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So, yesterday I did a very bad thing. I left my husband at the church. Some Sundays we drive separtely if one of us has to be there a lot earlier than the other and as I was leaving the church and Ronnie was locking up, I thought we had drove separately that day. But, when I got home and saw that Ronnie's truck was in the driveway, I realized I had done a very bad thing. So, I immediately checked my cell phone and saw I had three voicemails. I wasn't hearing my phone ring because it was still on vibrate and of course I always have loud music on. So, Ronnie ended up bringing a church van home. I just have to go and pick him up from work today. I blamed it on my blonde highlights that I just got and apologized!
Well, my first turkey turned out great! It was a 19.5 pounder so we defintely had plenty left over! Now, I'm glad I finally made my own Thanksgiving meal all by myself - thanks to some instructions from my mom! It was lonely not having all our family with us but in a few weeks we'll see everyone for Christmas! So, today we got our tree up and started on the outside decorations. It's the first time I didn't freeze putting decorations up outside. It is a weird feeling having 70-80 degree temperatures during November and December. In some ways I like it, but I also miss seeing the snow and it actually feeling like Christmas time.
Ronnie got to come home at noon today because of Thanksgiving and Josiah had gotten up from his bed after I layed him down, so Ronnie took him back into his room and told him he would lay by him. Well, time kept going by and I kept thinking, "Josiah must not be going to sleep." So, more time goes by and then I get up and go and look in Josiah's room and they're both asleep on the bed. How sweet is that!
Well, Thursday I had my usually first symptom of a sinus infection - sore throat. Then, Friday the congestion came - so while we were at Youth convention I couldn't go to the dr. so I was just taking over the counter meds, which do nothing for me. On Sunday afternoon I went to the walk-in clinic to get an antibotic - got some amoxicilian. Today, the coughing started which is accompanied with bad chest pain and making it painful to swallow. Why do we have to get these bacterial infections? I just had one like 3 months ago!
This morning I went to Super Walmart to get my essentials for Thanksgiving. This is the first year I will be cooking my own turkey. We were given a free turkey, which is a huge blessing! Thank you Jesus! Of course my mom sent me instructions for the stuffing and all. I hope it all turns out ok or we'll be heading over to Cracker Barrell instead! It's sad we can't be with our family for Thanksgiving, but at least we'll see them all soon for Christmas!
Today was a better today. I woke up feeling much better instead of feeling like I was about to burst into tears. Funny how you can wake up that way. Once I put some worship music on yesterday and took some time to spend with Jesus I began to feel better and I thanked God for changing me when I'm acting ugly. Today was a good day, I made money from selling my jogging stroller, which I had hardly used. I just didn't enjoy it like I do just running on my own. So, I finally sold it.
We have youth convention this weekend and a cold front is coming through tonight. The low is 50 degrees tomorrow and a high of 67. Long sleeves for the weekend!
I had a wonderful evening with my hubby last night. First, we went to the beach, got there about 5:30 right before sunset and walked for a while. We saw a half eaten tiny shark washed up on the shore - kind of scary! I had never seen one before! Anyway, we walked for a while and then sat in the sand and watched the sunset. It was beautiful, then as we watched the last little dot of sun go away, we stood up and watched it go away again! I know we're dorky! Then, as it was getting dark, we left and went to Applebees and split a Sampler...yummy yummy!! On our way home we rented "Evan Almighty" and watched that after we put our boys to bed. Good movie!! Date nights are never often enough!
On the way home from church I usually ask Josiah what his lesson was about in his class and most of the time he'll say, "We learned about Jesus" or something general like that. Well, today he says, "Jonathon and David." And I looked at his papers and he was right. At least he's listening! So, then we get home and he's singing songs that they must've sang in class and he sings, "Jericho, Jericho, Jericho, Joshua fell asleep at Jericho!" Too funny!
On another note - Tonight I get to go out with my hubby!!! Hooray!!
