Fave Things Swap!!



Hello everyone!!

I recently participated in a Super Fun swap with Mamarazzi and the theme was "My Fave Things"!

I looove these kinds of swaps because you can share your fave things with someone and get some of their fave things as well:)

My partner was Marcy and let me say... she has great taste when it comes to her FAVE things!

Here's what she sent me...

Starbucks Coffee...hello! I Love this girl already:)

A super cute tumbler with straw for cute and cold drinks on the go!

A flower shaped dish brush (ADORABLE!)

Some yummy smelling Bath and Body lotion.

A Super Cute sign about Chocolate (Im a chocoholic!)

2 pretty colors of nailpolish.

Some pocket sized tissues (great for my youngest son to use, he tends to "pick" on the go!)

A whisk with a piggy on the bottom, so DARN cute! My youngest son claimed it as HIS, he has a minor obsession with piggies! lol)

And a note pad/to do list- love!! I always NEED a list to remind myself what to do/or what to buy!

AND...

...a magnet from her home state Texas! (Marcy loves magnets and SO do I!)

 

Marcy, thanks SO much for all the goodies!

Here's me smiling at you:)

Head on over to Mammarazzi's blog to see what the other swap players got and what I sent Marcy!

Toodles,

Noelle

New Year... New ME!

Happy New Year friends!

2012...wow!

Its obviously been a LONG time since I blogged :(
Still don't have a working computer (boo!)

But...

I fell into a deep depression right after Thanksgiving.

I mean I'd been depressed since my brother was killed last March,

but I continued to let myself fall into a dark ugly hole.

Most people didn't see it.

If you are on my facebook page, you may have guessed from time to time that things weren't good.

I can't say the 3 weeks I spent in a deep dark place were a total waster, cause it gave me a wake up call.

I realized...

1. I have the MOST amazing compassionate kind and loving husband int he world because he

continued to love and support me as I yelled, cried and tried to push anyone and everyone away for 9 months. He mentioned the "divorce" word to me a few times, I think I was just so awful that he said it in hopes I'd "change".

2. My kids are the 2nd MOST amazing thing in my life. Thru all the 9 months of tears they still called me Mommy and Muffin, still hugged and kissed me daily and still wanted to be with my on my ugliest, tear stained days.

3. My brothers life on Earth is ended... BUT he has a better new life in Heaven. Full of peace, which is far better than what I believe we have here on Earth. I feel him by my side. He helped me get thru our 1st Christmas without him this year by reminding me Christmas is about NEW LIFE, and creating a new life with my family! Christmas is also a joyous time for children- to see Santa, make cookies, trim the tree, play in snow and go to bed the night before Christmas dreaming about what they will have to open on Christmas morn. For children, life is about fun and learning. This is what they RETAUGHT me this December.

4. I realized 2011 was one of the MOST traumatic years of my live...I lost myself but have refound who I strive to want to be beginning NOW. God blessed ME with LIFE, it may not last forever but I need to love it and live it now. My brother lived his life to the fullest with NO regret in his short 27 years. He smiled and laughed daily, tried new things, took risks that backfired sometimes but each day he LIVED! I take that "silent" lesson from him and now apply that to each day. I hope he looks down on me and thinks "Wow, I taught MY bis SIS SOMETHING "NEW"?" YES BRO you did, and I am eternally grateful!

5. So in this NEW YEAR, I will STRIVE to live life to the fullest... to remember that each hectic moment will pass. I will hug my hubby and kids tighter each day and praise the Lord that they are mine. I will be greateful for my job even though I hate it sometimes, that it provides for us financially and gives us health insurance that is so needed now. I will work daily on bettering my health, mentally and physically. I already lost 5 lbs since Christmas and joining a Zumba Biggest Loser Weight Loss competition that runs thru March 31st. I wanna lost at least 30 pounds. I wanna possibly rid my body of Insulin Resistance. When I eat healthier and work out, I feel better in mind and body. I wanna go back to college and get my BA within 2 years. So I can continue to grow in my career. I wanna be a better wife and mother- the type that I used to be and have always wanted to be.

All of this that I said today came from the heart, and I wanted to open myself and be honest.

No fancy pics in this post, just the REAL true Noelle.

I thank you all for your friendship and support.

All my love,

Noelle

Holiday Family Photo Shoot

Christmas will be here before we know it!

I wanted to get an early start on our Holiday cards, so I got a photo shoot scheduled with our fave photographer. I love the classic look of black and white clothing in photos, so thats the color scheme we ran with. Also added red and gray and here's what we all looked like...

