A Sacred Marriage

I had a visit from my really good friend Chris last night. I love talking with Chris because we connect so well on an intellectual level. After a good cup of coffee and conversation Chris left and I spent the rest of the evening reflecting on some of the things we talked about.

Since Chris is looking for Mrs. Right the topic of conversation for the most part was marriage. I realize how lucky I am to have Phil and what a great marriage we have. Chris and I talked about how so often these days people are getting married for the craziest things. I see women getting knocked up right away in attempts to try and trap a man into marriage. Where is the self respect? In fact my husbands ex girlfriend tried the very same thing. I see spouses lying and cheating on their husbands and wives. Some are clueless even when its happening right in front of their noses others find the behavior acceptable and encourage it. Some fit both. I see the sacredness marriage being devalued as people are finding any carnival freak off the street and getting married because they don't want to be lonely not because they actually are in love. It's sad and it's disgusting.

Seeing all of this just makes me realize again how lucky I am to have Phil and what a wonderful example we are setting for our son. I am glad that we surround ourselves with people who have the same values and self respect. I am proud I picked a spouse who is so loving and faithful and respects me enough not to run around talking about me behind my back. Chris I really hope soon you find Mrs Right because I know you will treat her the same way Phil treats me and that your one of the few who still values the sacredness marriage.

Family Christmas Picture

We had a Wonderful Christmas this Year and we hope you had the same. I want to wish all my readers a Blessed and Happy 2010.

Wii ITIS

My husband Phil finally got his Wii he has been dreaming about and talking about non stop for the past couple months. To our loving family Thank You so so much for getting us a Wii, it really made Phil's Christmas.

So we have a Wii and we played all night and we failed to read about Wii Itis or Wii arm before we played but believe me we know about it now. My right arm and shoulder are in so much pain I am typing this with my left hand. Phil is hurting a bit too. Needless to say we will be taking a break from the Wii as we are in Wiicovery.

Phew...Thats a lot of we's/wii's LoL

Oh and we will stretch before we play and not be so rough next time! Me especially.

Christmas Morning

Hope you all had a Wonderful Christmas. We sure did. Here is a clip of Shane Christmas morning. Family pictures to come in another post :)

Merry Christmas

It's 1:30 am Christmas and I am so very excited for Shane to wake up and open his presents. Phil and I are so blessed to have Shane here and doing so well health wise. Last year at this time we were waiting to see the specialist in hopes he could prevent Shane from needing a feeding tube and this year Shane has progressed well with Prevacid and lots of healthy organic foods. Shane is now in the 50th percentile in all areas. He is also ready to potty train and we will begin that journey New Years Day.

We wanted to say thank you to all the people who have made Shane's Christmas so special. Especially our friends as some of you have been more kind than some of Shane's own "family". We appreciate all the cards and gift people have given Shane this Christmas.  We also appreciate all the support you have given us through out the year. All the phone calls and e-mail to check up on Shane and even visits to see him.  He is so lucky to have such wonderful loving people in his life. More importantly Phil and I are so Proud of the fact that Shane has his Mother and Father who are setting a wonderful example for him, Love him more than anything and make sure to show him and tell him everyday. No gift in the world is better than that.  Phil and I both understand that, as although our situations growing up were completely different, ( Mine a death of a parent, His a divorce) we have experienced first hand the consequences of not having both parents around all the time and have vowed to make sure Shane does not have that same experience. At least by our choice as a tragedy can't always be prevented.


So Today is Christmas and we want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

The Ethertons

Exciting News

Congrats to my cousin Mike his wife Beth who are expecting their second baby in July.  Zach will make a wonderful big brother :)   So happy for you!

LATE

I am late with photo Friday. I apologize but I was not feeling well Friday and most of Saturday. 
So its Photo Sunday this week instead.  Check out the nice girls I did a last minute Christmas shoot for and look at their cute dog too! 

A Very Special Photo Friday

Today is this Person's Birthday

Yes, My Husband Phil is 31 today!  Happy Birthday To the most wonderful Man I know. 

Phil and I met when he was almost 27 and I knew I wanted to grow old with him. Well Phil my wish is coming true, your growing old and I'm with you. (J/K)

But on a serious note I hope you 31st year is a great year full of Love, Laughter and Fun. 

