Reality: 10.5; Feels Like: 105!

Ugh... I've been sick for 10.5 days now, but it really feels like 105 days or more! I'm so ready to be done with this cold/flu/virus/bacteria/whatever-it-is junk... My throat is gross...my nose is gross...and my head hurts... At least on the up-side, I actually felt like leaving the house last night and joined the "real world"...but, I still ended up having to come back home early... Ah well... A little at a time, I guess... I am feeling better, don't get me wrong... I'm just ready to feel 100% again...(or at least closer to 96%...) For those of you who have endured being sick with this stuff longer than I have, keep holding strong! And, here's to all of us feeling better soon!

Whew, What a Weekend!

This past weekend was extremely busy! And, I'm worn out! But, I think Kassia's birthday party was a real success... And, visiting the Verizon Ampitheater on Sunday afternoon was a real treat, too! I'll post some of Kassia's party pictures soon, so keep checking back... Sorry to make this such a short post, but I need to work on my Bible study this morning while Kassia's still asleep... Later!

Blueberry Muffins, Luxury Bubble Bath, and the "Underdogs!"

It was a packed weekend!

Saturday morning, I stopped by the Redland campus of RCCC to say, "Hi," to the ladies of "Real Life Scrapbooking" and bring them some blueberry muffins to snack on while they were being creative... I love seeing what neat projects everyone's working on! So many talented ladies!

Saturday night, I attended the NB RCCC ladies' "Spaaaahhhh" night and had a blast! The food was delicous! And, the fellowship was hilarious! There was a gift exchange at the end of the night...(you know, the fun one where you can steal people's gifts if you like!)...and, after my gift was stolen, I ended up opening the very last gift - a HUGE bottle of luxury eucalyptus spearmint bubble bath! I can't wait to put it to use!

And, today, we joined up with some friends to celebrate Connie's (a lady from our small group) 30th birthday with her family at her home... Part of the party involved watching the Eagles vs. Cardinals NFL play-off game, which I was all excited about since I rarely get to watch football at home...(Scott doesn't really care for it) Arizona hasn't been in the play-offs since the 60's, I think... They did really well in the first half, but it was more like a run-away than an actual game, so I started rooting for Philly in the second half. And, the Eagles made quite the come-back, so it made the game much more interesting. In the end, though, the "Underdogs," the Cardinals, prevailed! Such a great game! I'm so excited that they're heading to the Superbowl! We'll see how they do against the Steelers...

Alright, well, it's time for me to head off to bed... Here's hoping for a great week! Monday, here I come!

It's 8:25pm and...

• Kassia's quietly sleeping in her crib
• I'm home alone...(Scott's at the men's cook-out dinner)...so I can watch whatever I want on TV
• I'm going to change into some comfy clothes, wash my face, and curl up on the couch with a bowl of my favorite ice cream - mint chocolate chip! YUM!

Ahhhh... How nice it is to relax!

Oooof...

"Oooof..."

That's the sound that comes from my lips after attempting to start up a new exercise routine...and being tired...and being sore...when I actually do the exercise...

On the plus side: I'm actually getting enough consecutive hours of sleep to even feel like exercising in the morning, so that's awesome!

Alright, well, off to enjoy my early morning torture...

PS. It was 27 degrees when I set the recycle bin outside this morning - LOVE IT!

"So Long," Decorations...

Ah...time to put the Christmas decorations away... Always one of my least favorite times of the year! But, alas...it has to be done... So, that's what the Ross family will be doing for the next few days...until it's all packed up and put away... For those of you that visit our home somewhat often, I'm afraid you'll be exposed once more to our not-so-decorative and a-little-more-empty house once this weekend's packing is over... We'll continue to add things here and there as we have time and money...some paint on the walls...hanging up some pictures...finally, hopefully, being able to afford some more furniture...and then, maybe it won't seem so plain... We'll see...

On a happy note, my sweet baby has her 1st birthday coming up soon! Unbelievable! Got to get things ready for that... What a celebration!

"Twilight?"

So, I guess this is the new craze - reading the "Twilight" series of books... Several of my friends are reading through them at the moment...and so far, I'm only hearing good things... Well, "hearing" good things..."seeing" only one bad thing - that everyone's obsessed and addicted! It's really got me intrigued... I may have to see about reading the first one in the series, so I can see what all the hype's about... I may be hooked before long...

Happy New Year, 2009!

