Detwiler Days

Crazy Crafts

2011-02-11T15:16:00.003-06:00

So, this week I've been ALL about crafts and making them, or finding them on a blog and doing my version of them. I want to share a few of them with you because I feel that they turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself. And I guess I did just say so myself, so there ya go! :)

Also, I pulled out my sewing machine that I got for Christmas {read Christmas 09} and I've done like 2 tiny projects but you won't be seeing those on here. Only a few select people have seen them...and that is how it will remain!! Once I practice a lot more, maybe those projects will make the blog. Maybe.

Here we go for this weeks stuff.

A wooden "D" that sits on our table was repurposed. Sporting a little design and a grey. i love it.

Next i bought some 3 dollar frames from Walmart and reused one I had, grabbed some felt and made some sweet little Valentine frames. a little love to the kitchen island.

this is a repurposed frame i had also. i put a blue piece of paper in and cut out our letters and voila! a master bath decoration was born!

This next baby is what I'm SUPER proud of! I found this here and LOVED it! I have made a part of this for 3 sets, but only completed one, as it took about 1 1/2 to do. this is burlap, mouse ears black paint from home depot, and some ribbon. all of the directions are on that blog
*which is my favorite craft resource at the moment!*

My FAVORITE part of this project is you don't use the typical "X" and "O", you use the first initial of each child's name. I changed it up a bit and added an "M" and "D" for the Mom and Dad, because I figured that we might just want to play too!! :) I LOVE it and can't wait to give as gifts!

Those are my projects this week, but I'm sure I'll be churning more out this next week!! Hoping you have a very Happy Valentine's Day!!!

what!?! twice in the same month!!

2011-02-02T11:09:00.002-06:00

Don't be too shocked, but I'm blogging twice in a month!! GASP!!!! It's a miracle!!! But I'm sticking to my New Year's Resolution of blogging more often. And my other resolution about starting a diet...but I'll tell you about that in the next post.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the snow!!! And since this is my blog, I will post just how happy I am about it snowing and being so cold the past few days. I realize a majority of people probably don't agree with me on loving snow when Spring had been flirting with us for the past few weeks, but I love it!! I honestly think I would enjoy Alaska full time. Maybe not the getting dark and staying dark part, but the cold and snow, yes.
It's crazy to think that our temperatures were actually COLDER than the North Pole!! I think that is bizarre!! Santa Clause must be really happy about that fact!!

On another note, I'm about to begin a few new "crafty" adventures. One involves a Christmas present from last year that still has not been pulled out of the box, and the other involves a picture frame and pages from an old book. I'm going to attempt to learn how to sew and start making some fun things. Like seasonal shower curtains, or place mats and table runners. Maybe some clothes for Zoe's dolls. Someone stop me before I get in over my head!! I'm guessing that hyperventilating before I even take the tape off of my sewing box isn't a good sign is it!?!?! Yikes!!! The other craft will be easy and oh so cute, and I will post pictures during and when I'm finished with it.

Until next time, I would be interested if you have any fun crafting blogs you would want to share with me. I am always interested in seasonal crafts or making some really great new permanent decorations for my home. I look forward to hearing from you!!

round and round we go

2011-01-26T13:28:00.008-06:00

Let's move on from the fact that it's been almost 6 months since my last post. It's not for the fact that I've not typed out a beautifully written blog, inserted witty pictures of my adorable kids, and basically posted the best blog entry known to the blogging world...all in my head. But let's be frank, well actually, I'll be Amy and you can be whomever you want to be. I have a busy life. You have a busy life. So I'm sure I won't have to beg your forgiveness on not posting each day or week, or heck, month since July! Let's play catch up!

July: This is what went down...

My hubs and celebrated our 3rd year as Man and Wife. I love this guy more than you'll ever know, or more than I'll ever be able to say. He's incredible. He has taught me a ton, and has shown me more about myself. Hubs, I love ya!!

The next day after our 3rd year celebration, we welcomed a little boy into our life.

Joah Wilson Detwiler

**8 lb. 2 oz - 21 inches long**

He's incredible and I really didn't realize just how much more cuddly and huggable my little boy would be than my little girl. I love it!

Here is Joah's debut picture.

Here is an unsure big sister and a very proud Daddy

Here is my little man. I LOVE this little guy!

Zoe was actually trying to give her week old brother rocks. He'll appreciate that one day

I hope our children always love and care for each other as they do now.

A little bit of August.....

Our sweet Zoe turned 2 at the end of August. We celebrated her big day with an Ice Cream Buffet. We had two kinds of ice cream, lots of different toppings, sprinkles, cupcake cones, and dairy queen cups and spoons to make it even sweeter!! I was asked were I got my inspiration for her party from...my answer...that's what happens when a very pregnant mama plans a party!

here is Zoe's 2nd birthday invitation and her cupcake with 2 candles!

Zoe about to blow out her two candles with cousin Harleigh watching

the cupcake cones, brownies and a few of the toppings

three kinds of cones (waffle, waffle bowl and regular cones), toppings, nuts, cherries, whipped cream, and several kinds of syrups. YUMMY!!!

Party favors in cone style paper, dq spoons, and ice cream flavored candies

It was a great time had by all!! Happy 2nd Year, Zoe!!

September was this......

My 26th birthday was on September 26. 26 on 26. I loved it! My hubs got me a Kindle, which I think is probably one of my all time favorite gifts. A few days after my birthday, Zach was offered a job in Amarillo at BSA. It was too good to not take, so we packed up all of our earthly belongings and headed North, or whatever way Amarillo is from Childress. We have continued learning what depending on the Lord really means. Daily we are taught and stretched beyond what we ever thought, however, we are also learning communication in new way with each other and with the Lord. It's a very sweet time right now, and I'm reminded how blessed I really am.

Here is October....
We moved to Amarillo a week before Halloween. Here are a few pictures of 2010 Halloween

the Detwiler family

MaMaw and Papa with all of their crazy grandkids

we have a Roadie, The Queen of Hearts, a Rockstar and Alice from Wonderland.

here is our Rockstar Zoe. Will sing for snacks.

here is a close up of our Rockstar's Roadie. Joah made a pretty cute Roadie.

November - December

Ours were busy just like yours. We settled into our new home, are currently trying to sell our home in Childress, and celebrated lots of holiday's with family and friends. We are now facing 11 months of 2011 and so far this year is shaping up pretty nicely. I'll make a belated resolution, and that is that I will try and blog more!! However, here are two recent pictures of my tiny tots.

Zoe's "princess cape" (a.k.a a tea towel on backwards) and her ketchup after supper. She's fun.

Joah sitting up by himself for the first time!! He'll be 6 months old in 3 days!! Wow time has flown by!!

babies & anniversaries

2010-07-28T08:33:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow we will be welcoming Joah Wilson Detwiler into our family around 12 noon. Even though I've "been here, done that" it still makes my stomach feel like I'm on a roller coaster. I can't even imagine what this little guy looks like, much less what he's going to be like. This is totally my opinion, but I really think he'll have his sister's (and Mom's) round face. I also think he'll have her little button nose. But those are obviously just guesses!! I am hoping that he is small like his sister was. Even though I am having a c-section, I would like to use some of the newborn clothes that we received, and not have to go straight into size 0-3 months. So, we will post pictures on here and facebook just as soon as that little fella makes his big arrival!!

In other news....

Today we are celebrating 3 big years. I guarantee you that 3 years ago when I became a Mrs. I NEVER expected that I would be a day away from having our SECOND child. I promise we aren't trying to set a record, but 2 kids in 3 years is a good start on one!! I love being Zach's wife. I'm even ok being called "Zach's wife." He is incredible. My Mom always prayed that her two children would marry people that had a financial mind, because let's be honest, I can go (and may or may not have at one time) 6 + months without writing anything down in a checkbook register, and yes, I'm ok with it and don't feel guilty. However, my husband monthly balances our checkbook, down to the penny. I married my Mom. Which yes, I am also good with. I like my Mom. :)

Zach Detwiler - I love you. More than yesterday and less than tomorrow. You're my other half, and even though you have the life insurance planned out, to the penny, please don't go anywhere soon. ;) I love that you are helping me raise our children, and that you don't mind cleaning the house every once in awhile. And that I don't mind eating so much ice cream in front of you. That truly is refreshing, as that would be a hard thing to keep covered up!! HA!! You ROCK!!

Also in other news.....

We share our anniversary with some of the SWEETEST people. Randy & Haley Allen, and the whole reason I am calling them out like this is because I want you to venture here and you can see what they are doing on our special day. They are amazing and I am incredibly blessed to call them some of our good friends. You guys are amazing!! And yes, Haley is in the top picture, holding the precious little girl. I know that was incredibly hard for her, since they have their own sweet little girl they left in the US while they are in Honduras.

My Life....

2010-07-15T09:50:00.002-05:00

I've been a little absorbed in summer and life to keep up with my blog lately. You'll have to accept my apologies, but I would like to invite you into our world to see what we've been doing lately. I'm HORRIBLE at capturing the summer on film, even digital film. However, I will use words to describe what we've been up too!!

- Lots of cartoon watching with the little soon-to-be 2 year old

- Lots of rearranging and redoing of the little soon-to-be 2 year old's room - it's now a "big girl" room. if we are friends on facebook, go take a look at her new room, there are pictures on there

- Lots of rearranging, painting, organizing and creating a sweet nursery for soon-to-be born little boy

- Due date is set for August 2nd, early morning. Unless he decides to come on his own. Let's be real here, I really wouldn't mind one bit if he DOES come early.

- Several day trips to Amarillo, which I love because I get to see my favorite 5 yr old and 2 1/2 yr old :)

- We have gone to the specialist twice for little man, and the second appt confirmed that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with little man's kidneys!! This is exactly the news we wanted to hear, since we had to go much further with his big sister's kidney problems.

- The Mr. took a new job in May, so we've been adjusting to Daddy's new schedules and new duty's. He loves it, and since he loves it, I love it!

- Baby shower and washing of baby clothes....the second part will NEVER end. But, they are such little clothes that it's really pretty fun to do that laundry

- Lots of birthday's have been celebrated, with more to come before the summer closes out. Including a certain soon-to-be 2 yr old that lives in our home.

- Her party is going to be an ice cream party. I'm trying to get it all planned, organized and set-up since her little brother will be about 3 weeks old when her party happens. I'll be very sleep deprived and won't want to work at that point, so I'm trying to stop the stress before it starts!!

I know that there is a ton more that I could put on here, but honestly my mind is fairly blank!! I'll definitely post when little man gets here in a few weeks, but it's no guarantee that it will happen before then!! :) You understand I'm sure!! However, until then have a blessed summer and hopefully a fairly cool one too!!

answered prayer

2010-05-27T11:33:00.002-05:00

Something pretty great happened. The Mr. called me from work yesterday and told me he had spoken with our Dr.

Sounds pretty normal right....

WELL....

We DON'T have to go to the specialist for Joah!!!

Our specialist in Amarillo looked over all of the sonograms and said nothing was out of balance and all is normal!! Praise Jesus!!! We are thankful that we won't have a high risk pregnancy and that for once, out of 4 pregnancies we will have a completely normal one!! Other than little man being a bit on the "line backer" side of the scales, all is looking really good!!! But honestly, I'll happily welcome a little "line backer" into my arms this summer rather than have to pass him off for testing like we did for Zoe.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and know that prayer does work. Maybe this was a tool to help boost someones faith in Christ, or maybe this was a reminder to us all that prayer is still very effective and that it is still just as powerful as it was in Bible times and when your Grandma was sitting at the breakfast table lifting you up to Him. Mine did that at least, all 30+ immediate family members each morning. She still does that. It's pretty incredible to listen too.

Anyway. Thank you again for lifting our son up to our Father for protection and healing. I can't wait to meet this little guy and to thank Jesus once again for sparing us from the aches and pains of the "unknown."

Here's to hoping you have a blessed Memorial Day Weekend!!!

welp.

2010-05-19T16:14:00.003-05:00

There are times in life that make us question. There are times in life that make us doubt. There are times in life that make us wonder. And then there are times in life that make us do all three. I think that I am in this time right now. I am amazed at how quickly I can slip into this particular time.

We went to see Dr. H yesterday to have our normal check up, sonogram for 28 weeks and the ever so delightful glucose tolerance test - YUM! :) Everything is looking good so far. Joah is measuring really long, but look at his 6' 4" Daddy!! He is weighing in at 3 lbs and is healthy and a wiggly worm and all that fun stuff.

However....isn't there always a however!?!

While the sonogram was being done our sono guy pays particular attention to the kidney area since Zoe had problems before and after birth and even into her first year of life with her kidneys. The last sonogram we didn't see anything but healthy kidneys. This time we saw healthy kidneys with a few extra things inside of them. So I don't bore you with details we are being sent to the same specialist we saw with Zoe in Amarillo for a level 2 sonogram. The radiologist and our dr wants to make sure that the "few extra things" aren't anything other than part of development.

Here's what I'm asking from you. Pray. Pray that the Lord's protection and hand will be over Joah's kidney's and will give our Dr in Amarillo clear vision to see what is there. I'm asking as Joah's Mom and the Mom to a daughter who has already gone through this.

It's not as scary this time, but it's still unnerving to not know what is ahead at the specialist and for our son. The Lord didn't give me a spirit of fear, but of a sound mind. And we must walk by faith and not by sight knowing that He has gone before this situation and He is still holding it together.

Thanks for listening/reading my ramblings. But most importantly thank you for praying for our baby boy.

marriage retreat

2010-05-13T09:00:00.002-05:00

This last weekend, Mother's Day weekend, Zach and I went on a marriage retreat from Friday to Sunday. It was incredible!! We hadn't ever gone on a marriage retreat and it was just what the doctor ordered!! Not that Zach and I were in a crunch or are having problems or have a horrible marriage, but the best way to be preventative is to be proactive. I loved it!! We went to a camp outside of Dumas, which is about 2 hr and 45 min. It's a LONG drive, especially for a pregnant woman!! :)

I learned a lot about my man this weekend. You know, stuff that even if I do realize about him, once it's reinforced or said by someone else it seems to stick a bit better. The biggest thing that was "re-stuck" in my heart and mind was this phrase:

Men need daily affirmation.

ok and maybe this one too:

A man's ego is the most fragile thing on the earth.

I found the second statement to go hand-in-hand with the first statement. I also know that most men wouldn't admit to the second statement but would probably wholeheartedly agree with the first.

When I daily affirm my husband, our marriage moves much more smoothly. He is more sensitive to my needs/wants, and in return I am more respectful to his role in our home, which is the leader and protector. Knowing that he submits to our Heavenly Father also allows me to let him be the leader and protector.

I knew this stuff. I had read it and knew it. But I wasn't daily living it.

Before we got married, we found a verse that we claimed for our marriage, our home and our life together. I'll let you in on what it is.

Colossians 1:17 "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."

We never realized just how important this verse would be to us or how much we would actually cling to it. With 2 miscarriages, family deaths, births, moving, remodeling, arguments, typical life, this verse continually popped out. We are always reminding each other that Jesus has already gone before our situation and He WILL hold it together. Knowing this gives us the courage that we need to daily choose to be married. I love my husband, and the enemy knows it, so the enemy is daily trying to sabotage it.