20/15 vision

As of this morning Phil has 20/15 vision and the doctor says it will get even better as his eyes heal in the next few days. How amazing is that!  We feel very excited and blessed that things have gone so well and he is healing so quickly.
I know Phil is very excited to be able to see so well without glasses or contacts. In fact he wanted to smash his glasses in celebration but I decided to keep them as a reminder of how dorky cute he looked in them.

Thanks again to everyone who was thinking of us and sending well wishes.

It's another Photo Friday

It's Fall and one of my favorite, easy to make, not to unhealthy snacks is sweet potato fries.
Just take a sweet potato and wash it.
cut it into thin wedges/slices
put the slices in a pan on medium heat with a little olive oil
cook till inside is soft and outside is a little browned

Yummy!!!

Lasik

Next Tuesday Phil gets Lasik...I am very excited that he will no longer have an excuse to take longer than me to get ready ( finding his glasses or putting in contacts) and I love that his amazing green eyes will be more visible (they really are amazing) but I will miss his cute little dorky looking face with square glasses. 

Oh how bitter sweet next Tuesday will be!

New agent and more

We have a new agent we are signing with this afternoon. We hope she has better luck selling the house. She is with a different company and is a little older so she has been in the business a little longer.  We know this is taking longer than expected but are confident it is because God has a plan for us.  We are thankful to be here to spend the holiday's with family and friends.

On a little side note my BIL will be in from Iraq next week and Shane has a cute little surprise for him. There will be a post and pictures so stay tuned :)

PHOTO FRIDAY

It's Photo Friday
Say hello to the cutest dog I know...Our Pom...TWIZZLER
He is usually really fluffy but every couple of months he gets groomed and boy is he cute when he comes back! What do you think?

Thankful

This year I am Thankful for

and so is he

I Love You Grandma 

Another Success

I want to document this for when shane is older. This morning I went into shane's room to give him his prevacid and  get him changed and ready for breakfast. His diaper was completely dry. He had not gone to the bathroom all night. At first I was worried but then I thought no way he held it. So I took him to the potty and yes another success. He peed again in the potty.  I am now sure the last time was NOT a fluke. This is a sign he is ready to be trained.  Diapers may be a thing of the past very soon I hope :)

New Love...

I discovered it this weekend!! Hope I don't gain back the 5 pounds I just lost.

Announcements

First I put Shane on the "Big Potty" and he peed. We are so proud and excited. We have been introducing "Potty" to him for a few months now. I have sat him on the potty and we also let him watch us go as well and It seems to be working. Wouldn't it be great if we had him trained by 2 years old!

Second I have decided to do Photo Friday. Every Friday I will be posting a different random photo.
What better than to start with my Little Guy.

Today's Photo is of my son Shane and his favorite"friend" Elmo.

 What is your kids favorite friend?

Photo Preview

I shot some adorable girls this past weekend.

Here are some of my favorite shots

 

For all my readers. Is anyone interested in learning about photography? Leave me a comment if you would be interested in learning some basics. I might just blog some of my secrets!

What a week

Everyone but my dad and Shane have been sick this week. I believe its the weather.  Phil had to take a sick day yesterday and half of one today.  On the up side Shane saw his new doctor today and Phil was able to go.  Shane is maintaining growth of weight, height and head. She is pleased and was extremely impressed with how social he was and how well he talked.  We have a smart boy on our hands and a boy he is climbing on everything and the energy he has is unreal. We do have to keep him on prevacid until further notice as he is still vomiting to much. She told us ideally he should have been better by a year old but she has patients who are severe like Shane that are 5 and 6 and still vomiting.  We are hoping to get the ok in the future to wean him off the prevacid (as we don't want him to become dependent on them) but right now he is not ready. 

We are very happy he is a growing happy toddler and believe me he is a joy to be around.
He has Personality +   :)

We are looking forward to the upcoming holidays !!

BABY S

Today is your big day.  Right now they are mapping out your heart and soon the will begin your risky procedure. I am praying for you and hoping for the best outcome possible.


Great News...Because of a doctors quick and unconventional thinking they were able to go through baby S's aorta and the ablation was successful...something never done before but it worked and the doctor is 99 percent sure the extra pathway will not return and that Baby S can live a normal life free of medications and SVT attacks. 

