Thursday, March 31, 2011

Gorgeous!

OH MY!

I am one Smitten Kitten right now....Just stumbled upon this jewel of a blog.

And her shop is in Canton! Only 2 hours away, who wants to go with me?! I've wanted to try out Canton Trade Days for a LONG time and I know I can find some awesome things for the new place here plus at her shop!

*giggle fit*

I'm In Love With This Blog!

Delayed entry....

I should have posted this a week ago but life got crazy as it usually does but, I'm home sick from work today (Joy), Avery is at MDO and I can't stand daytime television so here we are!

Introducing......


CASA DE HARTFIELD OF DENTON!


Yep, yep, yep! It's ours. We signed the lease last week and paid the deposit. Tomorrow I meet with our landlady (Ms.Sharon) to show her our paint colors for approval and to pay the pet deposit. We move in on the 15th of April!!! I posted an entire album of before shots of each room on my FB so check them out so you can bask in the complete blessing this house is for us. I'll post the after pics next month obviously.

The plan is to spend May prepping the house up for a "BBQ HouseWarming Shin-Dig" in June. This place is perfect for hosting get-togethers and especially outdoor ones on our deck and patio!! I'm so excited. I must say I am truly Thankful to the Lord for making this so easy. I literally can only give him all the glory since he put me in that neighborhood when I've never been through it (in my own Hometown no less), He lead me to that cul-de-sac when I never get lost let alone take a wrong turn (Seriously, I'm a human GPS, ask my family and friends) and he knew to find a place for the other couple that wanted it but backed out last minute so we could have it and all within 5 days of me calling to inquire about it! Easiest move/house hunt to date for us!

I could just cry when I think about everything that's happend to us the last 4 months, how scary it all seemed then and yet life is at a very high point for us now. Evans LOVING his new job, we're back home after 5 years of saying we wanted to move back, Averys getting new friends and functions to do rather than us being cooped up in a run-down house in a scary neighborhood all day, we're so much happier than we were. Life is just joyful again.

Don't get me wrong, I am still leery and I know not to brag too much because I'll just be asking for something to happen but truly, we feel so blessed and we know God is in control and taking care of us, our family, our future, there's no doubt.

I can't wait to get Paris & Gus here and back with us, a month being boarded has been so sad for all of us. I went and visited them yesterday and it about broke my heart. Gus literally walked over to me, headbutted me then laid his head on my chest and sat there while I loved on him, like he was telling me "Just take me home mom, please." and Paris has lost weight which is good but she ain't happy and is vocally letting everyone know about it. LOL 2 more weeks...

Yay for a new home!
-Brittnye


Sunday, March 27, 2011

Don't wait too long.....

First and foremost, a HUGE Thank You to all my prayer warrior friends and even the positive thoughts and huggers out there. I've posted on my FB all about my dad but not the full details. He is still in the CCU but he is on the mend so a big PRAISE.

My dad had been dealing with leg and hip pain and went to see a specialist 3 months ago about his leg only to have a small outpatient procedure to see what was going on since his circulation is horrible on his left leg and they couldn't get a pulse. (he's 44)
 During the procedure they put a stint in his artery to help with the blockage and he had to start a few lifestyle changes which he was already working on.

Well, he went for his 3 month check up this past Wed. and they were concerned that something was wrong, took an X-ray and found he had more blockage than before and scheduled him for surgery the next day. During the surgery they found that his stints had shattered and were covered with plaque, his blockage was also 80% which is um, yeah, not good. After the surgery while in recovery they thought he had formed a clot in his leg so he stayed overnight while they gave him medication to dissolve the clot. Friday morning they do another x-ray which shows it wasn't a clot in his leg but more plaque and they needed to yet again go in with another surgery ASAP.

My dad went into surgery around 1:30pm and was not done until 10:45pm!! 9 hours in surgery where they found severe amounts of plaque in his leg and fragments down to his ankle. His surgeon said he was lucky to keep his foot and still may lose it if they find more plaque or have any complications since he can't take on another surgery.