I can't believe it's time for the beginning of yet another year! Time sure flies by quickly! I'm excited to see what 2009 has in store for the Ross family... We know for sure that it's going to be a year of significant birthdays for a few of us - Kassia will be turning 1, and I'll be turning the big 3-0... And, we're hoping to maybe do some traveling this year... But, what other surprises lie along the way? I know God has his perfect plans for each of us... So, let's step into them and see what amazing growth and changes will take place this year!

Welcome, 2009!

Happy New Year, everyone!

New Layout...

I guess it was about time for a new layout...one that'll last a few more months, through the winter...(and the theme and photos for this layout are more like the winter I'd like to have...not so much the winter that we'd see around here...although, I am hoping!) I know I'm terrible at posting to this blog... Maybe that'll be one of my New Year's resolutions...we'll see... Hope everyone's having a nice holiday season and enjoying getting ready for Christmas! I know I am!

Here's a sweet picture of my baby at her Noni's "Christmas house"... Enjoy!

41 Days Already?!

I can't believe it's only 41 days till Christmas! That's really just right around the corner! It's so hard to think of the holidays, though, when it just doesn't feel like the holidays outside... Mom checked the weather report and, supposedly, it's going to cool off this weekend. I sure hope so! The cooler weather would definitely help put me in the "Christmas spirit/mood" next week when we're putting up my mom's 12-foot Christmas tree! She's still in denial about that happening next Wednesday... But, the tree is SO big and it takes SO long to get it set up and decorated...and with my dad being SO busy for work...that's the only time he has to do it! So, next week it is...and I'm uber-excited about it! I LOVE Christmas...and it's on its way! I'll be going on a treasure hunt around my house toward the end of next week, looking for all my Christmas decorations stored in various boxes all over the place... Finding the boxes is almost like having Christmas morning come early! I can't wait!

So Tired...

I'm just wondering when all this is finally going to end... Probably when I'm dead...*grins* This whole "mothering" thing is a lot of hard work! And, with Kassia still not sleeping through the night...I'm just wondering if I'll ever know the joy of sleeping more than just two or three hours consecutively... I'm exhausted all the time... And, I know everyone says to just "let her cry it out" at night when she wakes up, but I can't do it and have a clear conscience until I know for sure that it's just "crying" and not something else relating to her stomach problems... The jury's still out on that - we had more blood drawn on Wednesday for running more allergy panels... I'm just not sure what's wrong... So far, all the tests have come back normal, which is a good thing...but, that means we haven't discovered yet what's causing all of Kassia's tummy issues... We meet with the pediatrician this coming Thursday to discuss the results of all the tests we've done recently... If she says that these tests have come back normal as well, I'm not sure exactly where that'll leave us... I'm praying that God will guide me, that He'll give me His peace so I'll know which direction to take - either to leave things alone and just see if Kassia outgrows all this stuff, that maybe it's just a phase OR to press forward and try and see a specialist outside the military who might be able to better figure out what's going on... Yeah, I just went from talking about being tired to babbling about all of Kassia's medical stuff...yep, but, with a reason - they're connected! The reason she wakes up all the time in the middle of the night has to do with all the gas she has...which comes from all her tummy problems...and which is why I don't get to sleep more than a couple of hours at a time... I know God has a plan... Please, Lord, help me to trust You more... Alright, time to see if I can take a short 45 minute nap before I have to get up and get ready and finish packing for our short trip to Ft. Worth this weekend for a family reunion... Good night! (or should I say, "Good morning?")

20 Days Later...

Has it really been that long since I lasted posted something? I guess, with me, blogging seems to be "feast or famine"... Ah well... Here's an update for the past few weeks:

Kassia:

