A little bit of this and that

I figure it's time for an update before I forget what to be updating you all on! Here are some things that we've been up to here at the Perryman household in the past few days:

- The house has definitely gotten messier. There's no doubt about it! As I sit here on my couch watching Brooklyn try to take the snack tray out of her exersaucer, I can see 4 cups, a plate a bowl and a spoon all within arms length that should be in the dish washer...but aren't.

- I'm anxious to file our tax return so I can get the money back to pay my dad back for what we borrowed to buy the van. We're also taking a ski trip with Waylon's cousin Rebecca and her husband, my brother and my cousin and possibly more people. Rebecca knows someone who is letting us stay in their lodge in Colorado for super cheap. We will be going for Spring Break and be gone the entire week! I'm excited but at the same time I know it will be hard to be away from Brooklyn all week. That will be the longest I go without seeing her...by 4 days!

- Waylon's dad, Donny, has taken a turn for the worse and is back in the hospital. I haven't blogged a lot about this because it has been a painful struggle for Waylon and his mom. Donny has been sick for quite some time but lately his health is getting worse and very quickly. It is very sad and very difficult. He will be getting out tomorrow but spent 3 days in ICU. His health has been very unstable. He needs all our prayers.

- I've lost 1 pound since starting boot camp. This was our third week of it. I can tell a huge difference when I'm working out now. I can actually talk while working out whereas before it took every ounce of my focus and energy to be able to do the exercise at hand. I'm still a little disappointed with the only 1 pound part. I've really been frustrated with my wardrobe situation. I have a lot of clothes that I can't wear and no money to buy new ones. It's very irritating and I dread every morning getting up for work b/c I have no idea what I'm going to wear that day. Thankfully, my mom is going to buy me some pants that are on sale at New York & Co. tomorrow and I'll pay her back when I get my tax return. It's an amazing deal on my FAVORITE pants (elastic waist!) and I'm getting 4 pair for $60! This should eleviate some of the wardrobe issues I've been having.

- Brooklyn continues to do new things everyday. She currently says "da-da" and I think she actually does associate it with Waylon. She says it more when she's around him at least. She's also gotten a lot more separation anxiety. She sleeps with us EVERY night. She freaks out in her crib and I just don't have the patience to do any sleep training right now while working. She has started to make small steps towards learning to crawl. She will lunge forward while sitting on the floor to try to get her toys and sometimes put one leg behind her like she is going to go forward. That's as far as she gets but it's a step!

- I've completed my first month of reading my Bible (almost) everyday. I've gotten behind by a couple days (ahem...3 or 4) but either caught up or marked the days I missed so I can make up those days later. I'm really trying to always read the day I should be on, even if I missed the day before. I can always come back and get that day if I mark the day with my little sticky tabs. It seems to be working for now. This is the longest I've stuck to reading my Bible daily (sad, I know, since I'm a PK and MK). I think what has done it for me is having a One Year Bible AND not putting the pressure on myself to catch up on missed days every time I miss one. By just moving forward and marking the days I missed, I can keep moving forward which feels good. I've already gone back and caught up on several days that were missed. I feel good about this. I'm hoping it gets to where I can do this everyday, without even thinking about it. My other goal here is to get up every morning (eventually...baby steps) by 6am to read my Bible and have time to really get ready for my day by praying and reading the Word. I think if I did this everyday, I would really feel a difference in my days and how I felt and reacted at work. The problem is getting my sleepy, lazy butt out of bed...especially when it's so cold in the mornings!

- We are on our 3rd week of driving our mini van and still loving it! We still try to drive the PT Cruiser the most over the weekends b/c it gets better gas mileage and there is a little thing that needs to get fixed on the van that effects it's gas mileage. But I drive the van everyday to work and it feels so good having all that space!

- We have survived so far on just my pay check this month! God is really making our money stretch! Since Waylon quit the airport right at Christmas break, we have gotten two small paychecks from the airport and NO checks from subbing because he missed the cut off date to get a January paycheck. So money has definitely been tight around here all things considered but we have really cut out eating out and just haven't spent money on anything that isn't a necessity. It's amazing how much money you can save by eating at home and not spending money on "stuff". My parents have also been extremely gracious and taken us out to eat several times. We have a new favorite burger place called OC Burger that has a special where you get 4 meals which inclue a big burger, drink and fries for $16. Their burgers are AWESOME as are their fries. My parents take us there to eat almost every week and we really appreciate it. I am looking forward to the day where we are financially able to take THEM out instead and pay for them. It will feel good to give back. That's for sure.

I want to end by posting some pictures of Brooklyn we took recently of her taking a bath in her pink tub. Don't worry, none of her "naughty" parts are showing! I made sure of it this time! By the way, I forgot to add that she will be 7 MONTHS a week from tomorrow!! AHH!!!! I can't believe my baby girl is already turning 7 months!!

She loves the little duck wash cloth that Grandma Ross got her

She has such a big, sweet smile. Look at those dimples!

Showing off how she can sit up and playing with her talking rabbit she got for Christmas from her cousin Macy. She loves that rabbit!

Already talking on the phone!

And this one, well, I just love that look of hers. I could look at this face ALL DAY.

Seriously.

So there you have it! A quick update on the Perryman life!