourselves up and keep on going. That is exactly how I feel right now. I have to just keep on going. I know that God did not miss an appointment with Baby Abigail, he just welcomed her home.

My day had started off good. I went for an amazing walk with my dear friend Cori. It was just beautiful going on the trail behind her house, and the conversation too, amazing. Then the day just started to go downhill, I took Hannah back to the Dr to see if her bladder infection had cleared, and the Dr found a bad ear infection. We were there for over an hour waiting for Hannah to pee in the bag. Finally we came home and ate lunch, Hannah and I took a quick nap then it was back to Work and to get her prescription filled. On our way out of the parking lot, my car died. In the middle of the street, at a light. And I cried. Jacob came and got me and Hannah and my work sent a tow truck.

The the stuff of the day really took my eyes off the Lord. It made me a wreck and let all the emotions of me take over. Was it really terrible that the car broke down....no. Or that sweet Baby Abigail went home with the Lord, yet painful she was still purposed. After all, isn't being home with the Lord our HOPE. I pray that today my focus would be on that HOPE. He has a purpose, he has a plan, he does redeem.

Cool and Crisp

2011-02-20T09:04:00.000-08:00

I love the day after a big rain. I took out the trash this morning, when I opened the door I was smacked in the face by the cool crisp clean air. It was great. I looked at our local mountains and they have snow on them. What a great way to start the day. I have been inside so much lately due to Hannah still being sick. Poor kid just can't kick this runny nose and cough so we will be home yet another Sunday. I so miss church, and the fellowship. Normally Jacob and I would take turns, I would go to one service and he would go to another, but he is playing on worship team so he has to be at both services.

We have been trying to make the most of Hannah being sick. Her body and mind doesn't think she is sick, she just wants to play all day long. I know it is just a cold, thank God, but I don't want it to turn into anything serious. So we have been playing indoors and going for walks in the stroller, at least she gets to be out and not infect anybody else.

I feel like I have turned a corner in my walk this last week. I have been so consumed with being inside I was very discontent. I was thinking, If only we had a bigger place, or a house, then it wouldn't be so bad being at home, since even when Hannah is feeling well, I still work from home and am home most of the day. I started to pray about it, God is this really where you want us, don't you want us in a house with a yard? I have been reading in Genesis (still, I know) about Sarah and Abraham, seeing how many times God has moved them and blessed them, seems like where ever they went God gave them more and more. I started to pray, ok so maybe if we more then God will bless us with more. But after a couple days of no answer and talking it over with Jacob, I think God gave us his answer, I put you HERE, in RSM. I began to thank God for all that he has given to us and was overwhelmed by how a little foothold of discontent shifted my entire view of what God has already given us. I feel so safe just going for a walk to the park with just me and Hannah, or walking the lake, or beach club, or enjoying the pool. Plus all the amazing friends that God has placed in my life. I really can't ask for more. It may be hard getting stuck in my lil routines but they are only what I make of them. Having a thankful heart is so much greater than a heart of discontentment.

Just goes to show, after a storm there is always the cool and crisp clean air of a new day. A new beginning a new attitude. Amazing what a simple task like taking out the trash can do for the day. Blessings!

Cravings

2011-02-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

It is so weird being pregnant. The first 12 weeks I could barely eat, but now..... let the cravings begin. Here is some of the stuff that the baby wants.....

1. Fresh Fruit

2. Ice Cold Fresh Lemonade.... so thankful for the lemonade guy at the farmers market, I look forward to it every week

3. Shelled Peanuts.... so good ( i am eating them right now)

4. Wahoos.... more specifically bajalattas- with green sauce

5. Chocolate Milk- the powder kind

6. Waffles- I still haven't had one yet.... maybe this weekend.

I can't wait to see what else this little one wants. It is so much fun filling these cravings too. It is so nice not being sick any more....YAY!

Taking it S....L....O....W

2011-01-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

I really want to get back into the word this year. I want to really make it a priority and give God the first of my time. But being a Mommy, working, being pregnant and a wife doesn't always work with me, more like against me. But I did, I started in the Old Testament and instead of following a big plan, I decided to start at the beginning and take it slow. There has been so much that I have read over and just missed or forgot over the years. This last week or so I have been reading about Noah. And I am just blown away by the love of our God. I have learned a lot too, fun fact, did you know that Noah took 7 of every clean animal and only 2 of every unclean animal...... that is a lot of animals. I also love that God's covenant with us is something we can still see today after the rain, the Rainbow.

But the part of the story that really spoke to me was that even though Noah walked with God, and was used by God in such a big way, and found favor by God; Noah was still human. Noah still sinned and got drunk and passed out. I sometimes can find myself beating myself up that I am not perfect, or that I have to live in this little bubble of Christians, but the truth is that God came to seek and save the sinners, the lost.

I guess it kinda gives me a lot to think about, who am I seeking after? I don't have to be perfect, and God will use me despite my own hangups about myself. But I am so glad to be taking it SLOW, I am really gaining so much more than if I was reading to just check a box or to say that I did.

