Spring Is Here!!!

Happy Spring…as I sit here with my jacket on and two heaters on in my office! I am so ready for some warm and sunny weather! And for it to not be so cold in my office!

Well, I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! We sure did….it was a whirlwind, but a great, great weekend! For the first time ever, my parents had their entire family (plus two “extra” angels) at their house yesterday! Yep, that’s right…my sister Janice and her husband Eddie were BOTH there! Eddie has never come to any of our big family get-togethers….and they have been married for 14 years! There was just a tad bit of chaos as all 16 of us were under one roof, but it was wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! The kids all had so much fun together. Jan’s kids are older, so they are like great little babysitters! Jodi’s two angels were so much fun to have around and it was amazing to see how well both she and Jimmie are doing with them – maybe more amazing to see how great Jimmie was with them since none of us had any idea he would do so great – Jodi was a given! So, Easter was wonderful, but very busy! Church, dinner at Mom and Dad’s house, dessert and family fun at Grandma’s house and then more dinner and dessert and fun at MIL’s house. We finally got home last night around 8:00 and got the kids in bed, the house back in order and then crashed! Actually, Scott and I played the Wii – that was fun! I whooped him! He hadn’t really played it yet, so I had an un-fair advantage, but it was fun!

So, does anyone else have more candy than Halloween at your house? Yeah, we do. It is crazy! Not good for the diet! Speaking of that, I did hit the 40 pound loss mark last week. I hope you can gain back 40 pounds in one day – cuz I sure tried yesterday! Not really, but I did enjoy all the wonderful food that holidays bring! I just am going to have to work extra hard at the gym and eating good before my weigh-in on Wednesday! I don’t want to have a gain! I have been doing WW for 20 weeks (going to meetings…not counting the 2 weeks at Christmas that I didn’t go) and I have only had 2 gains…one was right after my girl’s weekend and I knew that would be bad and the other was less than one pound, so that shouldn’t really count. So….hopefully this week isn’t another one! But if it is, I will chalk it up to the holiday and move on! Only bad thing is, we are going on vacation next week….so I don’t want to have another bad week then!

Yeah, next week is Isaac’s Spring Break, so we are going on vacation! My parents decided not to go this year, but they are allowing us to use their time-share in Gatlinburg! We are leaving either Sunday or Monday. We don’t check into the resort until Monday, but might break up the trip for the kids. Then we will leave Gatlinburg on Thursday and head to Somerset, Kentucky to visit with Scott’s grandparents. We haven’t quite decided if we are going to spend the night with them or not. I am not sure if they handle all 5 of us! Their health isn’t the greatest, so we might be too much for them! We’ll see. But we are looking forward to vacation! We haven’t decided what all we are going to do while in Gatlinburg, but the resort has an indoor water park, so we looking forward to that! I think Isaac wants to go to the Dixie Stampede – but I am not sure how Gracie will do with that. So, we’ll see! Hopefully everyone stays healthy and it isn’t a cursed vacation like it was last year when we went down there! Unfortunately, Isaac’s spring break and Jan’s kids weren’t the same week…so that led to us all not going together like we have the last couple of years.

So, the kids are all doing great…let me give you my recap:

Isaac is still doing great in school! He told me the other day that the kids in his class call him the “Math King” because he is so good at math. That was always my strongest subject, so maybe it will be for him too. The first graders are doing a musical on May 1 – this was the night that I was supposed to have a Girl’s Overnighter for our trip to the Vera Bradley Sale! So, I had to back-out on all the girls because I couldn’t bear to miss his first musical! He is very excited about it. He did get in very big trouble last week. He and I were playing the Wii and Gracie kept getting in front of him, so he pushed her out of the way with his foot (kicked her!). I made him turn it off and go to his room….he marched off to his room and I heard him yell…”I hate my mommy! I hate my life!” I was LIVID! I marched into his room and smacked his face and told him that I better NEVER hear him say those words again…..the word hate is like a cuss word. We had a long talk about it once we both calmed down. I thought I would have a few more years before he said he hated me…..boy, that sure hurt my feelers! It is amazing to me how much he is growing up and how fast! It is scary!!!!

Faith Anne is doing great…she is really a very smart little girl. She knows all of her letters and can tell you what letter words start with. I am just amazed at how much preschool has done for her socially and academically. Now, she is still a DIVA through and through, but she has her sweet, sweet moments. We were at the Chronicles of the Cross service at church and we were taking communion together and she just kept giving me kisses on my cheek and telling me she loves me. Those moments, I could just bottle up and they are priceless – other moments, not-so-much! She really enjoyed getting all dressed up for Easter – again, a true DIVA!

