Christmas~~2008

I have too much to carry!
Triple Trouble! :) Jason, Cameron, and Ronnie!

Rachel, Rob, and Cameron

Chris, Becky, Jason, and Courtney

LeeAnn, Courtney, and Tiffany

LeeAnn and cousin Cameron

Olivia

The Mullanix Family

I think Tyler is up to no good! :)
Blain is cheesing!

John and Cathy came in to surprise us for Christmas!

LeeAnn, Mia, and Faith

pictures again mom?

Christmas was a joyful time for us again this year. We have so much to be thankful for. We spent time with both sides of the family and started some new traditions. I love having time with family and seeing all of my nieces and nephews. And LeeAnn loves to have time to play with her cousins cause she doesn't get to see any of them very much. Life is just so busy for us all that it is really sad that we don't spend more time together. I have felt like I have been more busy being off for this past two weeks than when I have to work. I have loved all the time I have shared with family though and of course with my special daughter! I love being off with her when she is out of school. I am ready to go back though and get back into my normal routine. Christmas is a wonderful time of year but very hectic. I am including some pictures. I tried to upload a video of LeeAnn singing in church but for some reason it won't upload. So, on to the pics~! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving is always such a busy time of year for us. We have both sets of family really close by so we try to spend time with both sides every Holiday. This year we had Thanksgiving day at Onita's for the Edwards side. It was a very nice day visiting with family and watching the kids play with their cousins and enjoying themselves. Mom and Dad came along since they didn't have any other plans. It was nice to have them there. Friday we went to my sister Ruth's for time with my side of the family. We really had a relaxing day and the kids all got along great. Ruth thought it would be fun for all the cousins to have a sleepover that night! So, Courtney, Jason, and LeeAnn all spent the night with her. LeeAnn said she had a great time and she loved the time with her cousins, but I did notice how exhausted she was on Saturday. (I think they all were.) It was worth it for her to have that time with her cousins though. Saturday, we were off to Cincinnati for Cameron's fifth birthday party. As usual, Rob and Rachel went all out. They had a clown there who painted their faces and made them balloons. (which LeeAnn forgot and left at Rachels.) :( LeeAnn had to be convinced to paint her face but when Courtney decided to, LeeAnn said she would to. They didn't want to be super heros though like the boys so they decided to be pretty. It was another great time with family and good food and cake and candy...etc....etc...Needless to say, we were all exhausted on Sunday and were pretty lazy.
So.....here are some pictures of the past few days. I have included pictures of my two best friends who I am sure anybody who reads my surveys on myspace or my blogs has heard their names before! Teresa and Vicky! They are the best! Also, my boss is an awesome lady and friend....Rita. Enjoy the pics!


LeeAnn getting her face painted.
Isn't she a pretty butterfly???

Tiffany holding Gracie while she gets her hand painted....she seemed to like it!

Cameron the birthday boy....he is two face!

Courtney is pretty as a princess and Jason is spiderman!

Cameron, Rob, and Rachel...such a sweet family!

Grandma and Grandpa with Cameron.

He's such a ham for the camera! :)

This is my boss Rita.

And my two best friends in the world! Teresa and Vicky

Me and Eddie

John and Jean

Jim and Onita

Onita and nephew Tyler

The Four girls...Faith, Olivia, Mia, and LeeAnn

Catching up....

GO TEAM! Both girls were cheerleaders. LeeAnn, Mia, and Jordan before trick or treating!

LeeAnn and Mia on Halloween

Cameron posing for me in the leaves.

It's a leaf fight! :)

Group shot on the steps~all of the cousins

Courtney and Jason posing in the leaves.

The Bailey Cousins at Ronnie's party.

Ronnie at his sixth birthday party.

My High School Musical cheerleader! Go Wildcats!

I haven't written for awhile. Just thought I would post a few Halloween pics and tell all about a few things happening. First of all, they are talking about school closings for ACS and I am worried about my job. I may or may not have a job next year. I tell ya, nothing is secure anymore. I don't know what I will do if I lose my job but hopefully I will be able to find something that allows me to still be home for LeeAnn because that is very important to me! Eddie keeps telling me not to worry about it because nothing is for sure yet but if you know me at all I worry about everything and way before I need to!