Fun Fun Fun

2011-01-22T15:11:00.001-08:00

This last week Hannah and I have been inside.... A LOT. I have been so extremely tired and not feeling the greatest, aside from me suppose to be on "rest". I have been feeling kinda bad that she has not had a play date and we haven't gone to the park in I don't know when. So I decided to let her have some fun. I finished a report for work and then let her have it. And she had a blast.

After that she thought she would work like mommy does. She snuck up to my work computer while I was brushing my teeth, and started working. As soon I came out and said Hannah, she bolted, she knew she wasn't suppose to be playing up there. But it was too cute not to have taken a picture and to enjoy the fact that she wants to be like me.

I love those puckered lips.

We also went on our first camping trip with Hannah. With all the fears and worries about weather and noise and Hannah, it was Great! Despite a friend getting hurt :( but the trip was overall a success and I can't wait until we can go again.

Hannah kept Mom busy, she walked her.

Oh and the Dirt this girl ate.... minerals right? :/

She stayed bundled up at night.

We enjoyed all Hannah's meals inside Jim and Chela's trailer, it was nice to have her sit at a table. Thanks guys!

Daddy kept busy, taking care of Hannah and hitting the dirt. This boy needs to get out more often, he really missed it.

Seriously she was so happy the whole time we were out there.

Bedhead. She did great for being in a tent. I feel like Why did we wait so long. Everything was great, she is a natural born camper. I can't wait to plan our next trip.

2011.... 11 days in

2011-01-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

11 days into the year, and I must say, I really have not done ANYTHING! I feel like such a bum, but that is ok. I continue to forget that I am pregnant so at least the days that I feel so lazy, there is a little room for grace.

I have really been enjoying my time with Hannah, she just cracks me up.

She walked around with the basket on her head forever. I love that she doesn't need "toys" to have a good time.

We got up early to watch Daddy play football with the church.

He got a little booboo :(

The best part of the year was to spend time with Great Friends! I love them so much. It has taken a little while to get past the pain of just missing Lauren and Karli in our daily life, but to see how much they are being grown and stretched in AZ in amazing.

I have had the privilege to meet with a couple of great women for a Bible study/ Prayer group over the last couple of weeks, and man the Lord has blessed my socks off by them. I am so excited for the season that the Lord is bringing me into. I am not out doing a lot of great works, or going through a huge life changing events, but just being here, doing the mom thing everyday. But to have such great support of veteran mommies that have been there and done that is so amazing. I pray that the Lord will give me wisdom and strength for everyday, and He has! I truly love being a Mommy and knowing that I get pour into Hannah's life, and that this really is the season and time that the Lord has ordained for me to be in really feels like a privilege. We are going to attempt our first camping trip this weekend with Hannah, so wish us luck!

Happy New Years!!!!

2010-12-31T17:10:00.000-08:00

It is almost here..... a new year! This last year has been so wonderful. It has been filled with growth, love, friendship, relationships, hurts, and healing. Overall.... amazing. I have learned so much about myself as a person, wife, and mother. I can't believe how much my little Hannah has grown. She is such a little person, and it has been so great being home with her everyday and watching her grow. The different challenges that Jacob and I faced this year were so unique to the season of life that we are in, it has been great being to depend on each other and grow with each other. I really feel that my walk with the Lord has really grown as well. I have not been as faithful in the word as I would like, I do confess, but I really feel that the Lord has been confirming his love for me, even when I am not so faithful.

I really can't wait to see what this next has for me. I am so excited to add to our family. I have to admit that I am a little nervous about having another Baby. I worry about not making enough time for Hannah and how the heck am I going to get up every 3 hours again. But just like how I am feeling now, very sick, and God's grace still covers me to get through it, I know that I will make it.

aaaaQQ1A1 WAAAasXSx~!xx`s1A !`

That was from Hannah, she is excited too (future blogger).

So here are a couple of Goals that I have set for myself this next year.

1. Put God first- spend quality time with him- stay in the word- if I can facebook every day there is no excuse

2. Family Time- to make it a priority especially with the new baby on the way

3. Keep it Clean- to keep my house clean and organized- it really helps the family function better, but to not obsess about it

4. Friends- try not to be such a home body and get out and actually have "Girl Time"

5. Play date for Hannah- to keep her busy building relations with friends

6. Work- to keep up on work, stay focused

7. Plan out our Meals- easier said than done- and healthier meals too

8. Date Nights- to try to have a date night at least once a month

9. Work on our debit- we spend so much money, I really want to get a good saving going this year

10. Have a BABY!!!!!- enjoy the time with our new baby

Happy New Years! Wish me luck- hopefully I will be feeling better soon, that would make it so much easier to accomplish this.

Growing our Family

2010-12-29T12:38:00.000-08:00

We are pregnant! Well, I am :) I am so excited that the Lord has blessed our family with another baby. We found out about a month ago, and waited to surprise the family for Christmas, and also to make sure everything was going well. It was a success. The family was blown away and the Lord has been so faithful. This new little baby is growing strong. I am 8 1/2 weeks, and due 8.6.11 I have been just dying to share with all my friends and family. But being pregnant with the second is so different. Between being horribly sick and chasing Hannah around I barely have a moment to remember. Well, I am so excited for the new chapter that the Lord has opened for us, and for Hannah too. She will be a Big Sister.