So, the past few days it has been cooler - lows in the 50's and highs in the lower 70's - I love it! Now, that doesn't mean tomorrow it cant' be 85, but I'm so enjoying this wonderful weather and it's perfect for running! I got through the humid summer only now to love Nov-April for the first time in my life! But, this is presenting a little bit of a problem for Josh. It's been quite awhile since he's worn jeans and long-sleeves, so he couldn't stand it. He kept trying to pull them off, but I left them on because he has to get used to it especially sine we'll be in VA for Christmas. Then, this morning the boys went outside to play and Josiah is asking for a jacket - and puts his hood up - he's already a little FL boy, but it's defintely cold enough for one. As I put a jacket on Josh, he's screaming and crying the whole time. But, eventually, he forgot about it. I hope Josh can adjust to wearing a heavy coat and gloves while we're in VA or it'll not be fun!
Last night I discovered that Josh was running a temperature. I'm guessing it's due to some more teeth that are coming in. This morning he still had a temp, but much lower. So, I'm not able to go to Bible study this morning, which takes up a lot of my day and always makes the day go much faster. So, we're stuck at home today, gonna be a long day! I hate it when my boys are sick, you feel so helpless to make them feel better besides giving them medicine. So, here we are at home all day until dad gets home and then I'm off to piano lessons for the majority of the night.
Lots and lots of new pics of all the exciting things we did while our family was here....Fort Wilderness pics, Wet-n-Wild pics, Lakes Wales fishing pics, swimming pics, etc. Click on my pics link on the right to check them out!
We've been tearing out tress, bushes, plants and all kinds of stuff in our backyard to clear space for a new playset. Today, Ronnie rented a stump grinder to take care of all the stumps and now we get to put up the playset. Everything is always more work and money than you intended, right? The people we bought our house from planted every kind of tree and plant you can imagine in the backyard, so there's been a lot of clearing and there's still more that needs done - but that'll come later. They just loved to be surrounded with green! It's beautiful, but we don't have time to take care of it all! So, I'm so excited for the boys to get their own playset. I've been waiting for a while for this and I can't wait to see them have the time of their lives on it! I'm grateful for a hard-working husband who knows how to do these kinds of things and enjoys doing it. Thanks Ronnie for all your hard work!
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This weekend has been a long one! We left Thursday for a staff retreat and I had to drop the boys off at someone's house for 2 nights! I don't like leaving them over night and plus this was the first time they had ever stayed with this family. Thankfully, the daughter had watched the boys several times during our Tuesday morning bible study and they already knew her and her brothers! As I called them while we were gone, I could tell they were having so much fun and loving every minute of it! They got to sleep in a tent together and seemed so content. They acted like they were doing much better than me! So, we picked them up on Sat. afternoon and I will never get tired of their excitement when they see us after being away from them. They still get excited when we pick them up after church and I love that! So, today we had to leave them again from about 3-10 pm. I hated being away from the today, but our youth band was doing worship for the SYATP Rally, which was 45 min. away. The rally went great and I was glad our youth band could be used in worship. I was anxious to get back and pick up my sleepy boys though! Being gone so much this weekend was hard for me. I'm just not used to being away from them much and when they're so many thing going on so close together, it's hard. All this to say, "I love being a mom more than anything!" I have a passion for ministry and worship, but nothing supercedes my passion for being a mom. I know childhood goes fast and as my boys grow older they won't need me as much and I'm not looking forward to that time, so I want to cherish this young age they are now and cherish this time that they do need me. They are so precious and I am so thankful to God for them.
Last week was a non-stop week. There was something every night of the week. Youth Worship practice on Monday night, I do piano lessons every Tues. night, Youth service on Wed. night, went out with girls from youth on Thurs. night, and Friday night was with my family - finally! That was not a good week. This week isn't much different except for the fact that on Thurs. we leave for our staff retreat. So, I'll be away from my boys for 2 nights. I don't like that, but it's also good to have a break. Usually a few hrs. is a good enough break for me. I'm sure it'll be easier when they get older. I just don't like being away from them at night.
On top of that, Josiah's been wetting his bed almost every night. So, it's back to the pull-ups for night time. I'm getting tired of washing sheets and bedspreads everyday. Sometimes I think he pees in his bed just so he can come sleep in our bed with us. It seems there is always some kind of stage to get through with your kids no matter how old they are. First it's nursing/bottle-feeding, sleeping through the night, then baby food, then learning how to eat solid food, then potty-training, what comes next???? Next fall, I'll be putting Josiah into Pre-K, so I guess that's my next stage for him.
