#SeaWorld #SanAntonio here we come!

Bunny girl knows we're taking a trip out of town over the weekend but is still clueless as to where it is she will be going. She has guessed San Antonio gazillion times already but both Hubby and I are keeping mum. I'm sure she will be ecstatic to see Sea World, San Antonio's welcome arches when we get there especially since she has been planning to hit the Bay Of Play ever since we got back from our last trip!!

What will make this trip all the more special is the fact that we will get to witness the brand new Shamu show everyone's buzzing about.... One Ocean.


We will also get to meet the other Texas Wildside Bloggers



and as always have a day packed with good ol' SeaWorld fun.

I know there will be lots to share when we get back especially since this trip will also include an E.B. Mommy Travel feature on the luxury Riverwalk hotel, the Grand Hyatt San Antonio.


And to spice things up further, these fun features will be follow by a fan-tabulous San Antonio Summer Vacation Giveaway Package sponsored by Visit San Antonio....Woo-hoo!!

More when I return!





** EBMR Disclaimer: Thanks to SeaWorld, Grand Hyatt San Antonio and Visit San Antonio, these features will be made possible. This post has not been monetarily compensated and is based on the views and opinions of my family and/or self. Please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsors in any way.**

Labels: Bunny Boo, Bunny girl, E.B. Mommy Travels, San Antonio, SeaWorld

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 10:58 AM 1 Comments

My baby turns 1

*
A year ago, at 12.20pm, a little girl's prayer was answered and our then family of 3 was made complete with the arrival of our precious Bunny Boo.


It's amazing how 12 months can transform a tiny little baby into a little man with the cutest personality....
a little man who loves his big sister to bits, dotes on Daddy (He has been Daddy's Boy right from the womb), adores dogs (one of his 1st words was "dho"{dog}....not Mama!) , loves to serve bouncing balls (He has discovered he can"volleyball" serve all his soft balls and does it with such precision.), loves clapping to his favorite song, "The Joy Of The LORD" and swinging to The Go Fish Guys. (Every single one of their CDs calm him instantly!)

It's such a joy to see my baby blossom in such an awesome way and I'm so grateful for all the LORD has done in him and through him.
(Isn't it amazing how our children bless our lives in such a profound, impactful way?)


Happy 1st Birthday Bunny Boo!

You mean the world to us.

Labels: birthday, Bunny Boo, Go Fish, Reflections

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 11:51 AM 10 Comments

How Great Thou Art (Then Sings My Soul Saturday)

The birth of our son a little over 10 days ago reminded me of how awesome our Lord is.


How amazing to create life in a womb and bring forth a beautifully formed child...perfect to me, his daddy and big sister, in every way.

Thank You Lord for making our family complete......
Truly, How Great Thou Art.



Join in the meme initiated by the 'Signs, Wonders and Miracles' blog, post your favorite video and visit the other links.

Be Blessed!

Labels: Bunny Boo, Bunny girl, Christian, Reflections, Then Sings My Soul Saturday

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 10:22 PM 7 Comments

And now we are 4 !

Bunny Boo arrived into our lives this past Monday a little past 12.20 pm, weighing a good 8 lbs. By God's Grace I had a beautiful delivery, an awesome OBG, a great nurse and the best epidural ever!! (My first and boy, do I wish I got one when I had Bunny girl. It made the entire delivery experience such a beauty!)

Our little Prince has made our family complete and has filled his big sister's heart with so much joy. (You should see the way he stops crying to listen to her voice in the next room or even searches with his eyes when she hops into the room calling his name. Precious!)


I did mean to post pictures and the BIG NEWS the very next day when I got discharged but have been resting a bit this whole week and feel fresh and re-energized!

Thank you for all your prayers, support and love. God was in control from the beginning of Bunny Boo's conception till the moment he made his way out of my womb and into our arms. I have so much to testify but will leave that for a few future posts....God has been so good!

"Everyone shall stand in awe and confess the greatness of the miracles of God...they will realize what amazing things He does." - Psalm 64:9, TLB





P.S. The winners of the giveaways that ended last week will be announced along with this week's winners on Sunday. I have a ton of great stuff ahead so do keep reading!

Labels: Bunny Boo, Bunny girl, God, Reflections

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 5:08 PM 31 Comments

Still here!

Quick note to let you all know I'm still here. Went in for my OBG check up this morning and all looks well. Yes I did hit full term today and my precious little Bunny Boo just looks too comfortable inside to want to come out anytime soon (accord to my Doc). So Monday early morning we will be going in to the hospital to get induced...please do keep us in prayer.
God has been so awesome .....