I know the majority of the people who read my blog, that being said I know you know my story. My dad and I are not the typical father/daughter duo and as much as I wish for/ want/ long/crave, etc. for that relationship we just can't seem to get there. However, I am besotted with him. I look up to him a lot and I love him. Even with our past, with our faults, all that junk. He is my dad and he is Averys "Pops" and having him in her life makes my heart swell. He's also never been sick or hurt like this in his life. This scared me. Scares me still since he's a cynical person when it comes to religion and Evan and I have tried to have talks with him about his salvation but he normally scoffs it off or says something hurtful but yet, in his special way of saying "shut up" as to not seem too offensive.

When my stepmother (whom I adore and am beyond Thankful for) called my mom and asked us to come down yesterday and kept sending me txt updates I got upset. I went to that worst-case scenario and it floored me. I just got my dad back, I don't want to lose him! Then I got out of that horrible mind set and started thinking about what would happen if he lost his foot or leg...he's still young, he's fairly healthy, he has a wonderful wife, great work benefits, he's got support, it wouldn't do him in, he'd survive it.
The whole drive down my mom and I just talked about stuff and didn't really go into his health except for her view on the men in our family living life "rough" and not treating their body's the way they should.

I'm beyond familiar with hospitals and procedures and medical stuff so it wasn't a big deal when after waiting 2 hours they brought him back to his room...but for me...I couldn't do much but stand by his bedside, not even up beside him to let him know I was there but enough to look at him. I helped my step mom with getting him water and a washcloth but that was it. I tried to talk to him but it didn't feel right. I felt like I shouldn't have been there, like I was intruding! Then again, I had to be there.

I know, doesn't make much sense....

That first hour of being in recovery with him was shocking for me. My tall, strong, intimidating and handsome daddy looked...human. He looked fragile and it scared me. He was swollen from all the fluids, had 3 iv's in him and tubes everywhere and  it didn't seem right. I mean all the medical supplies, yes but him...he didn't look right being that vulnerable.

It made me feel like I had wasted too much time waiting on him to simply be my dad. I doubt he ever says any of the thousands of words I've dreamt about, I know the conversations I long for will probably never happen and yet, I've held that against him for years. I've wasted a lot of heart and emotions when I should have been praising God and being Thankful that he was in my life and that he was at least...trying.

Sweet readers, dear friends, I hope you don't wait too long on that person in your life like this.

I can't wait for him to recover and get back home. Maybe I can take a stab at trying things out with him in a less judgemental and hurt way but more in thanks of having him in my life. In my daughters life too for that matter.

Please, keep those prayers, thoughts, hugs and love coming in. We're all feeling them and I know they are working. I appreciate them more than you'll ever know.

-Brittnye

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

OUCH!

Ugh.


I had intended to be very informative on my horrible Tuesday but now, looking at some of my photos and crying a lot today and dealing with a situation that is just going to test me on my patience I've decided to keep it a bit low-key. I will say I left the house at 8:30am and didn't get back home until 5:45pm in which I ate dinner, took a much needed bubble bath and went to bed around 7:15pm (yeah it was that bad). Only now, I am up at midnight and doubt I get back to sleep anytime soon.

So, I'm not sure when or where although we're pretty sure it took place Friday. I got bite by a spider. Not just any spider but according to the nurse I saw  it looks like a wood spider. I never felt anything bite me and since the location of the bite is quite confusing I really don't know how I wouldn't have not noticed anything on me.

You see, I got bit on my breast. YEP, my boob, lady lump, tata, you name it...

It's on my left breast right where my bra would meet in the middle, not under my bra line or bust but right at the apex so it's like the spider might have fallen down my top (if I had a t-shirt on it wouldn't have gotten me) and had just landed and took aim.

I first noticed the weird yellow/red bump on Saturday and it hurt to touch and felt like this odd knot. By Sunday, it had spread but not like a pimple or ingrown hair but more in depth and the color went from red to green to black. (sorry if it's TMI)

So today I went and got it checked out due to how painful it was getting and how ugly it looked. Evan was sure it was a bite since you can even see two little puncture marks above the well made wound.

