Super Duper Excited...I finally did it!!!

I have been married to Hubby for 8 years now and am just getting around to getting my annulment done.  I don't know how many of you are Catholic, but you aren't able to get married in the Catholic church if you have been married before and haven't had your previous marriage annulled.  

I started the process during our engagement, but never was fully committed to getting it done.  I kept procrastinating, and procrastinating and here we are 8 years after marrying in a Presbyterian church, which don't get me wrong, was a very beautiful church and was a very nice wedding, but we didn't get married in our Faith or in our church.  

After our anniversary this December I decided now was the time.  We want to renew our vows on our 10 year anniversary and what better way to do it than to be able to get married in our church.  So I went back to the Deacon and got the appropriate paperwork and this time, I was  serious.  Nothing was going to stop me, I was going to get this done.  This is something special for me, but something extra special for Hubby since he is cradle Catholic and had hoped to get married in the Catholic church to begin with.

So I worked for a couple of weeks writing and writing and writing.  I had to write an autobiography and write info regarding former spouses.  I worked fervently on this when I had some downtime to do so and ended up getting it done with 8,685 words typed on 22 double spaced pages.  Yeah, I know, that's a lot.  

When you go through this it's not only just telling your story, but it brings up a lot of memories, therefore opening up a lot of old wounds.  With that being said with everything typed out, turned in to be sent off there is a big weight lifted off my chest. Now it is once a again a true time for healing, healing for good.

Like I said, I don't know how many of you that have gone through this process, but not only is it a long process of pouring your heart out through your past, but it can also take 18 months to get finalized.  That might be one of the hardest parts, learning to develop the patience of Job to wait. I know I've done my part, now it's out of my hands and will soon be in the hands of the ones that will make the deliberation of my case.  I do hope that it is a speedy deliberation and one that will allow us to marry in the church of our Faith. 

If any of you have gone through the annulment process through the Catholic Church leave me a comment and let me know about your experience and how long it took you to get yours.

Just curious...and I know curiosity killed the cat, but I'm not a cat ;)



 

The Blog needed a facelift...

Hello fellow readers!!!
 
I knew there would come a time when I would have to change the name of my blog from Teen to Toddler Town to another name once my kiddos grew up a little.  I was not looking forward to the day. You want your children to grow and blossom, but a part of you inside wants to keep them small.  They are just so precious.  
 
With our life consisting of a family of five and three of them being kiddos, ranging in age from 18 to 4, it is obviously going to be chaotic.  And you have to have courage or be insane to deal with half the stuff that goes on here at our house. Ha!!! Especially all of our impromptu accidents, spills, urgent and not so urgent needs, school stuff and such. 
 
So with that being said, the name of my beloved blog has been changed to Courageously Chaotic, seemingly appropriate if I do say so myself.
 
~Let me know what you think~

Apparently I'm British...

Our lives are so full of surprises...and apparently learning that your British is one of them.

Last night Hubby and I were hanging out watching tv and he leans over and says "Oh yeah, this guy at work asked me if you were British." Wha???  Only if I'm reinacting Britney Spears am I British!!! Not that being British wouldn't be cool.  I'm totally down with fish n chips and red telephone booths and all. But, what tha?!?!

So I asked him why in the world would he ask him that question.  He said apparently at his last year's company Christmas party the guy's wife heard me talk and thought I was talking with a British accent. I HAD to ask how much the lady had to drink.  I mean, I am a good ol' southern gal, with a good ol' southern accent, sweet as molasses. ;)

Speaking of...I have had so many people talk about my ACCENT who live here, but are not from here. Never, have I been accused of a British one, however.  Haha!!!!  I do HAVE an accent if I'm visiting elsewhere, but when you are in my neck of the woods, you are the one with the accent.  Just sayin'.

It's been a real long time...

How to begin.  I honestly don't even know.  I can't believe that I left my Blog, my digital baby....neglected!!!

Blogging is something that I really enjoy.  I love to express myself through writing and sharing what's going on in my life, my children's lives.  I love to provide an overall day to day fun place to visit and let you, the readers, unwind and perhaps have a laugh or two, or three on me. ;) It's also a place where I like to vent, or even shed some light on some not so humorous events.

I have so much to catch you up on it will be totally impossible to do in one post, for sure.  For starters, My little Itty Bitty is not so Itty Bitty anymore.  She will be four years old this January.  The "Middlest" aka Lulee is now seven and our oldest, Sadie Bug, is 18, in college and has a full time job, which leads me to my next topic....my job.

I started this blog as a SAHM and stayed at home with the girls for 7 years.  I then sought out a job and believe it or not, found one within two weeks of my search.  I started work at a mortgage company as a Staff Accountant.  I worked there for a year and ended up getting laid off with quite a few others. The job was great.  I loved what I did and met a whole lot of great people.  Of course I missed my girls, but the hours allowed me to still be able to spend the max amount of time with them. 

Toward the end of my job I started back to school.  My first semester I took four classes...FOUR!!!  I was working a full time job, was a full time student, while continuing to manage my Prolife page on Facebook, but first and foremost a full time Mommy.  The amount of classes I was taking literally about drove me to the brink of insanity and I am close enough I can walk...Ha!!! However, it was a major accomplishment seeing how I ended up making two "A"s and two "B"s...Whew!!!

One good and sweet thing about starting back when I did was that my daughter and  I are going to the same school and we had a class at the same time.  NO not the same class. I'm not one of THOSE freaky Moms. But, she was such a sweetheart, we met in the student center every week before our class to spend one on one time together and I will always cherish those moments with her.