Kinda heavy for this morning, but I pray that you are able to find joy in your marriage today and know that Jesus has gone before this Thursday and He will hold it all together!!

My Girl, My Boy & My FlyLady

2010-04-14T11:05:00.003-05:00

Forever, I wanted all boys. NO GIRLS!!! I knew without a doubt that boys would be easier to raise, less hassle when we enter teen years, and much cheaper when the wedding comes. But. As you know, I have a little girl. Honestly, some days I continually laugh at her antics and her developing personality. I LOVE that I am her Mommy. Sure, I get aggravated when I constantly hear "Mama. Mama. Mama. MAMA!" And I get really aggravated when she throws her little tantrums, which are not happening quite as frequently since we implemented a new rule in our household. But when she brings me her baby dolls, which is a new thing, and in her own language asks me to hold them and then quickly wants them back so SHE can mother them, I know that I am a "girl mama." Or when she grabs one our cell phones and pretends to talk while walking around the room, using hand gestures and all, I just have to laugh. All in all, I don't know what I would do without my girl. We would have been perfectly content to have another girl this go around.

But.

Now, we are having a little boy.

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with a boy in my world. I am even having a hard time nailing down what fabrics and paint colors I want in his room. I'm a stickler for not using "typical" baby bedding & nursery themes. I prefer to call them "growing rooms" rather than nurseries, because I don't like the idea of having to change EVERYTHING about their room when they turn 3. Instead, change a little fabric and wall decor and you're set! So, with Little Man, I don't know what I'm going do.

You have to understand something about our family.

We have ONE nephew and FIVE nieces. SIX girls including Zoe. So you see my lack of experience around the more masculine sex in a small form dilemma!!

You "boy mama's" give me some help here!!

I'm not really stressing too bad, but if I were to show you a picture of Joah's room & our calender and the lack of time between now and his arrival you would start to understand a little more of my dilemma. Plus, the girl who made Zoe's bedding is on a sewing sabbatical so I need to find someone to make Little Man's bedding!!

AHH!!!

Ok, I think I'm good now!!

In regards to my previous post, my new FlyLady routine is INCREDIBLE!! I've daily been shining my sink, making my bed - which I did but now it happens right after I get out. Also, I have been "Swishing & Swiping" - which is daily cleaning my bathroom, and just general picking up and my house looks like I've spent all day on it in a matter of 10 minutes. Also, I've gone through Zoe's toys/room, several cabinets and drawers and now feel pounds lighter in junk gone from my house!! It's AWESOME!! Try it out for a few days & you'll be hooked, I promise!! :)

It's A New Day!!

2010-04-12T14:54:00.003-05:00

I have found a new fling that I'm in LOVE with!! My Mr. is quite excited about it, too!! Her name is the FlyLady and she's fabulous!! You need to go check her out here. Trust me it will be worth your time. If you've already heard about her, and worked with her routines then you'll know what a friend she becomes. Today is my first day to fully jump into what she asks, and already here's what I've accomplished since 9:30 AM this morning:

- Dusted entire house
- Vacuumed entire house
- Swept & Mopped
- Bathrooms cleaned
- 3 loads of laundry done
- Changed Zoe's bedding, washed & remade her bed
- Zoe's toys sorted, organized and gone through - even filling a trash bag full for a garage sale!!
- Zoe's room rearranged and transformed into a "Big Girl Room" (sniff sniff)
- Front & Back door cleaned
- Lunch cooked, cleaned & put away

That's a lot of stuff in just a few hours and amazingly enough I'm not exhausted!! By the way it's only 3:00 PM now!! And I took an hour break to each lunch with Zach & Zoe. Awesome huh!!

The way she outlines your day makes much more sense than spending an ENTIRE day, like I use to, cleaning like a mad woman!!

The FlyLady has different routines so basically your house cleans itself. For instance, each time after using your sink, wipe it down and make it shine. This is something my Mom instilled in me from an early age, so I did it anyway, but now that I do it after each use, my kitchen looks so much cleaner. Also, each morning first thing get dressed to shoes, including hair & make-up, so you're ready for anything your day brings. And also, each morning after I'm finished getting ready you do a quick wipe down of your bathroom counter & toilet. When your kitchen & bathroom are clean, its ok when someone makes a surprise appearance at your front door.

I love it!! I'm really excited about seeing how much can be done and how easily it will happen this week!! Check her out, it's totally worth it!!

I'm off now to organize and throw away stuff under my bathroom cabinet. Right now, it's like a horror movie took place behind those doors. But not for long!! :)

early morning

2010-04-09T08:13:00.003-05:00

I absolutely hate when the enemy gets the best of me. Let me tell you a little story to show what I mean. Since I've been pregnant I wake up around 8:30 - 9:00, if you ask my family, growing up I never had a problem sleeping in. So you'll understand why waking up at 5:30 this morning was a big deal. In fact, a very big deal.

Zach and his running buddies go out for longer runs, especially when one or more of them is training for a half or full marathon. This morning was no exception. They ran a 10 miler this morning. That's a good distance but really not that big of a deal for them. I would be dead at a half mile, but that's just me!

After a bad dream last night, I wake up at 5:30, make my usual jog to the little girls room and try to settle back into my bed for a little more shut-eye. Didn't happen. If I have an unsettling fear or anxiety about Zach out running in the dark, where cars and dogs don't care, I can usually pray for a little bit and then relax and go back to sleep. It didn't happen at all this morning. The enemy even tried to make my mind run wild in the land of "if-onlys." I was actually freaking out to the point I had to make my self calm down or I knew my blood pressure wouldn't be good for the baby.

Why am I telling you this? Because throughout my little spell this morning it seemed that several verses about worry spilled into my mind and only that could truly calm me down. I also realized what Matthew 6:27 meant this morning. I want to share these verses about fear, worry and anxiety with you. It's so easy to get caught up in fear and not find freedom in the peace the Lord offers. Do you ever worry like this?

1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear."

1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you."

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

blah, blah, blah

2010-03-31T23:58:00.003-05:00

I feel uninspired. Very blah. And basically haven't wanted to type a new post in quite a while. Now that my confession is out, I know without a doubt that an amazing post or idea or funny story will magically pop into my head and I will wow you with my post today. You'll go throughout your day thinking of it and even giving into a small chuckle every once in a while.

Still waiting....

And waiting....

Yep, not getting anything....

Did I mention that it is currently midnight and Zach is STILL at work. He came home for a few hours for dinner and to see Zoe but he had to go back because of his new/soon-to-be job promotion. I hate being alone at the house and know without a doubt that each sound is actually an intruder or robber and I have to rescue my child and home. It's not. It's just the fridge or a/c or something normal. I don't hate the extra on Zach's paycheck. We're back to the confession part, obviously. :)

Still waiting for that something clever....

I'm also trying to figure out a really clever April Fool's joke. The non-joke is I still have nothing to post about. Or maybe that is the joke. Again, it's now 12:04 AM.

Maybe I should just sleep on it and get back to you. Sweet dreams fellow bloggers.

She Wants Something With A Ring To It!!!

2010-03-02T16:24:00.002-06:00

I have a MAJOR confession to tell you. Lean in and I'll whisper it to you. A little closer. Just a little more! There! Now, brace yourself. I. Lost. My. Ring!!! It's not my wedding ring, good thing right!! I have lost one of my Christmas presents from this year from my Mr. I'm soo upset STILL!! I lost my sweet fish ring from James Avery. And Zach lost the receipt, so there is no getting it back!! Let me give you the skinny on what happened....

Each year, my brothers family comes into town for Christmas and they stay at my parents house for a few nights. The first year Z & I were married we followed suit, and spent the night at my folk's house too and have every year since. This year was no exception. While unloading, settling in, hanging out, my ring fell off!! We can't find it ANYWHERE!! It was snowy outside and icy, and we searched that night, and even the next day, and the next, yet we still came up empty-handed. Yep, just cracked myself up with that one! But, I'm pretty bummed. Z was so excited about getting me my "index finger ring" just for me to loose it no more than 4 days after. He's been so gracious about it all, but I'm praying that we just find it one day and all of this will be a bad dream!!

On the other hand, (pun intended), I don't wear my wedding ring anymore. All is well in Detwiler Land, but I've lost about 10ish lbs since being preggers and my wedding ring no longer fits! And since I'm not looking to score a world record with the most rings lost in a 3 month period, I have retired my wedding ring for a few months. This is also a bummer.

Now, to run away from all of these bummers, this week is suppose to be nice and warm!! I'm looking forward to a few walks with the Mr. & Little Z in the evenings!! I'm also looking forward to setting up a little boy's nursery!! I have a few ideas but once we nail everything down you will most definitely be seeing pictures!! :)

Still Alive....

2010-02-10T11:40:00.005-06:00

I am fully aware that if my blog & I were a couple and dating that we would have broken up many many weeks ago, because of my neglect.

I am also fully aware that I have not blogged since before Christmas, so let's get this part over with....

**IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER**

Merry Christmas!!

Happy New Year!!

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!!

Happy Groundhog Day!!

Happy National Pharmacist Day!! (atta girl Karen Joe!!)

Happy Compliment Day!! (don't you look beautiful!!)

Happy 100th Day of School!!

Happy Birthday Thomas Edison!! (one of my favorite inventors!)

Happy Birthday Honest Abe!! (the real one..not my husband. they are twins) :)

Ok. I think we are back up to date right? Well, I know that you did celebrate each and every one of these days in January & February. I know that you're not just excited about this coming Sunday and being able to smooch all over your sweetie. I enjoy Valentine's Day as much as the next girl, but, I don't hold a lot of stock into going out and spending ridiculous amounts of money on one day. We could spend our months earnings on one day, and I don't find that too enjoyable, as I do like to eat throughout the month!! Give me a good movie night at home with my two Z's and I'm happy. And maybe some ice cream. And possibly some chocolate chip cookie dough. And my red blanket. I think that's about it.

So, in January we found out that we are having a....little BOY!! Now, I realize those of you who know my family know that this will be the first little boy to join our family since Zach married in. It's true, we only have 3 grandGIRLS!! Mia, Eisley & Zoe. If this is a little feller that pops out in August then our family is in for a rude awakening!! I am excited. The name we have has been our "boy name" since our first pregnancy. So, it may seem really sudden to you, but it's something we have held onto for a while. It will be...

Joah Wilson Detwiler

Not to be confused, I am NO LONGER A WILSON!! A few family members have been tripped up by this small detail. And whereas I still answer to Amy Wilson, I do officially and legally go by Amy Detwiler. So, Joah's middle name is Wilson. We're excited. All of my "boy" questions will have to wait until he's here for me to ask, but I know that it will be fun. Zoe is already saying "bubba" and it literally will melt your heart. She also likes to pull my shirt up and stick her finger all the way in my belly button when asked "Where is the baby?" It's sweet, and uncomfortable at the same time.

I think we are sufficiently caught up. I think. But just in case I don't see you again for a while.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Susan B. Anthony Day!! (use those coins!!)

Happy Planet Pluto Discovery Day!! (better than Uranus right?)

Happy Mardi Gras!!!

Now you know what to look forward too!

Merry Christmas in the Detwiler Home!!

2009-12-21T15:59:00.005-06:00

Zach and I are like children. No, worse than children! We went shopping on Thursday in Amarillo to finalize our Christmas presents. We had bought for everyone except each other, so that was our plans! We had an amazing day. We shopped shopped shopped, ate at the very yummy Abuelo's and then went and saw Chris Tomlin & Louis Giglio in concert. Perfect day!! Zach and I were so excited about what we bought each other that we really wanted to exchange gifts, without wrapping presents, that day. We stayed strong and didn't end up giving each other our gifts.

However....

That lasted only until Sunday night. We had some friends over and were giving each other our presents and I really wanted to give Zach the stuff I bought him. So we did! :)

Here's are a few pictures of what we gave each other!!

He bought me a James Avery ring for my index finger. I LOVE it!! I've been wanting a ring for my index finger, and he listened!!

He also bought me an incredible Bible with my name on the front. It's pink and super cute!!
Plus, a new pair of super cute black & white shoes!! I love them!!

I bought him something that he has been wanting for quite a while. A Keurig coffee maker!!
Zach was SOO excited!! He was acting like a kid the entire time he was setting it up. He LOVES it!! I bought him a few accessories to go with his new pet and he was giddy with joy!! I honestly don't think I've seen Zach this excited about coffee ever!! :)

Merry Christmas to you from the Detwiler Home!!

Are You Serious!?!?!?

2009-12-12T17:55:00.002-06:00

Are You Serious!?!?!?!

- This weather is I.N.S.AN.E!!!! Seriously, icy one day, 70's the next!! Where is the snow at?? I WANT SNOW!!! Ok. I guess I'm finished ranting and raving about the NO SNOW problem!!! :(

Are You Serious!?!?!?!

- This is a good one!! :) I'm LOVING all of the Christmas movies on T.V. right now. We watched "Yes, Virginia" last night and loved it!! Zoe sat mesmerized at the cartoon! It was super sweet!!

Are You Serious!?!?!?!

- 12 days. Not 13, or even 14. But 12. 12!!! That's how many are until Christmas!! Does it look like I have Zach's presents wrapped. Hold that thought, does it look like I have Zach's presents BOUGHT!! Yikes!! Better get that taken care of, huh!?!

Are You Serious!?!?!?!

- We are going to see Chris Tomlin this coming Thursday!! What!?! Did you just say you don't know who that is?!? GASP!!! Well, let's remedy this and you can go here to check him out!! We also get to see Louie Giglio. Very excited about this night!! Plus we get to hang out with some friends we don't see nearly enough!!

Are You Serious!?!?!?!

- I promise this is the last one...but this was actually a pretty fun post!! It's amazing how tired this little poppy seed is making me!! I don't recall being like this when I was preggers with Zoe. Maybe I was and I just was infatuated with being a Mommy for the first time. Who knows!! But I do know that it's a kicker right now!! It will hopefully get much better soon!! Hopefully!!

Ok - now it's your turn!! Let me see your "Are You Serious!?!?!?" post!!! C'mon ladies (and gents!!) It's fun and easy to do!!!

Oh, by the way.....

2009-12-04T22:01:00.006-06:00

So. I wanted to show you my newest project that I created with my Cricut. It is a birthday card for my Dad! I thought that since he left a comment on my last post, I would make him something. Also, since he had prostate surgery on Monday, he is now recliner bound for a few weeks, that a little pick-me-up was in order!

I made the this card and the front of it is above. I thought it turned out fairly cute, especially for the first real attempt!!

This is the inside of the card. When my parents looked at it, my Dad said, "did you make this also?", referring to the stickers, I said no. He flipped it back to the front, without really reading the words! Zach & I didn't say anything, but we're about to burst!!

FINALLY!!! They re-read and re-read it!! Then to make sure there was no confusion, I showed them the "double line truth"!! :)

We're excited!!