Tis the season

2010-12-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

Remembering the real meaning of Christmas..... this is the verse the Lord has been putting on my heart.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

He is calling me to slow down, take time to be thankful, and enjoy the blessings that He has already given me. Even if He didn't give or do anything else for me, it has already been enough.

Suprise!

2010-12-08T20:43:00.001-08:00

Last week Jacob turned 30. I wanted to do something really special for him, but I did not plan well. I ended up throwing together a surprise dessert. I am so thankful for all the friends and family that was able to share with us.

The cake was pretty sad too, but for sugar free, it tasted pretty good.

Hannah got to spend some time with her buddy Riley. They are so cute together. I am so thankful to have Jenni, Joey and Riley close now. It is really great to share with another mommy the ups and downs of motherhood.

All in all this last two weeks have been super busy. Tis the season right..... I really don't want the rest of this Christmas season to fly right by me without enjoying it. I am really going to try to make the time to S L O W down and really enjoy these moments that I have with Jacob and Hannah. My family means so much to me, I really am blessed. The other day I sent Jacob a text while he was at work, saying sorry for being a bad wife lately, I have been so busy some days we go almost all day without spending any time together. And his response was so God ordained that it brought me to tears. He said, "every morning I look at you and Hannah while you are sleeping, and I thank God. Because he truly does give good and perfect gifts" That meant so much to me, and to really take the focus off of giving the best Christmas gift, because God has already given us good and perfect gifts, sometimes we just someone to point them out to us.

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

Giving Thanks

2010-11-26T21:06:00.000-08:00

I have been such a slacker on Blogging and Facebook these last couple of weeks. But I have been out and about with my lil Hannah more. I have really been cherishing my time with her. We had a couple of park dates, which are great, one to get out of the house, two to talk with other mommies, and three for Hannah to socialize with other kids and build friendships of her own. It has been so much fun watching her interact with different kids, she really responds differently to each one.

Hannah and Drew

I love this little face!

Hannah and Sawyer

We went on a little date of our own to the RSM lake. Hannah just ran around on the grassy area and watched the ducks. I really am so thankful to God for blessing us with Hannah. She really makes my heart melt, and I cannot thank him enough for filling the missing piece in her that was Hannah shaped.

This was random from last Sunday in the truck. She was so happy, I couldn't help but take her picture.

I do wonder what she thinks when she plays. Like the other day, she pushed a toy around in her baby stroller, took it to her "car" (walker) and then pushed around the car, all while babbling in Hannah. I love it. And I am so very Thankful for God's timing in giving us Hannah. I am so very thankful that I get to work from home and be with her all day. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Gobble Gobble........

This year I hosted Thanksgiving. I should have remembered how much work it is and let someone else offer. But it did turn out really great. I am so very Thankful for the great time I did have with the family. The kids had a great time, we ate entirely too much food and I worried about if the house was clean enough... which nobody even seemed to notice. I am very Thankful for the family that I have. I was not able to be with my own family, but God gave me a great second family. Jacobs family really is a blessing to be around. I love that even when the kitchen flooded and the turkey was "undercooked, but really just cooked" there was no freak outs. It is so different from my family. There really is no stress, but me. I really don't want to be a stress bucket anymore either. And the one BIG thing that God was sharing with me this Thanksgiving was a small verse that is before one of my favorite Thanksgiving verses that I guess I have overlooked so many times before:

1 Thessalonians 5:14-17

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be PATIENT with EVERYONE. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

I especially know that God has given this to me because I think he was using my husband to strengthen me in this. Honey, I love you! And I love that our only family pic this year on Thanksgiving, You are eating Hannah's hair, she is crying and I never did my hair. I love my crazy life, it is truly a blend of challenge and fun.

All in all, I am going to try to spend more time counting my blessings, and being Thankful in everything, working on my patients. I love my God, my family.....everything else is just a bonus. I am so thankful that I don't need money to be happy. You cannot buy this moment of a tired little girl falling asleep like this in her bed today, kissing her toes.

Happy Birthday Hannah

2010-11-08T20:39:00.001-08:00

And two became three.

One year ago, I started one of the best adventures of my life. I became a mother. After years of waiting for God's timing, And months of growing, and hours of labor and pushing. November 6, 2009 Hannah Grace Masciave was born. I can truly appreciate how wonderfully we are made. Even after being born, Hannah was not alive. She was not breathing when she was born. God truly breathed life into her, and she became alive. And has not stopped since. I am so thankful for her everyday, and cannot imagine life without her. She made me a Mom, and a better person. This seriously has been the fastest year of my life. It was also the best.... so far. I cannot wait to see how you grow in the next year. I love you so much.

I love you when you are sleeping, holding your blankie so tightly. I love you when you are taking all of the towels out of the closet because you are "helping" mommy. I love you when you are "reading" your books, and you talk in "hannah". I love you when you drop a toy and you Ut (Ut Oh). I love you when you push all the toys and laundry baskets to one side of the room. I love you when you walk as fast as you can to meet me on the other side of the room for a kiss. I love you when you need to comfort you. I love you every minute of the day, and even before I knew you. I thank God for entrusting me as your mommy and giving you to me.