The nurse took one look and started asking me questions. Fever? Chills? Vomiting? Nausea? Dizzy? all to which I said no except a headache since Sunday and it hurting to breath, touch or lay on. They ended up numbing it topically and then lanced it. Which, I may add, hurt like I can not even begin to describe, I'd take natural child birth over that pain any day!!

She drained it, seared it (which burned so bad!) loaded it with antibiotic cream and sealed it back up. I may have to repeat this process if it produces more but I'm hoping it was a one time thing. It still looks bad and feels raw and like I have a nerve getting zapped every now and then but the swelling is gone and the hard knot seems to have dissipated a bit.

Lesson learned. I doubt I got it here at the apartment, I've never seen a spider up here. I may have gotten it Wed while at the park with Avery. They say it takes a few days to notice a bite unless you have a reaction to it. Wood spider cans be dangerous to some people and others (like me) not so much. Wood spiders are also very common little guys here in Texas so...yeah.

I have a few before and after shots but I will not be posting them as I once had planned, nor will I post pictures of a wood spider up because...it just gives me the chills.

IN OTHER NEWS:
Still waiting to hear from the sweet women we applied with for a duplex in Denton. She did call me Monday and is supposed to call me tomorrow to confirm a yes or no. They called my work today to verify employment and she didn't care about me being on Deferred Judification and told us it was mainly to check renters history which we're A-OK on so here's praying tomorrows call helps push this week back into a good and happy one.

I also started a BSF here in Denton with my sweet mother in-love. We went and registered and received our first lesson, I even met my teacher and I can already tell I am going to L-O-V-E this study. Right now it's on Isaiah and in September they will start ACTS and the apostles. (WOOT!)

This is what moving to Denton was all about. Meeting new people, joining new groups, getting out and getting active.
Other things we're doing in the community:
*Awanas on Wed. (Avery will get to be in a class!)
*Gymnastics on Thursdays (She starts in April!)
*Volunteering at the Pregnancy resource center (Evan loves it!)
*BSF on Mondays
*North Lakes and South Lakes Running trails (so going to purchase a jogging stroller soon)

Now to just get a home and move in! I so love this duplex and she already said I can paint (no black or red though) and I've already got the bathroom laid out and possibly the living room paint color chosen so this just needs to happen. :)

I know, I know I need to stop putting my chicks out before their hatched.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Coming Soon!!!

An Update.






-Brittnye

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Photos of a Day

Today was so fun. See for yourself!

-Brittnye

P.s.- Can we tell whose Husband got them a subscription to Picnik.com?








Sunday, March 13, 2011

Didn't we just do this?

Take a look at what God blessed me with!!!




Yep, hard to imagine that he is the one God chose for me out of BILLIONS of men in the world. Even harder to imagine is that 10 years ago in August we met for the first time in that Pre-AP Chemistry class with a teacher who shared our sarcasms, good times.


Today my wonderful husband turns 27!

Happy Birthday Beloved.

This past year was truly a test for you in many areas but you persevered and have truly made me beyond proud of you. I'm so excited that you are seeing and feeling Gods love yet again and that your faith is getting renewed. I love you EP, truly I do. Through good times AND bad, in sickness AND health for richer OR poorer....isn't that what we said that day?

To my daughters amazing father, who still catches me off-guard with emotion when I walk in on a sweet moment between you two. How she ADORES you and lights up when you get home makes me in awe sometimes, you are her HERO in all ways and I know you know that. How she looks like you yet just like me too. You are a GREAT girls daddy :).

I have loved sharing these last 10 birthdays with you, here's to 70 more (minimum).

                                                         Was he not a stinking cutie?!

-Britt & Avery

Friday, March 11, 2011

Memories that turn into traditions.....

Tonight I'm pretty sure I started a new tradition with Avery, one I'm more than happy about.

I make cookies or some delicious baked good 1-3x's a week so it's no surprise that Avery takes notice and gets really intrigued with what I'm doing in the kitchen. Tonight while I got out Nan's mixer and set it on the counter Avery grabbed my leg and shouted "UP!". I set her on the counter and showed her each ingredient and Evan ran and grabbed the camera due to "How cute you both look" and this is how it went......

yeah, check out that hand print of flour I got from Avery.....