The actual reason we made one card for one parent and not 4 cards for all four parents is because the due date at this time is August 11th, which is my Dad's birthday!! It's also Hulk Holgan's, but I didn't think he would care as much! ;)

I know you don't really care about me, but I'll fill you in anyway! haha!! I am SUPER tired, so much that when I squeeze in two naps per day, it's not enough to keep me awake!! I've heard that if your pregnancies are totally different that you're having the opposite sex. Well. I'm not sold on that theory yet but we will find out in February maybe March. We'll let you know then!!

Thank you if you're still reading! But I think that I'm going to call it quits on this post, and actually....go to sleep!! :) Have a blessed weekend!!

I DID IT!!!

2009-12-03T10:54:00.004-06:00

I did it!! I really really finally actually did it!! That's right!! I finally gave it to my wishes and dreams and bought one!!

I have wanted this machine since I found out about it's birth!! I LOVE IT!!! I even took it to Lubbock when my Dad had surgery so my sister-in-law Sarah and I could play with it. It's amazing!!! My brother, Jody, even got into it a little bit, I stress a little bit! Zach pampered me and said since I am working a 1/4 of the time now, I could adopt my new baby on Black Friday. The only difference between the pictured Cricut and mine is the color. Mine is a vibrant red and oh so pretty!!

Yes, you will be seeing crafts coming from it soon.

Yes, I would be okay with not getting anything else for Christmas. (Ok, maybe a few cartridges for my new baby, but....) :)

I encourage you, if you can afford it, to totally save up your pennies and buy one. Or go in halves with someone else and co-adopt your own baby Cricut!! It is amazing in what all it does. It can cut not only paper, but chipboard, vinyl, card stock, and several other fun things!! It's incredible!!

In case you can't tell, I'm a little head-over-heels for my new friend!! :)

October

2009-11-03T15:29:00.002-06:00

It is hard to believe that we are in November, welcoming Thanksgiving into our home and staring Christmas in the face. It seems the older I'm getting the faster and faster Christmas arrives each year. In October, we celebrated 3 birthdays in our family, Halloween, and received some sad news. I'll start with the fun stuff and progress to the sad.

In a 7 day period my niece Eisley, my Mom and my Grandmother all have a birthday. I always enjoy hanging out with my family for these occasions. Eisley turned 2, my Mom turned 50-something :), and my Mama Bea (that's what we call my Grandmother) turned 78.

Halloween was fun. Zoe was a harvest fairy this year, and a cute one if I do say so myself!! One of my sweet friends made her tutu and we bought the rest of her outfit from Target & Walmart. Keeping the grand total of her costume under $20.00. That made her daddy happy!!

Two years ago on October 26th Zach & I had been married 2 days shy of 3 months and I was 1 1/2 months pregnant. I know you're doing the math, but no I wasn't pregnant when we got married. That baby was a surprise for us, as we really weren't planning to get pregnant that quickly in our marriage. However, we gave it all over to the Lord and knew He was in control of our situation and marriage. So it came as a shock when we miscarried on the morning of October 26th. Ironically enough, this year this October 26th, I found out that we had another miscarriage. I found out I was pregnant in July, but we didn't tell anyone because we hadn't even confirmed it with our doctor. I knew something wasn't right when I couldn't get another positive test. I figured it was a faulty test, but still didn't feel like everything was normal. During my check-up last week, between running dates and symptoms by my Dr. he confirmed that I had another miscarriage.
I don't claim to understand the ways of my Father. I don't even want to guess at His plan for me, Zach and our family. But, I do hold to His promises that He will give us the desires of our hearts. He knows that I desire more children. I was iffy on even letting this out into the blogging world because my heart cries out for the couples who don't even have one little blessing like I do. But, I know without a doubt the Lord is not only working in my life, but those families as well. So, through all of this I firmly believe that the Lord has birthed a ministry in my heart. This is to allow women who are going through, have gone through or maybe just have questions about miscarriages to have a place to unleash and unwind everything in their heart. It's a traumatic thing for a woman to go through and I know that by talking it out and letting my mind and heart relax with a friend I was able to cope better.

Thank you for reading all of this. It was a piece of my heart that I've been wanting to share, but didn't have the courage/patience to write it. So thank you for taking time to glance into our life.

Catching Up!!

2009-10-15T16:14:00.004-05:00

I realize that it's far past time to catch up on here!! I check blogs daily or every other day, but until now I haven't mustered up the energy to actually update my own!! There has been much going on but not just a lot that I feel is blog worthy. Here are a few thoughts that are going on in this bloggers head today....

* I work a 1/4 of the time now. I say that because I only work like 4 hours a week!! It's the best job because I can do it when it's convenient to me. It's a lovely job, but kind of hard to explain on a blog.

* It's always this time of year that I really wish I lived in a cabin in the mountains so I could light a fire in the fireplace each night.

* Since I don't have a fireplace, I've started making all sorts of fun recipes for the winter. Yummy Chicken & Dumplings, delicious Veggie/beef soup, and baking tasty treats.

* I have recently started thoroughly enjoying all that my husband is. You know it's so easy to hold on to the negative thoughts that enter your mind about the people who are closest to you. I'm really trying to be a more positive wife. For example, when Zach calls me, especially from work, I try to answer with all of the sweetness, excitement and love that I can find, even if I'm exhausted or in a bad mood. I know that he deals with enough without his wife adding to it.
I so wasn't planning to say this one but I think it probably the most important one on here. It's what's going on inside this bloggers heart. It's easy for me to become a "debbie downer" since I'm inside all day long with a soon-to-be 14 month old. I can get frustrated or tired and then take it out on my hubs, when all along it's really me that needs to have the attitude check. Anyway.... :)

Bless you if you're still with me!! Here are a few really sweet pictures that my sister-in-law & I took of our daughters in all of their harvesty glory!! Enjoy these sweet smiles!!Thank you Allen's for letting us use your front porch!!!

fall is in the air!!

2009-09-16T11:56:00.002-05:00

I absolutely love the fall/autumn season!! Candles, baking, family, fire places!! I love it!! Today is a beautiful day. This is one of those days that makes me want to gather family & friends and have a good game of football outside, bake some yummy treats and play board games!! Usually you hear of Spring revitalizing a soul, but I must say that Autumn does it for me!! I love it!! I can't wait to crunch leaves, bundle up with a scarf, and dress Zoe up in fun long sleeves (which I've actually done for the past 2 days!!) I really wish I lived in an area that was able to enjoy the Autumn season longer, and not fear for an Indian summer to make another appearance. But, as for now I'll be thankful for the hint of fall that is in the air. I think I'll go and buy a few fall candles & get ready for this amazing season!!

Zoe Terah

2009-08-26T23:31:00.007-05:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet 1 year old. Not being an emotional person, today I've had several times when I've wanted to start crying. It's incredible how true the phrase is "hold on tight, because they grow up fast!" No duh!!! I've figured that out quick!!

6 lb. 6 oz. 19 inches long at 2:00 PM via Dr. Henderson & Dr. Pratt

You know, it's amazing just how much my (I totally mean our) life has changed in the past 365 days. We went from being a married couple to a family. We went from a very clean/always picked up house to having toys scattered and a little pink chair now residing in our living room. I went from being the girl who hated pink to wearing it/dressing Zoe in it/decorating with it almost daily. Amazing!! I went from a wife to a wife/mommy. Zoe Bug. An amazing little person. She is super funny. Incredibly beautiful. Extremely clever. And most of all, we get to look forward to the day that she will figure out who her Saviour is. I can't wait for this day to happen!! I wanted to take you down a short photo trail with me over the last year. Mind you, Channel 6030 - The Coffee House is playing right now on XM, so I'm ready for this photo journey. You, on the other hand, better get some mood music for this to be totally appropriate!! :)

Enjoy Zoe's first year..... Zoe & Daddy's first pictureYes, there was a tear shed. This was the first time I saw my baby.

One of my all-time favorite pictures!!

This is my Aunt Verna, she is my Mom's sister. She was born on my Grandpa Crown's (my Mom's dad) 19th birthday, so she always shared her birthday with someone. After my Grandpa passed away, Aunt Verna spent 3 years without sharing a birthday, until August 26, 2008 when Zoe was born!! Now Zoe shares a birthday with a very sweet & special lady. I love that Zoe has that legacy to remember. She never knew my Grandpa - but she'll hear plenty of stories!!
"Why are we going for a walk in November, Mom & Dad?"

One day they make me a turkey....

....the next they make me reindeer!!!
Riverbed digging!!!

Hanging with my Uncle Jody at my birthday party!!

Happy Birthday sweet Zoe!!!

The Candy Man Can!!

2009-08-20T16:45:00.005-05:00

We are anxiously awaiting Saturday!! Zoe's first birthday party is going to be at 4 pm. I'm kind of going crazy about it!! Yes, it is true that she won't remember it but there will be pictures!! A year ago on the 26th, we had no clue as to who this baby was or what she was about!! We had no idea just how many laughs she would bring or how much love we would have for her!! On Wednesday the 26th I'll have pictures & all that jazz for Zoe's birthday - but today it's about the party!!!

Her theme is Candy Land, as in the board game. I'm going to make a giant cupcake for to serve and a smaller cupcake for her to destroy!! :) It will be super fun, but I'm having to remember to tell myself that I can't keep going overboard for her party. I just keep thinking of cute or fun things that would be a great addition and each time I make myself ask Zach because I know without a doubt that he'll X it off of the list!! I love him for keeping me in check!! :) You're great babe!! There will be pictures coming on Saturday night - so please check back!! But for now I'm off to wrap giant pieces of "candy" and make a paper color block trail in my house. Sounds crazy I know but check back and you'll see what I'm talking about!!

A few more pictures!!

2009-07-28T10:32:00.004-05:00

Welcome back to our home!! Here are a few pictures of our living room, dining room, front door and an entry area. Enjoy!!

This is a shot looking from the former dining room into the former living room.

This is it now - stained concrete floors (thanks to Jody Wilson), the wall was torn out and EVERYTHING was painted!!! New lighting too!!

Our front door was red before - and I wanted to spice it up a bit. I painted it turquoise and the sanded it down to give it a distressed look. Added a "welcome" from Uppercase Living and called it done!!
This is what the front door & dining room looked like before.....
and after....

This is a little seating area beside the front door
I will have bathrooms & bedrooms soon!!! Until then....

a few house pics....

2009-07-24T00:23:00.005-05:00

i told you that as soon as i found my camera dock, mi casa pics su casa pics. i don't think that's really a spanish phrase - but it's 12:23 am - so we'll pretend!!! we are leaving Childress at 7 am for Amarillo to fly to Alabama to for our Alan Jackson Aquapalooza - i'm getting really excited!! anyway, without further ado, here are some kitchen pictures. i thought i would start there and work my way around the house!!! i'll have more fun pics next week after we get back!! enjoy!!____________________________
this is sideways - sorry about this - but just turn your neck to the right quite a bit and you'll be able to see it like it should be!! we painted cabinets, textured walls, pulled out old counter tops & back splashes, replaced old wiring & pipes, replaced literally every appliance (thanks Lott Home Center!! you guys rock!!), repapered every cabinet, replaced every light (in the house actually)

- lots of hard work & man hours but.....

this first set of remodel pictures will be about the kitchen!!!

sink, dishwasher, window looks out to the backyard, half of kitchensecond half of kitchen, stove, fridge, ect.
this is above the stove where the green venta-hood once was - since there isn't very much room in kitchens to decorate without taking much need counter space - i opted to leave out the venta-hood and use the space for fun knick-knacks!! plus, a little bit of uppercase living on the wall & teapot. wall says "this home established in 2007" - teapot says "create"
this is above the fridge - just another spot for decorating. and a safe place for our wedding communion cup & plate (the green goblet)

when we get back i'll have pics of the trip & more of the house!! i hope you enjoyed a sneak peek into our home!!! stay tuned for more!!

July Events

2009-07-08T12:04:00.002-05:00

I'll be honest. There are two big events coming up in July for this family.

1. 2nd anniversary (July 28)

2. The Big Trip

The Big Trip is something that I never thought I would win. I won an all inclusive trip to see Alan Jackson in Alabama!!!! I get to take the guest of my choice, so I figured I should take Zach. Probably a good choice huh!?! :)

We get to stay at this place and see & meet this guy and do this stuff!!!!

I'm pretty excited. BUT!! The best part of the trip is it comes just two days before our 2nd anniversary!!! Nothing better than having an awesome anniversary to go on for free!!!

who knows!!!

2009-07-03T16:54:00.002-05:00

If we were in school, like a blogging school, I would be failing right now!!! I have gotten so lazy at blogging. I should be put in ISS for blogging and be made to write a clever and fun-to-read blog. But since there isn't this - you're stuck with the anticipation each day of thinking that I may have written something new. As you click on the link that leads you to me, you think "will I finally get to see pictures of their new house", or "will there be new pictures of Zoe?" or maybe "will she have anything new up yet?" Usually, the answer you get is "NOTHING NEW!!!"

Allow me to answer those first two questions for you please! When one moves they pack stuff - and in my case - I can't find the dock that my digital camera belongs too - therefore I can't upload any new pictures!!! Soon. Very Very Soon. Hopefully!!!

Have a blessed & safe celebration of the birth of our Nation!!!

Dear Lord

2009-06-24T22:13:00.004-05:00

Dear Lord,

It's me. I'm not sure what's going on right now. I'm not sure how to respond to life. I don't really like it, but I know that Your plan is the utmost and highest. I know that Your ideas are loftier than mine will ever be. I know that You have my world under control. Even when I feel like life will never spin correctly again. I'm pretty bummed right now. I'm numb. I know that the flowers in my yard are blooming because You wanted me to have a bright spot in my day. Thank You for that.

Thank You for giving me a peace that I won't find anywhere else. I couldn't handle life without You. I couldn't live. I couldn't breath. I couldn't process or function. Thank You for that.

I feel like King David hiding from Saul. Like You're placing my heart, my delicate heart, in captivity so these storms don't shatter it. I feel like David in the lion's den. I know that You are going to shut the mouth of this lion. I feel like Ruth. A woman without a country. I know You are preparing an Eden for me. Thank You for that.

You are my Saviour. You are my Redeemer. You are the One who captures my heart. You are my Lord. You are my Prince. You are my All in All. Thank you for that.

Wednesday

2009-06-16T23:32:00.005-05:00

In the morning, actually in approximately 8 1/2 hours from when I'm typing this, my baby girl will be rolled back into her first surgery. I hope this is the first for a LONG time - I'm already nervous about this one. When I was pregnant, they found an abnormality on my baby - at the time they thought it to just be a cyst type thing, but now it is a whole bunch of other things.

Let me break it down - if I could I would even draw you a picture or two but I'm not that talented!! You and I both have one tube that connects our kidney & bladder - Miss Zoe has two on one side and one on the other - so they (the dr's) call this a "duplicating system." She also has something called "reflux." When she "goes #1" some of the yellow kool aide goes back into her kidney - causing infections. This could potentially last until she is 7. The cyst type thing they (the drs) originally found has actually ballooned and is just kinda holding onto the yellow kool aide - we'll call the balloon a "pitcher" (get it...!?!?!) Sorry - kinda sleepy.