Hannah had a great time at her party. She loved opening presents more than I thought she would. She had lots of help from Violet.
Papa Tim got her, her first bike. She loved it and was hamming it up for pictures. She has been pushing the bike around our house. I love it! It reminds me of my bike. I can't wait for her to ride it. She will be the Sky Princess.
Hannah wasn't a huge fan of my cake. But that is ok, less sugar and no tummy ache is ok in my book. I did enjoy making it for her, even with the first cake flipping over in the oven and burning my arm.....she is so worth it.
I am so thankful that the family was able to come out for the Birthday. It really means a lot to me that they would come so far to celebrate Hannah with us.

more pictures of the peoples we love.

she just loves books so much.

We decided to go to breakfast to celebrate as a family before the party. It was so perfect to have that hour of family time before the chaos began of setting up a party. Hannah really seemed to enjoy it too. She loves eating pancakes!

B.F.F.

Hannah and Karli will always be BFF. Even a state and six hours cannot separate them. I love that when they saw each other after two weeks apart, they started playing and smiling. They truly love one another. I am so thankful that at such an early age in this crazy world, they will have each other. To share the happy times and the tears. To encourage and sharpen.

I have often thought about the miscarriages that I have had. What was I suppose to learn, or why did I have them..... I can now appreciate that it might not have been just for me. But if I would have had Hannah 3 years ago, she would not such a great friend Karli, and I her mom Lauren. What a great season, appointed by God.

Happy First Birthday!

Psalm 23

2010-11-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

This Priority challenge that I gave myself has been a little more difficult that I had thought. I have been doing well with less TV, but with the extra time on my hands it has been hard to get motivated. The time that I am investing with the Lord has definitely been great. I have been soaking up Psalm 23. I am taking it line by line, everyday. And also reading Traveling Light by Max Lucado. I was drawn back to Psalm 23 when I was looking from guidance from the Lord on leading our Life Group. When we did our last leaders meeting, Dan and Peggy had encouraged us with this. So I thought it would be appropriate to start there, so I did. Later that week, I had gone to the Library in search of a new book to read. I don't think I have read anything other than Mommy material since I have had Hannah. This book had jumped out at me, and what is it on.... Psalm 23. I think God is trying to teach me something.

We had a great week all in all. We went out and Voted as a family. So special. Hannah even got a sticker!

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name sake.

Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me,

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

Priority Challenge

2010-10-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

I am not too sure what we did last week. It was just another one of those weeks where work, Hannah and getting the house picked up took over. We did have a family night out to the park. That was a blast for Jacob to see Hannah playing at the jungle gym. She loved to crawl through the tunnels, and go down the slide. She finally likes to go on the swings now too. I love watching her explore. She loves to test out everything, she is quite adventurous.

Halloween in tomorrow, and I feel like such a bum. I only watched the last ten mins of Peanuts last night, the pumpkins are not carved, and I still am not sure what to be. I hadn't thought about dressing up, but I think it would be fun to be something. We are going to be serving the community giving out full size candy bars, and hot cocoa. We have done it every year since we moved down here. I really enjoy the fellowship, and it is nice to be out but not have any agenda. Oh well, I guess it will all work out, and if not..... its only Halloween.

I discovered how much I love vinegar today. I bought the jumbo tub of it. I don't really care for the smell, but it is amazing at cleaning. Our dish washer has been leaving a nasty film on all our dishes. I have used vinegar to clean the dishwasher before so I thought I would try it out on some of the dishes too. And let me tell you.... AMAZING. It was like magic, it took all the film off and made my glass sparkle like now. I am convinced that I will not be buying any more cleaners, aside from bleach and vinegar. I am already not a fan of chemicals, especially around Hannah. You never know how much your body absorbs when taking a shower, or breathing it in. So yay for Vinegar.

Today I also got to be a "Single Mom". And as much fun as I have with Hannah, she is so exhausting. We went to Target, a Birthday Party, went to work and then to church all today. I love her so much and really do cherish all the time that I have with her, but I do love when Jacob gets home from work, or church and spends time with her. He plays with her so well and is awesome at bath time. It is so nice for me to take those little breaks too. Being a mom can be very exhausting, and I could easily get burnt out. I sometimes feel so bad about the amount of time that I am with her, but not playing with her. She is very independent and plays very well by herself. And I do have to work, try to keep up on the house, maintain friendships too, and I do sometimes feel that I do have quality time with her. I am very thankful that I do get to at least work from home, and that I am not putting her in a daycare.

All of that being said, I think that I am going to challenge my self to Prioritize and Organize what is really important in my life. I know that I can check up on facebook about 100 times a day, but I can't stop and read a quick book to Hannah. (we just got a library card, and LOVE it) So I think that this next week, I will make the things that I really want invested in my life a Priority, and everything else can just flow around, or be cut out. Here is what I am thinking.....