Smelling the Vanilla...


Next we add the sugar...



TEAMWORK.


I could eat her up on a daily basis..


Pretty Girl.

So yes, we may have started a new tradition of making goodies together. Makes my heart burst with joy with how much fun we had and how much she enjoyed helping me and took it all in. Makes me wish and long for her to be able to share moments like this as memories with her kids someday.

Cherish sweet moments my friends,
Brittnye

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Being a Girl is so Fun.






Avery again dressed herself for MDO this morning. This included jeans, pink polka dot shoes, her long sleeve HK shirt and her tutu. Yeah, she's getting to be quite the girly girl.

I loved watching her play today, she'd twirl and spin and we even had a local fire truck and firefighters come in to tell the kids about what they do and Avery flirted shamelessly and got a compliment on her tutu. Once they were in their gear and by the truck though, she wanted nothing to do with them and demanded to go back inside to her classroom. Little stinker.

I have a cute video of her singing Veggie Tales but it's not working right now, hopefully I can add it on her later.

Hope your Thursday was great!
-Brittnye

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

This Is The Stuff - Francesca Battistelli | With Lyrics

Home.

If you were to look in the dictionary and search the word "Home" the standard text would say

Home-
noun, adjective, adverb, verb, homed, hom·ing.

–noun
1. a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household.

If you were to look it up online you would be flooded with over 60 variations. None of which truly captured my feelings on the word  today as I was shown by Gods legacy in faith and love what that word truly meant to me.

Odd to say and think at the moment as I look around my in-loves office in which my family is currently living under their roof until we find our own "Home" in Denton to live and be a family in. But seriously, what makes a home a HOME?

God has shown Evan and I exactly where we need to be this week. He not only protected us through the storm of the last 7 months but he unveiled in us a new sense of what we were called to be as husband & wife, as parents, as friends, as children, as Christians and also as individuals.

He also did it in simplistic ways. Why, did we fight him so hard?!

Sometimes when we face an impasse in our lives we often go through this mirage of options, some choices are easier than others, some are more realistic, but in the end the more simple and to the point option seems to get passed along...that is until we take the blinders off and jump head first and when we surface again we feel really dumb for not seeing the answer when it was right in our faces or we feel humilated to have had such feelings of doubt, stress, anxiety, etc. when he always had it under control.

I hope you know where your "Home" is.

I like my list as of late.
My Home is-
  • My Daughter
  • My Husband
  • My Family
  • My Friends
  • That smell that takes me back to my childhood.
  • That road that I have memorized no matter the changes it takes.
  • The songs that make me cry with longing.
  • My Church and the comfort it brings.
  • The Places I can tell stories about until the day I die.
  • That recepie I can't quite master the way my mom could.
  • The sunsets/sunrises that never leave me without awe
  • The place I met my love.
  • The woods I ran wild in.
  • The traditions we make or the ones we keep through the years.
  • My Journals


-Brittnye

Monday, March 7, 2011

This gave me the LOL's

A friend of Evans sent him this email last week, Apparently it's nothing new but I have yet to see it.  Thought I'd share it to pass along the LOL's

-Britt






Sunday, March 6, 2011

The Start of something new.

I'm so excited.

Evan starts his new job in the morning! Pray for him for rest tonight, for a wonderful orientation and the start of the best year we've had in almost 2 years.

Update coming later.

-Brittnye

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Everything must find it's place...

I've come to the realization that I am in need of better or should I say, more reliable accountability.

Seems that I have this little problem, I like to start things but never finish them. I build these things up, prioritize them, make plans, start on them, then give up. I don't think it's intentional and I highly doubt that at the time of doing this process that I even realize I'm doing it.

I did it with Scrap booking- The 3 boxes of supplies, kits, photos and mementos speak for me.

I did it with running- 3 nights a week for 4 months then nothing for almost 3 months and a no show to my first 5k (we moved the day of).