• Have had a great pregnancy so far
• Tests done and scans have looked good till date
• Attended 4 awesome revival meetings in my church last week and boy has God been showing up in such beautiful ways! We've had testimonies of cancerous lumps melting away, spines straightened, diabetes healed....4 meetings filled with miracles and reports to confirm the same thereafter AND the biggest miracle of all....people giving their lives to the Lord!
  
• Had my Mommy fly down safely and get here before our little Prince arrives.
• Was able to attend Bunny girl's fabulous end of year preschool performance last evening. (Really didn't know my little girl had rhythm, spunk and confidence on stage. She was the cutest little frog and a bold little singer. Ofcourse the class sang Barney's closing song-I Love You! - so my little Madam sang that out with gusto!)

I'm sorry I haven't posted yesterday and today and do want to put up a few reviews and giveaways (I have to give you a heads up that there are some really great sponsors that have stuff to give my readers...Woohoo!) before I take a few days off with having Bunny Boo. (I will be back with more goodies once I spend some time with my little Bunny)

Do continue to keep up in prayer. God has been so faithful and we're continuing to trust Him for a great delivery and a healthy bonny little Bunny Boo to hold and love in our arms.

Labels: Bunny Boo, Bunny girl, God, Reflections

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 5:00 PM 9 Comments

Wordless Wednesday - See you soon Bunny Boo!

Come add your Wordless Wednesday moments on 5 Minutes for Mom.

Labels: Bunny Boo, Bunny girl, prayer, Reflections, Wordless Wednesday

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 4:50 AM 8 Comments

My Very Special Baby Shower! (Wordless Wednesday)

This past Sunday I was blessed with a beautiful baby shower thrown by the loving ladies from my church.

Considering we never did have a baby shower for Bunny girl, this was very special in every way.
(Back home, people generally visit the newborn baby and then bring gifts to bless on the family but in my heart I'd always wanted to experience the joy of having a shower...never in my wildest of dreams did I ever think we'd move here and we'd be blessed with Bunny Boo...God is so good!)






Come add your Wordless Wednesday moments on 5 Minutes for Mom.

Labels: Baby shower, Bunny Boo, Reflections, Wordless Wednesday

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 6:42 AM 6 Comments

Marvelous are Your works(Wordless Wednesday)

4 years apart but taking one look at their ultrasound scans.....
Can't you tell they're siblings?



Come add your Wordless Wednesday moments on 5 Minutes for Mom.

Labels: Bunny Boo, Bunny girl, Reflections, Wordless Wednesday

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 7:08 AM 4 Comments

Namaste to all who've hopped over from the Ultimate Blog Party 2010

Namaste/Desi Greetings to all who've hopped over from the Ultimate Blog Party 2010!

Come on over.....get comfortable....here's your cup of delicious Indian Cardamom Spiced Tea. Enjoy the flavors as I tell you a little about myself.....

I'm Marina! The Energizer Bunny's Mommy!! ... (#365 on the UBP 2010 Party list!)

God has been soooooo good to me.
I'm so blessed to have a wonderful, patient and loving Hubby, 2 priceless Heaven sent gifts, an awesome family, great friends, beautiful church family and ........ooooh the list can go on and on!

The sprinkles on my life's cupcake are definitely being Momma to my precious 4 year old, who never runs out of steam, Bunny girl


and our soon to arrive Bunny Boo. (Scheduled for a late May 2010 arrival)


So what goes on around here?

LOTS!!!

We have a Carnival of Fun Stuff .....literally!!
From Bunny Girl Chuckles and more, Family Encouragement, Mommy Tips, Product Reviews and ...wait for it......wait for it.......

GIVEAWAYS GALORE!!!

I'm presently hosting an online Baby Shower (never had one for Bunny Girl back in India and my fabulous church is throwing one for Bunny Boo early May), to celebrate with all my Bloggy Buddies out there ....
Aaaaand there are a bunch of other great giveaways you can enter too!

Want to win some fun stuff?
Then click on each of the links to enter to win some super-dee-duper prizes!!


(Updated as on 4/16/2010)

Giveaways ending on 4/17/2010, Saturday:

• Damo Momo Baby Shirt & Hat (4/17)
• Kidbean Organic Baby Diaper & Doublers (4/17)
• Aden + Anais Dream Blanket (4/17)
• The Modest Mom maternity skirt of choice (4/17)
• Everything Princesses 50$ GC (4/17)
• My Emmy Baby Birthday Tee (4/17)
• ImagiPLAY Color me up Puzzle set (4/17)

Baby Bounty Bash

FOR BABY:

• Bored Inc. product of choice (4/24)
• Magic Cabin's Baby Play Mat and Rattle Mouse (4/24)
• Princess Linens Personalized Silky Smoothie Blanket (4/24)
• Kids Preferred A Very Hungry Caterpillar Bolster (4/24)
• 75$ Itzy Bitzy Boutique GC (4/24)
• Kuki Kids Bib of Choice (4/24)
• Duck Duck Green Clothing Set (4/24)
• 25$ Eden Home Gift Card (5/1)
  

