Thankful November

okay still playing catch up!  Let me finish with what I am thankful for.

13. My MOPS group!  Such an amazing group of ladies.

14. Prissy.  My nine and 1/2 year old maltese.  She has been the best dog, roomate, and friend a girl could ask for. 

15. Shalac nail polish system!  Nail polish last for 2 weeks:)  need I say more!

16. My Girls!  Angela, Sheri, Jodi and Lindsey!  We have all been friends for a VERY long time!!  We have all gone our separate ways but still try and find time for each other.  We have so much fun when we are together.  These girls are like my sisters!

17. Forgiveness...I have done many things in need of forgiveness

18. Hair Dryer..yep have you seen this mop with out it?

19. The Health of my Grandparents.  They are 79 and 80 and still full of life.  For that I am Thankful!  They are an active part of Madelyn's life and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

20.  Skpe and American Airlines...They both make the many miles between my Dad and my little family seem not so far.

21. My Mom instilling in me how important it is to be well rounded.  From ballet to football and hunting to shopping...I appreciate it all.  I may enjoy some things more than other but have an appreciation  for it all and can hold a conversation about football to politics.  I hope to pass this on to Madelyn.  Thanks Mom!

22.  Teething Tablets...we wouldn't have survived without them :)

23.  I am thankful that most of my family live close.  I have been blessed to watch my nieces, nephews, and cousins grow up!

24.  My Aunt Melba.  She passed away not long ago but left me with wonderful memories.  She taught me the art of listening.  She never interupted, always made me feel like I was the most important one in the room and always was there to listen.  I hope to master the sweet art of listening like she. 

25.  Chiropractic!  My life and that of my family wouldn't be the same without it!  It has taught me what true health is all about!

26.  Michelle Chesley.  She has been the best aunt I could ask for.  She listens, gives great advice, and has always been there for me!  Thank you for being the big sister I never had.

27.  My mother in law and father in law for having one more child.  Chris is number four.  Thank you for not stopping at three. 

28.  Hair color:)  As I get older/wiser my hair gets gray...but you will never know :)

29. online shopping ...who has time to go to a mall?

30.  last but not least...Unconditional LOVE..
from my husband, daughter, family ...it truly is a blessing!

November a month of thankfulness!

I saw this idea going around facebook and thought it was brilliant!  For everyday in November you say something that you are thankful for.  I am about 15 days behind but I am catching up NOW!

1.  My little M&M (Mary Madelyn Thiem)  she is truly an answered prayer!

2. My amazing family!  I know some people find it strange that we all LOVE spending time together and that we do spend so much time together but I think it is a blessing!

3.  That God gave his one and only son for MY Salvation! 

4. I know this falls under family but ...My Husband.  He keeps me balanced and makes me feel like his Queen daily. :)  He is also the most AMAZING father to M&M.

5. Smart phones...Go ahead and laugh!  But my iphone keeps me organized and I have email, music, internet and EVERYTHING at my finger or in my purse!

6. My friend Randi Jones!!  We are so different but yet so much a like.  Motherhood has boned us into a whole new depth of friendship.  We do not live close but we make an effort to text, TALK (yes Talk does anyone do that anymore?), send encourgaging cards, and see each other as much as possible.  I call her aleast once a week to laugh, cry, vent or tell her I feel like a rock star!  Our friendship is not competitive, judgemental, nor shallow.  Thank you Randi for being my friend!!  I love you!

7.  I am thankful for all of our soliders who have made the sacrifice to be away from there families to fight for our country.  GOD BLESS the USA!

8.  video baby monitors.  Can't image hearing her cry and not being able to see if something is REALLY wronge and sometimes I just like to watch her sleep:)

9.  I am thankful that Chris and I both have jobs we love!

10. DVR.  I promise I am not all about electronics but I can't remember life without it. 

11.  Trinity Mother Frances NICU.  It wasn't that long ago that Tyler didn't have a NICU.  ( just a few years)  If it wasn't for the NICU at Trinity Mother Frances on July 1st 2010, then Maddie would have been taken to Dallas or Shreveport when she was born.  It was hard enough having her down the hall and not bringing her home when I was released but I CAN NOT image having her so many miles away!

12. Facebook...yep crazy but I feel like it is such a great way to keep up with everyone with such ease.

okay ill continue catching up later...this is much harder than you think!  I dare you to try it!

Baked Apples-Fall Family Traditions

Well it is fall and that inspires me to blog again.  This is a very busy time of year for us but I am going to make the effort anyway. I am not making any promises about how often I will update but I will try my best to keep yall in the loop of our sweet family of three.   It is just that time of year that I find a smile on face and want to share my happiness with everyone!  Fall...I LOVE it all.. football, hunting, the colors, leaves, pumpkins, camp fires and the smells!
Growing up my mom always made baked apples the first cool morning of the fall.  It didn't matter if it was a school morning or not we woke up to the smell of baked apples.  After I got married she even sent them home with Chris so he could surprise me and have them in the oven when I woke up.  This morning wasn't the first cool morning of fall (so I was a little late) but my family woke up to the smell of baked apples in our house.  Maddie had her first taste and loved it!  I used my mom's recipe for the most part with adding a few of my own touches like using the crockpot instead of the oven.  I also cooked pumpkin pancakes for my family this morning.  Although it was one of the warmest days we have had in a while the Thiems kicked off fall this morning!

we are still here!