1. Time in the word.- spending time with the Lord daily- in prayer, the word, and just inviting his presence

2. Jacob- poor guy- by the time he gets home from work and we eat and put Hannah off to bed, we are in robot mode :( so I guess to break free from the daily routines

3. Hannah- to spend quality time together- just taking a little bit of time out of the routine and read a book, go for a walk, do something together everyday

4. Work- I have to work- but I can get up early- or stay up late- when everyone is sleeping and get the majority of my work done

5. Friends- Sorry friends, but you are #5- getting out with other mommies is very important

Things I need less of:

Facebook- I check it ALL day long- maybe I need to move the app from my phone

TV- I don't watch a lot, but when I get lazy, it sucks me in

Housework- it doesn't have to be perfect

I guess what it all comes down to is spending my time with the ones that I love and not to stress about the work, and what everyone else is doing too.

Wish me Luck!

Rain Rain Rain

2010-10-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

So this last week and half we have had an abundance of rain and cold chilly weather. I have been enjoying this change so much. Hannah and I have just kinda laid low and I have just enjoyed spending quality time with my little munchkin. The only down side to this weather is lack of exercise and lots of spontaneous baking.....so what was the downside, oh the 4 extra pounds I put on. Oh well, I know when we get moving again I will make better choices and they will come off, hopefully.

We had fun playing dress up and just taking some random pictures. We would start to watch movies, she didn't have much of an attention span. And played, and read books, she can understand so much. We have so much fun together. I can't believe that my baby is almost one! What an amazing year. I feel so blessed to be her mommy and I thank God everyday for her.

Jacob and Hannah sported there USC gear to cheer them on last weeks game. She lovers her Daddy so much. I love the way that she just looks at him. He can make her laugh so hard.

Her little personality is growing and changing every day. She climbed into her Hippo walker, and sat in it. A couple of days later, she was just kicking back putting her feet up in it.

And nothing is off limits now, she is such a climber. I think she was building a fort, or a tower to get up on the couch. She will just play all day long, even I don't even play with her. I can't believe how much she understands. She loves playing with her baby doll and knocking down a tower that I build with her stacking cups. She is so much fun, she sparkles a little bit of color in my day, just like her daddy does. I cherish all these fleeting moments with her, until next time.

Hello Fall...

2010-10-14T15:37:00.001-07:00

I am so thankful for the Fall. I love this season, especially because I get to share it with my lil Hannah. I can't believe that she is almost one.

She has been learning to use a spoon and feed herself.

She is very independent. She loves to do things herself. And she is such a ham, she loves to pose for the camera.

We got to share in BFF day with Rebecca and Natalie on Monday. We went to Disneyland. It was warm, but fun. It was our first trip without daddy, we missed him, but he had to work. Hannah only lasted two rides, but they were fun. That is the joy of having a pass, I can't image trying to go all day with her.

Awww Mom's Group. This last week it was at the Pumpkin Patch in Irvine. And after all this time we finally got a good pic of together, Lauren I am going to miss you dearly! What a great time of fellowship and time with Hannah. I loved it. Hannah on the other hand, she is afraid of pumpkins.....I love that she is her own little person.

She road the fake horse.

We looked by the "mine" and watched the waterfall.

Watch me Grow.... it took us about 15min to get her to stand by this, just over 2ft tall.

I love this! Such a gift.

I am so glad that I got to have such a great week with all the great mommies. I really do feel so blessed to have so many great people to spend time with during the week. I count my blessings daily, a perfect season to reflect on the things that I am thankful for.

here there and in between

2010-10-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

This last week and a half has been filled with such ups and downs.....take today for example, I wanted to get caught up on the house, and work. I set my alarm for 5am to get up before my lil Hannah so I can spend quaility time with her today, but did she let me....NO. She set her alarm for 4am, after trying for about an hour to put her back to sleep, I gave up and let her play for about an hour.

She finally gave up and crashed. Note: it took three attempts to lay her down before she went back to sleep in her bed.

This last week has been so draining for me. Last Thursday Hannah got the stomach flu.... NO FUN! She woke up at 11:30pm vomiting. She didn't stop until almost 3:30am. Poor thing! It was the saddest thing ever. I felt terrible for her. I am proud of myself looking back, I didn't panic, I just reacted. It completely wiped her out for the last 5 days. She is finally on the up and up. It was really draining because Jacob got it too. To a certain extent, it was almost worst having him sick than Hannah. When I would put Hannah down for a nap or to bed, she would sleep, in her bed, all night. Jacob on the other hand, didn't, and he was next to me, and noisy.

Taking care of two sickies was no fun. But I am very thankful that I didn't' get sick.

I have also been on such an emotional roller coaster ride. My dearest friend of the last 18months or so Lauren, is moving to AZ. This is the saddest thing ever for me. It has taken me 5 years of living down here in RSM to find a friend as close and Lauren. We have shared so many great memories I am just not ready to let her go. I know that it is for the best, she and her family will have such a great opportunity out there. I just love her so much, it makes my heart so sad. There are so very few friends out there that I connect with on this level that there are no words. She brought me lunch and visited me regularly when I was on bedrest with Hannah. We would walk the lake all the time during pregnancy and after. The 4hour mall trips where we would spend almost the entire time, the the nursing lounge or eating yummy brownies ;) Or just sitting around and doing absolutely nothing together. Lauren my friend, you are such a great mommy and wife and friend.... I LOVE you and will miss you daily.