• She's growing like a weed! My parents bought her a push-from-behind walking toy a few weeks ago, and she loves it! She's walking everywhere! The only problem is that she hasn't figured out yet how to turn or back up...so she just heads in a direction, bumps into what's ever in her way, gets stuck, and then starts whimpering in an effort to get me to help put her back on a clear walking path... It's so cute to watch her...
• She had an MRI done on the 16th to see if there was anything wrong in the brain that's causing her left eye to drift out ("exotropia")... The scan came back normal, which is a good thing...(except for some "mucous in the ethmoid sinuses," so since that's not an area the opthamologist is familiar with, he's going to put in a consult to have Kassia seen by the pediatric neurologist to check it out, just to be on the safe side) Now, she's having to wear a patch over her right eye each day, working up to having it on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon... The "patching" is supposed to help correct the "vision" part of the eye drifting - in other words, it tells the brain to concentrate and focus the eye more on that side... However, the doctor still feels she might have to have surgery to correct the muscle weakness part of it... We'll see...
• She's just over 9 months old now! What a big girl! The pediatrician thought, if Kassia had mastered her "pincer" grip (putting things between her forefinger and thumb), she could start eating Cheerios... My "mommy gut" told me I shouldn't give them to her anyway, despite the fact that she's ready to have them... I went against it, though...(bad idea!)...and let Kassia have some Cheerios for a snack... About 3 hours later, Kassia was projectile vomiting all over herself at the grocery store! Poor baby! So, to make a long story short: we're having Kassia's blood tested for food allergies and for coeliac disease (an intolerance for gluten), and she's going to be scheduled for an upper GI test as well, to make sure everything's functioning like it's supposed to... We have an appointment November 13th to discuss all the results... We'll keep you informed...
• Her favorite color is definitely orange! And, we took her to her first pumpkin patch a couple weekends ago, and she was in "orange heaven!" She had a blast looking at and touching all the pumpkins... And, we got some really cute pictures of her, too! Speaking of pumpkins and such - Halloween is this Friday, and she's going to be a ladybug! I can't wait to see her in her sweet costume!

Scott

• He's been having some trouble with migraine headaches lately...and unfortunately, has had to miss a bit of work because of them... We're praying that whatever's causing them will reveal itself, so we can know better how to deal with this whole thing... Keep Scott in your prayers - migraine's are no fun...
• He's still searching for another job... No luck with that yet...
• He's been playing his "jimbe" drum for the praise band at the New Braunfels campus and is really enjoying that... He's still learning the bass guitar, and I'm sure they'll have him continue to switch between the two, depending on what they need for the songs...
• He had a "Scott Day" all to himself this past Saturday and worked on organizing the garage ("his space!")... He hung up some of his posters and moved some of the boxes around so there's actually space for him to work in there... I'm excited for him - that's one of the things he always used to talk about: "When we have a house of our own...I can't wait to have a big garage to put all my tools and stuff in..." I'm sure this is only the beginning! He'll eventually have the "garage to end all garages" by the time he's through!

Me

• I have a cold...bleah! I've had it for a few days now, and it's slowly starting to get better and go away...(leaving behind, in its wake, a sea of dirty tissues!) I really don't like being sick...I mean, nobody does... But, the one thing I really can't stand about having a cold is not being able to taste your food! Man, that irks me! I LOVE to eat! And, not being able to taste anything just makes me think, "It's not even worth eating!" I'm happy to report, though, that since I'm on the "tail end" of the cold, my sense of taste is slowly creeping back...and I'm enjoying tasting my food as much as ever!
• I finished the first Bible study I've done with the NB ladies last week...and will be starting a new one next Tuesday... I really enjoyed getting to know the ladies in our group...and it was nice to get back into the swing of having a quiet time each morning... I'd gotten out of the habit of doing that since Kassia's been born - lack of sleep can do that to you! But, now that she's mostly sleeping through the night, it's much easier for me to get up in the morning and spend some time with God before starting my day... And, that time, of course, helps me do better in multiple areas of my life...
• The whole "Am-I-going-back-to-school-in-January?" question is still on the table... Scott and I haven't discussed it much further, but it's still in the back of my mind... We'll have to pray about it and discuss the logistics of it all... I know that I want to finish and finally get my BA, but is now the right time?
• I try and write my brother, who's in boot camp at Ft. Benning, GA, at the moment, almost every day if I can... I'm sure he gets bored with the "Life and Times of Mommy Steph," but at least he's getting mail to read! I'm going to be printing out some photos of Kassia and the family from the pumpkin patch to send him...I'm sure he'll like those... He seems to be doing well with all his training... I worry about him, though, when I hear that he's learning how to throw grenades and avoid IED's...it's scary to think of him in those situations... But, I know God will take care of him...
• I'm still trying to get better about keeping up with Kassia's milestones... And, I'd like to start scrapbooking her first year pretty soon... Of course, that means picking out what photos I'd like to use...printing them out...and actually having time to sit down and scrap them! We'll see... I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually...
• I'm loving the colder weather! Absolutely loving it! I hope it stays this way for a while... It just improves my attitude by 150%! It inspires me... I feel like doing all kinds of things! And, I actually feel like being outside! Kassia and I go for walks all the time now... And, I so enjoy having a warm cup of tea, like I did this morning, when it's this cool...YUM!

