Ode to Date Night

Oh what a night! I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa to come. I had been waiting for this night for so long.

My husband and I received an early Christmas gift of two tickets to see Glenn Beck's A Christmas Sweater live stage show. So I began busily seeking out any brave soul who I could sucker into ask to babysit my children for the evening. I had gone through quite a list but finally found someone insane enough broke enough nice enough to agree (of course the $8 an hour we were paying her helped her to make her mind up).

We all know what happened the last time we had a babysitter come over so that we could go out for the evening, but that was in April and this is November. I think that it is time that Husband and I got a chance to get out of this house again. Hopefully, it will not be as traumatic as the last.

The sitter arrived as scheduled and we were out the door as fast as we could. We headed to a local restaurant for dinner.

The appetizers and soup were delicious. We were disappointed in our meals though. But hey, we still enjoyed the fact that we were not disciplining, threatening a grounding, or telling two kids to please keep it down and turn around in their seat! Actually, there was a point where we kinda just sat in silence.

Off we go into the city. I love the way the 'burgh looks at night. It really is a beautiful city. Our destination was Heinz Hall. An amazing building, a must see for any visitor.

It was a lot of fun talking to all the folks waiting in lobby for the doors to open. We couldn't believe how many conservatives there were all in one spot! This was the second show of the day, both were sold out performances. Oh, how encouraging. But, this show was not about politics, this was a show about hope and change (LOL). Seriously, it is about family, faith and forgiveness.

I couldn't help myself and took pictures of the tour bus. Husband said I was worse than Diva when she was all Oh Jonas. I really did want to have my picture taken with Glenn Beck but the line for the book signing (which I didn't buy) was way too long and at $8 an hour it was a better idea to head to the car and get home. Unfortunately, we spent the next hour sitting in line to get out of the parking garage (note to self, park in the small on-street parking lot down the street from Heinz Hall next time). So, I should have just waited in line to get my picture with him. Ahh, live and learn.

Our seats were wonderful. Husband had his leg room and no one was directly behind us. We were close enough to the stage too (even to see the spit fly from his mouth as he performed ~ gross). Although you wouldn't think it by the photos I took (I only have a 5MP PowerShot SD400).

We returned home to find Diva was still awake. It was 11pm but we told her she could stay up if she wanted. The night was fun and I needed this night away from home to keep my sanity. So I'd like to say THANKS DAD for the tickets ~ Love you!!!

I do believe in miracles

Well, wonders never cease. We had the notion to all go to church as a family today. It has been a very long time since we have all gone together. Usually, we divide it up because of Boy Child. I was very much into the idea and really wanted it to work out, but I was understandably apprehensive too.

But, Boy Child did very well indeed. He sat quietly "looking at God" for a while. Naturally, he had to use the restroom. He followed along in the book for a while. He ate some goldfish crackers and then read his coloring book for the remainder of mass. We only had to ask him to sit up and not lay down twice.

I would say that was a huge success and we are very proud of him. We rewarded the family with a trip to King's for breakfast.

I think we may try this again.

Blessings Abound

With the Thanksgiving Day holiday approaching us here in the United States, I thought it would be fitting (as I'm sure all my other bloggy friends will also) that I reflect on some of what I am thankful for.

If you are a follower of mine, you most certainly know that the last 18 months have been one of the roughest times for our family. It would be very easy, any given day, to just succumb to depression and anxiety. However, my husband and I have taken things in stride and relied on our faith to help us keep the clarity needed to take on each obstacle one at a time and purge through the long list of troubles that have plagued us. We have tried our best to make time for Diva and Boy Child so that they are still having some fun with us and with their friends.

Since this will be the last Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday we will be able to spend in our home, we are planning to make it a big deal with over-decorating and baking so the kids really enjoy it. They are oblivious to the move that we are forced to make in the coming months and that will be quite a shock. Not sure how Boy Child will deal with this major transition and we are prepared for the worst. Diva will perform in true Diva fashion and that is to be expected, she likes it here and has a very good friend a few doors up that she will certainly miss. Kids are resilient and she will survive and prosper. Here is a really great article that a friend of mine emailed me. Sometimes it helps to know that you are not alone in what you sometimes feel.

I'm not going to bore you with the long list of thanks that I have as I'm sure we are all one with our major blessings ~ faith, family, spouse, children, friends, health.

Although, I would love to give a HUGE thank you to our armed services. Without these selfless men and women we would not be permitted to voice our opinions over the internet or any other media. I'm very thankful that they risk their lives in order to keep out any future terroristic actions within our country; so that our families have the freedom to pursue whatever happiness we feel is ours to achieve; so that other countries can lean on us for help when they need it and so every citizen can have the belief that our constitution will be upheld. Whenever each and every one of us sees an armed services personnel we should always take a moment and shake their hand to thank them for defending our freedom ~ my husband and I do this every time. It is not a job that they take lightly and we should never forget these brave individuals this holiday season - remember some of them haven't seen their families for over a year and this time of year is especially hard on them, not to mention the families that will be spending their first holiday since the loss of someone in the service.

I would like to wish my readers a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that you all feel blessed as well. Enjoy your time with your family, I know that I will.

Book Giveaway!

My friends at MomSelect were gracious enough to allow me to review the new Precious Girls Club website and their new book. I gave away several copies of the book, A Little Bit of Faith, to Diva and her classmates. Included with the book was an access code for the girls to enter online at http://www.preciousgirlsclub.com/.

Once Diva read the book I had her write a short report on it so you could get the 9 year-old point of view. Here is her review:

Just in case you cannot read Diva-ese allow me to translate: I think the precious girls club, A Little Bit of Faith, is a great book. It's about a girl named Katie who moves to a place called Shine, Wisconsin. She has a little trouble making new friends but with the help of her guardian angel (Faith), Aunt Ella, and Mom she makes a club called The Precious Girls Club and she has these great charm bracelets that show you're a member of the club. The club is supposed to let you know that every girl is precious. Katie starts to make new friends and eventually her club becomes a success.

Playing on the site is always free, but the access codes included inside the book unlocks a free month of premium Rainbow Club membership to access special content on the site. Visitors to the site can design their own virtual character and room, earn Precious Points towards virtual items, and take part in a variety of games and activities. Premium Rainbow membership provides all of these same benefits, plus additional exclusive content and activities. As a thank you, the Precious Girls Club offered this special code to ALL of my readers, 3HWH-T9DX-RROK, so that you can experience all the fun and excitement of premium Rainbow membership in the Precious Girls Club.

I have two extra copies of the book that would make a great stocking stuffer! If anyone (living in the United States for mailing purposes) would like one then please leave me a comment on this post and I will print out the comments, place them in a bowl and have Diva pull the two names of the winners on November 28th. Be sure to leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win. If you choose to subscribe to my blog and tell me in your comment that you did so, then I will give you another entry toward the drawing.