Lemons and Lemonade

You know that saying about life throwing you a curveballs? Well, you would think after everything Justin and I have been through we would totally be used to them right? Well, we had another one happen today that could (and should) have been avoided but unfortunately, we just weren't prepared.

We are still young and we have a lot of issues credit wise. So 2 years ago, we went with the "only" company that would finance us and for the past 2 years it has been a nightmare. The latest was that this particular company withdrew a large amount of money from our account that they had on file without authorization and so we sought out legal advice. The person we retained gave us advice, we took it and the end result was that our van was repossed for a mere 257.87 balance. Now, this could have been paid and been over with, but like I said above, we took legal advice and our lawyer told us to ignore calls and refer everything to him. We did that and here we are today with no car and now we have to come up with money that is almost triple the amount to pay off our account and get our van back. We are still working with this attorney and I hope to have better news tomorrow but as it stands, we have no way to get our only vehicle back. Its a really helpless situation to be in. Justin and I feel frustrated and above all angry because we feel like this could have been avoided. Well, "adult" lesson of the day is go with your instincts. We should have just paid the amount, been done and then proceeded with legal recourse later.

But through the struggle our amazing family still helped out. My amazing brother and sister in law lent us a vehicle that they had so we would have something for Justin to get to work with and they didnt have to do that, but they did without question and for that, I will FOREVER be grateful!

Ben got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandad Davies tonight, and thats another thing I am grateful for because it was a stressful day and he did not need to be a part of that. He is spending the night and even though all day I have missed his little voice, its been a relief to be able to have him away and having fun and oblivious to the stress Mommy and Daddy are putting out.

Bella is still not feeling well. Her fever came back this afternoon and broke again this evening and man those gums are bothering her. Her little hands are in her mouth constantly and she is just whining away like as if telling her teeth "can you just break through already?!?" but you know what is amazing? Even though she is not feeling well, is in pain and has a diaper rash from hell because of her poor tummy being so upset, she has been smiling and talking all day to me as if she knew her Mommy needed spirit lifting. She just looks at me with this stare like she understands and gives me this beautiful, drooly smile that just melts my heart every time! So thank you Princess for being your Mommy's sunlight on a pretty cloudy day. You amaze me!!!

I know that things get rough, and I know everyone goes through times like this when they feel like just giving up. But you know what? I am thankful that we have healthy beautiful children who love to play and smile and they just amaze me at how much HAPPINESS they put out! Really, I am so very lucky that these two amazing kids hold my heart because they are the reason that I know we will make it through like we always do!!

This photo was not taken today, but a few weeks back, but it just shows Bella's little smile that just makes your day :)

All my love...
Adri

Fresh Start

I am so bad about actually sitting down to journal life with the kids, and really, its not fair to them and I wont remember everything so I am going to make myself update this blog so everyone can stay up to date and I can also photograph OUR babies more often than everyone else's!

Ben-jammin' is getting so big! I can't believe how much he has learned in his short time already. He blows me away sometimes with what he picks up and how quickly he processes things. Justin said that he is actually able to hold a short conversation now. I know that to many it doesn't really make sense, but to us it does ;) We have been talking more about getting the kids on a "regular" schedule just because I feel like I am wearing myself out with everything and my normal chores are really lacking these days. We shall see how that goes! We have been working on the potty training but lately I think Ben is a little jealous of Bella because he has stopped showing interest and instead of actually telling us he needs to go, he thinks its better to take his diaper off and surprise Mommy with a poop or puddle somewhere. Not very fun but we are trying hard not to show him too much negative attention with that because then he may become negative toward the whole idea. 2 year old's!!! They sure do keep you on your toes!!!!

Bella is officially 7 months old already, can you believe it?! I sure can't! She is starting to get very vocal and active these days :) She is such a happy baby and super patient. I thought she was going to be a handful but Thank you God, she isn't! We are so lucky, 2 little ones that really, are not as bad as some other kids their age!! The latest with Bella is that she is teething :( so the last 2 days have been a little tough because she has had a fever and her gums are bothering her and just to put the cherry on top she is having tummy issues. You think with all of that she would be just crying away but really, shes only mildly fussy. Today more than yesterday and once I sit with her in my arms she is really good. We sat together tonight and watched Ghost together. Oh yeah, getting her hooked on chick flicks early but HEY! It's better than watching Jersey Shore!!!

Well folks, that's all for now. No pics with this post, but I promise to be more active in posting photos :)

All my love...
Adri