Any who, moving on to more of the non-sappy talk, I am currently still unemployed since the beginning of August and boy have I been looking.  I've had a couple of interviews.  I never knew it would be this hard to find a J-O-B.  I assumed that it would be just as easy as it was this past time to get one.  I am also still in school, scheduled to graduate in May 2014, God willing. 

Well, that's a good start for now...signing off before I decide to write a book. Here's hoping to write more and more...Cheers!!!

~ Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

Simplify Your Life...

I Love To Laugh - Mary Poppins

I love this movie and this is one of my favorite parts.  Anytime you feel like your week is bringing you down....go to youtube and pull this up....it's sure to crack you up.  And to all who know me knows.... and to those who don't......I love to laugh...... Hahahahaha!!!  Enjoy...laugh until you are rolling on the floor with your knees drawn up to your chest and you are crying.....Heeeeheeee!!!!

~ Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.

~ Maurice Setter

"This Page Is Reserved"

This reminds me of High School when you have that special friend or boyfriend that you want to sign a page in your yearbook and you mark it "RESERVED" so that everyone knows it's for someone special in your life. No one else is supposed to write on it.  The whole page is solely dedicated for that one person.  Well this page is "RESERVED"  for one of the most special people in mine and my family's life. We are such good friends. She's not only one of my besties, she's way more than that, she is family.  She is "Aunt" Jolie.

This is where it is a little different than the yearbook days, she won't be writing on the "RESERVED" page.  This page will be written by me as a dedication to her.  To let her know how much she truly means to all of us.  She has been in our lives since our oldest, Sadie Bug, who is now 16, was 5 years old.  She has hung out with me and been there for me through thick and thin.  She's spent the night several times with us, waking up to a 5 year old asking her if she wanted some cheese eggs.  She has been with me through the worst of relationships and now as I'm in a marriage that I wouldn't trade for the world.  I've been there for her through some doozies too.

"Aunt" Jolie just had her 40th birthday that we got to celebrate with her and some friends.  I remember being there for her 30th and I plan on being there for her 50th, 60th and so on.  Like I said she is more than a friend, she is family.  She is 40 years old and has recently gotten engaged for the first time.  Neither she or her fiance have any children, except the two awesome nephews that she likes to claim as her own. ;).

So many people would question her over and over, why being her age that she had never been married or engaged before. The answer is, she is extremely selective and didn't settle. She waited for the right one.  She is a great person and believe me that opinion is unanimous. My family, even extended all agree. God placed her in the right place at the right time. Good things come to those who wait. Her nephew played cupid this go around.  He sure knows his Aunt Jolie.  :)))

I am so honored to have been asked to be a bridesmaid in her wedding.  I am looking forward to the day.  We all are so extremely happy for her and her fiance, Greg, whom I've known since we were younger at a church we used to go to together.  She has a great guy in her life and he is a lucky one, because he's got the "bestest" girl around. :)))

The newly engaged couple have been engaged for a little over a week.  He asked her in a "storybook" way.  He did so good.  Our "Aunt" Jolie deserves nothing, but the best and that is what he gave her.  A ride in a horse-drawn carriage around a gorgeous park on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  After their ride, he got down on one knee and proposed, but the clincher..........he asked her Dad for her hand in marriage beforehand.  So sweet, such a gentleman.  I feel this guy is a keeper for our sweet "Aunt" Jolie.  So happy for both of them. :)))

This lady and her daughter saw the whole thing and got so excited and started taking pictures.  She was able to catch it all and they turned out great. She emailed them to Jolie as she promised she would.

Congratulations again Aunt Jolie and Greg,

We love you!!!

 

The Beautiful Park

Horse-drawn Carriage ride

Proposal...down on one knee

The Kiss

The Newly Engaged Couple :)

~ Words to the Wise, Wednesdays~

You must be the change you want to see in the world.

~Mahatma Gandhi

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I love St. Paddy's Day!!! The rivers getting dyed green in some places,the FUNtivities happening all over.  Especially witnessing the amazing sea of green from everyone's clothing everywhere you go.  It's a well known thing, if you don't wear green you will surely get pinched.  It's so fun coordinating clothing for a family of five for holidays to have fun celebrating.  

Last year we went to an outdoor mall and they had dyed their lake green.  We wore our coordinating shirts...Me and Hubby wore matching shirts that said "Hooligans" written on them with a four leaf clover and our three girls wore matching shirts that said "Little Hooligans up to Shenanigans Again."  I made matching hairbows with shamrocks on them for Lulee then 4 and Brynlea then 1, Sadie then 15, wore a shamrock ribbon headband....sooo cute. We walked through there and took a lot of pics, participated in activities...hula hoops, got animal shaped balloons made and all sorts of things.  So fun!!!

This year we invited my side of the family over to our house for some FUNtivities. We started out with a cook out. We even had a special guest, Sadie Bug's friend Donny, who is also a redhead. :))) So including myself we had three redheads over today.  My Grandmother, myself and Donny.  If my sister, Lori, was able to make it, we would have had four.  :))) We had so much fun.  The house was spotless, thanks to Sadie Bug helping me. Hubby cooked the great food and my Nanny brought over her yummy red velvet cake, she makes the best.  Hubby is an awesome cook on the grill and in the kitchen too.

We had fun visiting with each other.  We got to spend some fun time with Hubby's side last weekend.  It's nice to be able to spend time with family.

For all of you who may not know where St. Patrick's Day originated from, here is a link about St. Patrick himself:

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89

Happy St. Patrick's Day