Anyway - they (the drs) will go in her in the morning and possibly make a small cut in her "pitcher" so she can finally share all of that yellow kool aide - any takers?? :)

What does this all mean? Basically, I'm petitioning for a lot of prayer.

Please pray for these few things specifically:

- Knowledge, wisdom and steady hands for everyone in the OR - especially Dr. Wilkerson (Zoe's DR)

- Patience, calming assurance, and lavished love for Mommy & Daddy - we WILL need these!!

- Painless, quick healing on Zoe's little body - that the Lord restore her to how He first created her

I know that there have already been TONS of prayers go up on behalf of the Detwiler/Zoe family -and I thank you so much for those - but please don't stop lifting my little girl up before the throne of God. I continually recite " perfect love drives out fear." I am loved in a perfect way by my Creator, as is my daughter, so I know that while my love is great for her, His love for His Son was even greater - yet He allowed Jesus to die for me. It's heavy stuff - but I trust that the Lord has it all under control.

Thank you if you're still reading this and again thank you for your prayers.

Home Sweet Home - Part 1

2009-06-08T11:03:00.005-05:00

Yep - that's right - we're in our new home!!! Score for us!! I wanted to share a few pictures with you that show what our house looked like when we bought it. Just a disclaimer - no we're not crazy and yes you may get scared looking at these pictures - because it was worse in person!! However, it looks NOTHING like this now!! And those pictures will be coming in the next day or so!!! After I have a few more days to decorate and hang stuff on the walls!! We officially finished moving in at 3:00 AM on Saturday night/Sunday morning. It's pretty great to be home owners and actually get to enjoy our home!! Anyway, enough chit-chat - without further ado - here are the before pics of our house!!

Front view of our house - two HUGE great fruitless mulberry trees make the perfect shade!!

Our master bedroom - and yes that is a swag light - there was one in EVERY bedroom. Hello 70's!!!

Master bath - this also has turquoise shower tiles in a shower stall.

View from the dining room into the step down living room - very very dark paneling.

Our lovely kitchen - any one want a green stove & ventahood?!?!

View from kitchen into the dining room and the front door.

Laundry room/pantry - it's HUGE!!! And now it looks TOTALLY different!!!

Now that I've scared you to DEATH about what we're livng in - please stop back by tomorrow and check out the difference a little hard work, a tax refund, and a lot of man hours can do!!!

MAYDAY!!!! MAYDAY!!!!

2009-05-29T19:03:00.003-05:00

- Yes, I am still alive.

- Yes, we are still moving into a new house (hopefully this weekend)

- Yes, I haven't blogged in QUITE awhile

- Yes, we did go to Colorado for 5 days for vacation with 3 kids under 3 and 6 adults

- Yes, May has been incredibly busy and life will hopefully slow

- Yes, I have figured out that with a busy life you alway must expect the unexpected

- Yes, life will knock you flat if you stand in one place - continually pursue the Father

- Yes, I need to do more of the last part of the above statement

- Yes, my baby learned how to crawl 2 days before she turned 9 months!!! Score Zoe!!!

- Yes, my baby is now 9 months - 3 to go girl!!!

- Yes, I married the most amazing man (no offense to you if you think your man is "the most amazing" but in my eyes - yours is no comparison!!) :)

- Yes, I think that's how it should be!! :)

Pictures of our Colorado trip coming soon...
Then we'll see each other soon...thanks for stopping by.....

blessed

2009-05-12T15:13:00.002-05:00

Today my heart is really heavy. It seems that so many times I go about my day and forget the smallest of blessings that I have. I read another story today about a family who has released their baby to be with the Father. I cried. Hard. I went to Zoe's crib and picked her up and just held her and cried. I'm far more blessed than I give thanks for. It seems that the babies I am hearing about are all about Zoe's age or within a month or two. It's heart wrenching.

I can't even begin to imagine what this set of parent's and this set of parent's are thinking. If you do check these blogs out please have tissues around because you will be in for a really big cry. Tears are still streaming off of my face. If you don't read these blogs, please still pray for Noah's family and Kayleigh's family. They are both in desperate need of prayer.

I guess the rain outside didn't set a very sunny stage for my blogging today did it?!?! Oh well. Some days a good cry is good for you. I'm off to hug on that little girl & give thanks to the Father who entrusted her to me.

Mommy's 1st Mother's Day

2009-05-10T15:26:00.008-05:00

Today is Mommy's 1st Mother's day.

Daddy and I got up extra early to surpise her.

7:30 - Daddy's alarm goes off, he jumps out of bed and runs to the car. He gets mommy's gift and our cards.

7:45 - Daddy wakes me up, I was cranky at first! I was sleepy...

7:47 - Daddy put me in the floor with mommy's card and gives me a pen. I really like all these bright colors!

7:50 - Daddy is working on mommy's card and I am still staring at my card. Daddy comes over and shows me how to draw.

7:55 - I did it! I drew mommy a pretty picture.

8:00 - Daddy and I got mommy a gift certificate to pretty nails. (I was riding in the back of mommy's soccer mom van, and heard her tell mamaw she really needed a peddy before our big trip to Colorado)

8:10 - Daddy and I finish, but I fussed a daddy because he for got to change my diaper!

-----diaper moment--------

8:12 - Daddy carried me into the room and starting changing me. I had mommy's cards so we could wake her up and surprise her.

8:12.5 seconds - I am laughing and playing with mommys cards, daddy is red faced because I won't let him put my diaper on.

8:14 - We hear mommy's feet hit the ground......

8:14.6 seconds - Daddy picks me up and we turn around and we here the water running. Mommy is in the shower!

8:15 - Daddy puts me on their bed and we start practicing my "big girl" words. Momma, mommy, ....

waiting....waiting...still waiting....

8:25 - Mommy comes out and we surprise her! I am grinning and start tying to say my new big girl word.... I just can't do it but I can say dada!

8:30 - Mommy just hugged and kissed me! She thanked daddy also for her peddy and she really liked my drawing! - I have the best mommy, she takes great care of me.....

9:30 - Everyone is dressed and we are heading to church.

12:30 - Lunch time - Papaw and Mamaw took us out to K-Bob's. We had Mamma B and my almost grand parents Dewayne and Mary Lou there too.

2:30 - We had a great time and lunch but I started getting sleepy.....

2:45 - Daddy put me down for a long nap and told me he was going to hack into mommy's blog and leave this sweet message. Mommy don't be to upset with daddy, even though he did change your password!

We love you very much mommy! - Zoe & Daddy

Amy - Thank you for everything! You are great mom and an AMAZING wife. Enjoy YOUR day..

- Z

Happy Birthday Sarah!!

2009-05-09T17:05:00.004-05:00

creative.
sweet.
fun.
beautiful.
real.
caring.
funny.
loyal.
Godly.
mommy.
wife.
sister-in-law.
relaxed.
clever.
engaging.
imaginative.
wise.
blessing.
kind.
compassionate.
bold.

friend.
inspiring.
considerate.
passionate.
silly.
birthday girl.

happy birthday Sarah.

i'm beyond thankful that when my brother picked you, you didn't run far and fast from our family!!
thank you for being "you".
i love you!
happy birthday!!

(this shows part of the "silly" side)

Zach's Birthday

2009-05-07T21:52:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I was totally caught up in how much money the "Dump Fund" was raising, that I didn't get Zach's birthday wishes sent out!! I promise that my family is HUGE in my life - but that fundraiser was incredible - and Zach was just as into it as I was!! By the way, to this point $11,500.00 was pledged toward the "Dump People." It's still not too late to give!!

Zach - you are....

- my best friend
- my baby daddy :)
- my man
- the one who makes me laugh
- the one who makes me smile
- the one who comforts me
- the one who works so hard so Zoe & I don't want for anything
- the one who pushes me to be better
- the one who knows my strengths & encourages them
- the one who knows my weaknesses & helps me to better them
- the one who longs after the Father's heart
- the one who knows when I'm aggravated sometimes before I really am
- amazing
- ridiculously handsome (even after running)
- the one who pushes me to be healthier. thank you for this.
- sweet
- tender hearted
- an incredible daddy
- more intelligent than you realize
- sincere
- committed
- someone i never have to doubt
- someone i can always rely on

23 things that i think about when i think about you. i love you babe!! happy 23rd!!

"The Dump People"

2009-05-07T01:12:00.002-05:00

Please make time today to go to this blog. It will move you and if it does, and you would like to donate PLEASE do so!!

Here's the skinny on this:

In Santa Ana, Honduras there is this people group that are called the "Dump People." What they do for food for their families is go to their dump ground and dig for food. All the while they are fighting off buzzards, dogs, and cattle just to get their meals. Each time they want more food they have to fight for it against the elements and all odds. It absolutely breaks my heart to think of an 8 month old baby having to miss a meal because their parents couldn't get the food that day from the dump ground.

Please at least check out this blog and if you do want to give there are two addresses that you can mail your check or money to.

This will only take a few minutes of your day - but it seriously could save the lives of many families.

"I wanna be Your hands. Wanna be Your feet. I wanna go where You send me - go where You send me. And I'll try, yes I'll try - to touch the world - like You've touched my life. And I'll find some way to be Your hands." - Audio Adrenaline

Can I get a Marriage on the Rocks, Please!!

2009-05-02T23:11:00.002-05:00

For the last month I have heard very few things about marriage in a positive light. It's actually pretty disgusting how much negative junk is out there right now. Not only in my little ol' town - but it's spread from sea to shining sea it seems. I have seen different things on different blogs about marriage and I thought I would join with the masses and help usher in a few positive words on marriage. Care to join me??

All you have to do is leave a comment on 5 things that you absolutely LOVE about your spouse. That's all. I promise that this won't hurt too badly. I think it would be amazing to find at least 3 other people who actually love the person that they promised to "til death do them part."

I recently found (as in 10 minutes before posting this comment) a really great blog - and the author was also talking about marriage - go check this out for me. I know you'll enjoy it as much as I have.

But before you scamper off to do this you should really consider saying what it is that you just adore about your Mr. or Mrs. 5 things - that's all. But please don't be shy on my account - you can leave more if you want to!!

~ My Five about My Mr. ~

1. Goal-Oriented: If he has a task at hand - it WILL get done!!
2. Gift Giver: He lavishes gifts of love and praise on me ALL the time....I LOVE it!!
3. Sweet Smile: I love to see that man's smile.
4. Protector: He seems to know just the right time to pull me close or hold my hand - that perfect time to make me feel secure.
5. Worshiper: There is hardly 10 minutes throughout his day when he isn't singing a worship song to the Lord - I love that he isn't afraid to belt out a great song - it's also awesome that he has the voice to go along!!

Your Turn!!

diaper moments

2009-04-23T15:45:00.002-05:00

This afternoon Zoe fell asleep in her carseat. Nothing out of the ordinary. After all, we had been at the new house working, and on the way back to our temporary home, she fell asleep. I carry her & the carseat inside the house and gently pick her out of her carseat to lay her in her crib for her afternoon nap.

She stay asleep!! Success!!

However.

I notice that her diaper is wet. Not wet like I could leave it and change it after her nap. But wet like could break the dam of a river and cause a flood. So I quietly take her little bitty pants off and change her diaper. All the while, Little Miss stays asleep.

Until.

Almost the end of this process. She wakes up.

What is she still doing, you might ask....playing in her crib. No matter how much I turn her on her tummy or cover her up, she flips over and kicks off her blanket - to play.

This caused me to wonder how many diaper moments I've had with the Lord. You know, that one time when you are still and quiet and about to surrender over to Him, and all of a sudden you HAVE to do something that really could wait.

I know I have a lot of diaper moments....too many to count.

hello friends

2009-04-21T23:21:00.003-05:00

I know that it has been quite awhile since my last post - almost a month ago actually!! So please let me catch you up on what has been going on in Detwiler Land!!

We bought our first home!! We have been pouring countless hours into the planning, the demo, the loving of this home. We found this home in January, and to make a long story short, we were just able to start working on it about 3 weeks ago!! We are oh so close - yet it still feels like so far away right now. We should be able to move in next week!! We've had painters, electricians and carpenters, OH MY!! However, there is an end in sight!!

I will be posting pictures in the next few days and you will be able to see why I haven't posted anything in so long. But until then I encourage you to find the song that belongs to these lyrics below - this artist is simply amazing and one who I've fallen quite hard for. When listening to her voice you can tell just how in love with the Father that she is - and you can worship with any song. Her name is Rita Springer and this is one of my favorite songs. I dare you not to enjoy it!!

Worth It All - Rita Springer

I don't understand Your ways
Oh but I will give You my song
Give You all of my praise
You hold on to all my pain
With it You are pulling me closer
And pulling me into Your ways

Now around every corner
And up every mountain
I'm not looking for crowns
Or the water from fountains
I'm desperate in seeking, frantic believing
That the sight of Your face
Is all that I need
I will say to You

It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it all
I believe this
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it all
I believe this

You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it all
I believe this
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it all
I believe this

check out YouTube for this video - - it's amazing!!

Happy 7 Months!!!

2009-03-26T09:23:00.006-05:00

Today my little Bug is 7 months old. It's hard to believe that in less than a year she will be 1 year old!! It's amazing to see her develop and change. Here are a few pictures that were taken by a really great girl & very sweet friend.

So, Happy Birthday to you Zoe Terah, you who constantly makes me smile, who always makes my day better, whose smile brightens everyone's day. Thank you for being the sweet little girl that the Lord gave us!! We are blessed!!

Melts your heart doesn't it!!

mommy, me & my tongue (which makes an apperance quite often!!)

simplicity

oh, so close!!!

just a spot of color

bright spot in our life

belle of the ball

my mommy heart is breaking....

2009-03-05T22:36:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow is the day I've been dreading all week.

I leave my baby for the first time over night....EVER!!

I honestly don't know how Sarah is doing it for 12 days - but I'm braving it for one night.

Here's the story. We are taking our youth group to Dallas for a conference on Saturday. When making these plans, I didn't think that the result would be leaving Zoe with a set of grandparents. The grandparents are the not problem here. I am very blessed that Zoe has two sets that we can turn to last minute!! The problem is that my heart it already breaking at the very thought of leaving her.

Let me be honest and get down to the nitty-gritty with you.....

I have thought of every reason why I should stay at home with her instead of go with the group.....at this point my Mommy heart is breaking. I can't even imagine how it will be when she goes to college, or Heaven forbid, get married!!!! YIKES!!! I may have to pack myself in her luggage. I promise that I'm not an over-protective Mom, I just LOVE hanging out with that little snotty-nose, always smiling, bright ray of sun. The Lord knew what He was doing when He gifted her to me to be her Mommy. She's incredible. Not smack in the middle of my world, but a really good balance to my world.

Anyway.....we shall see!!!

Valentine's Day & the Sitter

2009-02-20T10:17:00.007-06:00

This year was a very sweet Valentine's Day - since it was the first one with Zoe Bug. Her Daddy didn't forget that either. He bought us both beautiful flowers. Here are a few pictures of Zoe's flowers & when Zach first showed her the rose.

