I am still alive!!!

WOW. I can’t believe that it has been so long since my last post! I check everyone else’s journals ever day, so I forget to update my own, I guess! Either that or time just flies when you are having fun! That could be it too!

So, since you all seem to love it so much…here is my post in the style of Missy:

Scott
He is doing just fine! Since he works in sales – and sales of something that people don’t “need” when times get tough, things have slowed down some for him. We have seen it reflect somewhat in his paychecks, but we are hanging in there! It isn’t bad yet….so hopefully he will continue to do okay. He is still one of the top salesmen in his division, so I guess that is a good sign. And he still seems to really like what he does – especially the flexibility of it! I enjoy it so much because he is such a big help around the house. I know, I know…I am very spoiled by him! He still does all of the grocery shopping, all of the mopping, all of the yard work…we split the laundry pretty evenly now. He is just such a good house-husband since he has more time at home then I do. In other news with him, he is enjoying helping with the coaching of Isaac’s baseball team, playing softball on Friday nights and getting ready to help coach Isaac’s football team! So, needless to say, he keeps busy! We don’t see a lot of each other, but that will change…one day!

Isaac
He is doing great! I think he misses his friends from school. He gets out his yearbook frequently and looks at his class picture. He has been reading a lot this summer and doing great with that. He spends a lot of his time working on “projects” – which means lots of paper, crayons, glue, tape, etc. He and his sisters could sit for hours and create things. He also really has enjoyed the Wii! I probably didn’t share this cuz it has been so long – but his report card from 1st Grade was just awesome! He was above the grade-level expectation in most things – and the things he wasn’t were like music (hello?), art and gym. So, in reading, math, writing, etc. he was above the grade level. We were so proud of him! We bought him a new game for the Wii – Mariokart and let me tell you, that is a very fun game! We have all enjoyed playing that when we get the chance!

He is doing good in baseball! The first few games he struck out a few times, but since then he does great with hitting. Now, if we could just get him to stop watching the ball when he should be running, that would be great! He also needs to work on his fielding some…but their team is great and they all seem to really have a great time!

We signed him up for a Sports-Fun-Camp this week and so far he really likes it. They just play games all day long…so he was one tired pup last night and I am sure he will be tonight too! But we wanted to give him something to keep him busy in the summer. He will have football camp in a few weeks – the same week as Camp Extreme. So, he will be tired that week too! But then football practice starts like a week or two after that….so then he will really be worn out! We are very excited about his football coach this year – it is a guy that Scott went to school with and they are a very strong Christian family. He was actually a high school football coach in Georgia but then came back to join their family landscaping business. We practiced in the field next to them last year and we were always impressed with them – so that is very exciting! There is another kid on their team who is taller than Isaac – so between the two of them in the line – they will do a great job of clogging up the middle!

So…Isaac is doing great! Just keeping us moving!

Faith Anne
My little princess is turning 4 in less than two weeks. Is that hard to believe, or what?!?!? I can’t believe it! In so many ways, it seems like just yesterday that she was born – but in others…not so much! We are having a Hannah Montana party for her! She is very excited about that! We are also taking a few girls to Sweet-and-Sassy to get their hair done and their fingers and toes painted. That ought to be a trip!!! She is such a girlie-girl! I know that she will love all that girlie stuff! She is constantly asking me if she is beautiful and I, of course, assure her that she is! I need to work more with her on being beautiful inside too….she does have a temper with her brother and sister!

She is still terrified of dogs – so it doesn’t look like we will be getting one when she turns 4. I am really fine with that, because that would just be one more thing for me to clean up after, but I know that Isaac is disappointed. But she is truly terrified of them, so I can’t justify making her miserable!

She is so smart and should have no problem starting Kindergarten next fall. Her preschool teacher just raved at how far she had come in her first year of preschool. So, hopefully she does just as well this year! Do I sound like an annoying mother who brags about her kids? Well…I am! LOL I think we all are!

So, Faith Anne is doing fine and is becoming my “big girl” more and more every day!

Gracie
Where do I begin with Gracie? Well, some of you have heard this story – so if you have, I apologize. But for those that haven’t…you might have thought that you have been in the running for World’s Worst Mother a time or two with your kids? Never fear! I have that award all locked up!!! A few Friday’s ago, Scott had been doing yard work and the girls were outside playing. I was on the patio watching them. Well, Scott went inside to take a shower and the girls were on the patio with me – playing. Well, I must’ve dozed off and next thing I know, Faith Anne is asking me where Gracie is? I jumped up and looked in the back part of the yard and didn’t see her…so I ran out the front gate – which was open! I ran out front and didn’t see her….and since it had only been a split second and I didn’t really look in the back yard very well, I ran back to the back yard and looked in the two little houses we have out there. I then noticed that the back gate was opened too. So, I ran out that gate yelling for her and looking for her….Faith Anne is following me the whole time…also yelling. So, we ask an old man if he had seen her and he said no, so we ran back to our yard and I ran inside. Isaac was playing the Wii and I asked him if he had seen Gracie – he said no. I told him to go tell his Daddy to get out of the shower because I can’t find Gracie and I ran out the front door and up and down the street looking for her. Nothing. So I ran back to the back yard. No Gracie. I ran back out front and was crying (duh) and Scott finally came out and he starts yelling at me. I told him to shut up and just help me find her (we were both a little freaked out) and he ran one way down the street with Isaac and Faithy and I ran the other. I turned around and came back to our house with every intention of banging on all the neighbor’s doors to ask for their help. About that time, Gracie comes walking towards me! We have a path across the street from our house that leads to the school and the ball fields…we use it a lot. Well, at the end of the path, the first thing you encounter is a big parking lot. She had opened the gate to the back yard….walked all the way up the side of our house, through the front-yard, ACROSS THE STREET, up the path and into that parking lot! When I saw her, she was on her way back to me. I didn’t know whether to hug her or strangle her! Of course I picked her up and HUGGED HER…but then Scott had to take her from me because I was HYSTERICAL by this point and was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. So….yep…Worst Mother of the Year Award goes to….ME!

Other than that (lol), Gracie is good! I can’t believe that she is almost 21 months old! She is very ornery and has her own unique personality from the other two. Scott and I maintain…and you might think we are joking, but I assure you we are not, that had she been our first, she would have been an only! Life with Gracie is never boring, that much is for sure!!! I love her to pieces, but she sure brings a whole new dimension to ourlives!

Me
I am doing pretty good. I am at a bit of a plateau with my weight loss – stuck at 60 pounds. I am hoping to get past that tomorrow at my weigh-in. I spent part of this past weekend fasting. It really is a good thing for me to do – both physically and mentally. Physically – obviously it cleans some of the toxins out of your system – but mentally it is good for my spiritual well-being. I think I got pretty comfortable with a 60 pound weight loss and started to feel a bit prideful of it. I needed to re-focus and remember that I didn’t do that by myself. God has been with me every step of the way. If I lose sight of that, I will probably put it all back on! So, I am feeling better about the way things are going there. I still have a long way to go, but I do feel so much better being 60 pounds lighter…and buying smaller clothes!

Work is….well, work. Changes are on the horizon….but I don’t want to go into all of that right now. It will be an interesting…and probably stressful…few months! But…what’s new?!?!?

Kelli and I leave for our vacation next week! We fly out Thursday morning and return on Monday night. We are going to Ft. Meyers, Sanibel Island! I cannot wait…and I cannot be more excited about it! We have both worked so hard to lose weight before this trip…..I know that we are going to enjoy feeling better about ourselves and just enjoying a care-free vacation! We plan on visiting a different beach every day that we are there and just enjoying the freedom to pick up and go whenever we want to! So, I will have to share some pictures of that! We are planning on taking a day-cruise to Key-West one day….that should be exciting! That is my birthday present…and my Christmas…probably this year and next! We actually got a great deal - $500 for the air-fare, the room for 4 nights and a rental car (per person). I thought that was a great deal!