Well, last night we let the boys run through the sprinkler for a while. So, I posted some pictures up for ya'll to look at!
This past weekend we took our youth to Rock the Universe which is held at Universal Studios in Orlando. You can enter the park at 4 pm and ride whatever or go to the christian concerts that are on all night until 1 am!!! I thought I'd die being up that late, but I actually did pretty good! If you're at Universal, be sure to ride "Twister" - very good ride! A little scary for the junior highers! Then, we went to Wet-N-Wild the next day - and that was a blast! I love water parks! Apart from looking nasty all day, I had a great time! Don't go to Orlando w/o visiting Wet-N-Wild! So, today for the first time in a long time I took a nap while the boys were sleeping! Wow, I must've slept for over an hour!!! So, back to real life, but I'm so glad to be back with my boys again!!!
I make it a habit to take my boys to the Mother Goose program at our local library every Wed. morning. I enjoy going and love seeing the boys sing the songs and interact, but it seems my boys are always the rowdiest. (did I spell that right? It looks funny...) Anyway, I noticed today that all the little girls were sitting quitely in their mommmy's lap and not running around the room like my boys were. The only time they're paying attention and doing what they're supposed to is when we're singing a song and there's music playing. (it's in their blood - my fault!) But, to sit down and listen to a story??? No way!! At least there was a puppet show today and they liked that, so I was grateful! So, I ignore the glances as Josh runs from one place to the other and I just let him have fun...it's a big room, so why not let him go? I want them to have fun, not be miserable the whole time. So, I let my boys be boys. I'm gaining a lot of insight from reading "Bringing up Boys" by James Dobson. I'm learning why boys are so different from girls and learning it's not my fault!
I'm declaring today that Josiah is officially totally potty-trained. We've been having trouble with him going poop in the potty and now he's done it several days in a row all on his own without us trying to get him to! Today he said, "Mom, I gotta go potty!" So, he goes in the bathroom and a few mintues later he yells, "Cool! I pooped in the potty Mom, come look at it!" I've never gotten so excited about looking at poop in the potty!! I'm so relieved and feel like it's time to throw a party!!! ( I didn't think you needed to see a picture of it!!)
Yesterday we put a big boy twin bed in Josh's room along with his crib. When Josiah transitioned to a big boy bed, we had him sleep in the bed for naps and in his crib at night for a week or so or until we felt like it was "ok" to take the crib down. So, today is Josh's first time to sleep in his twin bed for a nap. When I laid him down, he started to get up and I thought he was going to get down off the bed, but he didn't and I just laid him back down and off to sleep he went. I checked in on him later to make sure he was asleep and there he was cuddled up in that big bed sucking his thumb! Yes, he still sucks his thumb when he goes to sleep!
At the same time, Josiah seems to be growing out of his nap time, so it seems. Last night he kept getting up out of bed and he never does that. He even got up once we were in bed and asleep and was looking in the refrigerator! Guess he just wasn't tired or he didn't eat enough for dinner! So, today I'm allowing him to skip naptime. We'll see how it goes! I'm not going through what we did last night though again tonight! He's going to be really tired tonight!
So, today is a kind of sad day b/c I see my boys growing up too fast. Before I know it, they'll be having girls over and driving! Lord, come quick!
I'm glad to be going home to my husband tomorrow. He got home today and me and the boys are still in Indy. And once again I get to make that flight with the boys by myself! But, I'll be soooo anxious to get home to see Ronnie. I got to see him almost every day, but not really spend quality time with him. Being away from home is hard and I give props to all those single moms out there. I don't think I could do it without literally going insane! I managed to get sick yesterday with a cold, but I did enjoy my time away from normal routine. I'm always ready to get back to normal life.
Our youth AIM teams did an awesome job working in the city of Indy. I'm proud of them and look forward to the testimonies they have. I know God worked in their lives this week and I pray that what they received this week will spread throughout our youth group and that our group will be stronger because of what God has done this week! God is so good!
Last Friday I took the boys on a plane by myself. First time to ever tackle it on my own...so I wasn't really looking forward to it. We flew to Indy to visit my family and Ronnie is driving some of our youth down on Tues. for the AIM missions trip here in Indy and Convoy of Hope.