On the other hand, I have a dear friend Jennie Adkins that is moving back to Ca. I am super excited for that. We had so much fun going out the NV to visit a week ago. It was Hannah's first road trip.

The drive out was horrible.... so much traffic. We ended up stopping and getting a hotel. We got up early and hit the road again. I love desert sunrises.

Once we got out there, it was great. Great time hanging out and the babies played great together too!

The drive home was pretty much the same as the drive out there.... lots of traffic!

Hannah did great on the drive home too!

This is Hannah just being cute with her sippy. Thank you Aunt Becky! You have given so much to my lil Hannah, we think of you daily.

Well, its a new day. I love the rain, and my lil one just woke up. Time to start it all over again. Lord give me strength for this day. Until next time.

Eating through the pantry...

2010-09-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

My life lessons.... just being real.

So when funds get a little tight we start to cut back. A couple of weeks ago things got really tight. Our budget only allowed for about$20 worth of groceries, what can you buy for with $20 worth of groceries.... not a whole lot. We started to eat through the cupboards. I was surprised what I could make with the food that I already had (note: it wasn't always the healthiest or tastiest but it worked). And the bonus was that we stuck to our little budget buying only fresh foods.

It is amazing how creative we have been with our finances since having Hannah. We have stopping taking the Toll Roads, cut out our Out to Eat budget, I started making all of Hannah's food, and I even temporally wearing makeup (I ran out and it was out of the budget). One thing that I did also cut out, was our tithe. I am not proud that I did this. When push came to shove, my faith was too small, and I had bills to pay. I had my tithe check written, but when I forgot to give it, I used the money in the account to pay another bill. That was not wise. It got pretty bad... we had to eat through our cupboards. I was evident that our fiancees were not blessed. After hearing an amazing testimony from Life Group on Tuesday, I got paid on Wednesday, and the first thing that I did was tithe, thank you to online giving.

Malachi 3:10
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Boy is God Faithful!!!! I think it went right up to him.. :) He did bless the rest of what we have, and even gave Jacob a little extra in commission.

I don't know why sometimes I have to learn the same principles over and over again. I did graduate from High School with honors and straight A's. But it seems to be the life stuff that I just don't get some times. I guess that is where testing comes in, and GOD is ALWAYS FAITHFUL. He always has and always will be.

Even when Jacob was diagnosed with Diabetes and we had so many medical bills that we were sent to collections and before we got our first collection served to us, God provided us with a $10,000 check from Jacob winning a sales contest.

The bottom line, he knows our needs and knows what I can handle, and it is a daily thing being brought back into alignment with him.

Money aside. Happy Fall! I am so excited for this season. Here is my list why.

pumpkin bread

hot chocolate

sweaters

scarfs

boots

cuddling in bed

watching the rain

candles

baking

thanksgiving

and best of all

celebrating Hannah!

I love the change of seasons. It is like being able to have a new start. New chapter. Here is making the most of the Fall.

Story of Hannah

2010-09-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to get a journal and write a on-going letter to Hannah. I still have not found the right one yet, and worried that I might forget some of the milestones that she has accomplished, I am going to start it on my blog, and then journal to her will soon follow.

Dear Hannah,

You became a you. The day that I found out that I had you in my tummy, was one of the happiest days of my life. And God has been richly blessing me ever sense. I have prayed for you and over you for three long years. And through loss and heart ache, I longed for you. I knew that my life would not be complete without you. You will always hold a special place in my heart, you are my first child and you made me a mom.

So the short story of the pregnancy. I found out I was pregnant with you on March 17, 2009, St. Patrick's Day. I told Daddy that we were pregnant and we both were so excited. I went to the doctors the next day. He said I was very early but you were in there. After lots of waiting, and blood work, the Dr. put me on hormones and the sickness began. For the record I still cannot eat pork, that was the last thing that made me horribly sick, and I want to gag just thinking of pork right now.....When we found out you were going to be a Hannah, we were so excited! We went to Don Joses to celebrate, and talk names. I had a pretty normal pregnacy until about week, 29-30, when you decided that you wanted come out....well kinda. I had early labor, and regular contractions every 10-30 mins for the next 6 weeks until you were born. This was so stinky, I was on bed rest and had to take medication that made me jittery. Anytime I would get up and walk or move, they would get worst, and I would feel sick. I did have lots of company while I was bed rest and was forced to skip the whole nesting thing too. I pre

tty much just got to eat and gain weight, which Lauren encouraged by bringing me KFC and Taco Bell almost every other day.