Umm… I guess that is about it for me! I know this is a long post, so hopefully you made it this far! I have been REALLY bad at leaving comments lately…so I am sorry for that! But I do read every day and most importantly, I do pray for my Journal Goddesses!

Love you all!!!!

June...already?!?!?

Yeah, okay…so I have totally started this entry like 10 times, but I always get distracted and never finish it! So, hopefully this time I get it finished! It has been a while since an “actual post” for me. Although, not as long as others (clearing throat…Dawn, Debbie, Jodi…the list could really go on and on!).

Things are going great in our household right now! Let me just give you the play-by-play for each person! I know everyone loves it when I post like that!

Scott is doing great! Work is going fine…he is keeping busy at home because he is a wonderful wife/husband! I know that I am spoiled by him….so I appreciate it! I try to remember to say thank you very often because I really do know that he spoils me. The ladies that I work with are always amazed by what I tell them that he does! He really does make a great wife! LOL I went to my first softball game of his the other night. They have a team with the guys he works with…and my Uncle Ronnie is the pitcher! Anywhoo, I was there for the first time and so was Aunt Joanne and her whole family – including Eli! So, although I didn’t get to visit with Chelle and Mandy much (I had to be the scorekeeper and watch Gracie at the same time), it was great to see them and know that Mandy was doing so much better. And that little Eli is so beautiful! You just forget how little they are!!! Anyways, they lost the game…actually they were winning until the last inning and then a new dumb rule kinda did them in and the other team scored like 20 runs in the last inning. I think I am not allowed to go to anymore games! LOL Anyways…so Scott is doing good! His company had a family picnic day at the Beach Waterpark this past Sunday. That was very cool because it was free to get in and they fed us lunch and the drinks were free all day! We left Gracie with MIL and Scott spent the day with Isaac while I spent the day with Faith Anne and we had a great time! It was perfect weather! Scott and Isaac went on all of the waterslides and had a blast! I spent the whole time in the kiddy-pool area with Faith Anne and she loved it.

Isaac is excited because his last day of school is on Thursday! He has done so great this year in school….I am anxious to see his final report card! They have been doing some fun things these last few weeks and he brought home his journal yesterday and it is neat to see what he has written about all year…and how much it has improved! They had a pool party last Friday and all the kids went to the Rec Center. I was a bit tiffed at the school because they asked us to send sunscreen, which I did, but obviously no one helped my first grader put it on! He was SCORCHED that evening…and in a lot of pain. I will make sure to talk to someone about that next year! He had fun anyways! He is doing really good in baseball! At their game last night, he hit the ball on the first or second pitch all three times he was up to bat and they were very good hits too! He got mad because when he was running from 2nd to 3rd, the boy who was up to bat hit the ball right to the 3rd baseman, so he got out two times that way. He started to cry, but kept himself in check. It was all I could do to keep from going and giving him a big hug, but that would’ve been worse! We tried to explain to him later that even the fastest runner can’t beat that if it is hit right to the 3rd baseman! After each game, the coaches pick the MVP and they get a lunchbox full of stuff…well, Isaac got it last night! He was so happy and I was so proud of him! I do have to tell you something funny….he was outside playing with the neighbor boys and he thought I had gone inside. So, he starts to shake his private area in a little dance and then ask them if they want to see his nipples? I caught his eye and he knew he was in trouble….as I was stifling back laughter! So, after the boys left, we sat down and talked about it and I told him he shouldn’t do that…blah, blah, blah. Later that night, because of course Scott wasn’t home when this happened, I told Scott that he needed to have an anatomy talk with Isaac. So, he did and he told him that it is his job to bring honor and grace to the family of God and also to our family and by doing that and saying those things, he isn’t doing that. I don’t know how much of that he understands…but we have to start trying to make him understand that now! He is only 6!!! I guess because he hangs out with mostly older kids though, we are gonna have to deal with all of this early! Oh boy!!!!

Faith Anne is all done with preschool now! She had a great first year and I am so glad that we sent her! I just wish we had sent Isaac too! She really loved it and I can see that it made such a difference with her socially as well as academically. Her teacher actually cried when she hugged Faith on the last day. I think she really liked her spunk! She is already looking forward to next year. She is also looking forward to her birthday party in July. We have been asking her what she wants to do and she has some grandeous ideas…so we’ll see what we end up doing. My MIL is mad because the day we might have her party doesn’t work for her….but oh well! She kinda irked me off about that last night. Whatever. So, we are still trying to figure that out. Otherwise, Faith Anne is doing great. I just love her personality and watching how she is becoming her own little person. You can definitely tell that she is a middle child because she is in constant need of affirmation. She wants to always tell me how much she loves me and in turn, for me to tell her how much I love her. I don’t mind it one bit…it is just funny how different she is from Isaac in that respect. We don’t have her signed up for any dance or anything right now…so I need to look for something for her to do. I have enjoyed the break from that though! We still always have something going on, it seems!

Gracie is well, I am not sure how to put it! She is really a doll-baby, but she is also a difficult child! I can tell that she is FOR SURE going to be my challenge! She just has her own mind about everything and if she wants to do something….get out of her way! I want to channel that strong-will in, without breaking it altogether. My mom went to Kentucky to watch Maycie and Aniya (Jodi’s girls) and she said that after being with Aniya for that time, she realized just how difficult of a child Gracie really is. She is just ornery – into absolutely everything – and very, very stubborn. She is talking more, which I love. I love to hear her say “Sissy” and “Bubba”, which are two of her favorite people and words! But if they take something she wants, she has no problems biting…hitting…screaming…whatever to get her own way! I love her to pieces, but she is a challenge!!!!!

So, that is the short update on my family! We are a crazy bunch, I tell you! Things with me are going pretty good. I asked my boss if it looked like I was going to lose my job and he said definitely not…so hopefully that holds true. There have been so many cuts around me, that I began to panic. But he assured me that that was not going to happen.

I have lost 57 pounds and weigh in again tomorrow. I am just in a groove with it right now. I hope it continues! For some reason, it seems that it is really clicking with me this time and I really think I can do this and I can keep it off! It will be a constant struggle – I am sure for the rest of my life – but I am going to keep at it!

Kelli and I are trying to figure out where we are going for our get-away in July. We were waiting to get a good last-minute deal. It will be here soon…so we need to figure it out. I am excited about getting away for a few days! I would love to go to California or Florida…we’ll see!

Well, I better get to work. I feel like I am leaving something out that I was gonna share… but I can’t think of what it is now! Love you all and praying for so many!

Update on Mandy

Thank you Prayer Warriors! My mom just called me with an update on Mandy! They did not keep her at the hospital last night and they did not find any blood clots - HALLELUJAH!

We are still not really sure what they "diagnosed" as the problem, but I do think they gave her some migraine medicine. So...not sure if that was the root of the problem or what.

I am sure the fact that she just had a baby last week and she was probably over-doing it might have played into this as well!!!

So, thank you for your prayers...they are much appreciated! Hopefully she will update us soon or if I hear more, I will certainly pass it along!

The whole blood clot thing really had me freaked out since I just about lost my friend Kelli to blood clots a few years ago! But...God is good!!!!

I will try to put a real post up later today - if work allows! LOL

Love you all and appreciate you all so very much!

Please Pray...

Ladies, It appears that we need to keep two of our dear Journal Goddesses in prayers right now! Debbie - which hopefully you have seen her emails and know what is going on there with her eye. And now Mandy. I just got off the phone with my Uncle Ronnie (Mandy's dad) and she is at the hospital in the ER. They have not admitted her yet, but she is having substantial chest pains and having difficulty breathing. They are looking for blood-clots. Like I said, at this point they have not admitted her, but I am not sure what the rest of the evening will look like for them. Mandy's parents have both Abbey and Eli.