Thanksgiving is approaching and I am excited about spending time with both families and hopefully getting some good pictures. Eddie is off the weekend of Thanksgiving so he will be able to go to Cameron's birthday party but he will miss our family Thanksgiving at Ruth's. It gets hard when he is not able to be there but at this point I am just thankful that he has a job!

LeeAnn is growing up so fast and it really has me thinking A LOT about those teenage years. We have been trying to start little by little on talking with her about stuff. I want her to feel comfortable coming to me for anything. She is a good kid with a good head on her shoulders and I hope that she doesn't give in to peer pressure in the future. Again worrying way before time but you know me~! :)

Well, not much new to report. Here are my most recent pictures! Enjoy!

Not taking life for granted....

Not to long ago I saw a movie with Eddie called Fireproof. It really made me think about what was important in life. I had been taking my marriage for granted for awhile and never realized it. We were comfortable with each other always taking for granted that the other one would always be there. After seeing that movie and the struggles this couple went through, it made me want more from my marriage. Since then Eddie and I have had ups and downs. I have made the decision to change things and sometimes my expectations from him are set to high and he gets frustrated with me. But we are working through all that and we are doing better than ever. A friend of mine at work helped me realize that for the past nine years my focus has been pretty much totally on LeeAnn and I have sacrificed my relationship with my husband. So, now I focus on us as a family and we are spending so much more time together and just enjoying our little family. Thursday and Friday we spent some time together as a family in Brown County. It was gorgeous down there and we just took in all of God's beautiful creations and enjoyed spending time together. Also, recently, I bought some "conversation cards" from LeeAnn's fundraiser. They are cards that give you things to talk about at the dinner table. We have been making sure we sit down together as a family for dinner and we talk using these cards. It has been nice to hear some of the nice things that LeeAnn and Eddie feel about me and it really is helping us to grow closer as a family. I strongly recommend the movie Fireproof. It is life changing. At least it was for me. Never take anyone for granted because you never know how long they will be there. I know I will never take Eddie for granted again or my beautiful little girl. (who is not so little anymore) Life is good. God is good. I have wonderful family and friends and that is all I can ever want or need! Here are some pics of our trip to Brown County.

Just an update on life

Rob and Rachel Aunt Rachel and LeeAnn at Ryan's
LeeAnn and Gracie
our little family at the Pendleton Fall Festival!
Grandma and Grandpa came along with us!
Cousin Kim and her girls Yvonne and Kayla

Yay Gracie! :)
Ronnie has a baseball at the Indians game.
LeeAnn and Cameron
Grandma getting some love from the kids!

Things are going really good for me right now. I seem to have a control on my anxiety now since the doctor upped my meds. I am so thankful for that. We served communion in church this morning and we served the first 8 rows. At first I was like we are going to be in the very front of the church! But it was all good and I really wasn't nervous. It was nice to feel normal! Eddie has noticed a big change as well. I have just been sooooo sleepy with the higher dosage and worry that it is not going to go away. It has been about a month now and I hope that side effect gets better.

Work is going well for me too. I am adjusting to being back at ESMS. I LOVE being able to see my two dearest friends Teresa and Vicky again. They have really made a difference in my life. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing them everyday.

I am hoping that starting tomorrow I am going to start working on weight loss and exercise. Teresa and I were supposed to start last week but she hasn't felt like it. So, if she still isn't wanting to I am going to make myself do it alone. I know it will be harder without someone to motivate me, but I have to do it for my own health. I am frustrated with feeling tired and having no energy all the time! I have failed so many times at this so I am kind of going in with a negative attitude. I hope something is different this time!

LeeAnn is really doing well in school so far. She has had a couple of bad grades but mostly A's! I am very proud of her! Her teacher is GREAT! After last year that makes all the difference. Tomorrow we have a picnic at her school and it should be a great time to meet other parents and talk with her teacher. This is the first time they have done this and I am excited about it!

Not much else to report....on to some random pics....