Your arrival. At 36 weeks the Dr. said it would be safe if you were born, so I was able to come off bed rest and stop taking the medication. I went in for an exam November 5 and you checked out ok. After being off the medication I was exhausted, I was having contractions every 7-10 mins, but still no Hannah. At 440 am November 6, I woke up and went to the couch to try to

get more sleep because of all regular contractions, when I noticed that you were not moving. I did the stress test as the Dr. said to, and still nothing. Finally I got one little move from you, but by then I had already called the Dr. and he said to go to the hospital. We arrived at 5am, without calling anyone. I was a wreck, I cried the entire way to the hospital thinking that something had happened to you. The ER guy wheeled me up to the Labor and Delivery, and I was soon hooked up to the monitors. BUMB BUMB..... I heard your heart beating. It was the single most perfect sound I have ever heard and I will never forget that moment. After being watched by the nurses, my Dr finally came and checked all the readings on the machines and said well, you are going to have a baby and broke my water. Labor had begun. I did the epidural , but had a rear reaction to it, where it pretty much didn't work. After being in labor for 16 hours, and 2 long hours of pushing, you had made your arrival.

LIFE. You made it into the world, but not breathing. The hospital had the NICU staff waiting for you, I guess they knew that something was wrong after all the stress that you had been under. It took about 20 mins after you were born, but you were finally breathing on your own. Thankfully they did all the work on you in the room, and your little cry, the sweetest thing. It was about two hours after were born you were placed in my arms, I was complete. It is amazing how fragile life really is, and what a miracle you really are. If there is ever a question if God answers prayers, I can say with confidence YES. You are my living miracle, my answer to prayer.

The Now. I love every moment that we share together. I love all your Hannah' isms... that you love to PLAY, PLAY, PLAY. and that you love to explore and touch walls. That your Daddy can make you laugh like nobody can. You love to climb, and touch our head board in our bed. You love to be outdoors. Your scrunched nose and cheese face. That you babble on all day and call yourself Nana. You love feet.. and shoes and putting your hands in peoples mouths...yuck. That you love taking a bath, though you haven't always. You took forever to sit up, but less than a month and a half later you started crawling, and just last week you took your first two steps. Time has truly flown by.

I feel this is a good start for now.

Love,

Mommy

I'm back.....maybe

2010-09-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well, after looking at my blog, I am not a very good blogger. It looks like I only update it once a year or so. I will try to work on that.

In a nutshell..... this last year has truly been the best year of my life! I am a mommy! And love every second of it. Hannah Grace Masciave was born last November 6th at 8:59pm. It was a rough pregnancy with lots of medication and bed-rest, and an even harder delivery, (she was sunny side up, with the cord around her neck twice). After lots of work from the amazing doctors and nursing at Mission Hospital she was breathing on her own and thankfully did not have to go to ICU. It took a while to get used to, and try to figure out this whole mom thing. But 10 months later here we are, we are surviving and I think doing pretty good. She is just so amazing, she has such a little personality, a perfect blend of Jacob and I. I love seeing what she is going to learn or do, everyday it is something new. She is now crawling and attempting to walk, she has already taken two steps on two separate occasions. Jacob love it too, he is such an amazing daddy! It is the highlight of my day when he gets home from work and rushes to give her kisses and plays with her. I am so fortunate to work from home full time. It is sometimes hard to find time to do everything in one day, but I just get up early and utilize nap time for work time. So that is us in the last year.

More recently, I am so excited to get back into the fall routine. It is my favorite time of the year. I can't wait for temperatures to cool back down, and start burning candles and having hot tea. It makes me want to bake and decorate too. Awww... I can't wait!

Life groups start soon, which has been such a great adventure. I love seeing what God is doing in the lives of others. It is so unique to come along together and encourage each other outside of the "church", but to just be one as a body. I have been desiring to be more kingdom minded lately. In this time of the new season, it has truly been unlike any other, Jacob and I have been stretched, in our marriage, finances, and with work, not to mention the whole parenthood thing. But the only way to grow is to be stretched, so I am praying for some enormous growth.

Well here is a taste.... hopefully I will keep up on this.... but we'll see.

2009-06-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

Whoa Baby........... a lot can happen in six months. The biggest news is the expectancy of our first child. I could not believe how fast it has gone already. We find out the sex of our baby is just 20 days. It has been such a roller coaster ride of emotions. I have always wanted to be a mommy, and have always loved babies. I am so excited to finally have a child myself. Although pregnancy is not what I had always thought it would be. From the everyday, all day morning sickness, to the mood swings, and swollen feet. It is not quite the walk in a park I had thought it was. But hearing the little heart beat is so sweet. And I know it'll be well worth it, when I get to meet my baby face to face.

What has God been up too........ well he has been quite busy in my life. It always seems that in the times of chaos and business he is there and working more than I know it. I am still a little fuzzy on the direction of my life to go. But knowing that he is in control gives me such peace. To know that I don't have to wait to see what my ministry is, but just to look around me and see that people that he puts in my life to minister to, is so amazing. It amazes me even more when I think I am going to be the doing the ministering and he uses that person to minster to me. I cannot even being to explain how faithful God has been. He is walked me through some very scary moments in my fears of this pregnancy to giving me peace on the preparations he is doing on making me a mommy. As much as this baby is growing inside of me, God is doing lots of growing on me too.

Jacob..... the love of my life. It is five years this year. I cannot believe that in less than a month we have been married for five years. It has been the best ride of my life. I know God truly matched us together. I was telling him the other night, I am so happy that we met at such a young age because we have such a history together. It would make me so sad if we didn't meet until now. But God knew. I am so proud of the man that he is. He has such a servants heart. He took a couple of classes at a bible school, and has really began to stir up some new passions in his heart. I know that he dreams big, and serves an even bigger God who can make those dreams come true. I am so excited to share this crazy adventure of my life with him.