I will update as I hear more, but I now that she will appreciate your prayers - as well as Debbie! Just pray for God's wisdom to be with the doctors and for His peace to surround everyone involved.

Love you Girls!!!!

Hump Day!

Happy Hump Day Ladies! I am really looking forward to a weekend, even though I had an unintentional 4-day weekend this past weekend! But I love Holiday Weekends! Just something about knowing you have more time with the family…makes me smile!

So, let’s see…it has only been a week this time since my last “real” post. Of course, I told Mandy that I was the official reporter so I had to go to the hospital to see Eli right after he was born so that I could report it back to you all! I took my job very seriously and got there just a little more than an hour after he was born! LOL It was really my Mom’s idea! I think she was so excited because this was the first baby that was born now that they live in Ohio. She said when they were in Kentucky it was so hard to not be able to come to the hospital right away. So, as soon as she called me to tell me he was here, she asked if I was ready to go to the hospital! I have to tell you…she made me cry at the hospital. My mom is not a very emotional person…so, I get it from my Dad, not from her. Anyways, when Uncle Ronnie (Mandy’s dad and my mom’s brother) walked in the room, my mom said: “Well, congratulations again Brother!” and they both got all teary-eyed….which means that I have to get teary-eyed too! That was a sweet moment. But as you can see, he is adorable! Mandy looked great and was feeling great at the time (thanks to the epidural). I know that they will have some rough days ahead as they get used to having a 4 year old and a newborn, but they will do great!

Well, Scott went on his Emmaus Walk this past weekend and he had a FABULOUS time! For those that don’t know what that is, it is a 72 hour spiritual renewal weekend retreat. It is just a wonderful time of reflection and really, so very much more. I don’t want to go into a lot of detail because there are lots of wonderful surprises built into the weekend, but let me just tell you that he loved it! I am so glad that he was able to go and have that time just for him. He certainly deserves it!!!

So, I dropped him off at the church for that on Thursday night…so I was flying solo with the kiddies this weekend! We did great….except for the last part of the weekend when things took a turn for the worse, but I will get to that in a minute!
Before I took him to the church, we went to dinner at Outback! That was nice to have a quick date-night! We don’t get that very often! I took the day off on Friday and went to the church where he was at to serve him breakfast…he was surprised by that! Then I was able to go and do some shopping all by myself! My mom had the girls and Isaac was at school, so I went to a few stores…all by myself! Did I mention that I was all by myself? LOL It was heavenly to be able to look around at my own pace! And since I have lost so much weight, I really have to try things on because I am not sure what size I am! And let me tell you, I had to squelch a squeal in the fitting room when I tried on a pair of capris that were like 6 sizes smaller than what I was wearing at my heaviest! I haven’t seen that size in MANY, MANY years! So, that made my shopping trip even more enjoyable! LOL

Well, after I picked up the girls and Isaac, we went home and I was able to take a nap with Faith Anne and Gracie while Isaac played the Wii. I told him that he had a decision to make because he wanted to go to the Family Fun Nite (picture mass chaos) at his school, but I didn’t want to take all three of the kids there by myself. So, I told him to decide to do that or go to the mall and we could go to Build-A-Bear. Well, he chose to go to the mall! So, when we got up from our naps, we had a quick dinner and then headed to the mall. They were all three very good and we had fun at the BAB store! The girls both made doll babies and Isaac made a doggy. We did a bit more shopping, split a milkshake, played in the play-area and then headed home! It was a very nice evening with the kids!

Saturday…we got up and cleaned the house some and then walked to the church’s rummage sale. We just kinda had a leisurely day. I made all three kids take a nap – because they got up so early and more importantly because I wanted to take a nap! Isaac had a birthday party to go to at a pet store. That was fun for him….and he got 3 free goldfish as party favors! So, we now have 7 goldfish! I took them all out to dinner and then picked up a girl from our church who watched the kiddos for me while I went to a church service. Jodi came up for that and we had a great time!

Here is where the fun starts! At about 2:30 in the morning, Gracie starts screaming! I go into her room and the smell hits me as soon as I open the door – yep, we had the stomach bug! Well, SHE had the stomach bug! And Scott isn’t home. Great. So, I persuade Faith Anne to stay in bed and I get Gracie stripped down and in the tub. I left her in there while I went and stripped her bed and re-made it. I had to keep going back and forth between the bathroom and her bedroom because she kept crying. But it was easier to do the bed while she was out of the way. This happened 2 other times that night. Lots of fun! She got sick a few more times on Sunday…but thank goodness for my parents! They came and took Isaac and Faith Anne to church and then just kept them pretty much all day.

Here is a cute conversation I had with Isaac on Sunday morning:

Me: You are going to have to stay away from Gracie today.
Isaac: Why?
Me: Because she is sick and I don’t want you to catch her germs.
Isaac: I can’t!Me: Why?
Isaac: (tears in his eyes and voice shakey) Because I love her!
Me: Umm…can you love her from a distance today?

That kid is so sweet…..most of the time!

So, Gracie slept most of the morning/afternoon and kept stuff down all evening. Scott came home…we were happy…we went to bed….we woke up to Gracie getting sick two more times! So, I ended up calling in sick – or actually working from home – so I could stay with her. She is better now and so far, no one else has come down with the stomach bug in our house. Hopefully it stays that way!!!!

Faith Anne had her last day of preschool yesterday and tomorrow there is a picnic and then she is done until next year! I have to remember to get her teacher gift all wrapped up today! I decided to give them the Vera Bradley softback book covers with a $10 gift card to Barnes & Noble (or whatever bookstore that is at the Greene). I think a teacher would appreciate that…at least, I hope they do!

Baseball is in full swing for us. Isaac has games on Mondays and Wednesdays and Scott has softball on Friday nights. The girls have been pretty good so far, so hopefully that continues!

Well, we have something going on every day this weekend…including going down to see Jodi, Jimmie and the girls on Memorial Day! It sounds like the weather is going to be great this weekend….and it is about stinking time! I told Scott that I was glad it was going to be hot on Monday because I bought Faith Anne a very cute red, white and blue tank top! LOL It is all about the fashion with her, you know!

Love you all and Happy Memorial Day!!!!

Baby Boy is Here!!!!

Today is a GREAT DAY! Mandy and Steve welcomed their newest addition to the world! Here is the information:

Eli Jacob Lee was born at approximately 2:50 PM. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 21.75 inches long! He is adorable as you can see for yourself!

Mom and I visited them about 90 minutes after he was born and Mandy was feeding him his first bottle...he ate it right up and gave her a good burp!

Big Sister Abbey is doing great and is having fun looking at her new brother! She was a little upset that she didn't get to feed him, but we assured her there would be plenty of time for that! She also didn't want Mommy, Daddy and Eli to stay in the hospital tonight...but Grammy was going to take her home, so I am sure she will get over that very quickly!

Mandy did great and she looks great! I will let her share all the details once she gets settled in, but Praise the Lord! We have another bundle of joy in our family! Dr. H has now delivered 8 babies into this family!!!!

Thanks for your prayers! I know that Mandy and Steve treasure them! Love you all!!!!

Hi Y'All!!!

Holy Cow! It is the middle of May already! Is it just me or does this year seem like it is flying by? I guess that is a sign of “aging”, huh? Seems to me that time just goes by faster and faster! Boy, that sounds old. LOL

So much has happened since my last post….I just feel like we are running a marathon lately! I told my friend Kelli that having this third kid has really pushed me over the edge for some reason! There is just never any “down” time it seems. Oh well! Scott and I always say that we wouldn’t have it any other way! The kids are just the light of our lives and we don’t know what we would do without them and the craziness that they bring!

First, let me tell you that our Vera Bradley Shopping Day was a ton of fun! Joy, Jodi, my Mom and I all rode over to Ft. Wayne together and we had a blast! We had lots of good conversations, laughter and of course, shopping! Laura (Hair-dye) and her mom followed us over, so we had lunch with them too. It was just a super enjoyable day! I am sure that was in part to being in “my happy place”! The prices weren’t as good as they were last year, but we still got some great deals and I got lots of presents bought…and too much for myself, but I digress! LOL It was a great, great day.