She may not have really known what was going on but she LOVED the attention from her Daddy.

Zoe's Rose

This is how happy Zoe was - she gave us a huge cheese!! I thought it was pretty funny!!

Of course, I have to show off the flowers that my hubby gave me - they are beautiful!! Great job Zach!!!

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Last Sunday at church I sat Zoe on the floor in front of me - expecting her to roll over on her belly or her back - Zoe had different plans that Mom obviously. This isn't the picture but one after - enough to give you a good idea!!

The face says it all!!! She was SOO exhausted from sitting up a total of 4 times!!! :)

From A While Back....

2009-02-09T23:31:00.003-06:00

These are from Superbowl Sunday until this past Sunday. You can see Zoe in everything from her football gear to her new pretty dress - - - yes, I said dress. If you know me, you know that I would much rather wear a comfy pair of jeans and a t-shirt with my ugliest flip-flops - just because I always want to be 100% comfortable - I find no point in wearing clothes that make a person uncomfortable - HOWEVER - since Zoe has come into the picture - life has started changing a little bit. You see more pink in my home that ever before - and the littlest dresses & lots of bows - something that I would have laughed in your face about had you told me that a year ago. So, here is Zoe in a few different outfits!! Enjoy!!

Happy 5 Months Zoe Bug!!!

2009-01-27T12:24:00.004-06:00

Zoe was 5 Months Old on January 26th!!!!

We now have a formula baby!!! She is now taking formula & we have a totally different baby. Zoe is much happier & much more satisfied!! We knew something wasn't right when she would scream an ear breaking scream about an hour after she had eaten. So she is now a formula baby. At her 4 month check up she was a whole 11 lbs....I'm sure we'll see that change at her next check up since she's eating a lot more!! Check out her newest pictures!!

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Obviously Zoe isn't sitting up by herself, but she's getting really good at balancing. She LOVED sitting up in her high chair. We bought this high chair from an Amish store in Amarillo. It's actually a 3 -in-1. It is a high chair, a desk, and a rocking horse. It's really pretty cool!!

Just hangin' out!!

She was laying on her Boppy play mat & we were playing, when her MaMaw (my Mom) came in...I didn't even get these smiles out of her!!

Her hair is courtesy of her Daddy & her Uncle Jody!! Thanks guys!! That will be fun in about 2 years when she won't want her hair to be brushed!!!

A Little Update

2009-01-15T16:33:00.006-06:00

These are a few pictures taken before Christmas. The shirt she is wearing says "got gifts?" and it came from my Aunt Ann. It's a really sweet shirt. Thank you Aunt Ann!!

These "coveralls" were given to Zoe by my Aunt Ellie & Uncle John. When you see her actually in it, she is too sweet!! It's a little reindeer, even with little reindeer faces on the feet. Thank you soo much Aunt Ellie & Uncle John!!!

She LOVED wearing this - it kept her warm and snuggly on the coldest day that we've been out!!

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These were taken just because I am told that I should take more pictures and post them so everyone outside of Childress can see more updates on Zoe - - - so here ya go!!!

A little attitude - hopefully that will disappear before she becomes a teenager!!
A little better attitude!! Maybe the teenage years won't be soo bad!! :)

Zoe got her Gloworm for Christmas from her Uncle Jody, Aunt Sarah, Mia & Eisley - she LOVE LOVE LOVES it!!! This is very typical to see right before she goes to sleep - I think she's befriended her Gloworm just a little!! Thanks Wilson Family for her buddy!!!

Zoe Update

2009-01-14T11:08:00.003-06:00

I took Zoe for her 4 month check up last Thursday and the numbers were not really what I was expecting. She is in the 10th percentile for weight and the 15th for height - and she now weighs 11 lbs and she is 23 1/4 inches long. Obviously, she's not very big - which I'm really good with. I had prayed while I was pregnant with her, that she wouldn't be Zach's height!! The Lord is good!!! I'm asking you to be praying with us for Zoe. February 2nd we are taking her to Amarillo to have a Void Study done. This is hopefully the final stage to her kidney problems. What I'm praying for is that when they get her in to the study that there isn't anything at all to look at!! I'm proclaiming that she is 100% healed!! Thank you so much for your prayers in advance. I'll leave you with one of her more recent pictures.......

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2008-12-29T21:25:00.003-06:00

We Wish You A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!!!

I always get so aggravated when I check other blogs and find that the blogger hasn't updated in a while, and then I look at mine and realize that I haven't blogged in FOREVER!! I apologize!!! You absolutely have the right to chastise me for not updating/taking more pictures/posting more often!! That will be one of my New Year's resolutions!!

Here are a few pictures that have been taken over the past few weeks. Fellow Facebooker's or MySpacer's you'll have to forgive me a second time because you've most likely seen these - but honestly these are pretty cute - so I bet the forgiveness will be easy to grant!! Check these out and let me know what you think!!

Zoe's Grammie & T-Pa (Zach's parents) bought Zoe this pretty red dress - I guess this dispels the notions that Zoe isn't a "dress girl"
Silly Zoe!!!

You can't see the "big picture" that belongs to this scene but that huge smile is going to Zoe's MaMaw (my mom.) MaMaw can get a pretty fast smile out of Zoe.

This was taken at our huge Wilson Family Reunion - Zoe was hit with her new Christmas clothes & bow on!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture!!! These are my brother's two girls - Eisley & Mia. If you know my brother you can tell that his girls DEFINITELY belong to him!!! Zoe is wearing her new Christmas hat - we love it!!

game night

2008-12-17T09:46:00.005-06:00

Last night I did something, guilt free, that I usually wouldn't do. You have to understand that usually if there has been something planned with family or church I make all attempts to attend that function.

Last night though was different.

Zach & I bought the new electronic Monopoly. If you have an extra $30 bucks, I highly encourage you to go out and buy it, because Monopoly goes much much faster when you don't have all of those bills to fuss with. It's pretty awesome!! So last night we were invited to our friends, the Pratt's, house for pizza & Monopoly.

A part of me was a little hesitant to go. Can I be honest with you? I was torn between going to a preplanned baby shower for a girl at the church and going to our friends house to relax and have fun. Not saying I wouldn't have had fun at the shower, because I love seeing what Mom-to-be get. But I hadn't seen Zach all day because he had a lunch meeting. See my dilemma??

So - I picked door number 2. I went to our friends and had pizza, games & junk food. Hung out with my hubby and had a good time. I'll be honest, again. I felt a little rebellious & bad. But I had a really great time - and maybe part of that was because I won the Monopoly game!! :)

So this holiday season, go and enjoy your evenings with your family - be rebellious and play a game!!

life in december

2008-12-11T22:49:00.003-06:00

life in december should involve snow

life in december should not involve 62 degree weather

life in december should move a little slower

life in december has been going good

life in december has involved many movie nights (which are definitely the best!!)

life in december has brought a new drink in my life - triple chocolate hot chocolate (quite tasty!!)

life in december has involved more of me letting go and learning to follow instead of lead

life in december has brought an awakening to our marriage which is really incredible

life in december has brought old friends home

life in december has brought new friends closer

life in december has shown me just how precious life is

life in december has brought many smiles to my face

life in december has given a peace in my heart for the future

-- life in december will end with celebrating His life --

what has your life in december looked like??

turkey day is near!!

2008-11-24T13:07:00.007-06:00

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year. Not because of the food (don't get me wrong, my Mom makes one mean turkey) haha...that reads really funny.)) Anyway, I love it because all of my Colorado family comes in for Thanksgiving. This year, both of my Mom's sisters are coming, so I'm really excited. I also love the holiday's because of all of the cute outfits they make for children, and this holiday is no exception!! My brother surprised me with a little onesie for Zoe to sleep in and I thought it was too cute not to share with all of you bloggers out there.

She was in a really good mood - think she knew she was wearing new p.j's??

A happy smile for Uncle Jody for her new outfit!!!! Thanks Uncle Jody!!!

The bottom of the feet say "Little Turkey" - but the picture makes them say "Little Urkey"

I know that most of you are going to be a little taken aback by what I'm about to reveal, but Sunday was the first day for my daughter to wear tights and a dress. I myself am not a big fan of dresses, and I sure don't wear pantyhose, but I thought since we were having our Thanksgiving Dinner at church, Zoe could wear a dress. Here are a few pictures of her in her dress & tights - you can make your own conclusions!!

She was wearing her little Ralph Lauren pink dress, white tights, white shoes (another first - she's not been able to fit into shoes until now), and her pink bow. The look says it all!!
Her daddy caught her in the middle of a really big yawn

the life of being a baby

2008-11-21T14:32:00.005-06:00

This week has absolutely flown by!! It has been a pretty full week, with this weekend being no exception! Tuesday afternoon when Zach got home from work, we decided to go on a walk with Zoe & our moose of a dog, Lexi. Zoe looked so tiny in her stroller, and since it was a little chilly we put her cute little hat on her head. The entire trip (which consisted of a total of 6 blocks) her eyes were huge!! She was taking everything in. These were pre-walk pictures:

I had been noticing that Zoe was pulling on her right ear for a few days and that she was really fussy, which is not her disposition at all. So on Wednesday afternoon we went to see our doctor/friend and he said that she did in fact have an ear infection. I hated to hear that because she's pretty young to be getting them, but there isn't much we can do about it at this point. So we are giving her her medicine and praying that she quickly defeats this infection. However, I want you to notice in these pictures that she is quite the little trooper and is still in good humor when she is sick. These were taken yesterday and I think they are pretty darn cute!! I promise that I didn't give her too much medicine!!!
When you're looking at Zoe, if you stick your tongue out at her, she'll stick hers back out at you...it's really sweet and she thinks it really funny!!
Beautiful big blue eyes

This was one of my favorite outfits that we received for our shower and I'm so excited that she can finally fit into it!!

blog daze & christmas trees

2008-11-17T13:11:00.003-06:00

For the past long while, as you can tell, I have had been in a blog daze. I haven't felt like writing anything. It isn't like my life is boring, I just haven't actually sat down and had anything pop out in my mind to talk about. I was going to post halloween pictures with Zoe in her super cute elephant costume (that was super cheap from old navy) but as you see that didn't happen Aheither!!

So I'm going to direct you to a few blogs that I love to just sit down and read, that are NOT on my friend list, because you already know that I like to read those. These however are really great, most of the time funny, uplifting blogs. Please check them out!!

Ashley's Blog

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman

Barnard Family

So go check these three out. I'll tell you a little secret, this blog would have been done much faster but I got caught up reading on those blogs!! Yes, my friend, they are just that good!

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Christmas is definitely my favorite time of the year. In fact, Zach & I have already set our tree up - we actually put it up on the second weekend of November. I'll take a picture of it tonight when it's plugged in. I feel like we live in Hobby Lobby, seeing as they already have their Christmas stuff up too!! But it does keep me in a good mood. It's really hard to get aggrivated or mad when there is a Christmas tree in almost every room of the house. I'll take pictures tonight and put them up soon so you can see our beautiful trees!! I love it!!

Check those blogs out and then tomorrow come back and check out Christmas trees out!! Have an awesome Monday - sit and find out what the Lord has for you today - it may just surprise you!!

The Day The World Became Brighter

2008-10-25T22:21:00.009-05:00

Our story opens on a normal suburban family. Dad, Mom, baby & chocolate lab. All is well. Dad works, Mom bakes, Baby grows, dog barks. It's a beautiful day in our family's life. Perfect sunny weather - a mild incredible October day.

All of a sudden our family's life is turned upside down. Something happens that has never happened before. However, Dad was bringing home the bacon, so he wasn't aware that this occurrence took place. Our Mom was shocked. She had waited for this moment her entire life. Our Dog knew nothing new had happened, but she did notice a change in her female masters attitude. She noticed that her master was excited and happy.

What happened? Well, I'm glad you asked!! You're about to find out what our Mom experienced. Please~if you dare~scroll down and see for yourself what our Mom saw. What our Mom became so excited about, that if we were to glance into our suburban family's home, you would now see her making a total buffoon of herself just to see it one more time. Be careful, for what you're about to see, could cause addiction.

Yes, you are seeing this correctly~our baby has started smiling!! It's amazing and honestly the best feeling in the world. To know that you've experienced this child's first time of smiling. It's like your first taste of homemade ice cream (even better when it's my mom's butter finger ice cream), or your first time to ride a bike without training wheels. It is simply the best. Now, I'm the parent that makes a fool of herself trying to get her baby to smile again. And you know what, I'm ok with look like that idiot!! :)

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Check these out because she's also sitting up in her bumbo!! It's pretty incredible how much she's growing & how quickly it's happening!!

These are a few of his favorite things...

2008-10-22T23:44:00.013-05:00

My dear sister-in-law, Sarah has tagged me, so you will learn a few of my hubby's favorite things. Mind you these are in no particular order - so enjoy learning about the man I fell in love with!!

By the way - I tag Sarah Cox

Carla Murphy

Trey Morgan (obviously about Lea)
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1 - His walk with the Lord - Not only does Zach love learning more about Jesus, I love watching him learn - take for example when he's reading his daily devotion and something struck a cord in him...I love when he comes to me ready to share what he's learned - it's pretty incredible.

2 - Our sweet baby girl - Zach loves spending time with Zoe & I love him even more for how much he loves doing this. It's pretty incredible to hear him talking to her when I'm in the next room, or sing to her when he thinks I'm not listening. I love it & know they will have a sweet relationship.
3 - Running - I honestly think he's a tad bit daffy for this one - but he loves to run. 3 miles, 5 miles, 9 miles or a half marathon - the guy likes to run. He's almost the Forrest Gump of Childress. I'm so proud of him for how long he can run for, it's really impressive, since 2 years ago he couldn't at all. I love that he can accomplish his running goals now.

4 - Cycling - He has taken up cycling now with our friend Dustin. He has bought this ridiculously tall bike (I would need a step ladder to get on it), and he now rides his bike. They went riding on Tuesday and rode to Tell - for those of you who are not from Childress, that is approximately 15 miles one way. Again, a little daffy perhaps, but this is something my hubby truly enjoys doing. Live Strong Babe!!
5 - Singing - Zach has an incredible voice. He can seriously sing. Not in a concert way, that you can rock out too, but in the way that makes you relax and that you can sit back and enjoy. I love listening to him sing. He won't sing unless he feels comfortable around you, but come to Carey Baptist and Sunday and you'll get a free preview, since he leads worship. He really is talented.

6 - Learning - He loves to learn new things. Maybe it's about his job, maybe it's about random news on t.v or in the paper, or maybe it's the definition of a new word, he really does love to learn. However, he hates to learn Algebra....thank God that part of his school is over with!!

7 - Hanging out with friends - He loves to hang out with our friends. It doesn't matter if it's friends from high school that come over, or family, or new friends; Zach loves to hang out with friends. He is a really loyal friend and usually when he gets it into his mind that he wants to see a certain friend, we see them. I love this because he is very faithful....much like Lassie....thankfully we don't have a friend named Timmy!! :)

(Sorry Zach - I couldn't help the picture!!)

