Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for my WONDERFUL daughter, Lily. I can't even begin to describe what she means to me. This little girl is the best daughter and the best sister! She is so independent, helpful, loving, creative, smart...I could go on and on. She is such a good mommy to Mark. She takes care of him so well. She keeps me on track most days. She is just the best and I wouldn't be the same without her.

I love you, Lily!

Happy Hump Day!

Lily has pulled 10 straight 100's on her reading tests. Go Lily! Mark will be 5 months old next week! Can you believe it?!

Things are going well! Work is busy. Getting ready to move offices soon. Jim is still looking for a new job. Hopefully he'll find one soon!

All in all, things are great! I always try to look on the bright side.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic day!

Love you!

Prayers for Uncle Phil

Paintings for Aunt Lora & Uncle Len

I outlined the top of the palm trees & Lily did the rest :) The top is a starfish in case you couldn't tell.

Here are a few paintings from tonight...

I outlined in black, Lily did the rest...

The rest were requested and she did them all herself!

Family Portraits are available!

I can't remember what I ordered, but the ones i ordered will be ready by the 18th.

If you want to see all 26 pictures, go to my picassa online album at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/courtney.marshall/FamilyPortraits#

Camera phone pictures!

More pictures...

The hammock Dad made me sit in...very comfy!

Pictures begin...

Cheers!


Josh and his pretty purple umbrella


I love it how Lily is leaning on Josh...

Mountains...

View of downtown as we headed out to Pismo

Finally Friday :)

I will be getting on the plane tonight. I went to check in and found out that Jim has been randomly selected for a search so I couldn't check him in. That should be fun. May need to plan on getting there a bit early.

I'm at work tying up loose ends. Need to go home and pack (Yep, didn't get that done last night) Need to see about getting Lily a DVD player for the plane. Lots of things to do and I'll probably be at work all day. Ahhhh...C'est La Vie

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Thankful Thursday

Shopping is my therapy. If I am ever stressed out, I will either clean something or go out and buy something. Usually the latter. It makes me feel great to buy a $5 shirt or $10 pair of earrings. It doesn't have to be expensive. And how awesome it is to be able to spend $5 as opposed to $100 in therapy :)

So today I am thankful for the job I have that allows me to buy things. I know sometimes I feel my job responsibilities are a lot for me to handle, but I am extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to try. I am the Branch Manager for Ajilon Finance and normally a Branch Manager has experience in not only managing but also Sales in this industry. I am NOT a sales person. I couldn't sell ice cream to someone on a hot day. I am amiable...but i am a great supervisor. I am able to lead and get others to follow. I have great tactics and a great business mind. I know what works and what will make someone successful. The only struggle I have is the sales aspect of the job, but I do it. This position is the most difficult in the company because not only do i have to maintain the same activity my staff has, but I also have to manage & participate in conference calls & meetings all week long. On top of all of that I am held responsible if my office doesn't do well. But I am thankful.

Thank you for my job, my life and the people in it.

We're leaving tomorrow!

And we have nothing packed! :)

Seriously though, I never have anything packed until I'm ready to walk out the door. Work is extremely stressful and busy, so it will be great to get away for a weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!

Lily has a field trip to the trout farm in Shelbyville today. She decided that she will not be getting in the water with everyone because it will be too cold.

Buying a car is so stressful! I haven't even had to deal with the most stressful part just yet. I just have the sales people calling my cell phone. I want a 2009 Honda Accord EX-L. I just bought my CRV two years ago, but I drive so much the mileage has put me upside down in my loan. I only get 24 mpg and soon I will be driving 40 miles one way to work. I need a good car with good gas mileage. I just don't know if I'll be able to deal with the sales people. At least I have a car that's running so I can walk away very easily!

OK time to get back to work!

Love to all!

Lily's Ribbon

Lily entered one of the photos she took over a year ago into the TN State Fair and she won an honorable mention ribbon :) She was very excited! Just think with practice where she'll be in a few years!

thank you for taking this picture for us, Cindy!

We are raising money for Lily's school...

The PTO at Lily's school has decided that we will not have a catalog sale and instead we are supposed to be taking donations to raise money for the Spring Fling, Reading Incentive reward parities, movie nights, picnic tables, etc.

Lily has come up with a brilliant idea of painting pictures and asking $1-$5 for them from family. So instead of buying something tacky from a catalog, maybe you will enjoy an original "Lily" :) I've attached 3 pictures that she painted just today. Please let me know if you would like to help her out by buying 1 of these pictures! We are also going to have a yard sale and see how much of our stuff we can sell to donate half the money to her school and the rest to a local charity.

Click "Add Comment" if you would like one of these paintings and I'll mail it out! I know she is very excited and working really hard to make these beautiful for you!

Saturday Fun!

We celebrated Ashlyn's 4th birthday party at the splash pad. Lily had a great time! Before the party, Lily had her first ballet class. It went very well. Her foot grew TWO shoe sizes this summer! We passed her ballet slippers from last year and bought new ones...size 12 1/2! Wow!

Tomorrow we're getting family pictures made for the first time. Can you believe I haven't taken Mark to Sears at least 3 times by now? :)

First feeding of Carrots!

First bite was a bit strange, but he LOVED it once he got going :)

YAY Friday is here!!!

Last night Mark was given his first "meal" He had half a cup of baby food carrots. He seemed to really enjoy them. Almost got the "Open your mouth" concept down too! I have pictures at home i'll attach later today.

Lily will have her first ballet/tap class of the season tomorrow and first Girl Scout meeting next week! She's such a busy girl.

We will be getting ready for our trip to California next weekend! I can't believe it came so fast!

4 month check up

My big/little munchkin isn't as big as i thought. He is only 14.3 pounds and 24 inches long. He is below the average mark (45%) on All aspects currently (weight, length, head) but he's totally proportional.

He got three shots yesterday (Ouch!) but did such a great job. The dr told me i can start him on foods since formula isn't satisfying him anymore.

I seriously thought he was my chunky monkey, but no dice. He's just not as tiny as Lily was :)

<3

Happy 4 months old, Mark!

picture from Cindy

You're 4 months old today! What are you doing?

smiling/laughing
rolling over
grasping things
starting to reach out
babbling

You are the best baby! You are so happy and smiley all the time. I took you shopping for HOURS on Saturday and you came home smiling. We went to a bbq where you were handed from person to person and you played and smiled. You are awesome! I love you so much. You are such a perfect addition to our family!