Now, let me just do my normal…person, play-by-play! Here goes:

Scott: He finished up the patio and got all the tree trimmings off to the dump and the yard looks so very nice…if it would just stop raining! I LOVE it and I am so proud of him for doing it…with LOTS of help from my Dad, but he still did it! He really takes pride in his yard! We have really enjoyed being on the back patio and the kids playing on their swing set. We had Bob and Joy and their family over for dinner one night and it was just so nice! We also had a party at our house this past weekend that I didn’t tell him about until a bit last minute! He was a trooper and got up early on Saturday (which is really hard for him to do) and started working on the yard and got done just in the knick of time! So, he is doing good…allergies are bad for him this time of the year. I am very, very excited because he is going on an Emmaus Walk this weekend! For those that aren’t familiar with that, it is a weekend-long Spiritual Retreat that is just amazing. I hope he loves it! I take him to the church tomorrow night and he doesn’t come home until Sunday night! So, it will be a long weekend without him, but very much worth it! So, keep him in your prayers this weekend! And me, I guess! LOL

Isaac: He is doing so well in school – I just can’t tell you how proud of him we are! His report card is all E’s and S’s (Excellent and Satisfactory). He is “above grade level” or “at grade level” average in everything and really excels in math and reading. I can’t believe that he is almost done with the first grade! Man, time flies…(there I go again, sounding old!). He had his first coach-pitch baseball game on Monday night. He did good! He had to use the tee for his first at-bat…after 7 pitches if they don’t hit it, they pull out the tee. But for his second at-bat, he hit it! I was very proud of him! He is already talking about football and anxious to start that….I am not since that is every day! So, luckily we have a bit until that starts! His school program was really cute and he did a great job and so was his church program. He has watched the video of that several times already! He sure loves to see himself on TV! I am still amazed by him every day because he is so much like my dad in some ways – very, very tender-hearted. He is so patient and loving with his sisters, even when they are hitting him! He has his moments, but for the most part, he is so good with them.

Faith Anne: She is also just growing up so fast! She had her dance recital a few weeks ago and it was very good…lots of laughs! She was probably the best (maybe I am a bit biased) at following the instructor – except for the one time when she realized that people were watching her and she had to put on a little show for them. We have watched that a few times too and she loves to see it. She loves to look at herself in the mirror, in the TV…really wherever! She sometimes will watch herself cry in the mirror! So funny. She had a program at her school last night and got a “diploma”. It was very cute and she did a great job singing really loud! Preschool has been so very good for her! I am amazed at how much she has matured this year socially and academically. I guess we really notice the difference because we didn’t send Isaac to preschool. Faith Anne is definitely a leader in her class, as her teacher has told us. They have a picnic next week on Thursday and then they are done for the summer! I know she will miss that!

Gracie: She is still a hornet, as my Grandma calls her! She has a very unique personality! I honestly think they switched her at the hospital and she isn’t our kid – except for she looks too much like the others! She is very strong-willed and free-spirited! Can we say…CHALLENGE?!?!? She is starting to say more words, finally! For a while there, we really only heard her say Papaw! But now she says a lot more. We have to really watch her all the time because she gets into EVERYTHING. The other day she got into the bathroom and had my pads all over the floor…and some stuck onto the wall. She is very ornery, but adorable! She will literally be looking at you when you tell her to stop something (like pulling on the curtains or getting a knife out of the drawer or hitting her sister or biting Isaac…basically anything bad) and she will look you right in the eye and keep doing it! I have never witnessed anything like it! The other two were NOT like that at all….so it is very interesting, to say the least! But I love her to death!!!

Me: I am doing alright! I have lost over 50 pounds now! I weigh in today, but I am thinking I will be up to about 54 or 55 pounds after my weigh-in. So, that is going good. It is so exciting to wear smaller clothes and to see the progress! I have a pretty empty closet right now because nearly all of my summer clothes from last year are way too big this year….but that is a good problem to have! I gave about 6 bags of stuff to Scott’s sister! I am getting rid of the stuff because I am planning on NEVER going back to that! In fact, I think I am going to try to become a PT Weight Watcher’s Leader once I hit my goal. That would be a great way to stay accountable to keep the weight off…and it would be very rewarding, I think. So…I still have a LONG way to go to that, but I am shooting for that! Aside from that, everything else is going alright. I am a little concerned about my job right now because of the economy. There have been some job eliminations around me….not in my “department”, but in some very close to me. The only people who are really “safe” are the branch employees. So, I could always go back to the branches, but I would lose my flexible hours. We’ll see….I could be worried for nothing, but it is a bit scary when you see others that you work with lose their jobs. If I did lose my job, I would get about 20 weeks of severance pay, so that would help while I tried to find something else. But….the job market isn’t the greatest right now! So….that is weighing on my mind some. At this point, I have no reason to think I would lose my job, other than speculation. So, you all know me…just something for me to worry about!

Umm…everything else is going fine with me. I am really enjoying reading my Bible every day and spending more time in prayer. It really is amazing how much better my days seem to go when I stop and spend time with God. I really think that is why I am also doing so well with losing weight this time too. I have really worked on addressing ALL aspects of my weight issues and not just what goes in my mouth. I really do recommend that study that we did, “Lose it for Life”. It is a great study!

Mother’s Day was really great – or I should say the weekend was really great! Saturday we had our “impromptu party” at our house. It ended up being a Birthday Party for Mayce (Jodi’s oldest foster-daughter)/Mother’s Day get together! It was a beautiful day and the kids all had so much fun and it was great to visit with “my girls”…the cousins! Poor Mandy just looks so miserable and ready for Baby Boy to make his entrance! We tried to play corn-hole and get him moving, but he is being stubborn! Every day I keep thinking that it might be the day that we get the call! Anyways, we had a great time! It was so neat to see Mayce and how she reacted to everything…I think it was really special for her. Then on Sunday, we had Scott’s mom and sisters over after church and that was nice. Scott grilled out (while under the umbrella) and it was a good dinner! Oh, I forgot to mention that I was woken up by Scott, Isaac and Faith Anne putting a plate in my face and yelling Happy Mother’s Day! They made me an egg sandwich for my “breakfast in bed”. Scott also got me a gift card to Sephora – one of my favorite stores at The Greene. I had a very nice Mother’s Day, thanks to my great Hubby!

I guess that is about it for now! Sorry this is so long. I guess when I only post once a week or every other week I have a lot to say! Love you all and hope you are enjoying the month of May!!! Hopefully we will be able to share news of Baby Boy’s arrival soon!

Just a pop in to say.....

Happy 30th Birthday Mandy!!!! Today she is the BIG 3-0!

Love ya!!!!

Falling Apart

Well, it has only been a little over a week this time! But, wow…what a week it has been! I can definitely tell that I am getting older and falling apart! Dang being “in my thirties”!

Let’s see, where to start? Well, last Tuesday was our 8th Anniversary! We really didn’t have anything planned – I was going to just cook Scott’s favorite (well, one of his favorite dinners) and have an evening at home with the kids. Well, when my dad asked Scott what we were doing and Scott told him, he insisted that he and my Mom would watch the kids so we could at least go out to dinner. We hadn’t asked them because they already do so much for us.

So, we ended up going to the Greene and to BD’s Mongolian BBQ for dinner – we love that place, but don’t take the kiddos there. So, we ate there and then just walked around and shopped a bit after and then went home. It was a nice evening! I forgot to mention that in the morning, I noticed that my back was hurting and trying to go out – it typically goes out about once a year. So, by Wednesday morning…I could barely move. Yep, my back went out!