Well, I guess that's about it for the last few weeks as far as the Ross family goes... I'll post some of those pumpkin patch pictures (try saying that five times fast!) later, so ya'll can see my cutie!

Feeling More Like October Should...

I woke up this morning to clear blue skies...sunshine...(uh oh! This sounds like another hot and humid, 78 degree morning!)...but, no! Can you believe it?! COOL weather! I think our digital thermometer read 58 degrees! I'm so excited! I went around and opened all the windows to let the cool breeze blow some much-needed fresh air through the house... Of course, later on today, when it reaches 90 again, I'll have to close it all up and turn the A/C back on... But, until then...

I'm ecstatic...

that it's finally...

feeling more like October should!

Another Week Gone By...

I haven't posted anything since last Thursday... Maybe it's because it's been such a busy week! Here are some highlights:

• Friday - went and walked in the Comal County Parade (Kassia had her stroller all decorated for the event!)
• Saturday - went to a craft/car show; spent the day with my parents (and ate tons of homemade peach ice cream...yum!)
• Sunday - church; spent about an hour or two at the church picnic at the Redland campus and got to visit with some friends we hadn't seen in a while; went back over to visit with my parents for a short while after the picnic
• Monday - worked around the house; had a really fun time playing with Kassia; small group at the Bateman's in the evening
• Tuesday - women's Bible study; cleaned the house and did laundry
• Wednesday - finished cleaning; had lunch with my parents and went back to their house to hang out, play with Kassia, and eat more homemade ice cream; supposed to have small group at our house in the evening, but ended up just relaxing and hanging out with Chris and Lynn - fun times!
• Today - got up around 6:30am, but that was the first time I'd been out of bed since 10pm the night before!!! (I didn't sleep the whole night through, as I was awakened several times by Kassia...but each time, she just went right back to sleep, so I did, too! Wow - what a difference sleep makes!); hoping to clean upstairs; need to make a trip to the post office; looking forward to more play time with my daughter - she's so much fun!

Here are a few pictures from the last week:

How I found Kassia Friday morning - she pulled up and stood up on her own!

Photos of the parade float - eveyone did such a great job! It turned out wonderful!

Waiting for the parade to start...chilling with her sippy cup and decorated stroller...

Her first "big girl" bath (at Nonie and Papa's house)

Play time - looking through the netting of her "Ocean Wonder" crawl-through cave

Helping Daddy play the guitar on Sunday evening

Mommy's "big helper"

First Day of Fall...?

Is it really the first official day of fall? Really? I mean, it's like 90-something degrees outside! Where are the changing colors of leaves on the trees? Where's the cooler weather? You know, the kind that makes you want to put on your favorite pair of blue jeans and that really comfy long sleeve shirt or sweater that you haven't worn since last year... The kind that makes you crave soups and stews...and all things baked - cookies, cakes, and pies...YUM! I'm so ready for fall... Will the "real fall" please stand up? Here's what I'm used to:

Another Saturday Morning...

Listening:

• to the sounds of construction equipment outside the window as they continue to work on all the houses they're building down the adjacent street
• to the monitor buzzing quietly while Kassia takes her nap
• to the faint talking on the TV as Scott catches up on old episodes of "The O.C."

Looking:

• out the second-story window at the brilliantly sunny day and blue sky
• at Kassia's memory book that's sitting next to the keyboard on the desk, just waiting to be updated
• at the bills that are needing to be paid

Thinking:

• about my parents and wondering what marvelously, relaxing things they're doing today in Cabo San Lucas
• about what I should cook for "lupper" later this afternoon
• that the cookie I just snacked on was yummy!
• about whether or not I should try taking classes in January
• that I'm glad it's Saturday...

Hoping:

• for cooler weather
• to check some things off my "To Do" list today
• to maybe enjoy a nap this afternoon

Dreaming:

• about CHOCOLATE!
• about Europe...(seriously, "Paris in the fall" is gorgeous!) Man, I miss being over there so much sometimes!

Remembering:

• harvest time - fresh, beautiful apples in buckets, after being picked right from my landlords' trees when we lived in Germany
• how tiny my little sweet girl used to be!
• friends in far off places and wishing they were closer...

Feeling Nostalgic...

