Josh's first black-eye

My little Josh managed to give himself a black-eye on Tues. morning while I was in Bible study at the church. (It doesn't show up much in the picture, so it looks a little worse in person.) The baby-sitter had the kids out on the playground and he was pushing a swing and it came back and the chain hit him in the eye. So, I was told he screamed for a few minutues, but it happened just minutes before I came to pick him up, so I came at a good time to console him. It was swollen and starting to turn colors. I don't like to see my boys get hurt, but I know they have so many more bumps and bruises to come! Josiah managed to get a black-eye this past August by running into a doorknob, but I didn't get a picture of it with my camera. So, two black-eyes in 2 months! One for each boy! Guess it'll toughen them up! I've got boys, what more can I expect?

Time away

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.

Non-stop

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!

Long weekend

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!!!

Storytime

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!

Jadon's 5th Birthday

Today, September 1 is Jadon David's birthday. Jadon was born Sunday, Sept. 1, 2002 (25 wks along) and weighed 1 lb and 13 oz. He could not survive longer than 2 weeks. He had severe and unrepairable bleeding in his brain and underdeveloped lungs due to his prematurity. He was born in Baltimore, MD at the University of MD hospital and stayed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for those 2 wks. Jadon went to be with Jesus on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2002. That was the only day we held him due to being hooked up to a ventilator and his body and skin being so fragile. But, when we see him in heaven, we will be able to hold him and tell him how much we love him. I'm grateful that Jadon did not have to suffer here on this earth. If he would've lived, we were told he would've most likely had cerebral palsey and would've had to fed through tubes. I'm so grateful to have the hope that we will see him again in Heaven and I'm grateful to know that he is healed and completely well in the presence of Jesus. Jadon, we remember you today and thank God for your life. We love you.