So, that was how the week went last week. I worked even though my back was hurting horribly. There was lots of activity at my house because Scott and my Dad were working on the patio – I will tell about that in a minute – but I could do nothing to help. It was pretty bad. Finally on Friday, it still was bad so I went to the doctor. Yep, same as always, muscle spasms. My muscles get really, really tight for some reason and I can’t move. The doctor stretched me out some, but gave me a muscle relaxer, pain meds and directions for exercises and said it would just take time.

Well, Saturday morning comes and I have no choice but to get up and get moving, even though I can barely move! We had lots going on…trees being trimmed, youth that we “won” in the auction coming over to do yard work, Dad working on the patio, Lowe’s delivering tiles for patio, dance class for Faith Anne, baseball practice for Isaac, circus tickets for all of us and tickets to see Spam-a-Lot with Kelli in the evening. Needless to say, it was a JAM-PACKED day and I had no time to feel sorry for myself! It all went okay – the musical (Spam-a-Lot) was FANTASTIC! It was a spoof of the Monty Python movies (thanks to Sister for making me watch those) and it was fabulous – one of the best plays I have ever seen!

Sunday rolls around and I am still in lots of pain. I had to teach preschool and luckily my helpers were wonderful and we didn’t have many kids – that went off without a hitch. My mother-in-law took all three kids home with her for a bit while Scott had a meeting, so I went home and straightened up the house and then laid on the heating pad until I had to go get the kids. My back still was bad all day Sunday.

Monday – I woke up and it was a miracle (Thank You GOD), my back was better! Not 100%, but I could get out of bed! I actually went to the gym and took it easy, but was able to do some workouts! Then…the bad part! My stomach does not handle pain meds well, come to find out. And the kind that this doctor gave me, I had never had before and it did some horrible, horrible things to my tummy. I ended up leaving work early on Monday and missing all together on Tuesday with tummy issues.

So, today…I am on the road to recovery! I am actually starting to feel somewhat normal again!!! Geesh, I told you that I was falling apart!

Exciting weekend coming up for us! Let me tell you what all we have going on and you tell me if you would just call in dead:

Thursday night: Isaac’s musical at school – he is so stinking excited about it
Friday: All day shopping trip to the Vera Bradley outlet sale with GIRLS!
Saturday Morning/early afternoon: Church play practice for Isaac, Faith Anne’s Dance Review and Isaac’s Baseball practice – at the same time…should be interesting
Saturday afternoon: Birthday party in Wilmington
Saturday evening: Praise Team practice (I think) for either me or Scott
Sunday: church
Sunday afternoon: Church play

PHEW! It is going to be a busy weekend with lots of excitement! Jodi is coming up tomorrow – so that is really exciting! She gets to leave the girlies with Jimmie so she can enjoy Isaac’s play and the shopping day! Then she has to scoot back to KY because she is singing (and has a solo) in their community choir cantata on Sunday! I wish we could go, but it is at the same time as Isaac’s play at church!

So, all good stuff, but just a lot of good stuff!

Everyone else in our household is doing good! Isaac is doing alright with baseball. He is a little scared of the ball still, but this is his first year with coach-pitch…I am sure it will get better. Faith Anne is her normal diva self! Gracie is into everything still and as rotten as ever!

Now, our patio. We already have a wooden porch area off the back of our house. We also have a lot of yard! Well, on one side of the porch, it was always muddy and grass didn’t grow very well. So, Scott and my Dad put in a new addition to our porch with pavers! It looks fabulous! I am so excited to get out there and get stuff moved around and all pretty! They just finished it on Sunday and then I have been so sick that we haven’t gotten a chance to do much else to it yet. Plus, Mom and Dad are giving us a really nice patio table and chairs to put out there, so once we get that, we can get everything situated the way we want it. But it looks very, very nice. They did a great job! I am so proud of Scott! My Dad helped immensely, but he had Scott do most of the grunt work and he did all the measuring, figuring and stuff like that. Honestly, my dad is more of a dad to Scott than his is…but we won’t even get started on that! It looks great! You all will have to come over and see it soon! I am ready to have a party or something out there!

Well, I better get to work! I haven’t been here much this week and I am taking off Friday…so I better get something done today!

Love ya…and lots of prayers for Sara’s family! I have a new prayer place – I have been tanning in the morning before my work-out and I spend that time in prayer! It is really a good place to do some talking to God!

Love ya!

Pictures and an Update!

So, wow! It has been nearly a month since I posted. What is up with that? It doesn’t seem like it has been that long, but I guess that is because I check everyone else’s journals every day. I just don’t take the time to update! I know you all are just dying to hear about my exciting life! LOL

Let me explain the pictures! The first picture is of me and my Girls! I mean, me and the Girl Cousins! We took this yesterday at the baby shower that we had at my house for Mandy and What’s-His-Name (that is the baby’s name! LOL). It was a fun shower and I wanted a picture of all of us because I don’t think we have one! Then we have Faith Anne after her hair-cut. Next is Isaac at a Bengals' basketball game (for charity...I know they play football!). And then Gracie on our way to vacation.

First, let me recap our vacation! For Spring Break we went to Gatlinburg for 4 days and 3 nights. We stayed at my parent’s time share and had a good time! Let me just say that it certainly was not a relaxing vacation – more like just chasing the kids around a new place that isn’t child-proofed. But we had fun…and more importantly, the kids had fun! Gracie was an escape artist. Most of you have probably heard the story by now, but at any rate, she escaped from our room when I thought Scott was watching her and he thought I was watching her. She went up two flights and stairs and was trying to get into someone else’s room. Yeah, that wasn’t very much fun. She also made it challenging to go see shows…so we went to one show with her and then Scott took the other two to another show without me and her. She and I went shopping in Gatlinburg instead. Bless her heart, she is just such a hand-full! We keep saying that if she had been our first, she would’ve been an only child! And I am really not joking about that. So, anyways, vacation was fun. On our way home from Gatlinburg, we stopped at Scott’s grandparent’s house to visit with them….we actually had every intention of spending the night there, but talk about a non-child-proofed house….we were pretty much miserable because we spent the entire time chasing the kids and trying to keep them out of stuff. So, we left at night when it was time to go to bed. The kids slept the whole way home and woke up in their own beds with their own toys – we were all much happier people! So, that was Spring Break!

Scott: He is doing fine. He lost the weight-loss challenge at work by 3 pounds. But he still did great! Since they had their final weigh-in, he has slacked off a little bit, but he is still watching what he eats and going to the gym occasionally. He was in a wedding last weekend and you could really tell when he was all gussied up that he has lost weight. It was a fun wedding to be a part of because it was his friend that he has had the longest – their parents were friends so they have been friends their whole lives. All the guys in the wedding were high-school buddies, so they kinda revert back to their high school days when they all get together. They goofed off a lot, but had a good time. The wedding was fine and the reception was a blast! They had a live band there…I think they were called Crushed Velvet and they played mostly 80’s stuff. We had so much fun! So, that was fun for us. He has been working (with my Dad’s help, thank goodness) on our patio. We decided (we, meaning he) to put down pavers and widen our patio a bit. The real goal is to get better use out of the space in our backyard. So, they have been breaking up bricks and digging up the space. I think they are going to start laying them this week – so that is very exciting! He loves to work out in the yard…he just doesn’t get a lot of time to. Next weekend, we won two girls in our church from the auction to raise money for their mission trip and they are gonna come do our mulch! Hopefully Scott supervises them, but that will be nice! I was going to say free labor, but I guess it wasn’t really free! We did go to a Third Day concert a few weeks ago. That was a lot of fun too! It was three other banks (Revive, December Radio & Sanctus Real) and Third Day. It was an awesome concert! David Crowder Band is coming on Halloween, so we are going to try to get tickets to that too. Good times. Our anniversary is tomorrow – 8 years! I am not sure what we are doing to celebrate it. I need to figure out when I am going to go buy him a present! I always wait until the last minute. So, gotta figure that out. He is going on an Emmaus Walk in May and I am really excited about that!