Me....... I am so just rested in the Lord. I am excited and a little scared of the next chapter of our lives. We have a baby on the way. Are going to start hosting a small group. And have had some major changes go on at work. Money is always a factor, in that there never seems to be enough. But I know that I don't have to go through any of this alone. I have such a wonderful husband, family and church family, but most importantly I know that God will be there with me. In all of this I have such a peace.

I guess we will just see what the next six months hold for us. Hopefully I will get better at keeping up with the blog too. :)

Secrets of my Soul

2009-01-30T17:09:00.000-08:00

So I have discovered that I am not much for posting pictures on this. I get to frustrated then I think I will have time to do it later and give up altogether. Well I cannot believe that it is already 2009. Every day seems to just go by faster and faster, as the world around me just becomes busier and busier. It is kinda funny to me because of the business that I am in, it has been the slowest ever, at least since I have been doing it, and everybody still needs everything done yesterday. I have really been challenged to stop and just take in the moment. To take that extra minute to just look at the mountains or listen to the birds. Sometimes I feel like I am in a movie and I am moving in slow motion and everything around me is going 100 miles an hour.

Our time here is so short. I don't want to waste one moment. I don't want to live with regrets.

I really have been just taking so much in. I feel like such a sponge. God's word has become so real, so tangiable. I was reading in Ester, and that book said it best, For such a time is this. I realize that I don't want to waste any more time, living for me. I want to see the glory of GOD around me. I want to do his will where ever I am. I am seeking after him and he is filling my cup. His love is so perfect. He is love.

I feel like I am entering into a new chapter in my life, and I can't really see the title of the Chapter, but the last one left me haning onto every word, and I can't wait to turn the page to see what is next. I am kinda scraed, it might take me out of my comfort zone. I love Change, but it isn't always easy.

I have such deep desires. Longing. Things I want to go. I desire to me a mother, I long for it. I have never wanted somthing so much in my life. I was given such an amazing husband at such a young age. I feel so Blessed. I have so many great memories. He is my bestest friend. And we have overcome so much. We have faught for God to be the center of our marrage. The rock that we stand on and hold onto. I have come to a point in my life of surrender, surrender what I want most. And hold onto what I know, God's word. His love, and Truth. His will and purpose for my life is so much more than I could ever understand.

I pray that he will hold me. And carry me. Walk with me. I love the verse of song "take my heart and seal it". That is my prayer. I pray that I would stay in this moment forever. This moment of surrender, not my will be done but yours. So I wait and I pray.

Viva Las Vegas

2008-11-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to our friends the Adkins at their house in Boulder City, Nevada. It was so much fun to visit Jennie and Joey. I wish that they lived closer! We didn't really do much, but sometimes not doing much is just enough. We went to out to dinner on Saturday and to the strip on Sunday, Monday morning we packed our bags and headed home. We only went to the strip once, and that was to do some quick shopping. The only down side was the drive home. Jacob had the flu and didn't want to drive and I was car sick and didn't want to drive either, not to mention the fact that we didn't sleep very much either. It is so hard when the people you love and care about live so far away. It is so rare to have friends that don't talk to everyday and only see once or twice a year, but when you do see them it is like you never missed a beat. I love Jennie she is such a great friend, I am so glad that we made it this far in our friendship and that she is really one of my best friends. And I am very thankful for Joey too, he is such a brother to Jacob. I have know Joey just as long as I have know Jacob and they are like peanut butter and jelly, when I think of friends I think, Jacob and Joey. I can't wait to go back, or better yet for them to come out and visit us again!

CHOC Walk 2008

2008-10-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

Well I have never done a walk before but it was probably the most powerful walk I have ever done. We had the privilege to walk with our dear friends the Harrison's for their sweet baby Natalie. My eyes did feel with tears from time to time seeing the families walk in memory of their child, it was really said. I can only relate by having lost a pregnancies but I couldn't imagine losing a child that I had held in my arms. The walk itself was so much fun we got to walk around Disneyland, and the new California Adventure (not as good as Disneyland). We were not able to stay after because Jacob hurt his leg, although it is all better now, just a pulled muscle. We had a ton of fun and are going to do it again next year.

We have a blog

2008-10-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

We have a blog! So let me fill you in on this year. It has been a great but crazy year. It started off when Jacob was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He was hospitalized for a couple of days and then released, we are still learning what he can and cannot eat, but are very thankful that he well. In May we went to DC with Jacob's work. It was so much fun, we saw the monuments, museums, and walked and walked and walked. We both had never flew before, although we don't really like the actual flight, we can't wait to go on another vacation. We did a couple of riding trips this year, which are always fun. And went to June Lake for a week. That was so relaxing! But after an entire week and just doing nothing, next year we are going to mix it up and try something new. Not to mention the bug bite that cost me two trips to the ER because it got so infected. :( But God has really brought us through this last season of newness (don't know if that is a word) and I can't wait to see what else is to come. This year has gone by so fast, and I am so excited for the fall.