Thank you God :)

Digging Deeper

So I have been following a fellow blogger. Her son is a year old. He was born with a very bad heart condition and he has spurts of going into SVT.  They have now flown to a hospital in Boston that has the best doctors in the US for Baby S's Condition. He almost died a few days ago and he now requires a procedure called an ablation that could help him but is also risky for his age. It could kill him or leave him relying on a pacemaker for the rest of his life.  God am I praying for this little guy. My heart aches for this family.

So this morning I woke up and went to Shane's room to find a pool of vomit at his bedside. When this happens I get quite upset and frustrated.  Why does my little guy have to suffer...will he ever be able to eat normal and wake up without vomiting or having to rely on medication.  This morning was different as I thought of baby S and his mom and I realized I had to dig a little deeper.

This morning I choose to be thankful instead of angry.  As I cleaned up, I became thankful that Shane is not dead or in the hospital on a feeding tube. Thankful that I can stay home with him and that although he can't eat normal foods like other toddlers his age and that I clean up a lot of vomit, he is thriving is every other way. I am so thankful that Shane is happy and that he is loved by so many awesome people. Thank you God for giving me such an amazing Little Boy!

Thank you Baby S for helping me dig a little deeper. Get well soon!

4 years ago...

4 years ago yesterday my husband and I went on our first date.  4 years ago my mother sent me a best friend and the best husband a girl could ask for. How do I know because a few months before our first date I talked to ( prayed to)  my mom and asked her to help me find the man I was supposed to marry. I told her I was ready to settle down, be married and have children of my own.  I know she played a huge part in me finding Phil because November 4th is my parents wedding anniversary and 4 years ago 11-4-05  I met my husband.  I truly believe it was her way of telling me she believed he was the right person for me and that he had her approval. 

I just want to say how grateful I am for 4 years ago because the last 4 years have been the best 4 years of my life.  How lucky am I to be so happy and to have such a wonderful partner in life.

1yr Anniversary =The Smith's

Our best Friends just celebrated their 1 year wedding anniversary...I did a quick (very quick) photo session with them today. The lighting was bad as it got dark very quickly so I was only able to get a few shots.  I will be shooting them indoors in the next few weeks.  Here is the best image from the "mini" shoot.  Congrats Sherry and Nate! You are such a great couple and so in love.

Halloween

We had a Great Halloween. There is no way Phil and I would have missed taking our little guy out trick or treating! Shane got lots of candy and even more Snacks. People were really great about having things like animal crackers or pretzels to hand out to the little ones. We are happy he got some snacks he can have. We are going to allow him 1 or 2 pieces of candy (how can you not after how cute he was and how good he did) but we don't want to upset his stomach or have him develop 7 cavities by the time he is 5.

Here are some pictures of our little Monkey :)

He did say treat and wave bye-bye to people!

 

One Day Late...Happy Year and a Half Shane

Yesterday Shane was a year and a half old. He is such a joy at this age. He makes Phil and I laugh all the time. He really is the "Light of Our Lives". He says over 40 words now and even says small sentences.   One of my favorite words he says is balloon. He says it "bee-youin" so darn cute. He is also adorable right before nap and bed. We tuck him in and he giggles, then waves and says bye-bye and then blows a kiss.  We just love him so much. There isn't anything Phil or I wouldn't do for him.  I really wish he could stay this age for a long time but I know he is growing up so fast and am trying to savor every moment with him.

Shane,
Daddy and I love you so much. We are so proud of how far you have come in the past year and a half. Words can't express the love we have for you. We will never be able to come up with the right words to express the feeling of how much you mean to us. You are a blessing. We know it hasn't been easy for you having Gerd and waiting so long for the help, medications and the diet you needed/need so that your not suffering.  It kills us to know we can't take your pain away 100 percent but despite it all you have turned into a smart, strong, independent toddler that we are so Proud of.

The cutest picture to date!

Happy 18 months Shane!

A Big Boy Bed and a Molar

I am excited to report that for 1 week Shane has been sleeping in a Big Boy Bed! 
Last weekend we decided he was ready to try a Toddler Bed...We were right. Shane has done great. He fell out once the first night at 4 am. By the time we got to his room to check on him he had already crawled back into bed.  So Smart and growing up so fast!