I did it with Painting- 6 months, 5 murals, hundreds of dollars in supplies....then nothing for almost 2 years. (getting better with my new commissions, Thanks Nan)

What else.... there was my weight-loss goal (lasted 3 weeks), there was my sewing projects (machine is now dusty), there was cooking better (I ended the blog I created due to non-activity), I mean these are the recent ones I have brought back into focus but I know there are more.

I also know I am in need of better accountability with my walk with Christ. Being a Christian is more than a choice, it's a life-style. It's a guide to others.  My walk with Christ is not where it once was and although I am not worried overly about it due to knowing what I need to do (Which you would think would be so easy yet it's not), it's the fact that I don't feel as though I have any friendships that can relate to this or help me. Let me back up on that last statement. I know I have friends who can help me be accountable, I just mean that I have a few too many relationships that seem to get in my way of being better acquainted with those I strive to be more like. Make sense?

It's more than my walk with Christ, it's more than my mothering intuition nagging at me, it's more than feeling as though I am lacking in a few areas I wish I wasn't and it's definitely more than a feeling of failure for not being where I "Should be" at my age and stage in life. I want more for myself. I want more for those around me. I know how to start that process but I just feel that if I'm not being held in check on occasion it'll get lost in the pile of "projects" I have scattered around me.

This week has been productive and with it has come a lot of light bulbs so to speak. I need to get on top of where and what we're doing in Denton other than living here if I'm going to be truly happy. Guess it's a annual thing of dusting out the cobwebs and trying to gain more understanding of who I am becoming as a human being.

Sorry for the cryptic-ness of this entry, seems I do a lot of rambling and random-ness in my blog lately. Just better formulates things for me in the end.

Have a wonderful Sunday sweet followers, leave me some advice or tips or recommendations, I'm all ears. :)

-Brittnye

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Birthday Smirfday, where's my cake?

This week has been pretty darn productive.

Tuesday was my birthday, the big 2-6! I must say I have to hand it to FB, it has stolen lots of money from the birthday card industry. I however did not mind because I had 97 Birthday wishes on my page, in which in the pre- FB days would have resulted in about 4-9 Birthday cards (not counting family mind you) in the mail.

It was a very, very low key birthday. Evan and I took Avery to MDO then headed to Fort Worth to finish packing up the last of the boxes in the house and I finished cleaning it from top to bottom. Knowing our landlord I doubt we get much of our deposit back but honestly, as he drove off from inspecting it that morning, I suddenly stopped caring. I've decided it's not worth the effort anymore to argue with the man because we officially are done with that house. Not in a bad way, I mean, the house is in need of several updates (for a post I shoulda woulda coulda done months ago) and we were more than patient and lienient. Anyways...

That was my big gift, getting the house over and done with. We're officially Dentonites yet again!

We celebrated with free Freebirds with Evans dad (They literally gave us lunch for free because it was my birthday!) and then spent the afternoon packing our storage unit to the brim before picking up Avery.

 Evan and his dad had to work so Nan, Avery and I ended up going next door (Because Evan took the car with her carseat in it) and had dinner at Siam House which was SUPER yummy.

I then played Plants Vs. Zombies until 2am. Yeah, super low-key birthday. Evan got me that kidsy game along with Toy Story 3. Nan got me beautiful Tulips with mini-cupcakes and a Target GC and my mom got me a Macy's GC. So it was a really nice birthday.

I took advantage today and went shopping for some clothes. I ended up buying Avery 2 outfits along with 2 tops and a nice pair of running shorts for myself. Evan lectured me on buying Avery more outfits when I am in need of new clothes. I feel guilty shopping for myself anymore though and since I've gained back 10 pounds from the 30 I lost, I'm not really too eager to go try stuff on. Those mirrors are rigged so help me!

I say this as I look to my left and there is an almost empty box of Girl Scout cookies.....

Yep, time to start running again.

Haha, I'm just loving life right now. The move is over, we're in Denton where we belong, Evan starts his new job on Monday, I start my new community service in Arlington on Saturday, bills are paid, Avery is thriving, family is closer, friends are abundant.......LIFE IS GOOD AGAIN.

God provides in every way and that has been more than apparent the last 3 weeks.

Could this post be mcuh more random? I blame the cookies.

-Britt

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