8 - Being a man - He has really come into the fact of "my house - my domain" type this past year. My guess is because we just accomplished our 1st year of marriage, it has set in that this is Zach's house and he is the man of the family. He is awesome at getting the yard cleaned up, getting the exterior in shipshape. BUT he's not "too manly" that he doesn't also help me inside and he really does a great job at it. He enjoys helping me get the house picked up. I love this too!!

9 - His Crocs - Ok. This is something I've had a hard time adjusting to, but since he really enjoys wearing them, I've laid off for a while. He LOVES to wear his crocs. Crocs with scrubs, crocs with socks, crocs with shorts, crocs with pants, crocs with khakis, crocs with dress slacks. I realize this sounds like a Dr. Suess book, but it's actually a lifetime movie at the Detwiler house. My husband loves to wear Crocs and when I asked him why, his response was "I can take them off when I'm sitting at my desk so my feet can breathe." Sooo....Christmas is coming - if he loves them this much - I should get him a new color to let his only pair relax a little.

10 - Me - Last but not least, he loves me. Zach loves me in the morning when I have morning breath, Zach loves me when I was pregnant and cranky, Zach loves me now that I'm not pregnant but still cranky, Zach loves me when I fuss about stupid stuff, Zach loves me just because....and because of that I love him. He is amazing and really one of the only people that just gets me - and definitly one of the only people that lets me be me....not matter what. I love you, babe and love these 10 reasons...plus the other 1000+ that there are!!

we're home

2008-10-19T21:45:00.005-05:00

I figured I would post a few pictures on here from our trip to Colorado tonight instead of pushing it off until later, I knew that later would not come for quite a while!! We had a good trip...drove over 1000 miles in 3 days with a 7 week old baby. Zoe did awesome. She just cried when she was hungry or dirty, I was really thankful she didn't cry just to cry. Anyway, here are some picture of family and a good friend of mine(I told you Karen that I would put it up!!).

This is in Raton, NM...ever since I was a little girl I loved stoping by here on our way to see my Colorado family. But, this is the first time I've ever gotten a picture with it. It's the Dairy Queen ice cream cone (just in case you didn't realize that)

Look how much taller it is than my 6'5" husband....it's huge!!
No we didn't really lick it....but it made me hungry for ice cream!! My parents & the three of us.
This was all of my Mom's family that was there - we are missing about 30 people or so...give or take a few.

It looks like Aunt Verna & Zoe are having a serious conversation

Aunt Karen & Zoe
I worked with her at Drug Emporium in Amarillo - HELLO GUYS!! We stopped by and saw her...we even talked her into a picture

Going to Colorado

2008-10-15T13:17:00.002-05:00

This week we found out that my step-grandmother had passed away on Monday night. Most people have step-grandparents that they've welcomed into their family, I on the other hand, have never known another grandmother on my Mom's side. Her own mother passed away when she was 18, and her father remarried about a year later, so I never knew my "real" grandmother, however, it didn't change the fact that my step-grandmother was still my grandmother. It's kind of crazy because I really didn't think I would be sad about her passing. As harsh as this sounds, she had a way that made people not want to get too close to her, so when we were younger she would play with us and she was the best, but the older we got the older she got...meaning...it was really easy to see a difference in personalities.

I promise I'm not trying to be mean, just honest, and honestly, I'm sad that she's passed away. My Grandpa Crown passed away July 27, 2005, and he was an incredible man. He was a gentleman to the 100% degree, basically, he was just awesome. So, to have grandma Leona pass away kind of takes the last part of Grandpa away also. Sure she hasn't lived in their home, because she's been in a nursing home, but just knowing the last connection to their life is now gone is sad.

All of this to say, we're heading to Colorado on Friday morning and returning Sunday. Please just pray for my sanity because we'll be taking an 8 hour car ride with our 7 week old daughter!! This will be fun. But ironically enough, when my Grandpa passed away my brother's oldest daughter was 6 weeks old, and they did a great job of getting there without too many screams & headaches....hopefully we'll do the same!! :)

Going to the gym

2008-10-10T21:18:00.004-05:00

I'll be honest. I've never been one to work out. I really have not ever seen the point in working out in a gym. I get the whole running thing that Zach does, and even the cycling that he & our friend Dustin are doing, but working out in a gym has never been my thing. Now in my last blog I said that I was going to start working out. Monday didn't work out (not a play on words by the way), so Eileen and I started going on Tuesday afternoon. We worked out for about an 1 hr and 15 minutes. I was feeling great after we finished. I was of course sweaty, but on my way home I thought I could do anything about that time. We did a ton of leg exercises, ab workouts, and even some free weights exercises. At the end, I was tired but the next day I was completely exhausted and 100% sore.
This morning I worked out again with Eileen, but today I'm not nearly as sore, and I feel even more accomplished. I love the feeling and now realize how addicting working out is. I know those crazy little endorphins help out, but I love that when I leave I feel as though I've actually done something with my day. I'm not bragging at this point, but I am very proud of my self for actually getting out there and working out. I'm excited to see the results in the next few months.
Thanks for reading to this point, that is if you really have, you too should be proud that you've read this far....also much like a painful exercise...give yourself a pat on the back!! I hope you have an awesome weekend and I'll post more next week!!

Zoe's different faces and the gym

2008-10-04T17:26:00.009-05:00

On Monday I'm going to start something that I've never had any desire to do in my life. I'm going to start working out at the gym. Zach is an avid runner and is now going to start riding a bike, and I've always been the cheerleader, but now it's time for me to get out there and for Zach to be my cheerleader. {(Can you imagine him in the skirt?? :)} My friend Eileen and I are going to start going. I really believe that having someone go with me will definitely be the key to success. Knowing that I'll be letting someone down if I don't go will keep me motivated in going. I'm actually pretty excited. I even bought some work out clothes at Target while in Amarillo. My goal is to get in better shape than before I got pregnant. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok. I thought that I would post a few new pictures of Zoe, because it seems I every one I have talked to in the past few weeks have asked why I haven't been updating my blog more often. So these are a few snap shots of Zoe. Just check out her different faces. She really cracks me up when she scowls or raises one eye brow in an inquisitive way. She's really a sweet baby and I'm so thankful that the Lord entrusted her to Zach & me. I can't wait to see her at age 3 or age 10 or even age 16 or 20, but I absolutely LOVE this stage. I love that I can just sit and hold her and she doesn't push to get out of my arms. It's pretty incredible!!

Taken today during her afternoon nap time....she looks pretty sweet huh!?!? Peace. Glad she was born in 2008 and not 1968.
Just layin' around
Yes, to all of you who have never heard her make a sound or cry....the picture says it all!!
One of my all time favorite pictures!! Too bad the announcements have already gone out. I LOVE this one!! Zoe "Elvis" Detwiler.
No pictures please!!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!! Which one was your favorite??

bath times and Daddy

2008-09-22T16:41:00.004-05:00

Zoe LOVES her bath times. At this point she still gets treated like a dish because we have to bathe her in our kitchen sink but it's a fun experience. These two pictures were taken after one of her baths and she'll just hang out on the towel after she's been bathed and lotioned. I love to give her baths because she'll just stretch her little arms & legs out and relax in the warm water.

The other night Zach wanted to hold Zoe after her feeding, and he actually ended up falling asleep with Zoe next to him on the couch. Not only do they look a lot alike but they also sleep alike. You'll notice in the picture how Zoe sleeps with her arms above her head, she gets that from her Daddy. And usually she'll kick off her blankets and again she gets that from her Daddy. It's so crazy how genetics works. She's never seen her Daddy sleep, yet you would think that she's studied his habits for years!! I love it!! Right after I snapped this picture both of them slightly opened their eyes and then glared at me...and went right back to sleep. Again...genetics!! All I could do was laugh!!

P.S. ignore the dates on the pictures.....my camera has a mind of it's own!! :)

Jesus is AMAZING!!!

2008-09-09T16:40:00.003-05:00

We have been very blessed with who our doctor has been through out my pregnancy. In Childress, your doctor does not change with delivery....that is a concept that throws a lot of people off, but I'm actually really thankful because we get to stay with Dr. Henderson. We will go tomorrow at 11 for Zoe's 2 weeks appt, however, today he wanted us to have another sonogram done on Zoe at our hospital to check about her "collecting system a.k.a. cyst." So, today at 1 we went to the hospital and had the sonogram done on her. After birth we found that it had shrunk even more than at our last appt, so today we were thankfully surprised to find that it has shrunk even MORE!!! Praise Jesus!!! We are very thankful to see that while it still remains in Zoe, it isn't causing her any problems!! While she keeps on using her diapers like they are going out of style...I wish she would use them a little more and not use my pant leg or my mom's office floor....like she did today in the middle of me changing her diaper. I'll be honest...my daughter has a really long range when she wants to use it....I just hope she doesn't want to "use it" for a long time....or maybe next time she can break her Daddy in a little more!!

Thank you for your prayers for Zoe and her healing...we continue to see the Lord answer our prayer!!

Zoe Bug

2008-09-07T20:33:00.003-05:00

Zoe will be 2 weeks old on Tuesday. That's a crazy thought....after all of these months of waiting to meet her...I've known her for two weeks already, and I've heard that it only goes faster from here. She is such a good little baby...I've only wanted to send her back one day!! All joking aside, she really is great. I love the faces she makes. We took her to her first day of church today and while my mom was holding her, Zoe started smiling and then a small giggle burst forth. It's awesome to wonder what is going through her little mind. I love it!! Zach and I have taken to calling her Zoe Bug....it seems to fit her pretty well. Sometimes we just call her bug...I guess it's a really good thing that she is so stinking cute or else she wouldn't be a cute bug!! :) I'll start taking more pictures and sharing them with you. I'll for sure take some on Wednesday, because we go for her two week appt....it will be fun to see what changes she has made as far as weight and length. Anyway, I'm going to relax because she'll be looking for a bed time snack in about an 1 1/2 hr!!

Zoe Terah Detwiler

2008-08-29T16:33:00.005-05:00

Zoe Terah Detwiler - 6 lb. 6 oz. 19 inches long - 08/26/08 - 2 PM

Here she is!!! I've been waiting to do this blog since I first began blogging!! We welcomed Zoe Terah into our lives on Tuesday, August 26th at 2 pm in Childress. I can't believe that we're parents....mostly I can't believe that I'm a Mom!! I go to my Mom to get answers and figure stuff out....that's what' she'll do to me in years to come!! Pretty crazy...I guess that's the whole being a parent thing though!! As I'm typing this she is sweetly sleeping...I can't wait for you to meet her in person, but until then, I'll keep this updated with her growing progress. However, I won't fill your eyes with words this time, just the sweet pictures of little Zoe!!

One of Zoe's first pictures

Daddy & Zoe

Our first family picture....and yes there were tears. :)

Our Second family picture!!

Zoe's first "check-up" with Dr. Henderson

Mia & Zoe....Mia has been waiting a long time to meet Zoe
MaMaw & Grammie meeting their newest granddaughter

Papa & T-Pa meeting little ZoeUncle Jody & Aunt Sarah meeting Zoe....Thanks Jody for the great filming!!!

Mama Bea (my grandmother...this is her 10th great-grandchild!) and Aunt Tana (Zach's twin) meeting Zoe

Jason & Sarah Cox meeting Zoe...thanks for driving in to meet her!!!

getting closer!!!

2008-08-20T10:08:00.004-05:00

We went to the dr on Monday and since we can now deliver here, Praise Jesus, we have scheduled a C-Section for Tuesday, September 2nd at 1:00 PM. Of course I would prefer to have her naturally rather than have a C-Section, but since my daughter is already showing a little personality and won't flip, we'll have to do it this way. It's a crazy thought to know that in less than 2 weeks I'll get to meet my daughter. I've always wondered what my children would look like and what their personalities would be like...and in two weeks I'll know what 1 of them will be like. It's a crazy thought. I'm excited about it all and very much ready. It's really fun to watch Zach get ready for this event. I really think that he is the one that is nesting instead of me. Sunday afternoon he went on a huge cleaning spree at our house, originally he was going to go running and then mow the lawn....I think he prayed to get rained out because when he did get rained out he cleaned. I love how helpful he is around the house though. Most of the time I don't have to even ask him for his help, he just does stuff. I know that he'll be a great Dad, I'm ready to introduce him to little Zoe. Ok...I'm off to finish some thing up....like packing my bag for the hospital....each day Zach keeps asking me if I've done that....I don't think the birth of his daughter is freaking him out nearly as much as having to pack a bag in a rushed moment for me!! I'll take pity on him today and pack my bag!! :)

baby shower, baby tiredness, just being a baby??

2008-08-07T09:29:00.002-05:00

It's 100% amazing just how tired I am each and every day. I can sleep until about 8:45 in the morning and get a nap but by about 8:30 in the evening I am ready for a long winter's nap. Maybe it the fact that I look like I'm hauling a watermelon around with me, or that the baby it due in about 30 days or so....(I'm not obsessed, there was a countdown on a web site yesterday that's how I know)....I just know that I'm always exhausted.

On a much lighter much more fun note, little Zoe's baby shower is this Saturday. I'm always so overwhelmed to see how much love is poured out at these showers. Friends and family go all out to make it such a great event and I always feel so special and loved when I leave. I can't wait to see the tiny outfits. To me that's the best part of a baby shower, to see all of the different tiny little outfits. I'm getting really excited.

But something I'm getting even MORE excited about is the fact that we could possibly be meeting Zoe in August....if not in August then for sure sometime in the first two weeks of September!! As a little girl, just like most little girls, I always dreamed of being a mom and of meeting my little baby for the first time. Now that this time is approaching I'm kind of freaking out. Not that I'm going to have the baby, but that this baby will be mine to keep. It kind of sounds like I'm buying her or something. But I'm watched my nieces at different stages in their life and love doing it, but I always took comfort that I wasn't responsible for them for the rest of their life....like to meet their daily needs. I mean honestly, getting them juice or feeding them a bottle is one thing, but planning their school clothes and birthdays was always out of my realm of "watching".....but now I'm the one that will have the school clothes and birthdays realm....so that I guess is what's freaking me out just a tad bit.....I realize that is what the world has called parenting for ages....but now that's it's me it feels totally different.

But I realize that the Lord has created this little girl for Zach & I to take care of, and that He has entrusted His daughter to me to be my daughter....that is what I think is the coolest thing. He is such an awesome God, He already knows what Zoe looks like, He already knows what color of hair and eyes she has, He already knows when her birthday will be. That is so awesome!! Anyway, I need to get some things finished for the baby shower on Saturday. I hope you have a blessed Thursday and an awesome weekend!!

all in one year

2008-07-28T11:10:00.003-05:00

one year ago, I had no idea that i would be pregnant and expecting my first child in about 5 weeks.

one year ago, at this time, I was getting my hair fixed by Lana Spencer

one year ago, there were five girls and a very short girl (Mia) running around getting dressed...all because we're friends

one year ago, I didn't know my newest niece Eisley....in fact, I didn't even know her name

one year ago, life was much different

one year ago, I was still getting my mail sent to my parents

one year ago, I wasn't finishing a nursery - I was finishing honeymoon plans

one year ago, I knew that Zach loved me but now I realize just how much more love comes with a year

one year ago....today....07-28-07 I was getting married. at 2 pm our wedding was starting and when it was over our life was beginning. the fact that one year can change so much is insane, but the fact that I know that I'll love Zach even more this time next year is crazy. thank you for being an awesome husband, a Godly man, my best friend, the leader of our home, my baby's daddy :), and soo much more. thank you. i love you!!!