Oh and his bed is adorable. We painted it red to match a cowboy theme room we plan to give him in our new house in Arizona.

Another exciting announcement Shane is getting his first molar. The only thing he has been behind on is his teeth. They have all come in so far after the Norm.  Well Yesterday he was fussy and warm so I checked his mouth and on his left side bottom gum is a big hard bump. I expect a molar any day now.  If you can't tell I am excited because I know this will help him chew better and allow him more variety of foods. Shane is not so thrilled but who can blame him. 

Check back as I plan to post pictures this weekend.

APPLES and FALL and THE APPLE ORCHARD part 2

So I finished the storyboard I have been working on from the apple orchard. Here are my favorite shots of Shane in a storyboard. Click on it to see it bigger :)

 

I also wanted to add a bonus. This is Shane's "I don't want to go to bed" face I caught on camera the other night. He's so cute even when he's upset!

APPLES and FALL and THE APPLE ORCHARD

Sunday we took Shane to the Apple Orchard with my MIL and FIL.  Oh what fun it is to take a hayride, play in a pumpkin patch, stuff cabbage in a purse (lol), witness Shane's first pony ride, pick apples, take Shane through the petting farm, run through a corn maze and drink fresh cider.  WE HAD A BLAST!  This is one thing I will miss when we move.  Anyways I have an amazing storyboard on the way with the cutest pics of Shane but in the meantime here are some other pictures to check out.
By the way... did I mention how much I love my MIL and FIL :)

17 months old

In 5 days Shane will be 17 months old.  Time sure does fly. My baby isn't a baby anymore :( ... I decided on a whim this past weekend that his hair was too long.  I really do believe that boys look better with short hair. My husband is a perfect example.

So...I decided to buzz Shane's hair.  I just used the clippers that I use on my husband and added a 10mm attachment so he wasn't bald when I was finished.  It turned out awesome. He is too Handsome with his new buzz cut and now he looks even more like daddy :)

Happy 17 months old Shane your turning in to quite the little man!

P.S. As far as milestones go I just wanted to share a few of his new words. He is up to over thirty now!

Button "ba-in", Grandma "gra-ma", up, Elmo, cracker and turtle "tor-tole"

And as always his two favorite words are still Dada / Daddy and Banana.

Mr Wonderful

My husband is the most amazing, kind and loving person I know. That's why I married him. On top of working full time and going to school full time, he always makes time for Shane and I. He always goes above and beyond because that is the kind of person he is.

Thursday I had a migraine. It was awful. I was in bed for several hours nauseated with my head pounding. Phil managed to convince his boss to let him leave early to take care of me and Shane. Not only did he spend half the day with us, I received a surprise when he got home.


I love you...Get well soon

Thank you Phil for taking care of me when I was sick and for bringing me such beautiful flowers and making me feel so loved. I don't think you could be more wonderful. What a lucky girl I am to have you as my husband.

Holiday Weekend

WoW...What a great weekend!

Friday was especially wonderful because my cousin Jenny came to visit. We had a great time catching up and I was even able to spend an hour getting some photos of her. It was a great shoot and tons of fun. Here are a few of my favorites, to see the rest visit my website. They are under clients then Jenny proofs. The rest of the weekend was nice as well, I spent time with my husband and my in-laws. It was relaxing and I wish it wasn't over.

P.S. I want to say congrats to my brother-in-law who is getting married and as far as news on our house, we are having an open house very soon "fingers crossed" !

Hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday weekend.

Family Photo

Today we went to a picnic to celebrate my FIL's Birthday... A church friend of his is a photographer and for once I was able to be in front of the camera instead of behind it taking the pictures. Shane turned 16 months old yesterday so what a perfect chance for a Family Photo.
ENJOY


P.S. Happy Birthday Dad <3

The house is listed

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Grosse-Pte-Wds_MI_48236_1112088659?source=ig

She did a great job describing it...Hope It sells quickly :)

P.S. Pictures should be up on the listing soon

It's August...

and it looks like if things stay on schedule our house will be up for sale in a week or two. *fingers crossed* The painter is finishing up the last coat in the bathroom and down the stairway today. The city inspector only violated a few minor things. We have some electrical work to do. My dad is having his friends come in to fix this week or next and one slab in our driveway needs to be replaced.