FOR MOMMY:

• Thomas Nelson's Woman's NKJV Study Bible (4/24)
• Binsi Birth Skirt or Top of choice (4/24)
• Medela Swing Electric Breastpump (5/1)
• Kalencom Diaper bag (5/1)
• Belle Baby Carrier (5/1)
  

FOR THE FAMILY:

• 50$ Chili's Gift card (4/24)
  

And more giveaways

* 20$ Whole Foods GC (4/24)
* Coloring & ARTivity set (4/24)
* Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World (5/1)
* Wubbzy goes Green dvd (5/1)
* Tom & Jerry Tales: 2 pack dvd (5/1)
* 16 x 20 Personalized Rolled Canvas (5/1)




Want to win MORE stuff?

Why don't you hop on over to the Ultimate Blog Party 2010 hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom (These sisters rock. Met them at the Disney Social Media Moms Conference in Feb 2010 and loved how unassuming they both are!) and see what you can do to linky up and win some 'fan-tabulous' goodies.


What do I have my eyes on?

Hmmm...that's a hard one. I guess I would narrow my choices down to these hearties!..in no particular order.
(Sorry Susan and Janice...just couldn't narrow down to my top 3 choices)

• Bunny Girl would love the 25$ e-cert to the Disney Store or Toys R Us (With all things being Princess and Books!)-#15, #61
  
• The 50$ Gift cert to the Happy Panda Store would be great for our soon to arrive little Prince- #2
• The 50$ Monogrammed Gift cert would be a treat to get something special for my 2 little gems -#23
  
• I think Hubby would love to get some more books in his field from Amazon- #31, #52, #87, #88
  
• Oooh and I would love anything that helps with the groceries-#32, #37, #55, #100, #107
  

Whew!! ....and to think I purposely avoided even looking at the prizes below the US only list!!

Righto, I'm off to make some new friends in the Blogosphere.

Thanks for hopping by, I loved having you over.
Come on over, anytime.
I'll be here....with ton's happening......
and don't worry, another cup of tea will be waiting!




P.S. Don't feel shy...You can ask.....I know you want to know how we can stay in touch.....

You can follow me via Google Friend Connect or the RSS feed, to keep updated with all the excitement and fun
or
Follow me on Twitter (@ebmommy)
or
Fan me on Facebook (Marina-EBMR)

Labels: 5 minutes for mom, Bunny Boo, Bunny girl, Reflections, Ultimate Blog Party 2010

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 4:55 AM 25 Comments

A Big Sister's Heart (Wordless Wednesday)

The Saturday before Easter, we took Bunny girl to Michael's to decorate an Easter pail, as part of one of their in-store promotions. Bunny girl had a field day sticking those foam stickers all over her pink pail.

Since I had to pick up a few odds and ends from the store, Hubby sat with Bunny girl while I set off to cross things off my shopping list. By the time I returned Bunny girl had finished her pretty pink pail and was working on a blue one.

Surprised I silently mimed out a "Who's that for?" to Hubby and he whispered back that our precious little 'Big Sister In the Making' had asked Dada to get her a blue pail.
Why?
Because she wanted to make an Easter pail for Bunny Boo so he wouldn't feel sad when he arrived.

Awwwww.....
Sniff! Sniff!

Whoever said " In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips " knew what he/she was talking about!


Come add your Wordless Wednesday moments on 5 Minutes for Mom.

Labels: Bunny Boo, Bunny girl, Reflections, Wordless Wednesday

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 8:37 AM 9 Comments

Fearfully, Wonderfully Made (Wordless Wednesday)

Labels: Bunny Boo, Christian, Reflections, Wordless Wednesday

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 6:01 AM 5 Comments

Bunny Boo's Expansion plans!!

Remember my post from last month- 'Halfway There'? This was the picture we took just last month.....


and this is me exactly a month later......


I know......WHAT happened in a month??
To put it simply, Bunny Boo has gone on an 'Expansion Plan'.....BIG TIME!!

I'm officially 24 weeks 'full with child' and with my 'bump on a mission', perhaps I'd better ask my Doc to give me a letter to convince airline authorities that I really am not yet in my 3rd trimester when I board that plane (in less than a week....yay!) for the Disney Mom's Conference!!

Labels: Bunny Boo, Pregnancy, Reflections

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 4:35 PM 0 Comments

Sense-ational Bunny Boo!

Hubby had to go out of town for 4 days and just got back home 5 hours ago. It was well past 11 and even though Bunny girl has school tomorrow she was insistent she see and hug Dada before she went to bed.