Yes thats our ornary oldest giving us bunny ears, lol!!

Lil man's tie wouldn't stay straight but he's "oh so cute!!"

I loooooooooove this one the best- the pop of colors with the black and white! Everyone's smiling and lil man's tongue is sticking out!!!

Handsome HUBS and I... isn't he SEXXXY in argyle!?

My baby boy and I! He's so precious to me:)

Awww! We just celebrated our 2 yr wedding anniversary too!!

Our Bad to the Bone boys, looking so handsome in their coordinating outfits from Old Navy.

My lil buddy, 4 1/2 yrs old now.

Gavin the stud is 10 now!!!

The 2 that hold my heart, make me smile and scream at times... and at the end of the night when their asleep- I thank the Lord for the THEM and THE QUIET in my home:) LOL

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!!

Love,

Noelle

Autumn Swap Goodness



Last Monday my AWESOME Autumn Swap goodies arrived from Ashley:)

She and I hit it off right away thru email and Facebook- we have a lot in common and had a BLAST shopping for each other!

 

Here's what she sent me:

 

Starbucks to brew at home- YAY!

Some scentsy smells for home and the truck.

A comfy animal print blanket (my youngest son has claimed it!)

Candy corn.

A super cute scarf...I love scarves.

She made up a batch of her fave hot cocoa mix and gave me the recipe!

Great stuff!!

 

Thanks again Ashley!!

Head over to her blog HERE to see what I sent her:)

Autumn Swap Time



Finally, I get to play in another swap :)

Its been awhile since I've gotten a chance to do so and I can't wait!!

Autumn is my fave season, Mammarazzi is my fave swap host and I got the COOLEST partner, Ashley!!

Ashley and I have a mutual love for coffee (Starbucks), Dove Chocolate, Scentsy and Zebra print... this is gonna be a BLAST!!

Gavin's 10 year pics

Did I just say Gavin's 10 year pics?

Hard to believe that my first born turned the BIG 1-0 this past July!

He's so handsome, loving and is SO GROWN!!

He took an interest in skateboarding and playing the guitar in the past few months, so we took those items as props for his photo shoot...

Here are a few of my faves!

I love this collage of him ROCKIN OUT his guitar (a gift from his grandpa Greg for his bday)... he was such a ham playing his rockstar moves.

So handsome, with that coy little smile!

(I see a smidge of innocence still in his eyes)

Lil skater dude!

Such a little stud muffin :)

Love this... my baby boy growing up :(

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Noelle

Helllloooooo again!!

(Noelle and hubby Brian)

Hi friends!! Remember me?

Ughh its been so long since I've been able to blog:(

As I've said a million times, I have the worst luck with computers!

Our Gateway was to be repaired and we found out its cheaper to just buy a new computer!

Sooo we are slowly trying to get to that point.

Whats new???

Fall is here in Northern Indiana, today is a chilly and rainy day but I love being in a cozy sweater and snuggling up with a blanket on days like today.

I've just been working and a working!

My boys are doing well, Gavins 10 and in 4th grade at a new school and he loves it!

Gage is 4 and in the 4 year old preschool class, he's such a lil stinker but so precious!

My hubby started college this Fall and is going to study Culinary Arts!

He loves to cook and Im so excited for him!

I hope you all are well and want you to know I miss you all :(

I hope to be able to blog more often.

Gavin and I at a baseball game this summer :)

Gage playing baseball!

BUMPER CAR FUN!!!!

Teaching on My Own

Hello there! Hope you are all still with me?

Its been a crazy summer, I am working full time this summer for the first time in years.

Haven't had much time for blogging; the computer we were borrowing from a friend is no longer working!

We have the WORST luck with computers, sighhh!

Just found out that I will have my OWN classroom this year with 4 children!

Last year I shared a room with another teacher and we had 8 children.

Im still with Early Head Start; my 1 year anniversary is August 7th!!

I work with babies ages 6 weeks up to age 3...

this year our ages of children will be similar- last year we had a variety.

Im excited for this year!!

Our program moved to a new school- which is a 3 MINUTE drive from home vs. 20 min. before!

We have new management and fired 2 crummy teachers and hired new staff!

So Im a little bit in back to school mode; we've been going thru High/Scope curriculum training for the past 2 weeks- we need 120 hrs total!!

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Just wanted to say HELLO and hope that I get back on here soon; hope you are all having a wonderful summer?!

Noelle xo



Its the Little Things in Life...

Its been awhile since I have been able to churn out a "blog-worthy" post.. or at least one that seems that way to me. Today I wanna talk about how important it is to be thankful for the little things we have in life.... those little moments that we can get away, either by ourselves or as a family. 