I pray we sell the house fast!!

Shane's First Hair cut

I'm posting this a little late. I have been so busy helping prep our house for sale I forgot to post the pictures of shane's first hair cut. He did very well sitting still and Phil was able to be there too. In fact he sat on his daddy's lap it was so cute.

I have his first curl to keep :)
Our little boy is growing up so fast!

Pregnant

NO not ME...lol

A dear friend of mine from college is having a boy and is due December 2nd...I am the only friend she has who has experienced Pregnancy so I am very excited to help her in her on her path to motherhood and share with her the joys of raising a boy :)

Congratulations Jessica and Tommy
You will make wonderful parents

Wal-mart Cake lmao

Wal-Mart Cake: Make sure you read the story under the picture. Keep in mind this actually happened. This cake is for someone who was moving .

Walmart Employee: "how can I help you?'


Customer: ' I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week.'


Walmart Employee: 'What you want on da cake?'


Customer: 'Best Wishes Suzanne' and underneath that 'We will miss you'.

You can't fix stupid.

Hardwood has landed...

Well kind of. Phil and I decided we were sick of the old carpet in the house and we knew there were hardwood floors underneath. So we took a chance and pulled the carpet to reveal a treasure. Beautiful finished hardwood floors. So far we have fully removed the carpet from the baby's room, the hallway and half the dining room. We will be working on the rest of the dining room and the living room in sections.

A picture of the carpet and The hardwood floors

I think when it's all said and done we will have increased the value of the house by at least 10k.

100 degrees + Mini Pool

Today it was 100 degrees out. I finally gave in and turned on our air conditioning. I also blew up Shane's mini pool and let him play in it. Of course I took pictures of the event. He loved it cold water and all. Here are my favorite shots from today!

99 balloons

Sometimes when we are least expecting it we are touched by something. This morning I woke up checked my e-mail and my Facebook, an everyday routine. I found this video in a friends post.
Not only was I touched by this, It was so powerful it changed me.



Thank you Eliot's parents for sharing your story!

One Busy Weekend

Today is a quiet day after a fun yet busy weekend. Friday night we drove to Metro Beach for Mary's wedding reception. I took a lot of pictures and met a nice photographer who I hope to shoot with in the future. Check out the photo's I took at my website www.ethertonphotography.com. Click clients and then Parker wedding reception :)

Saturday Phil and I spent the whole day with my MIL and FIL. We love spending time with them so much so that we already reserved next Saturday to do it all over again :) I am truly blessed to have such wonderful inlaws.

Sunday we visited Aunt Mary and had lunch with MeMaw. We did our weekly grocery shopping, laundry and then I made stuffed green Peppers.

Fruit salad tree just for me

Yes they make a tree that produces more than one type of fruit at the same time. They call it a fruit salad tree. I think this is fantastic. This is the one I will be having when we move to Arizona.
Its a lemon and lime fruit salad tree and if for some reason I can't have this tree then I will be planting a lemon tree and a lime tree. I would also like an orange tree and a grapefruit tree.


Fresh Lemon Limeade anyone?????

Junk Sale a Success

We had a Garage Sale With lots of stuff. There was even more along the fence I did not get a picture of. Most of it is my mom's. She spent her Fridays shopping with my dads money.




I made more than I expected. I donated some unsold stuff and I kept some in hopes of doing another day or two Sale in the near future and making some more money.

Next time I will be more prepared, for the wrath of the sun, which left an imprint in many places including my scalp, arms and ankles.

Check it out even the Lebanese in me could not save me. OUCH!

Unexpected Tragedy

Phil and I have had a life changing event. In the process of clearing out this entire house of all my moms collectibles and junk we found out on the 18th that My Sister in Law Stephanie (who was only 16) was killed in a car accident. As you can imagine this has been quite difficult for both Phil and I.

We are trying very hard to move forward as we know nothing we can say or do will bring her back but the last two days neither of us has felt like doing very much. Tomorrow I have to get myself motivated and moving because we have a big garage sale planned for this weekend.

Stephanie may you rest in peace. We Miss you and think of you often. We Love you!