Merry Christmastime!!

So, it is almost Christmas and I am just now updating this here blog. I'm sorry for that, but you will have to forgive me. I have been a little bit busy!

That's right!! My baby girl is here!! Meet Ella Mackenzie Powell! She was born October 24, 2010, at 9:39 p.m., weighing 7 lb. 11 oz. and coming out at 21 in. long! Isn't she a cutie patootie!!

I don't know where the month of November went. These past 6 1/2 weeks have been a complete blur.

Most all of our family was able to be with us when little miss was born. It was really nice to have everyone together. Honey-do and I are so blessed with a great family. We even had someone with us for the first two weeks of miss Ella's life. My mom stayed a week. Perry's mom came back the weekend after she was born. Perry's sister Erica came and stayed a while the next week. Then it was ALL me and Perry... for three days! :)

We also had visits from Great-Uncle Steve and Great-Aunt Cindy; friend

s from college: Larry and Sarah Mattox and their little girl, Willow Jo; and Great-Nana and Great-Papa Campbell!!

Since then, our little family of three went back to Oklahoma over Thanksgiving break. It was a little bit of a challenge to travel with a newborn. I mean she slept the whole way, but our car was LOADED with her stuff. You never realize how much stuff you actually use on a day-to-day basis. :)

Life with a newborn is definitely interesting, but so much fun! She is such a good baby. We are on a good schedule and she even sleeps almost all the way through the night. (Almost.)

We are getting ready for Ella's first Christmas! I'm so excited to go back to OK for Christmas and be with all the family again. Babies definitely brighten up the holidays.

In fact, we are traveling this weekend to Okemah, OK, for Perry's mother's side of the family's reunion, "Palmer Dinner." It will be a treat to see his grandpa's sisters and their families meet Ella Mack.

I promise I will try to post more often. Here is one more photo to hold you over until then!

Today, and all days, I seek the Lord

I've had a humbling experience lately... I've revisited my spiritual side and realized that things go much better when I leave things to God and his timing. Why do I get so caught up in trying to manage my own life. I know that God has a plan and I need not rush it! I'm emotionally spent. A bunch of things are going on in our lives: selling our house, looking for a job, our cousins are about to be parents (that makes us jealous, well me, anyway), my "little sister" is pregnant (that makes ME jealous), we miss Oklahoma, we love Kansas, not looking for a job so we can move back to Oklahoma, planning on when we can start planning on a family of our own, not ready for a family of our own....

Do you see what I mean?? There are so many directions WE want to go when we realize WE need to slow down and let God handle it. Trust me, He knows what He is doing! I need to learn patience in the Lord. I'm very thankful I have my faith and I pray for the patience I need to get me through the next couple of months.

I leave you with my favorite song right now: Above All by Michael W. Smith

Above all powers
Above all kings
Above all nature
And all created things
Above all wisdom
And all the ways of man
You were here
Before the world began

Above all kingdoms
Above all thrones
Above all wonders
The world has ever known
Above all wealth
And treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure
What You're worth

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

You're the icing on my cake....

Last month my husband's aunt passed away. She has three daughters all around honey-do's and my age. The older two have two boys each, under the age of 4. Let me tell ya!!! That makes for a rowdy bunch when they are all together!! But, I love it! 

Before their Mimi passed away she had bought cupcake pans in the shapes of bugs: lady bugs, grasshoppers, butterflies and dragonflies. So, as a special family way to try to explain to the boys that Mimi wouldn't be able to make the cupcakes with them we made cupcakes and let the boys do their own frosting. It was a blast! I think the boys had fun too! 

Even the girls helped!! :) 

Busy, busy weekend

Honey-do and I traveled to Oklahoma this weekend to spend time with friends. That was much needed!!! We each went to a bachelor and bachelorette party in OKC!!! My cousin, Ashley, is getting married in two weeks. I went to her party with a great group of girls I went to high school with!!!! FUN!!! Honey-do went with the groom, Jeffrey, and all the guys that we graduated with to the bachelor party!! I am so glad that my friends took him in as one of their own! I think they had a great time too! 

But, before we partied, we were spent the morning with cousins, Tim and Tracy, and their little ones. It's Easter time and new suits just had to be showed-off!! I took family photos for them and will have the fun shots up on my photo blog later this week: tpphotography.wordpress.com. But, here is a sneak-peak, just for you!

How to sell a house while the housing market is terrible...

You don't even try. Or maybe you do. 

Honey-do and I have been contemplating what we need to do to make ourselves ready to move back to Oklahoma. We aren't in a real, big hurry to get back.... but then again we are. We are ready to start a family. However, we aren't really wanting to start one while we are up here. We are too close to our families to have a baby while living 300+ miles away from them. It's not fair to them or to us. We want our parents close enough to drop by to see the baby or to pick them up for the afternoon, just to spoil them. That's how we grew up and it's how we want our children to grow up, too.

So, with that being said.... we have to start thinking about how to make ourselves mentally, and financially, ready to move back to Oklahoma. The biggest thing weighing us down is owning our house here. 

The housing market it terrible and there are four other houses for sale in our neighborhood alone, not to mention the numerous For Sale signs we see as we drive up and down the main streets in this town. 

So our newest question is where do we start? Any advice????

Homesick

I'm having the most horrible day. It's one of those days where everything I do or say seems to make the people surrounding me upset, and that makes me upset. It's one of those days that makes me wish to be back in Oklahoma so very badly. 

I want to be able to see my mom, or my nana. I wish I could be closer to them. I hate that if I want to see them I have to drive 6+ hours just to get there. I could really use a hug from my Papa... even if he doesn't know why... he always makes me feel better with a hug from him. 

I love that Honey-do is happy here. I love that his job makes me happy. I love our house. I love being with him. But, I miss my family. I miss his family. 

Honey-do's mother has been sick for a week or so and I wish I could make her some soup. Or go over and make his father dinner so she doesn't have to worry about it. Not to mention, I know how badly she is missing her son right now and wants to be able to see him, too. 

Maybe I'm just being a big baby. I guess I am. But is it wrong to be so homesick? 

Doin' my part...

This week has been a crazy one. Don't get me wrong. I have felt better this week by far. (Flu season really kicked me hard this year.) However, last weekend was the best I had in a long time. 

Honey-do and I went back to Oklahoma to visit family. His Nanny is in the nursing home and not feeling so great right now. Anyhoo-- I had the opportunity this past weekend to sing again! YAY! Here's the story.

A childhood church friend of mine, Aaron, is serving in the Marines. He has been stationed in Iraq. Before he left he had requested that Jacqulin (another friend from church) and I sang for him one last time. Living in KC now and being a big kid and all, I didn't get the opportunity to sing for him before he was shipped overseas. Well, Jacqulin and I thought we would sing for him anyways. We got together at my mom-in-laws church in Sapulpa and recorded the song Aaron had requested. 

It felt so good to sing again! I realized that I do have talent and I love to sing. So, my goal is to buy a few new accompaniment CDs and practice, practice, practice... so that the next time I am in Oklahoma for church I will sing. I'll let you know how that goes! :)