Isaac: He is doing great! His most recent report card was really, really good. He got +’s for most everything – which means performing above grade level. He also got mostly E’s and a few S’s (Excellent and Satisfactory). We are just so proud of him! He said that his friends call him Math King because he is so good at math. He still really likes school – wonder how long that lasts? He is in the 1st Grade Musical here in a few weeks and he was crushed that he didn’t get a “lead role”. He is a member of the choir. Thanks to good advice from Angela, I helped him through that. He really wanted to be a shark, but there are only so many shark parts, apparently. LOL He has started baseball practices and this is his first year of coach-pitch. He certainly isn’t the best on the team…but he isn’t the worst either. He needs some practice because he is still pretty scared of the ball. They use real baseballs this year, so they are harder…which scares him apparently. But he will catch on. They have only had 4 practices….I love, love, love his coach and it is fun this year because we know so many of the parents from last year. So, that keeps him and us busy! His homework load has gotten greater, so we have to spend more time on that each evening. It is hard for me to get the uninterrupted time from the girls, but we do our best! It seems that when we sit to do his work, if they are there, they think they need to be right where we are! He is very patient with his sisters…he has his moments, but for the most part, he always gives in to them and is so sweet and loving with them – even though they aren’t with him! He is just a big cuddle-bug!

Faith Anne: Well, we got her hair cut again! We cut another 5 or 6 inches off of it. It looks very cute and is much easier to manage. She just has such a tender head….and a whole head of thick, thick hair. She seems to like it this length. She is doing good – she is just getting over an ear infection. She was running a really high fever on Monday and Tuesday of last week…but had no other symptoms (said that nothing was hurting her). So, on Wednesday, she was at my Aunt’s house and I called to check on her and my Aunt told me she was just laying around…she took her temp in her ear and it was 105!!! And Faith Anne said her ear hurt! So, off to the doctor we went and sure enough, she had an ear infection! So, she is feeling better now, but that was scary! She has her first dance “recital” coming up. She is very excited about that….she loves to dance. She is such a girly-girl because she loves to play dress-up and look at herself in the mirror. She is also in this stage of telling me how much she loves me all the time (and I do mean all the time) and tells me that she loves me the most because I am her Princess Mommy. She cracks me up. Now that the weather is getting nicer, she wants to be outside all the time – well, they all do….but especially her. She loves to swing or just play in the dirt. She also makes up songs all the time…she is constantly singing. Such a cute age right now!

Gracie: Well, as I have already told you – she is a hand-full! She is into EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING. It doesn’t take her very long at all to have my house in disaster mode. Right now, she is a giggle-box. She just giggles all the time. We are going through the stage where she doesn’t want anyone to leave, ever. She cries when someone leaves. We are really bad parents, because we still haven’t broken her of a bottle at bedtime. Now, I know with my other two we broke that much, much, much earlier than now. So, we really need to work on that…but it is just so easy! We really have to work on that soon. She is very attached to her pacifier. That was another thing…on vacation we thought (notice the word thought) that we lost her only pacifier. So, we went to three different stores in search of a replacement and apparently they only carry her kind at Meijers, which they don’t have in Tennessee (at least not where we were). Everytime I would bring her a new one to try, she would either spit it out, throw it at me or just flat out refuse to put it in her mouth. What a stinker pot! Hopefully she is just as easy to break of that as the other two were….but I am thinking that is too much wishful thinking! She is adorable, but she really tries my patience sometimes! Like Scott said, I think God gave me her to help me overcome my OCD issues!!!! It ain’t working!

Me: Things are going really good right now. You all know how we go through seasons of life – well, I am in a good season right now – pretty good, anyways. I have now lost a total of 47 pounds and I am feeling really good about that. I still have a LONG way to go, but 47 pounds is a great start! We finished our “Lose It for Life” study at church, but I am still going back through the book and the workbook. It is a really, really good study. I highly recommend it to anyone. Umm….work is work. Stinky Pete has days where I think he is getting better…then he does something to remind me of what a big doof he really is. But I am tolerating it much better now…for the moment anyways. I think he will probably get promoted (because we do such a good job of making him look good) next year. So…I just need to stick it out one more year! I had my endometrial ablation done about a month ago and have had no real problems. The procedure itself was painless and I slept great after the anesthesia. We’ll see how the next few months go! I had bronchitis last week and I am still very congested. But wah, wah, wah. There is so much stuff going around, I can’t really complain!

So, that is about it for me, I guess. I am sure there have been lots of other things that have happened, but this is long enough already! I will try to not make it so long before I post again…but I won’t make any promises!

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!

Do you remember me?

Hi! Gosh, time just keeps flying by, it seems! These are pictures from our vacation last year...man I wish we were back there again!!!! I have been really good at “lurking” lately! I am keeping up with all of you – just not commenting very often and not posting. I am not sure what is to blame for this funk I have been in when it comes to journaling – but I thought I would break out of it today! Aren’t you glad? LOL I am sure you have been on the edge of your seats waiting for me to up date you on our very exciting life!

Let’s see…It seems like lots has happened, but then again, it seems like so much is still the same! I have been doing pretty good on my weight loss, although I feel another plateau coming on. I sat at 20 pounds down for a while…but am now up to (or down) 34 pounds lost! I still have 81 more to go to be at my “goal weight”. It feels good, but I just have such a long way to go. However, I am already down sizes (plural) and that is a great thing! I have been down this path before….but I really hope and feel that this will be the last time. This study we are doing at church – “Lose it for Life” is really good and really focuses on replacing your desire for food and immediate gratification with God and deepening your relationship with Him. It addresses the ROOT of the problem and not just my weight issue. My epiphany that I had a few weeks ago is this: I will always struggle with food because I am addicted to food – but just because I will always struggle with food does not necessarily mean that I will always struggle with my weight. The two do not have to go hand-in-hand. So, that part of my life is under control – God’s control – and is going pretty good. There are rough days, but I am on the right path in this journey! I have been going to the gym at least 5 days a week and that just makes me feel so much better about myself. That is what I have really realized in this journey – I have so much emotional baggage associated with my weight and how I have let that define me for so long. It is hard for me to grasp that God loves me and God chose me. That is a hard truth to swallow when you don’t love yourself and you spend most of your day thinking horrible thoughts about yourself. See….I told you that this study was good and really works on all of you – not just your food issues. So, that is what is going on there….sorry to “dump” so much stuff – but it’s been a while! LOL

So, here is my infamous (according to Josy) recap of my family:

Scott is doing really good. He has been trying to eat more healthy and going to the gym pretty faithfully since the first of the year. I have to keep reminding him that it isn’t a diet – but a more healthy lifestyle that we are working on. At any rate, he has lost 18 pounds! They are doing a biggest loser at his job and he is in second place – but only because they are going by # of pounds instead of % lost….I guess that was too hard for them to figure out! LOL But anyways, he is doing good. He has also been playing basketball on Friday nights at the Wilmington Church of Christ. That has been fun for him and good exercise. He did get hurt a few weeks ago when he got elbowed in the ribs. I think he just bruised his ribs really good, but he sure did whine about it forever. Anyways, he is still doing great at his job even though that causes us to be like single parents! He is home with the kids in the morning by himself and I am home with them in the evenings by myself because I work early and he works late. But it is working for now, and we know that there will come a day when we won’t have to sacrifice so much for the kids – sometime far, far, far off in the future! LOL

Isaac is doing great and is just growing up so stinking fast! He is, by far, our sweetest kid. He just has such a tender-heart. Now, don’t get me wrong…he isn’t perfect and he has his moments, but more often than not, he is constantly thinking of others. He must get that from me…LOL….just kidding. He gets it from my Dad, for sure. Anyways, he is doing great at school and with swimming. Between his activities and his homework, he keeps me busy! But he also does a good job with helping out at home with chores and with his sisters. He tolerates quite a bit from them. We have him all signed up for coach pitch baseball that starts in April and for football that starts in late July. I think swimming ends right about the time that baseball starts. I wanted to get him into soccer again this year, but he is too old for the Pee-Wee league and I haven’t really looked into any other programs. So, he might not get to do that…which wouldn’t be so bad, I guess. Last night he called one of his friends from school and talked to him on the phone for about 15 minutes. That was funny….the part that I heard. He ended up going to his room and shutting his door. Then he came out and wanted to call some other friends, but I wouldn’t let him. This growing up thing, kinda bizarre! Well, here is where I need some parental advice…He asked to go over to his friend’s house and I told him no because I don’t know his friend’s parents. How do you set up a meeting so you can meet them and see where they live and stuff like that so that you can allow him to do stuff like that? Does that make sense? I thought of just inviting his friend over and then meeting the parents like that…but then that still doesn’t show me where they live. I was hoping that this problem would just fix itself somehow, but it isn’t going to. So, since this is my first time with this….thoughts?