The past year we have struggled with SO many things...

financially and emotionally.

The sudden death on of my darling brother sent me in a downward spiral; I became so darkly depressed- even though I have a good job, an amazing hubby and 2 precious boys, I couldn't find happiness or peace in anything. I was angry at the person who killed my brother in the accident, furious with the girl my brother was dating who said such awful things about him, and took from him within 2 days of his death.

Im angry that my dad passed away less than 18 months prior to my brothers death. 

How could we lose them both so soon?

My mom has changed, she's deeply saddened and heartbroken over my brothers death... I miss HER, she will never truly be the "same" person she was before Mikie was killed. 

My point with this post is to try to look for the good in each day, no matter how SHITTY each day is.

We may only have a handful of people that surround us with love and support- thats how I feel.

I have my mom, my brother Andrew, my 2 sons and my husband- I have 2 amazing co-workers that find a way to "get me" even though they don't know how I feel inside. As for everyone else, they seemed to have dropped off the planet. "Best Friends" and other "Family" members have gotten real good at forgetting or avoiding; I will NEVER forget that!! It hurts me that Im avoided because of the pain I feel- what is wrong with people these days? 

So I will look for the Little Things in my life and in the people I know who truly care... some of my blog friends have been so kind in their words on Facebook. I appreciate you all so much and love you ♥

So today I am looking at the memories in these little photos to make me smile, to make me want to "chug along" in life...

*A beautiful sunset over Silver Beach in MI- on hubby and I's little trip away*

*This amazing man, who is always there for me- he'd give me the world if he could, but all I need is his hand to walk me thru each day ♥

*A sweet sleepy smile from my youngest son ♥

*A sneaky smooch from my soon to be 10 year old son who doesn't think its cool to kiss his momma anymore ♥

*Being able to make my mom smile and have some fun, even in the saddest of times; warms my heart! ♥

*My children getting along and finding pleasure in lifes little things too ♥

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Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Noelle ♥

Hello out there!

Where is everyone?

My blog misses u!

Fantastic 4!

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July... we did!

Pics to follow.

Here are a few shots from Gage's 4 year photo shoot... 

he was such a HAM for the camera:)

Such a sweet and darling smile ♥

He loved dressing up in the fireman outfit!

It was raining a bit that day too so he got to play outside too!

 Mommys Patriotic Prince!

He loves to *wink*!

Looooove the animal print background!!

♥ him

I love the pops of color here with the black and white!

Lol...he was so funny that day!!

*Have a great day!*

Noelle ♥

4th of July Dessert Idea...

Doesn't this look so yummy?

Its a Patriotic Poke cake...

Click HERE to get the recipe!

Summer Swap

Happy Summer friends!

Hope you all are having more sunny and swimming filled days than we are here in No. Indiana; it rains and rains and rains on the weekend:(

I participated in a Summer Swap hosted by Lori at Morning Glories and Moonflowers; my sweet partner was Amy- we had to send each other a fun filled summer swap package.

Here's what Amy sent me...

2 cute pairs of flip flops, a new book, popsicle makers and a yummy recipe, salt water taffy, bamboo placemats, 2 wine glasses etched with the letter K and a cutting board (perfect for entertaining), some chapstick and watermelon earrings that she made:)

I ♥ these black and white flip flops!!

It was fun to get a thoughtful surprise in the mail:)

I'll show pics of what I sent soon.

.................................................

Noelle ♥

*Memorial day with family*

In times of sadness, cheer make come back by spending time with loved ones...

I wanted to make Memorial Day special so we had my mom and brother Andrew over for a cook out and fireworks, in honor of my brother Mikie who was killed March 26 in CA.

Mikie loved fireworks and being that he lived in AZ for the past couple years, he was unable to enjoy them out there (prohibited due to the heat).

So we ate, celebrated and had a great time reminiscing about memories of him...

Here's what we had to eat...

Grilled burgers and hot dogs, chips n dips, italian pasta salad, veggie pizza, red white and blue strawberries, cherry cheesecake...yum!

My oldest and youngest having fun with sparklers.

Andrew stuffing his face, lol!

Gavin and I being silly:)

Sweet cheeks and I before fireworks started:)

Hubz and I... kiss kiss ♥

Isn't he cute?!

Momma and I... glad we were able to make her smile ♥

More fireworks...

Kinda cheesy we had to light them off while it was still light out but it was a school night :)

The kids loved running thru the smoke from the colored smoke balls, lol!

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Thanks for visiting!

Noelle ♥