When the weather's like this...cooler...gray...cloudy...it sure makes me miss Europe... But, this morning, I was busy finally uploading some photos and creating albums for my Facebook profile...and going through and choosing the pictures...brought back so many memories as well... Times from not-so-long-ago...although it feels like ages... Trips we went on... Oh, our many adventures! And, even looking back to last January, when Kassia was born...and seeing how much she's grown and changed already! It's amazing... This kind of weather...is my favorite...(although, even colder would be better...*grins*) It makes me happy to be inside... It inspires me to do all kinds of projects...to be creative and work on my scrapbooks and things... And, it gets me excited about the upcoming holidays! (and, yes, I added a "Countdown to Christmas" application to my blog several days ago...and, just so you know, today makes only 97 days!) I put out my sparse fall decorations yesterday...and I can't wait to light up my "Harvest" candle...it always smells so good! Alrighty, well, I can hear Kassia downstairs... She sounds like she's ready to eat...so I'd better get going! Maybe we'll go out for a walk later and really enjoy today's weather...

What Was That?...I'm Supposed to be Cleaning Right Now? Nah...

Yep, I'm really supposed to be cleaning the upstairs at the moment... But, unfortunately, last night was a long night with Kassia...(she's teething) So, I'm waiting for the chocolate I just consumed to digest...so the caffeine from it will kick in...and hopefully, give me that boost of energy (and motivation!) I need to get up and get busy... I worked for several hours, cleaning the downstairs yesterday... But, I didn't have time to do the upstairs, since I had to cook dinner, take a shower, and get everything ready to go to small group... So, that leaves the upstairs for today... And, as you can see, I'm sitting here typing and posting to my blog...trying to do anything but clean...*grins* Did I mention that I was tired? That I had a long night last night? Here's how it went down:

---10:00pm - I layed Kassia down to sleep
---10:15pm - I went to bed
---12:15am - I was awakened by Kassia crying, so I got up and went to her room, picked her up, patted her, and put her back to bed
---12:30am - I went back to bed
---1:30am - Kassia was crying again... This time, I nursed her and put her back to bed
---1:50am - I went back to bed
---2:15am - Awakened again by Kassia crying... She eventually went back to sleep...and so did I, a few minutes after she quieted down
---4:15am - Kassia was crying again, so I got up and went to her room, picked her up, patted her and put her back to bed again
---4:30am - I went back to bed
---5:00am - Kassia was crying again...(that's getting redundant, isn't it?) I nursed her and put her back to bed
---5:30am - Came back to bed
---6:00am - Finally went back to sleep after Scott got up to go to work
---7:45am - My alarm went off to get up this morning
---8:00am - The time I actually got up

Whew! Yes, as I said, it was a long night! Now, you see why I "required" the chocolate...

And, I think that small amount of chocolatey-caffeine is finally starting to do its thing...so I'd better make good use of it... I'm off to clean the upstairs!

Blog Name Change and Other Thoughts...

Some of you may have noticed the name change of my blog... And, this was for a very good reason - the other title added just too much pressure! I really felt awful and guilty if I didn't post everyday... And, although I'd love to be able to do that, it's not realistic or practical... So, "Sooner or Later" just seemed more appropriate, as it implies that I will be posting something...eventually...*smiles*

The rain finally came yesterday evening... And, our lawn looks lovely and green (and overgrown!) as a result...

Oh, and while I'm on the topic of weather... I happened to glance at the 5-day forecast just minutes ago, and I was so incredibly excited - supposedly, it's actually going to cool down relatively soon! Hooray! Fall weather is almost on its way! It'll still be warm during the day, but it should be cooling down much more at night! I can't wait! I guess next week, it'll finally feel about time to bust out the fall decorations... Pretty pumpkins and my fave "Harvest" candle from Yankee Candle Company, here I come!

Saturday morning...

So, I guess Hurricane Ike was supposed to have hit sometime in the wee hours of the morning this morning, but I don't really see any signs that "he" came through...*shrugs* Maybe I slept through all the wind and rain... Or maybe there's some more rain on the way... Either way - some rain would be good...as our yard could really use it...

We all went to the "Team Connection" meeting last night at the Redland campus... It was interesting to see the changes that are going to be made concerning our mission statement and such... It'll definitely be much easier to remember! Even though Scott and I were exhausted...and would've much rather (in our "flesh") have just stayed home and been lazy instead...I was really glad we went and got to be a part of the fellowship and discussion... I'll also be praying now about where else God would like me to serve...

Speaking of "being lazy"...I think that's on the schedule for today! College football will be on...and we've rented several movies from Blockbuster as well...so we're set! And, to get the day started off right...(which always requires some sort of food)...I'm on my way downstairs in a minute to fix us some yummy omelettes for "brunch"... Here's to being the best "couch potatoes" we can be today!