Gracie is good….I will tell you this, though. Had she been our first, she would’ve been an only child, I do believe. That girl is adorable, but she is ornery! She gets into ABSOLUTELY everything and if you scold her and tell her no, she just stares at you and does it anyways! Last night, we were at MIL’s house and her boyfriend got out a laser light….well Gracie and Brayden just had a ball with that! They were like cats chasing that little red light and then Gracie just got tickled by it and started laughing really hard – like a deep belly laugh. It was so adorable! We all were dying laughing at her, which just made her laugh all the more! It was very fun! She is something else!!!! She climbs onto everything and babbles incessantly…but you can’t understand most of what she says. She does CLEARLY say Papaw…boy she loves her Papaw.

Scott is doing great….he has lost almost 30 pounds, but I don’t think it is going to be enough to win his Biggest Loser challenge at work. He could starve himself this week and win the $200, but I don’t see that happening. He had a good weekend with his Dad a few weeks ago when they went to the boy’s basketball thing in Columbus. I guess his Dad admitted that what he did to his mom was wrong…not sure that he really apologized, but he at least admitted he was wrong….baby steps. We are just both looking forward to spending time together next week! Hopefully the kids don’t argue all week!

So, we are all doing good! The “Lose it for Life” study is about to come to an end. We only have one more week after this one left in the book. It has been a really, really good study and I am going to miss meeting with those ladies each week. I highly recommend it to anyone who has/does struggle with their weight. It is really so much more than just about losing weight – it is more about FINDING a true relationship with Christ in the process – very good. Oh, Scott is going on an Emmaus walk in May….and I am going on one in July! I am excited about those two events! I have been wanting Scott to go for a long time, and since he is going…Jean (great lady at our church) wanted me to go too. I went on the teen version of that almost 18 years ago, but I think the adult one will be just as wonderful. So, exciting stuff there!

Please keep me in your prayers on this Friday. I am having an out-patient procedure done – an endometrial ablation. Hopefully it will help me with all the female problems I have been having lately. They do put you to sleep for it, so I am looking forward to some good rest on Friday! Hopefully it goes smoothly and the recovery is quick since we are going on vacation the following week!

Have I mentioned we are going on vacation next week? LOL I am a little bit excited! I just have to make it through this 4-day work week!!!

Well, I better get to work – especially since I only have 4 days this week!

Love you all and hope you all had a wonderful Easter! I lurk every day even though I don’t always comment!!! Take care!!!

Prayers still needed!!!!

Hello Ladies! First of all, thank you so much for your prayers! I know that Jodi is feeling them - but keep them coming!!!

My mom and I had a nice trip down...it was nice to talk because even though I see them a few times each week, we don't get a chance to really talk! So, that was really nice and really needed!

We got to Jodi's house and met the two beautiful babies!!!!

Macy will be three in May and has a beautiful....and energetic....personality! She is really beautiful and she and Faith Anne hit it off from the start!

Aniya just turned one in February and she is also beautiful....and chunky! But beautiful and sweet! She immediately came over to me and I picked her up and started hugging her!

We had a great day of getting to know the girls and shopping for stuff for them! They literally came with the clothes on their backs! So, we had fun getting them some stuff! There was a slight mishap where Macy ran away from us in Wal-Mart - she thought it was fun - and my Mom went chasing after her with Jodi in tow. It was humorous now that we look back on it....we aren't used to a runner because none of my kids have ever done that!

But Jodi and Jimmie are doing fine...just getting over the initial "shock" of going from no kids to two kids! These beautiful girls just need someone to love them and Jodi and Jimmie will do great with that!

They should find out on Tuesday night more information....an idea of how long they might have them, etc. Jodi got them signed up for Day-Care yesterday and the people there all seemed very nice and excited to have these two angels join them.

We might get to see them at Easter if J&J are allowed to bring them up here! That would be so much fun!

Please continue to cover them in your prayers....for Jodi and Jimmie as they adjust to this big change....and for Macy and Aniya as they miss their Mama - that they would feel and see Jesus' love through J&J.

Love you all....and appreciate your prayers more than you can ever know! I am so proud of my sister and Jimmie for choosing to serve God in this way.

Please Pray!!!!

So...I will let Jodi post all the specifics when she is finally able to update us...but the gist is...

today Jodi and Jimmie received their first (and second) call for assignments for Foster Care. The first one...they prayed about and didn't think it was in God's plan...and just so they knew for sure...God closed that door for them. The second one...they prayed about and felt it was God's leading....so the door remained open until they picked up two beautiful girls this evening!

SO....they have a almost 3 year old girl (one month until she turns 3) and a 15 month old girl in their care! We aren't sure how long this placement could last, but the important thing is that they have their first opportunity to do God's work in this calling He has placed in their hearts! Please cover them in prayer....for both Jodi and Jimmie as they adjust to this HUGE change....but also for those beautiful babies. Pray that God surrounds them with the peace and love that only HE can provide.

My mom and I are heading down there first thing in the morning with my two girls...play-mates! We are excited and want to be able to help Jodi with whatever she might need with this first assignment....but prayer is so important!

Thank you in advance and I am sure that Jodi will update us on this EXCITING news when she has a free moment!!!!

Love you all!!! No time to update on me...I gotta get stuff together for these precious babies!