He's just that good

2008-07-23T19:44:00.002-05:00

I love how good God is!!

He's always so faithful to remind me just how good He really is.

I love when he triumphs bad news and shows His face through the times when you think the day can't get any darker.

I love when He shows me just how big He really is.

I love when He lets me know that He is still there waiting to court me as His bride.

I love when He patiently waits on me to figure out the answer that He had right in front of me the whole time.

I love when He shows me that He is still in control of each situation in my life and that the end result won't be as bad as I think.

I love Him because He did die just for me.

I love Him because He is my Father and my Friend, He's the Lover of my soul and the Defender of my being.

I love Him because He is simply my Lord.

a festive weekend

2008-07-05T18:38:00.002-05:00

this weekend - being the 4th and all - i've spent doing a bunch of fun nothingness. my brother & his family came in from amarillo. i love to spend time with them. i'm really glad that he & i get along better than most siblings and that our spouses get along really great too. i make it sound like we're just one big happy family...and honestly that's what we are. we can joke around and not take it to heart (just ask my husband Honest Abe), we can stay up until a crazy hour playing board games and eating left-over food/junk food, and we can just enjoy enjoying ourselves. being around their two little girls makes me super anxious to meet my little girl in a few months. hearing Mia say "love you" when i've told her that I love her melts my heart, and seeing Eisley's smile and hearing her baby talk is the best. they are beautiful. i can't wait to meet Zoe and see what she'll be like and who she'll look like.

you may have noticed (or you may not have - which is ok) that there is an addition to my page. a "twitter." zach put this on here and he promises to keep it updated. i wanted to clarify this, since i posted a blog about not working any more and that talks about work. so, you'll know who all of that is coming from. we'll see how it works out.

i hope you've all had a great 4th weekend and are still enjoying your independence....i'm thankful that being free is all i've ever known.

staying at home

2008-06-30T17:06:00.003-05:00

greetings blog readers!!

i am an official "stay at home wife (soon-to-be mommy). i'm really excited to be able to stay at home. last week was my first week and i was crazy busy going to lubbock for a wedding and then amarillo to pick up a big inflatable boxing ring for our youth lock-in friday night...so actually today was the first day i've stayed at home. i feel like i'm suppose to go back to work in a few weeks, or like i should be sleeping because i'm sick. it hasn't settled in yet, but i'm quite excited about being here. i love being at home when Zach comes in for lunch and picking up the house and cleaning it up for Zach. it's actually a dream come true, because i've always wanted to be a housewife. i'm very thankful to Zach for letting me stay and even more grateful to the Lord for providing a way for me to stay. i'm excited that i won't have to take our baby to a day care and that i'll get to watch all of her changes. this is a fairly random blog, but it's what's going on right now!!

p.s. ashley ingram....the easiest way to can apricots is to go buy your pectin, jars, ect....(we got ours from wal-mart) in the pectin box there will be the exact directions for canning apricots that we followed. if you're unsure what i'm talking about you can get my number from my sister-in-law and call me....i do better with phone directions than typing them out!!

being a blogger bum

2008-06-20T10:22:00.002-05:00

I feel like quite the blogger bum. I haven't posted anything since my recent excitement over my homemade laundry soap (which is still amazing!!) and the news of our newest pet (which left again...I felt like a divorced parent and the child not being able to decide where he wanted to live).....we gave him up....Lexi has recovered quite nicely and is again settling into the "single child" syndrome. She gets to play with my parents dogs, so she stays content with that.

This past week has been crazy. I really wonder if this is what Pharaoh felt like when all of the plagues were coming on him. Unsure where the next was coming from and when it was coming, that type of thing. The hail this week has done a crazy amount of damage - I'm sure like the grasshopper plague. I realize that their damage was far more intense, but it's just as unsettling. I can't imagine what it must have felt like for Pharaoh, or even Noah when he was on the ark for so long. Driving home from Amarillo on Saturday we watched a double rainbow the entire drive home. It was beautiful!! The colors were vibrant and beautiful.

The Lord is so gracious to us and I have no fear when a storm comes, literal or hypothetical, because I know that my Redeemer lives (i always want to break out into singing the song now) :) but honestly....doesn't having the Lord on your side give you an amazing amount of comfort when these storms start coming. I know I'm more at peace.

on being Amish....and finding a dog

2008-06-11T08:46:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a pretty cool day. Monday night I used my homemade laundry soap. Works like a charm!!! I am still really excited about it!! So of course yesterday morning when I woke up I threw our sheets in with the new soap...still works great and our clothes/towels/sheets - everything feels softer too!! I'm pretty excited. Also yesterday, we went to my parents house and my mom showed me the ropes and helped me can 16 pints of apricot jam from our apricot tree!! It's really easy. Now I realize the title to this is "on being Amish" and if I were truly Amish I would have known how to can when I was knee-high to a grasshopper (the only "old" phrase I could think of) but I'm really not Amish so I was getting a crash coarse on canning yesterday. I've always seen it done by my mom or grandmother, but yesterday was the first time for me to help with it!! Thank Mom for your help!!

On Saturday night, Zach & I were heading to our house with my cousin's fiance and we saw this little black dog run across the road. This was only one block from the highway, and I didn't want the puppy to get hit. So Braci & I start calling the dog, and it turns out that he is a really sweet gentle Schnauzer dog. I love Schnauzers. My parents had several growing up and they would have litter after litter...I just have a sweet spot for them. To make a long story short, Sunday Zach & I clean this puppy up (oh yeah, we took him home Saturday night) and he is just as happy as can be. Monday morning comes around and Zach heads to work, and he sees the dog in the alley...there was no open gate by the way. Zach puts him back in. I head to work...see the dog out...and put him back in. Well, guess what happens when no one is there to let him back in...he runs away!! So all day Monday Zach and I are searching for this dog. Come to find out...Zach works like 5 feet away from the dogs real owners. Since the dog had no collar or tags on we couldn't find his home...but I guess he really wanted to go home. Well....this morning Zach goes to let Lexi out side...and guess who's back!!! The dog!! He crawled back under the fence to get back in!! I'm thinking that he is confused about where he wants to live!! The owners said that we could keep him, as they were going to get rid of him anyway.

I'm pretty excited....I have homemade laundry soap, canned apricot jam, and a new dog. This has been a good week!! :)

....yuck....

2008-06-09T09:32:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update....I made the laundry soap and the ingredients are currently "becoming one." I'll use it tonight and report on my findings tomorrow. It is simple to make, the entire process takes about 15 minutes. I really enjoyed it....I really hope that all goes well....Zach does too!!

I'm off to the doctor at 10 am. Not for a baby update...for a get rid of this head/chest cold that I've had for almost a week update. I'm actually looking forward to seeing the doctor, just so I can finish this tiring race with my run-away nose. I'm going to win that race by the way!!

going green

2008-06-06T11:04:00.005-05:00

This weekend I'm going to try something that I've been wanting to try for quite a while. I'm going to make my own laundry soap. (I think this comes from the deep desire to have lived in the 1800's and/or to be Amish....another story for another time though) This inspiration came from one of my sister-in-laws friends blog. She decided to go green and to my knowledge she hasn't tried this recipe, but from all of the ingredients it should be pretty harmless. However, if you see Zach or I walking around in clothes that don't look quite right....just ignore and know not to try this mixture!! By the way, Zach doesn't know yet that I'm going to try this!! :) He's a really good husband!!

This recipe calls for:
1 bar of soap
1 box of washing soda
1 box of borax
5 gallon bucket
3 gallons of tap water
a big spoon
a measuring cup
a knife.

It makes a ton of laundry soap, and the price equals out to be only 3 cents per load!!! Thats where I get really excited. The typical jug or box of laundry soap is about 30 cents per load...that a big difference!! Check this out and more - here!!
This is a better version of the same recipe...plus it has step-by-step pictures/instructions...go here!!

I am also going to try a window cleaner, that Sarah's friends family has actually used and proven true. My mom & grandmother use a version of this but I'm eager to try this one out.

It's:
12-16 oz. water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol.

Simple, slightly smelly, but works like a charm!!

If you try either of these out before Monday let me know how it goes and how your clothes turn out...but I'm hoping to dive into this project tomorrow afternoon. I have about one load left of laundry soap....I'm excited!!

Have a blessed weekend!!

my husband

2008-06-04T15:36:00.003-05:00

Greetings.

Today not much is going on in my mind, I think the 106 degree weather has something do with it. I really wish it were cooler, or I could work in a swimming pool. But since I don't work there and it isn't as cool as I would like it to be, I'll just stick with my faithful window unit here in my office.

I think that today is a bragging day. A bragging day on my husband. Last year, when we were presented with the idea of moving into our little home, Zach was 100% against the idea....simply because he didn't exactly see the diamond in the rough like I did. I'll be honest it was almost like love at first sight. I could envision myself cooking and cleaning for my husband and our family in this little home. That all took place on the inside of our home. The outside of our home was totally different.

**This is the part where I knew that Zach loved me fully...because he would not have agreed to live there if he didn't. **

The yard was horrible. I mean just imagine super-tall grass, with dead trees, random bricks and such all over the yard, and this was just the back yard. The front yard had a ton of ant beds and the weeds were nasty, gross, and growing at a rapid pace.

However, (this is where the bragging comes in) Zach has recently been the macho-ultra manly husband I married and has devoted so much time to our front yard. Last year we got the back yard into really good shape, such good shape our fruit trees are rewarding us with fruit this year!! The other night Zach got out in the front yard and spent several hours...and now it looks great. If you were to drive by it you wouldn't see it like I do...all you would see is several large patches of dirt with dying grass around it. But I see it as wonderful because it was my husband's labor of love to me and our home. It was his way of making what we have even better. I love it!! Also, it was his way of prepping the yard to put new seed down!!

He's pretty much amazing....go ahead and admit, you think he is too!! :)

the baby

2008-06-03T09:49:00.003-05:00

Each Tuesday or Wednesday I send my mom and dad and Zach's mom an update on Zoe's weekly progress. It's pretty crazy that there is that much going on from week-to-week. I was looking at this week's update and Zoe can now open and close her eyes. You see, (no pun intended) her eye's have been fused shut for several months now. I think that it is pretty cool she can now see!! They say if you shine a flashlight at my stomach then she would probably start kicking....I mean honestly would you want a flashlight in your eyes??

On the other hand though, I am under the 100 day mark. Last year at this time, we were getting geared up for our wedding - P.S. if my sweet husband ever puts a time frame on something involving you....don't accept or agree!! (he said we wouldn't be married for 5 years and then kids would come five years later.........) : ) Anyway, I am kind of flipping out because I have less than 100 days until we have a child to take care of....in the flesh. The first graders every year at CES throw a huge celebration for the 100th day of school....maybe I should enlist for this celebration!?!

We'll be fine...I'm just getting a little freaked out. But I guess that just part of the process right?? You know...first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Amy freaking out about the baby carriage!! Life happens....just a lot faster when you're expecting something so great to come into the world!!

colorful colorado

2008-06-02T09:36:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, over Memorial Day, my mom & I went to Colorado to see some of our family and to see how my Grandmother is doing up there. Colorado is where my brother & I were both born and where my Mom grew up. It's a place where we would try to get back to at least twice a year....unless my Mom could find some "reason" for needing to get back up there more! I love it. On our honeymoon, Zach & I went to Colorado, because he had never been there....he wasn't too sure about the whole being on a mountain thing, he's definitely a flat lander....but over the course of our marriage....I think he'll grow into the idea of the mountains. Here are a few picture that my Mom took while we were there. There was still a lot of snow on the mountains...but that's what makes it beautiful!!

Don't you wish you were there?!?!

progress.....

2008-05-28T10:52:00.004-05:00

Tuesday morning at 8:00 AM we went to see our buddy Dr. Heather Holmes in Amarillo. She's our specialist, and someone we really feel comfortable leading us through this weird and crazy process. After taking 53 pictures, Dr. Holmes has determined that the "urinoma" or the cyst has not changed hardly at all. She said it is in "stable" condition, which is a blessing that it hasn't gotten larger. The bigger Zoe gets the better off it will be, since it isn't showing signs of growth. I'm pleased with this report. I have given it over to the Lord. Honestly, what is my worrying going to do?? Just cause undue stress on my self and Zoe. So...for now, we wait. I kinda feel like the characters on the movie Titanic. You know, the ones that were waiting for the other ship to come and pluck them out of the icy cold water after the Titanic had gone down. However, my hope isn't in a people-filled boat, it's in my Saviour, who has already defeated this silly little cyst. So...I'm just going to hang out until our next appointment, which will be in July. Praise Jesus that we won't meet our daughter in July...just the doctor again!!

On a lighter note, Zoe is already showing parts of her personality. She may be ticklish, she is slightly shy, she might be a singer, and she is very much at home where she is right now. Why do I know this?? I'm glad you asked!! While in her "photo shoot" yesterday, each time the lady would scan over where her feet where at, Zoe would kick her. I thought it was funny. Also, when we were looking at her face (see pictures below) she covered her face up with her little arm. And she was opening and closing her mouth like she was singing. We even got to see her blink at us. That was really cool. I don't feel her move around nearly as much as she does. Except this morning at 4:30 AM when I truly felt like a bag of popcorn....she wouldn't stop moving around....therefore, I can only conclude, that she is soo very comfy in there!! Thank you very much for your prayers for our baby girl....please continue them until I am safely holding her in my arms!!

This is when we saw her blink!! Can you see her little face??

A good side profile of her...