Faith Anne is still my darling little DIVA. We had her parent-teacher conference at preschool a few weeks ago and her teacher just had wonderful things to say about her. I asked her if she could send that child home, because I think I am getting a different one at my house. LOL But she went on and on about Faith Anne being the only one in the class who knows just about all her letters and how good she is doing in school. We can definitely see the difference that Preschool has made – academically and socially. She gets to interact with other kids at church and my Aunt’s house, but there is just something different about the social atmosphere at school. I think that Faith Anne needs the structure of the social setting there – if that makes sense. At any rate, she is doing good at school and she still loves her dance class! This Saturday is parent-day, so we get to sit in and watch their class! I am super excited about that! At the end of her next class she will have a recital! Then we might look at putting her in a different program rather than just the rec center…..although they offer a twice-a-week class in the Spring and that might be good for her. We’ll see….but for now, she is doing great and loves it!

Gracie is our little piranha and tazmanian devil all rolled into one…..with a sweet spirit about her occasionally! LOL My grandma was telling one of my uncles all about my kids and she said: “Isaac is into swimming, Faith Anne is into dancing and Gracie, well Gracie is into everything.” How true, how true! She can be so sweet and yet so rotten all at the same time! She is into EVERYTHING. When you come into our house, you will see chairs in front of all our drawers because she gets into whatever she can find to get into. She also bites everything. The other day, she was chasing Isaac and trying to bite his butt! Oh, and just last night, Faith Anne left the bathroom door open….and the toilet seat up and she hadn’t flushed. Yep, guess where Scott found her? Needless to say, she had a bath right away. You can’t help but laugh, but it is also a bit frustrating for this mama with OCD issues. The other night Scott was laughing and he told me that God gave me Gracie to help me get over my OCD issues – or to make them worse….the jury is still out on that one! But I love that little girl and wouldn’t trade her for the world! Jodi was up visiting this weekend and she had Gracie on her lap and was singing Jesus Loves Me and Gracie was signing Jesus over and over again – moments like that just make all the other stuff disappear.

We have been enjoying our tax refund! LOL We bought ourselves a bedroom suite! We had been using the dressers that my parents bought for me when I was in junior high, I think. They were really high quality – 20 years ago – but were starting to fall apart. So, we bought a headboard/footboard and dresser with mirror and chest. I LOVE it! It was delivered last week….and we absolutely love it! We also have all new doors in our house! My dad hung all new six-panel doors for all of our bedrooms, bathrooms and linen closet. They are very nice…we still have to paint them and buy new hardware, but they are so much nicer than the crappy old doors we had. The doors were not expensive at all! I was surprised by that. I guess the expensive part is the hardware….which is why we haven’t bought that yet! But anyways….that is exciting! We are getting our trees trimmed soon – as soon as the weather will permit! Which, speaking of the weather…I am about sick of winter! I love spring, but I am just about ready to skip spring and jump straight to summer! LOL

I guess that is about it for me right now. Hopefully next time won’t be so long! Love ya!!!!

God-Moments

Not a long post today…but I wanted to post what my beautiful three year old said the other day.

We were driving home on Friday and I was telling Faith Anne about the Memorial Service that we were going to attend later that evening for Miss Pat. Miss Pat is the mother of a dear friend of ours who passed away from cancer. She was a wonderful grandmother-figure to all the kids of our church….and especially to Isaac and Faith Anne. She was in the nursery frequently with them and even in Isaac’s preschool class as their Prayer Partner. We also had small group with them – so they knew her very well.

Well, as I was telling Faith Anne that Miss Pat had gone on to heaven to be with Jesus, my three year old says:

“Mommy, Jesus says ‘Come to Me and rest.’ That is what Miss Pat is doing. She went to Jesus to rest.”

Through my tears I told Faith Anne that she was absolutely right. Miss Pat was in heaven with Jesus, resting.

WOW. Talk about a “God-Moment”. We were very blessed to have known Miss Pat.

Hola Ladies!

Where does the time go? Geesh! I feel like I blink and another week has passed! There just seems like there is always so much going on. It has been kind of a crazy week. Let’s see….

Last week was a typical week….but then the weekend came and things went crazy. Two women from our church passed away over the weekend, which has just led a crazy week. I think that all of the families involved seem to be doing alright. There was cancer involved in both. But, both are now in heaven and in no more pain, so that helps ease the pain.

On Saturday, we had our Women’s Gathering. When I got there, I found out the news about Pat, one of the women, who at that point was just not doing well and had been taken to Hospice. Well, my immediate thought was to get on my knees and pray. But I didn’t…. So, Joy was our speaker and she did a phenomenal job…just great. She welcomed us to come up and pray at the end and I just kept sitting there…even though I kept having the nudge to get up and go get on my knees. I stayed in my seat…. And then, one of the songs that came on during the quiet time was “I get on my knees”. Okay, HELLO LORD. That time I listened! I went up to the altar and got on my knees and prayed. See…..all of the different studies that I have been doing lately have one thing in common…..the word SURRENDER. God is really working with me to SURRENDER my ALL to Him. It is a daily thing….something that I will never “arrive” at – but more like something I will do every day. Anyways, He just amazes me and I am excited to see what He has in store for me….when I FULLY surrender to Him.

Everything else is going along just like normal. Isaac got his second report card for the year and he is doing really great. I am so proud of that little guy! His reading is coming right along and he is just doing great. He is excelling in math – I think he gets that from me. I was always good at math – not so much anymore. He is also doing good in swimming! Scott was able to take him the other night and he was impressed with how he did. In fact, he is in Level 1 and this class lasts one month. Most kids have to take it more than once, so I signed him up for Level 1 again next month (February). But on Tuesday, they told him that he gets to move on to Level 2!!! I am so proud of him! He is really doing great!

Faith Anne is still LOVING her dance class. She dances to everything….or shakes her booty as she calls it. Oh, that reminds me. We have officially joined the “High School Musical” craze at our house. We watched 1 & 2 the other night and the kids loved them. By the end, all three of them were dancing. Faith Anne would hop off the couch everytime there was a musical number and start dancing.

Gracie is just as rotten as ever! She is into EVERYTHING. I mean….EVERYTHING. You turn your back for one minute and there is no telling what she has gotten into next! But she is so adorable – you can’t help but smile at her! And let the heaven’s rejoice – She has slept through the night for the past week! Like…every night! From 8:00 to 8:00 or later! HALLELUJAH! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me! What a difference a night of uninterrupted sleep makes…even if I still only get 5 or 6 hours of sleep.

Last Friday night, Scott went to play basketball with his buddy at a church in Wilmington – so I took all three kids – by myself – to Cici’s pizza and then to Magic Castle. I know, a little crazy. But, they were as good as gold! I mean, seriously, they were the best they have ever been! We had so much fun! Then we came home and put Gracie to bed and we had a “PJ and Popcorn” party to watch HSM 2. It was a really fun evening. I told them if they could just act like that more often, we could do stuff like that more.