Wow It has been a while since I have blogged!  We have a lot to catch up on!  Things have been very busy this past month.  I wrote a check today and thought,"really how can March be almost over!"  I have tons of pictures to share from this month but haven't had a chance to download them but I promise they will come soon!
Maddie hasn't been feeling well this week so my focus is taking care of her. 
I just wanted to let everyone know I haven't forgotten you!  Stay tuned because we have a lot to catch up on!  I hope everyone has a great week.

A Bloody Mess!

Thursday morning we had our first accident that involved blood. Maddie was playing in the floor and she had her paci in her mouth. You know just a normal morning around the Thiem house. She suddenly started crying…real tears not fake ones. I wasn’t sure what happened. I figured she must of hit herself rolling over or something. I picked her up to console her. For some reason I pulled out her paci and when I did it was like I opened the flood gates! Blood started pouring out of her mouth. It look like a hockey accident! I took a deep breath and tried to keep myself from fainting! I don’t do blood. My Mom was already on her way because she was coming to pick Maddie up for the morning. I wiped the blood and found that it was coming from one of her front top teeth. My Mom arrived shortly and we decided it would be best to take her in to the dentist to have it checked out. I wasn’t prepared to take her to a dentist yet. I haven’t researched pediatric dentist and picked one. She knew of one so I called him. They told me to bring her on in. We arrive at the dentist and she did great! He said no permanent damage had been done and that a very slight chance of discoloration may occur in that tooth. I was very relieved! Although this wasn’t how I envisioned her first trip to the dentist. We didn’t take pictures and she wasn’t wearing a cute outfit. In fact she still had on her pjs that had blood on them and NO BOW in her hair! Oh well, this just goes to show that we are not in control! I was just relieved that she didn’t bit the poor man! I also just have to toot my horn! I didn’t cry, panic or pass out from the blood! Yep Yep I think I did well!

Operation: SLEEP!!!!!

Two nights ago I dedcided after much research and advice to try the cry it out method to get Madelyn to sleep through the night.  At about 4 months of age she started sleeping from 9pm to 6:30 am.  Well after sickness and major teething that all came to an end.  (after only lasting about 2 weeks)  She now wakes around 3am for a bottle and then again around 5:45 am.  Getting her sleep for the night has never been the problem.  It is staying asleep that we need major help with.  Well I dedcide on Monday night that we were going to do it!  I was mentally and phyically prepared.  She had her night time diaper on, a full belly and it was showtime!  At 2:00am the whining started.  You know the one...the one where you are thinking she is about to blow!  This lasted for 15 min before full blow crying hit.  I sat in bed watching the video monitor with tears rolling down my face.  I had the volume all the way down (it has lights to tell you how loud the noise is) but I watched her keep looking at the door to her room waiting for someone to come get her.  Chris and Prissy were missing all the fun!  They both laid snoring right beside me!  I had a very strange need to kick him and wake him so he would experince this with me but I let me sleep.  After 20 to 30 min of full blown crying her head just hit the matress and fell asleep.  Those 20 to 30 mins felt like hours!  The next morning I was scared to go in her room...I was afraid that she was going to be mad at me. Yes I know how silly this sounds!  She wasn't, she was all smiles and we sang  "Rise and Shine and give God the Glory, Glory".  (This is our morning song!) 
Night #2 was better.  15 minutes of crying followed by 45 mins of whinning and she was out!  As hard as this is I know it will be worth it when we are not up at 3am every morning feeding! 
So tonight we go for night #3!  Pray for our strength (or I should say my strength since Chris sleeps through the whole event) and that after tonight we are done!

Valentines Day!

This year for Valentine's Day Chris and I went to Dallas for a little overnight getaway. Yep we left our little M&M at home! We had a nice overnight date in down town Dallas. We ate at the YO Steakhouse. This was right up Chris' alley. Although I think he was a little disapointed we had a good night anyway. On Sunday I had a meeting in Dallas for work and then I returned home to see our little angel! On Valentine's Day itself we stayed in and Chris cooked for his two loves! We gave Madelyn her Valentine and we were all in bed by 10! That is my kind of night!

These are some photos taken by Dawn Rockett in Tyler for a Valentine's Day Shoot!

 she just wanted to look at mommy..not the camera

 This was her first time to taste candy or anything with sugar.  You can tell by the look on her face that she doesn't know what to think!

 She was a good sport.  She wasn't feeling well this week.  She had 3 teeth come in in just a few days :(

This is my FAVORITE!