A direct shot of her little face. This is when she covered her face with her arm.

baby dedication

2008-05-19T09:22:00.003-05:00

Saturday night we were in Amarillo because my youngest niece Eisley was being dedicated to the Lord during their church service at Messiah's House. I love baby dedications. The simple fact that the parents are going before their church family and placing their baby into the hands of the Creator is such a sweet moment. Eisley of course didn't have a clue what was going on...but I know without a doubt she will be used in mighty ways as she grows older. Also during the service my other niece Mia sang a song and recited three verses that she and her class had been working on. The normally out-going, always moving, never slowing down Mia, suddenly became a very shy, invert who only did one of the probably 20 motions that they had previously practiced. Thats one of the best things about church....children's performances. I love it!! Need less to say, it was a really awesome service. The night was closed out by taking the Lord's supper. That is always a sweet moment, when I stop moving and get really personal with what the Lord has done for me. I love taking communion, because it really makes me think of what Jesus went through for me. However, I was extremely thirsty and the tiny little cup of grape juice only made matters worse...I guess it was a good thing the service was almost over!!

pushing against a brick wall

2008-05-16T09:37:00.004-05:00

Yesterday when I got home from work, I really wanted to do something outside and for my husband. And since May has been incredibly busy, and we've been tied up each weekend and most evenings, Zach hasn't had a chance to mow the yard in a while. I really wanted to do something that Zach normally does, but I didn't want it to be something like taking the trash out....plus he had done that the night before. So when I got home, I put on an over-sized shirt, pulled my hair back and excitedly when to the garage where the lawn mower is kept. Just a side note....this is actually my dad's lawn mower. He got this incredible riding lawn mower, so we have momentarily (for almost a year now) "borrowed" his lawn mower. Dad's push mower is a fancy one, where it is also mulches and mows....it's a heavy duty guy. I get it out to the front yard and go to start it....I can't get it to start. I checked the gas, and it was full, so I knew there had to be something I was missing. Another side note....I love to mow.....I haven't mowed since last year...and before that it was YEARS since I had mowed....I was a little rusty. But since mowing is like riding a bike, you just never forget how to do it, and it's really not that hard, I keep trying. Finally, I give in and call Dad. Just as soon as he answers, I remember that there is a button that you push 3 times to "ignite" the mower....whatever that means. So I promptly tell Dad thank you for answering my question, without answering it, and got to mowing. There was one more thing that Dad should have told me. There is a lever to the left of the mower, you want to pull that up or it's absolutely the hardest mower to push, because the front wheels won't help mow without pulling that lever up.

I forgot about that, therefore I had no help from the front wheels and it ended up taking 30 minutes, when it should have honestly taken 10-15 minutes. The point of this pointless story? Maybe it's that I should have just taken out the little bit of trash that there was and called it good. Maybe it's the fact that an almost 6 month pregnant girl should get more exercise because man I've never been so winded. Or maybe....(and this is what I really thought of) it's like when I get away from my Father too long and then try to do something without praying. Most of the time doing something on my own will leaves me exhausted, winded, tired, and drained. When I do ask Him before hand, it makes a 30 minute job 10 minutes...and it leaves me much more energized and happy.

By the way, Zach did noticed the yard.....and he asked who did it. :) I happily told him me!!

my morning victory

2008-05-09T08:42:00.005-05:00

So these days I count my self very fortunate if I don't have to get up in the middle of the night for a bathroom run. Last night, I wasn't so fortunate. Bare with me as I try to tell you of the frightening events that took place....

The time - 5:26 A.M. The place - the Detwiler bathroom. The victim - a quarter-size nasty black hairy 10 eyed (i'm sure of it) spider....my arch nemesis.

Our chocolate lab likes to lay in our bathroom at night because we have tile on the floor. Inevitably, I always bump her with my foot, because it's dark. This morning was no exception. I bump into her, flip on the light and look down. What do I find sitting next to her back paw....the creature!! Lexi, our lab, just lays there, giving me this look that can only mean "turn off the light I was sleeping." Completely ignoring the dog at this point, I'm asking myself, how can I get around this spider to accomplish my original mission so I can get back to bed. Now, I didn't run track in high school, therefore, I've never done hurdles....but I thought about attempting it this morning. I also thought about screaming and waking Zach up so he could come and do the manly-husbandly thing he does every time I scream at home...kill the spider. Not wanting to wake up Zach, and not wanting to break my neck by jumping over the hurdle of Lexi & her "friend"...I decide the next best thing is to go get a flip-flop of mine, put it on and crush this little guy to pieces.

So that's what I did.

But it wasn't over yet...

Once I had the satisfaction of killing this spider the victorious moment soon turned to a moment of pure panic. About 30 of this spiders offspring run out of this corpse of the spider. Tiny little bitty spiders running everywhere!! Lexi is still asleep letting them run all around her. I'm dancing a wild jig in our hallway trying to make sure all of these little fellows stay in the same area. I felt like I was back at the elementary school trying to keep all of the kids contained...it's pointless. I run into our laundry room and grab the broom and dust pan, and come back with the greatest of intentions of sweeping them all away. I swept as many as I could....then the next fear hit. What if they crawl off the dust pan and onto my hand. So, quickly, I hop the dog, open the toilet lid and FLUSH. Down went the dead spider and at least 95% of her kids. As for the other 5%....they better be watching their backs.

Amazingly enough....Zach & Lexi slept through my heroic moment of saving our home. I couldn't go back to sleep for at least 2o minutes...because I just knew that crawling feeling on my legs was one of those tiny little guys out to get revenge for it's mom.

I had a full day in about 5 minutes this morning.....yuck!!

Zach's party - a fun weekend

2008-05-05T13:07:00.003-05:00

On Saturday night, we successfully pulled a surprise party off in honor of my hubby Zach. His birthday will be tomorrow, and he will be 22 years old. He didn't have a clue about the party, or about the fact that his parents, grandparents, sister, my grandmother, and my parents would be there. He thought we were just going over to have hamburgers with my parents since my two nieces were in town. He was shocked and it ended up being a really great night. I am very blessed to have the family I do and that I married a man with the family he has. Together we have a huge, blessed-filled family that I love!! It was really great to see everyone this weekend. I never get enough of my brother's little girls. Mia & Eisley are both so sweet in their own unique ways. I've always found Mia to be a joy, and then Eisley was born 2 days before I had my miscarriage in October, so she will always have a sweet spot in my heart. It was just a joyous, successful, fun weekend!! I hope your weekend went just as well as mine did!! :)

immediate answers

2008-04-28T09:41:00.005-05:00

Here a few pictures of Zoe that we got from our M.F.S. appointment in Amarillo. These are really good shots of her. They took 80 pictures on the ultrasound machine.....I'm not sure but I think she'll either be a model (because of all the pictures) or a soccer player because of the second picture down!! You decide!! :)

On the 21st of April, Zach & I went to a Maternal Fetal Specialist in Amarillo for Baby Zoe. After being there for 3 hours we walked out full of knowledge, questions, and slight confusion. I've never in my life received so much foreign information at one time as we did that morning. We love our doctor, our nurse is great, and the entire staff that we dealt with was perfect, but they still didn't calm the rapid beatings of my heart. Last fall, after we lost our first baby, the only One I could ask questions to was the Lord. Now, that this baby is alive and healthy, we ask all of these other people the questions, because they are the "professionals." It is so easy to ask the doctor the questions that we had and have because we received an answer immediately. I guess I'm not much different from any other mom, because I want to know what will make my baby better instantly. But, when I'm suppose to follow the Lord, answers aren't immediate, and sometimes healing isn't instant.

We go back on the 2oth of May to see if this cyst has shrunk from 17 mm. Please be praying with us and for Baby Zoe. As anxious as I am to meet my baby girl, I don't want to meet her too early...so please pray that this goes away.

Going to the Dr.

2008-04-17T14:36:00.002-05:00

So this morning I went back to the clinic to have another ultrasound to see if that little round black bubble was an air bubble that had passed or if it was a cyst like figure that was still there. We found that it is still there. This means that on Monday we will head to Amarillo to the Texas Tech Health Science Center and find out what they see. It will be really interesting to find out what they see/know. Lupe, the ultrasound guy was even questioning what he saw, and he said he wasn't even sure what it was....not too comforting, but at least we can see someone who is use to seeing abnormal ultrasounds.
The positive side to this whole deal is knowing that the Lord has already gone ahead of us and knows what lays in our future and in Baby Zoe's future. The Lord reminded me of how good His faithfulness is when I re-read the verse that Zach & I claimed for our marriage and life together. "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Knowing that my Father has gone before this and that He will indeed hold it all together is more comfort that anything man can say.

Baby Zoe

2008-04-16T13:31:00.008-05:00

So yesterday I was 19 weeks along. Today we went to see good ol' Dr. Henderson and Lupe the sono guy. We had our sonogram at 9 AM and then our appointment at 10 AM. Our due date has been changed from the 15th of September to the 8th of September. Either way we'll be happy when she's here!! While Lupe was doing the sono he noticed that not only does Baby Zoe have her daddy's big head (yes, Lupe did say that Zach has a big head...we all got a good laugh...except Zach), she also has something that represents a cyst next to her little bitty kidney. They feel that this is really nothing to worry about, however I am going back in the morning at 9 AM to get it checked out again. If it is in fact a cyst then we will go to Amarillo on Monday to the Texas Tech Health Science Center. If it is an air bubble, which is also a possibility, and is gone in the morning we thank Jesus and move on with our life. However, there is nothing to fear...and only good to look at. We are asking that our family and friends be praying and lifting little Zoe up to our Father, for her protection and health/growth. It's amazing how quickly you are in love with your children...when you've never even met them!!

So...I'm posting the pictures of Zoe that we got today. There are three of them and I'll let you see if you can see what we see (say that five times fast)!! The bottom one is my favorite out of these three. Let me know if you can see what each picture is showing and my next blog I'll let you in on what's there.

switching places

2008-04-14T08:44:00.002-05:00

There are so many decisions when you're expecting your first little bundle of joy. For instance, you have to pick out the furniture for the baby room, the bedding for the baby room, the color to paint the baby room, ect, ect, ect. It can, at times, get overwhelming. Knowing my husband, you'll appreciate this blog. Before I married my wonderful Zach, I really didn't plan ahead too much, I am more a "go with the flow" kinda girl. I like to keep life simply, little-to-no hassle, that type of life. However, when Zach and I got married I noticed how much we have started turning into each other. I'm aware of the fact that this isn't suppose to happen until you've been married for at least a good 10 years. I mean, my parents are going to hit their 30th in February, and some people think they are brother and sister...kinda gross...but whatever!! :)
Back to Zach. All of a sudden, he is the one that will casually ask what the bedding will be, what the color of the room will be, if I've found furniture that I like. I'm the one that has been driving myself crazy trying to find stuff, like Zoe will be here tomorrow....I have until September.
Maybe it's the fact that I'm the Mom and have an idea what I would like the nursery to look like...maybe its the fact that I'm really just ready to meet our little baby...I don't know if I can yet accept the fact that Zach & I have switched places.

I'll stick with the fact that I'm the pregnant one. :)

Purple Skittles

2008-04-09T15:56:00.002-05:00

One of the best ways to turn a rainy day into a sunny one is to get a bag of skittles and find that it is mostly filled with purple & red skittles!! I'm not sure why those other colors are even in there, there's not much purpose to them except to leave a really weird taste in my mouth. However, yesterday I bought a bag of skittles and didn't eat them, so I saved them for today. (coming back from lunch I was really excited to remember that they were waiting on me...to eat them!!)
I opened them this afternoon and the longer I ate, the more I noticed that there were a ton of purple skittles!!

The Lord is so good about making small things a great big joy!!

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! - 1 John 3:1

sleepy days

2008-04-08T14:27:00.001-05:00

Today is one of those day (which seem to have become more frequent since I've been pregnant) that I've just wanted to stay home and sleep. I like to call these days "couch days." Stay on the couch, with a book, a movie playing and sleep. (Yes, I can do all of those at the same time.)

I think when I get off work, I shall take a nap. That sounds really exciting at this moment!! :)

the brady bunch-ism

2008-04-07T16:41:00.004-05:00

In my job, I see a lot of different backgrounds of families that come in to get their child involved in one more thing they probably don't have the time for anyway. It's great for them, but when the child is the one who rules the family, it breaks my heart. So many times I see the parents give into every whim, every deep sigh and every tantrum the child throws. I know I went without a lot of things growing up, but I can't name one of those things today.
Many times I sit here and thank the Lord for the way my parents raised my brother & me. My parents were always there for the activities that Jody & I were apart of, even if it meant less rest for them. We weren't ever allowed to fight, we were told that the Lord gave us each other as a special gift and that we were to always take care of each other. While this sounds really "brady bunch", I've very thankful that we were raised this way because I value the relationship with my brother so much. He is a very wise man of God, his selection in a wife was far higher than he deserved :) and his daughters are now being trained in the ways of the Lord. I know that without a doubt I will never have to worry about my relationship with my brother and his family ever going sour and not talking for long periods of time. The Lord is so gracious and wise when He sets families into motion. It's up to the family (parents) to make the Lord the center of their home. I am very thankful for my parents making the Lord our center. Today made me realize once again how blessed I am to be in my family.

sickness, pregnancy and being a mommy

2008-04-04T10:02:00.004-05:00

Being sick while being pregnant is a strange concept. I know I'm not the first pregnant women to ever get sick, and I won't be the last, but while I have been sick I've been thinking. Yesterday, I finally gave in and went to the doctor. I honestly probably wouldn't have gone if I wasn't pregnant. So, that's the first strange concept point! The second, is the fact that while I was seeing the doctor, he was looking up all the different medications he could give a woman who is pregnant *me* with symptoms pointing at bronchitis and an upper respiratory infection. He was trying to find as many medicines to choose from that I could take that wouldn't hurt my unborn child.

While you're reading this you're probably thinking I've been taking a few too many medications, but honestly, just think about this. I can't take medicine that might hurt my baby. The doctor and I were taking ever precaution not to harm my baby girl. After I have that little baby, Zach & I will take every precaution so our baby girl doesn't get hurt, by anyone or anything. Medicine will be the least of our worries after she is born.

I've heard that being a mom starts when you find out you're pregnant and doesn't ever end. Yesterday, my first glimpse of just how big of a task that is going to be hit me....and now I'm even more excited to meet little Zoe in just a few short months!!

A Heart Full of Sad

2008-04-02T16:16:00.006-05:00

I just found out that one of my really good friends had a death in his family. Now, when someone is sick or they've been diagnosed with something, you are able to at least prepare yourself a little better. Not saying that it makes the loss any easier, but at least it softens the initial blow. My friend's grandpa was killed Monday, while working late. A pipeline exploded and killed him. This friend of mine is a great guy, comes from a great family; but his loss is just as real. His grandpa left 3 sons and 8 grand kids. It just makes you realize how fragile life is...you never know when the Lord will call your number and you'll be gone. When different family members of mine have passed away, it hurts each time. But this time is kinda different because I'm not beside my friend and his family, I can't see their grief. My hurt is for him though, I understand what it's like to loose my grandpa's...I've lost both of mine in the past 3 years....it hurts, but just like my friend said earlier, he'll see him again someday...it's just these days that hurt.

Being Baby Wise

2008-04-01T15:11:00.003-05:00

My wise sister-in-law Sarah told me that I should start reading "On Becoming Baby Wise" before we welcome our little one in September. So the other night, while in the Vernon Wal-Mart, I see this book for $11 bucks and some change. Of course, I get really excited about it, and we made this trip to Wal-Mart for this book and I think some dog food for Lexi, our large brown baby. I start reading this book and was pleasantly surprised when I started it.

At the very beginning of the first chapter it talks about how your baby needs a family, not just married parents. It's telling the parent's-to-be that you don't need to change your entire lifestyle just because you are having a baby. While that sounds easy and having never been a parent, I can see how quickly your marriage can turn into two babysitters that previously shared vows.

"Great marriages produce great parents." This is a line out of the book. And a line that makes me want to improve any lacking part in my marriage. Basically, this entire blog is a huge thank you to my sister-in-law for telling me about this book. I'm excited to read the whole thing!! Kudos's to you, Sister Sarah!! :)