As we were getting our tickets, the guy at the counter asked Ronnie if he'd want to go with me to the gate. I was so relieved! Security is not fun with little ones and a stroller. Having to take everyone's shoes off and hold Josh while you fold up the stroller and get all your things in the bins and back out again. It's hard enough with both of us, I don't know how I would've survived it w/o Ronnie. So, I was very grateful that he could share the load with me! An airline guy helped carry Josiah's car seat on the plane since I was carrying Josh and the diaper bag, so that helped too and then a flight attendant held Josh while I fastened in Josiah's car seat. The ride was going pretty good until the last 15 min. when we had to put the DVD player away and Josh did not want anything to do with sitting in my lap. At least we had an extra seat in between us thanks to the guy who ended up moving to another seat! At least he was kind about it. Can't say that for the people in front of us who kept getting their seats kicked by the boy's feet. A little embarrassing, but people should try to be a little more understanding. Finally after Josh stopped crying he stuck his thumb in his mouth and went to sleep for the last 5 min. Poor guy was pulling on his ears as we were heading down, I knew he was hurting, but no one else did. I just wanted to shout out, "my kids ears are hurting, that's why he's crying!!!" But, I refranied from doing such a thing. So, I waited till everyone was off the plane so they could help me carry my car seat and we got off. Praise Jesus, it was over! So, I get to do it all over again next Monday - please put me on your prayer list!!! The whole thing just made me grateful that I have a wonderful husband who helps me whenever I need it and helps share the load with me. Just like our heavenly father will take the load off of us, if we just ask and allow Him to help us when we just have too much to handle. We're not supposed to handle it all - He wants to take it from us, but we don't always give Him that option. I'm so grateful that I can lean on Him at any time and He will come and rescue me.
So, the last few thunderstorms we've had in the middle of the night have woken up our son, Josiah. He's never been afraid of thunder until now. He came in our room at 5 AM scared and wanting to get in the bed with us. My heart melts b/c he wants us to protect him. And every time it thunders he gets closer and holds his little teddy bear tighter. So, a little later we put him back in his bed and he says, "Will you lay by me?" How sweet.
That's how Jesus is with his children. He wants to protect us from harm and keep us safe and he loves when we get closer to Him. He wants to provide our every need if we would just trust Him. It's true when we are going through trials or are afraid we tend to get closer to Jesus, but I want to be close to Him at ALL times.
So, my inlaws have been with us for 2 weeks now. We've remodeled our master bathroom and we're putting in a new front door. Everything looks great and I love it! I'll have to take pictures when it's all done. I haven't had much time to blog, b/c we've been so busy. Right now I'm taking a break from painting the door while it drys. And I'm so excited that new neighbors have moved in right across the street and they have 3 boys! My boys now have neighborhood playmates! I was hoping for that!! Remodeling is a lot of work, but I'm just thankful to have family to help us!!!
This past Tuesday we took some youth to Busch Gardens in Tampa. Most of them have season passes b/c it's so close, so they go pretty often. I hadn't been to an amusement park in a while b/c I've been either pregnant or nursing, so I was excited to be able to finally go and ride rollar coasters again! But, I did notice this time that the rollar coasters seem to have more of an effect on me now! I came off of one rollar coaster barely being able to walk straight of all the hoops and twists - I was dizzy and nauseated. I don't remember being affected like that before I had kids! So, either I'm getting old or having babies messed up my equilibrium or something. But, overall I had a blast! I was overly exhausted by the end of the day since we were there from 10-9, and was still tired when I woke up the next morning. I just can't seem to hack it as easily as I could before! Kind of depressing! But if you're ever at Busch Gardens, Sheikra is the rollar coaster not to miss out on! I love the floorless rollar coasters!
My in-laws are staying at our house right now, so they've been sleeping on an air mattress in the living room. Well, when they blow up the air mattress, the boys go at it! I mean, why did we buy all these toys? Who knew an air mattress was all they ever needed? 
So, I've learned that watching fireworks now is so much more enjoyable when you have little ones. To see how amazed and fascinated they are makes it so much fun. So, we went down to the pier downtown and it was beautiful. Josiah and Josh were in their stroller and Josiah kept saying, "Cool fireworks, Good job fireworks, Kerpow!" And Josh would just yell out and jump up and down in his seat. They loved it and I was glad Josh wasn't scared of the loudness of it! Josiah did start singing the B-I-B-L-E at one point, I'm not sure what triggered that, but it was funny. So, I sat there in my beach chair watching the boys more than I watched the fireworks. They just make everything so much more memorable.