Well, Jodi and Jimmie are going on their cruise this weekend! They board the ship tomorrow – I am very excited for them! And Mom and Dad get back from their month-long vacation this weekend. I can’t wait for that! The kids miss them so much – and I do too! Although, we have so much going on this weekend…not sure how much we will see them! Hopefully they will come to the church SuperBowl party! But, Saturday is going to be a crazy day….gym, Dance Class, Baby Shower, Princess Abbey’s birthday party and Praise Team practice! It is going to be a busy day! I hope I can get it all in! I think that Scott is going to have to do the Build-A-Bear part of the Birthday party. But she is VERY excited about that – cool idea Mandy!

So, I am still losing weight! I have lost nearly 28 pounds so far. But more importantly than the weight I have lost, I am really working on my “relationship with food” and my relationship with God. This study (Lose it for Life) is awesome and does such a great job of addressing the emotional, physical and spiritual battles we face with our weight issues. I LOVE IT and highly recommend it to anyone!

Well, I have to get going! Hopefully we don’t get all of this bad weather they are calling for! If we do, tomorrow will be interesting!

Love you all!!!!

Back to Work after a 3-day weekend...blah!

Where did the time go? I can’t believe it is already January 22! I guess that time flies when you are having fun! And life has been fun – busy, but fun! God has just blessed me more than my feeble little mind could’ve ever imagined. Does anyone else ever feel like that? I know that I have felt that way a lot lately. No, I am not rich in terms of money. But in terms of gifts that God has given me, I am the richest person in the world. Now, if I could only remind myself of that every day – especially the days when I have the “wantsies” and start desiring other things!

So, anyways….things are going pretty good right now. Work is work. Not much to say about that because nothing is really different! My boss has been acting a bit strange lately, so maybe he is going to move soon. That would probably be a great thing, but I can’t say for sure because you never know who might replace him! Although, I don’t see how it could be much worse!

Scott is doing good at work. He gets frustrated at times because things are always changing, but he is still doing a great job and the hours are really great for our family. Now, it stinks because we both often feel like single parents – he in the morning and me in the evenings….and we only see each other for a little bit in the evenings during the week. But….we make it work! He has been going faithfully to the gym and losing weight already. I hate that men lose weight so much faster than women! Grrr… But he is in a Biggest Loser challenge at his work. So, if he wins, it would be $200! That would be nice!

Isaac is doing great. His swimming lessons are lots of fun for him. He actually jumped off the diving board for the first time last Thursday. The instructor was right there to catch him, but he was so proud of himself! I wish I had brought my video camera….or at least had my phone ready! I was busy with the girls so I didn’t get my camera ready in time. Oh well, it was cool! He is doing good and he really enjoys it. We just got him signed up for Coach Pitch Softball….I guess you call it that. That will be fun – and more challenging for him than T-Ball. That boy loves his sports…hmmm, I wonder where he gets that from? LOL We moved Scott’s PlayStation 3 into Isaac’s room and he LOVES playing the sports games. He really loves playing them with his Daddy too. So, usually when Scott gets home in the evening they play a game together before Isaac has to go to bed. He had his first sleep-over on Sunday night! We have had Jacob W. spend the night at our house, but Isaac has never stayed anywhere else before. So, he got to spend the night at Jacob’s house and he was so excited! I guess he had a little trouble going to sleep – but he has trouble going to sleep at our house sometimes too. So, my little boy is growing up so fast right before my eyes!!! We get his report card on Friday, so I am anxious to see how he is doing. From the work he brings home, it appears he is doing good. So, hopefully that reflects in his report card! He hasn’t had any behavior issues at school, so I am very proud of him!

Faith Anne is enjoying her dance class so much! I wish it was more often than just once a week because she loves it so much! It is called “Dance for the Very Young” and they do ballet, jazz and tumbling. She looks so stinking cute in her little outfit! She has been doing great with sleeping on the top bunk of their bunk beds. (Did I tell you that we took the crib down and put Gracie in a big girl bed with rails? We were DUN with the crib – after nearly 7 years of constant use!) So, anyways…Faith Anne sleeps on top and she loves it. She also loves Preschool. And let me tell you, I was so proud of her last night. We were playing games and we played High-Ho Cheerio…or whatever it is called. And then she wanted to play Isaac’s Boggle Jr. game. I didn’t think she could do it – but she totally knows her letters and was able to do it with very little help from me! That is amazing to me….I guess that is the difference that preschool makes…we didn’t send Isaac to preschool, other than what they offered at church. So, I was so proud of her! She, too, is growing up so fast!!!!

Gracie is really doing great in her big-girl bed! I don’t think she realizes that she could climb out of it if she wanted to….she just sits up and either plays or cries. I LOVE how much more room it gives them in their bedroom to play! And I was able to move a lot of the toys out of the living room and into their room…LOVE that! She still doesn’t always sleep through the night, but she is doing better. She is developing such a unique personality – I just love her. She doesn’t really talk yet – which is odd at 15 months, but I am not going to complain because I know how much they talk once you get them started! LOL I mean, she talks, but you can’t understand what she is saying. And that is because she has an older brother and sister who jump at her every “Uhhh” and get her what she wants. Oh well…I am sure it is a pretty normal “3rd Child” thing. She does the cutest thing when she is “dancing”….she basically just raises up one leg and that is her dancing. It is hysterical! We just sit and laugh when she does it, which prompts more of it! ADORABLE is all I can really say about her!

We have survived the time that my parents have been gone pretty well. I am not sure if they are coming back next week or staying longer in Florida. Part of me obviously wants them to come back and I know they miss the kids terribly, but the other part of me knows that they will get back and have a few days with the kids and wish they would’ve stayed down there and out of the cold longer! So, I haven’t asked them what they are doing yet. They called on Sunday and my Dad almost started crying when he was talking to me about the kids. Bless his heart. But my Dad – who is going to be 65 in June – climbed a rock wall on the cruise ship! Hello?!?!? Does he realize he is going to be 65 in a few months? He really does think he is Superman! Mom took pictures of it, so I can’t wait to see those!

My doctor’s appointment went fine. She sent me for an ultrasound – which I had and was no fun! But everything looked normal there. I find out the results of my pap next week…so hopefully everything is normal. There are three ways they can treat this condition that I have. One, birth control. I don’t want to do that because Kelli developed blood clots on her lungs (pulmonary embolism) and just about died from the pill. Two, 800 mg of motrin starting the day(s) before your period and taking it every 8 hours for the entire time. I am not a big fan of that because that isn’t good for your stomach or anything really. And thirdly, a procedure called endometrial ablation. This is an out-patient procedure where they put this instrument inside of you and burn your uterine lining – which prevents it from growing back. The chances are good with this that I would never have a period again and it doesn’t put your body into menopause. Before they can do that procedure, they have to make sure that there are no other abnormalities – hence the ultrasound. So, for right now, I am on the 800 mg of motrin until I go back to the doctor in March. Then we are going to discuss what they found and what I want to do. I am probably going to opt to have the procedure done if I am a candidate for it. So, that is what is going on there…thanks for your prayers and thoughts.

We are doing two great studies at church – Lose it for Life on Wednesdays and Because of Jesus on Sundays. Both are really great and their messages inter-mingle quite a bit. The Lose it for Life is all about making healthy lifestyle changes that also affect your emotional and spiritual being as well. We have only met one week, but so far…I am REALLY impressed. I completed my first 24 hour fast this past weekend – not something they tell you to do – but something that was recommended by our leader as a way to help learn the lesson of self-control. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would – and I know that was a God thing. But that is a great book that I highly recommend to anyone! I am excited about doing that along with the WW that I am doing.

So, things are plugging right along and going pretty good. Again, God just continues to amaze me with His grace and His love. We are so undeserving – but because of Jesus we are able to accept those gifts.

Love and Hugs to all!