While reading to Bunny girl on the couch, I heard a car door slam shut and thought it could be Hubby or maybe the neighbors. (As you know, we stay in an apartment so there's always traffic outside our windows!) I continued to read to my eager listener. A second later I felt Bunny Boo kick vigorously several times in the womb and immediately after that the doorbell rang...it was Hubby!

I'm telling you I seriously believe Bunny Boo sensed Daddy was nearing the doorstep and I'm so sure our little womb inhabitant kicked out a jig inside knowing that Dada was finally home!

Sense-ational!

Labels: Bunny Boo, Reflections

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 3:52 AM 2 Comments

Halfway there!

I'm there....at the halfway point in my pregnancy and there's no way you can think it's not a baby bump now!
(At our New Year's Eve service, 3 ladies stopped to ask me if I was pregnant...and I teach their kids in the Kiddies Bible Class! Boy, they must've thought I was really piling on those pounds if I'd replied in the negative!!)

I know I am officially halfway there because...

• I don't have odd looks coming my way when I wolf down several huge servings of food!
  
• I can't squeeze through gaps any more because 'the bump' needs space!
• I protectively shield 'the bump' in crowded areas....not that my hand can do much but mentally I feel assured I'm protecting our baby!
  
• I can feel the flitter-flutter inside....awwwww!
• The other day when I started to dance to an Imagination Movers number that Bunny girl was watching, she burst into laughter and through the giggles managed to splutter "Duck"....so yes...I officially do the "Waddle" now!
• 'The bump' and I get preferential treatment wherever we go now........mmmmmm, just love the attention!

Ok, now 'THE BUMP' is beginning to sound so impersonal and our baby has such an important place in our lives! Hmmmm.... allow me to take it upon myself to officially name 'the bump'. Lets see now......

Ladies, Gentlemen and Bunny girl (I figure she's the only little one who frequently checks out my blog!), I present to you..... Bunny Boo!

Labels: Bunny Boo, Pregnancy, Reflections

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 4:50 PM 13 Comments

The prayer of a child- Part 4

After Bunny girl's bold announcement to her preschool teacher, I started to have this nagging feeling within...."What if Bunny girl could be right?"... "What if maybe she and Jesus had an agreement and He said He was going to give her a sibling?".... the 'What ifs' only grew on my list and a few days after my conversation with her I realized that I hadn't gone through my cranky phase in the month....... Gasp! WHAT IF??

The next morning after dropping Bunny girl to school I drove down to Walmart and picked up a recommended test by the pharmacist. I paid for the test and somehow it just seemed like I got all the traffic lights on that drive back home. Oh boy!

Once home, I literally tore open that test as if my life depended on it, speed read through the instructions and did what I had to and then waited.......

Those 2 minutes took forever to go by and before I took a look at the test, I sat down and prayed the first thing that came into my mind..."Lord, pleeeeease answer her prayer" and then I looked.....


Okay...so maybe that was a false alarm. A faded second line....I guess we'll just keep praying. I decided I wouldn't even say anything to Hubby lest he think I was disappointed. (Honestly in my heart I was...I guess without me actually realizing it, I had begun to really look forward to and hope for another baby.)

That evening that test kept coming to my mind and I just couldn't shake it off. Again that night Bunny girl prayed and this time I honestly prayed hard that God would answer really soon because I really wanted to see her....errrr....OUR prayer answered.

Late that night I know I tossed and turned in my bed as the second unopened test in the bathroom cabinet seemed to be calling out to me and I soooo wanted to just take that test one more time......just once! I just felt, maybe oh maybe, that faded line could be prominent...but I needed to wait till Hubby was at work and Bunny girl at school......just in case!

Morning took forever to come and once again the drive back home after dropping Bunny girl to school seemed liked miles away but finally I did get indoors and rushed to the bathroom. This time I didn't read any instructions. I knew what I had to do and I did it quick and waited.....and waited ...and waited....and again said a prayer before opening my eyes.

Know what I saw? ......

2 strong distinct prominently clear red lines.....Hallelujah......
WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!

Breaking the news to Hubby over the phone was exciting but the icing on the cake was my precious Bunny girl. I will never forget the moment we told her and showed her the test... she gave a shriek of delight and then after bouncing around in excitement, asked if we could thank Jesus and said she would start. Her prayer was the most beautiful and blessed prayer I've heard and I'm sure Jesus was smiling down as He heard the praise from that innocent then 3yr 6month old's mouth....her simple words expressing the joy she felt, complete with the giggles and smiles as she closed her eyes to thank her Heavenly Father.......who answered the prayer of a child.


* God is so good! Bunny girl's expected to hold her baby sibling in her arms around late May 2010.....do keep us in prayer during this time.*

Labels: Bunny Boo, Bunny girl, Pregnancy, Reflections, The prayer of a child

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 10:08 PM 53 Comments