Well, I thought I'd be a little depressed about getting so close to 30, but actually I'm not. I don't feel 29, so that's good. When you're a teenager, 30 always seems so old, until you start to get near it. And when you realize how young you still are and how young you still feel, it's not near as bad as you thought it'd be.
This morning Ronnie and the boys came to the bed and woke me up singing "Happy Birthday" with a cake made out of legos. What a sweet way to wake up. We make Lego cakes a lot around here. I love it when my boys sing to me. Of course Josiah does most of the singing!
So, tonight Ronnie took me out - no kids. That was the freeing part! Not often do us moms get out of the house w/o the kids, so we went to Cheddars (we had a gift card!) That makes it even better! I love Cheddars mostly b/c they have Cookie Monsters - huge warm chocolate chip cookies with warm chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream on top! We shared it of course! But, the funny thing was I ordered the beer battered shrimp, so Ronnie was giving me a hard time about it being 'beer battered' and of course we all know it cooks out - and he was only joking. So, we're leaving the restaurant and I was in a silly, giggly mood and Ronnie walks in front of me to go open my car door and stops and starts to hold me back and I'm not really paying attention and he noticed that thepeople in the car right beside us were getting ready to get out and I never saw them and someone pops up out of the backseat and I screamed and jumped right in front of them! I didn't expect anyone to be getting out of the car b/c I never saw them pull up. And I'm kind of jumpy - I can get scared easily. So, I bust out laughing and run over to the other side of the van b/c I was so embarrassed and laughing hysterically. So, we get in the van and I'm still laughing and then Ronnie really starts to think my 'beer battered' shrimp was having an effect on me. But, then I settled down and got back to normal. So, we end the evening by going to Super Target, which is one of my favorite stores!
I just want to thank my hubby for taking me out tonight. I had the best time and I cherish the times we get to spend together. I'm blessed to have a husband who enjoys spending time with me and who likes to make me feel special. I don't need anything big or expensive - time is much more valuable to me than anything. But, don't get me wrong, I love some new clothes every once in a while!!! ha ha!
But, there's more to this night before we go to bed....we watch The Cosby Show....the best show ever made!!!
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As I look at these two pictures, it's hard to believe that they're the same boy. Where has time gone?
Ok, so today during church (before offering) Ronnie leans over and says, "Hey - you need to write out our tithe check." I had forgotten to write it out when I was paying bills. I immediately thought, "now we're really going to be low on money this week!" So, I wrote out the check telling God as I'm writing, "God, I have the money to pay my tithe, but I'm writing this check out in faith that I'll have enough money for the rest of the week! I know you're faithful, you always have been" Then, our Pastor preaches on money and being faithful in your tithes and being content with what you have, spending your money wisely and living within your means. So, as I sitting there listening, I"m thinking, "Ok, I can be more content with the things I have and not think I need something better, forgive me God for being selfish. " So, we've been in the process of selling some furniture since we've moved. We had two couch sets and only need one now. I thought, "Well, I'll sell them both and get something new." We've already sold a dryer, aphgan racks, and my coffee table and end tables, so I was down to two couch sets. So, this afternoon I get a call about one set of couches. We normally have gotten lots of calls on Sundays b/c of the Sunday paper. And she actually came and looked at them and bought them! Thank you Lord!!! I sure didn't expect God to move that fast!!! God is so faithful! Why do I worry?
Just like in Luke 10:41 and Jesus says, "Martha, Martha, "you are worried and upset about many things." I tend to be like Martha sometimes and lie awake in bed and worry. But in Matt. 6:25 it says, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more imporant than food, and the body more important than clothes? (v. 27) "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (v. 33-34) "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Ok, I'm still learning how to set up this blogspot. But, I finally did this for you Bethany! Today, I get to pick up my husband who has been at Youth camp all week! I'm so ready to have him home again! Life just isn't normal when he's gone. But, unfortunately I have to go back to cooking real meals again.
So, if you have any tips for a first timer on blogspot, let me know!
