busy bee....

You’re probably wondering where I’ve been. I hardly wrote any last week...I have been SO BUSY! Here are a few random things going on in the Prikazsky household:)

Awhile back I mentioned we were going to put our house on the market...Well, after talking with the Realtor and seeing how much we would have to loose on the house, we decided to look at other options! So we refinanced, rented a storage unit, and re-arranged the rooms in our house! Our dinning room is now my office, Annie’s room and guest room is now just Annie’s room, and the old office is the guest bedroom! With all of these changes, have come some updates! Good updates! I’ve been working with most of my free time on these projects and finishing each room! There’s still more to do but I hope to show you lots of pictures after Christmas! I’ve pulled out my crafty and creative tools and it’s been a lot of fun:) I’ll give you a sneak peak on 2 things in Annie Rice’s room!

wall art that I made and some big green polka dots for the wall:) I’ll share more after Christmas when the rooms are finished:)

photo credit: Wall Pops

The Lord has been doing a lot in my heart lately, especially in the month of December. He’s been stirring in some big ways! I’ve been reminded everyday of just how much I want to really teach and model to Annie Rice what Christmas is all about. Our role as moms and parents are huge because these little ones learn so fast and pick up on everything we do! One thing we’ve wanted Annie Rice to learn is that everything we have comes from the Lord. We’ve been “trying” to teach her that Christmas is Jesus’s birthday and just as he gives us everything in life, we wanted to teach her about giving him a gift for His birthday. So back in November, we started putting all of our change in a piggy bank and letting her drop the coins in. Everytime we told her that was money for Jesus’s birthday. Last week, I emptied out the piggy bank and was blown away with what was in there. I deposited the money, wrote a check and wrapped it to let Annie Rice take it to church for the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. Today as I drove to the church, I prayed that the Lord would use that money for His glory. It was a very hard thing to do because it was over and above our tithe and there were all these ways that I could think about how we could use that money. But all month, I have been so excited every time I put money in that piggy bank. I’ve been planning it out and picturing Annie give that gift to the church staff as a gift to Jesus for His birthday. I didn’t expect how emotional I would be. It was a huge blessing and a very special time for me. The Lord has blessed us more than I can ever say and it’s an honor for me to be apart of His Kingdom and in molding and raising such a sweet little girl to know Him. 

With all the projects and daily life, we have been traveling a lot too! It seems like we’ve been more on the road the last 3 weeks than we have all year! And it’s not slowing down! We are leaving on Wed to go to Chicago for Christmas! I’m so excited:) This is my last post until after Christmas so from my family to yours, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

my hearts...

My sweet friend Carissa recently took some pictures of us...She has been experimenting a ton with her camera and has an amazing eye for photography! So I took some pictures of her family and she took some of mine! I absolutely love them! Let's face it...I love pictures BUT ESPECIALLY of my family! Below are a few of my favorites!

My absolute favorite!

another favorite!

Her hair on a daily basis without a bow in it:)

29th birthday and ice skating...

The last few days have been super busy!!!! Hence, the lack of blogging! BUT the last few days have been a lot of fun! Friday, was my 29th birthday...Not much longer til I'm 30:( Kaz kept asking what I wanted to do and I said either ice skating or roller skating! So Liz and Todd came down and we went ice skating and out to dinner! We had a blast and not ONE of us fell! I was really nervous that I was going to fall and break something, but thankfully I didn't:) It was a blast! Here are some pictures from our night! Did I mention we were the only ones on the rink over 15? HaHa

frozen meal exchange...

SO, I had my first frozen meal exchange tonight! It really turned out well! I got the idea from my friend Anne...7 girls in our Sunday school class participated! Each person made 7 meals[all the same]. I made chicken tacos[also from Anne:)]...It worked out nice because it was a lot cheaper buying all the ingredients in bulk and I spend about $40[without coupons...I ran out of time] and got 7 meals out of it! We each took 1 meal along with keeping 1 that we made! These 7 meals plus all the ones I made awhile back have my freezer stocked to the brim and should last us all of December and January! WooHoo for easy cooking for awhile:)

 bad pictures taken with my phone....

more than I deserve...

the Lord has blessed me with more than I deserve...I was thinking the other day about His grace and salvation...How he continually forgives me no matter how many times I fail Him. As I was thinking about this, I thought of Kaz. Kaz shows me Christ love every single day...Our story is an example of just that. I hurt him over and over before we even dated and he kept forgiving me and fighting for me. To read more of our story click here for Part 1 and Part 2. 

Kaz is such a strong, Godly man and I am blown away by him...I’m not a morning person by any means especially when someone wakes me up. When Kaz leaves in the mornings for work and I’m still sleeping, I like for him to be as quiet as possible...Mornings when he isn’t, I can be pretty grumpy but every morning before he leaves I always feel his hand on my back or shoulder. Sometimes I push it off, but when I feel it I know what he is doing. He’s praying for me. He does it every morning. That shows me more love than any flowers or presents could ever say. 

He is always there when I need him...He tells me if not every day, almost every day how beautiful I am to him whether or not I feel that way or not...

Growing up, I always thought I would marry a “country boy” and at times I have tried to get him to be more that way...dress as he calls it, a cowboy...BUT I LOVE HIM just the way He is. He scares me to death at times with his adventurous side but I love it. People have always said he looks like Mel Gibson...I don’t see it anymore but I used to...I always tell him that Mel Gibson doesn’t even compare to him:) 

He pushes me in every area of my life and let’s me dream really BIG. When I tell him, don’t think I’m crazy but I did this....He always listens and supports me in it. He is my heart, my best friend, and I’m so thankful to have this amazing man as my husband. I love you Kaz more than words could ever say...

phones and remotes...

These 2 videos display Annie Rice to a T. She's so funny! This one is of her playing with Kaz's phone in the airport. It was on vibrate and someone was calling!

It wouldn't surprise me if she one day speaks English and Chinese! Literally, it sounds like she is talking Chinese all the time! Last night she said so loud Won-Timeeee. It's the funniest thing to hear and Kaz and I laugh so hard at her!

i can never have enough....

pictures that is...I can never have enough! Annie Rice is changing so fast and I want to document everything. You may remember a post awhile back about Garden of the Gods. It's my favorite place in Colorado Springs and I think if I lived here I would have to go there at least once a week. It's SO BEAUTIFUL and such a peaceful place. Me and Annie Rice took a quick visit the other day and of course I had to take some pictures....well, okay, I actually took 127 pictures BUT I narrowed it down to about 30 on here:) Annie is such a happy baby. Anyone that knows her, knows she laughs and talks ALL THE TIME. If she's not, then you know something is wrong or she's not feeling good. These pictures show you just that! It was just me and her...I didn't have any toys just my camera...There wasn't very many people around and she just laughed and laughed. She makes herself laugh most of the time and I love it! She's so sweet and absolutely beautiful! I couldn't be more thankful for my sweet baby girl...She was definitely WORTH THE WAIT! 

 This is what she does when you start singing, "If you're happy and you know it!"