The Athlete and the Bookworm

Michigan Pictures

2009-03-19T10:59:00.010-05:00

Doesn't he look like he should have a little girl? :)

The 3 kids watching Baby Einstein and playing

They played well together in general

Katie and I with the wee ones

My darling girl :)

Andy and Eric at the end of our flying visit

Eric and I :)

Stephen asleep on the way home

Caleb in the same state... they were amazingly good.

Been too long...

2009-03-18T13:15:00.003-05:00

It's been far too long since I posted, but around Thanksgiving I really started going downhill physically and had no energy for the simple little things like keeping up with my blog. My body does not handle drugs well at all and the Birth Control I was taking finally caught up with me. I had zero energy, it was all I could do to keep a clean kitchen and dinner on the table, the rest of the house was let go. Thankfully Andy and I finally got things worked out and I'm off the pill and using natural ways to avoid pregnancy for the time being. Since then I've been able to get my house under control, play with my babies, sew and still feel good by the end of the day.

Our biggest news is that Andy got a JOB!!!!! He is a police officer for the City of Opelika and loves it. It is a perfect fit for him and I'm very excited. He started with a Physical Fitness test in January and by the end of the hiring process was the only person to take the polygraph much less pass it. His first week on the force his training officer gave him this article to read and the Sheepdog protectors really describes Andy's mindset to me.

After he got hired we took a week and drove up to Michigan for a little vacation to see Katie and a few other friends. It was wonderful and we got some really cute pictures in the snow of the boys. :)

We've also decided that since Andy is going to be gone most of the summer at the police academy that I'm going to go back to GA and live with my parents and finish my degree at UGA. I have 3 classes and will be able to do one in May, one in June and one in July Lord willing. Then I will be done and graduated. So now that I'm caught up in a nutshell, I can get back into the swing of posting. :) I will post pictures soon of the past few months.

Reformation Day Party

2008-11-07T09:08:00.008-06:00

Our church had a Reformation Day party on the 31st and it was so much fun to see the kids dressed up and playing games. Caleb had a blast and Stephen spent the whole night running in circles. He didn't want to be picked up because he was having too much fun. Caleb is wearing the jack'o lantern costume that Andy's Mom made for him when Andy was Caleb's age, so that was fun. Stephen refused to wear a normal costume so a couple of bandanas later we had the cutest little cowboy. ;)

Nature

2008-11-04T11:22:00.004-06:00

Yesterday we took a drive outside of Auburn and here are a couple pics that we took while out. In some ways it's difficult to believe I took these in Alabama since everything is so dry. lol

Caleb's 3rd Birthday

2008-10-14T21:50:00.007-05:00

It's hard to believe that my baby boy is growing up so fast. It was a shock to realize that we were celebrating his 3rd birthday September 26th. He is of course a very big boy, wearing size 5s and an 11 1/2 extra wide shoe, but we are starting to see his face slim down and lose the baby fat.

He talks up a storm and will repeat anything and everything he hears. And of course he is always saying "I do myself Mommy." The funniest thing at the moment happened a couple of weeks ago. Caleb was running around the house playing and pooted. Andy turned around and laughingly asked him if he pooted. Caleb looked at him and said, "you talk about my poot Daddy?" Andy said yes, then Caleb turned to me with "Mommy, I pooted and Daddy talking about it." We just about rolled out of our chairs we were laughing so hard. Ever since then, thankfully only at home, if he poots Caleb looks at Andy and says "you talk about my poot Daddy?" What do you do with uninhibated wee ones? lol

Below are some pictures from Caleb's birthday dinner.

Holding up 3 fingers... he wanted pizza for his dinner

Even with cake in front of him he didn't want to put the pizza down

Stephen just couldn't wait to get his hands on that cake

My sweet boys

He picked out a spice cake

Can you tell he was happy to get his cake :)

Stone Mountain-July

2008-09-09T12:05:00.008-05:00

So I am super behind on posting and wish I had kept up with things, but I've been busy with house stuff and not feeling well so blogging was not high on my priority list. So I will start with our flying family trip to Stone Mountain back in July. The main reason we went was so that we could get to meet David's girlfriend Mary without overwhelming her at my parent's house. We grilled out and had a good time eating and talking. Then Nana and Pop-pop watched the boys while the rest of us climbed the mountain. We got caught in a quick rainstorm while up there and everyone was soaked to the skin. lol We stayed for the laser show of course and no matter if people think it's cheesy or not, it is always fun.

An interesting thing about the laser show... everyone who has seen it knows that at the end they play the National Anthem and fly the flag on the mountain. We were seated about halfway down the lawn and John immediately stood when it started playing... David, James and Andy weren't far behind... they were the only ones I saw standing to begin with and from behind me I hear "Jerks! Blocking my view." Shortly after that the voice said in a different tone, "ohhhh" and I saw the man stand up. By the end of the song, the majority of the crowd was standing with their hands over their hearts, but that initial reaction unfortunately didn't surprise me.

Andy and I obviously... on top of the mountain.

David isn't really this much taller than Mary... they are cute together aren't they. :)

All of us drenched.

Laser show pictures

Best Friends

2008-07-20T19:56:00.005-05:00

While I was in Georgia last week Katie and I were able to get together for the first time in 6 months. It was great to sit and talk about silly little things and important things with someone who understands me so well. I love having old friendships that you can slip back into as if no time has past. Granted, we are now sitting in Subway wondering if our kids are happy without us and knowing that we have only an hour or 2 before we have to get them again, instead of being carefree. But being able to stay friends even as life presents us with new experiences is a wonderful thing.

Charis seemed so fascinated with Caleb's shoe.

The babies were quite happy to look at each other while we took pics. :)

With all the kids... can you tell how thrilled they are? lol

So glad to be together

Hilarious!!!

2008-07-18T16:24:00.002-05:00

Ok, one of my friends sent me this link to the "Ten Worst Baby Products Ever" and I cracked up! Numbers Two and Four are my favorites. lol Hope y'all enjoy. :)

http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2008/07/ten-worst-baby-products-ever.html

Baby Donkey

2008-07-14T16:01:00.005-05:00

I'm over at my family's house for a couple of days and our donkey had a baby. John named him Enzo and he's so cute. He's also very sweet and loves people. Other babies we have had have been very skittish and afraid of people, but Enzo will come over and lip your hand.

Too Cute...

2008-06-26T22:04:00.002-05:00

So earlier this week Caleb and Stephen were playing in their room while I was sitting on the couch working on my computer. All of a sudden Stephen comes out grumbling, not crying or whining, grumbling. He came over, pulled my arm up and climbed into my lap, sat down and looked up at me. Then he stuck his lower lip out, pointed at the bedroom and said "bock". Right then Caleb walks out carrying their bucket of duploes with a grin on his face, I asked him if he had taken all the blocks from Stephen and he said yes very happily. I told him that he had to share and could try giving Stephen some cars and sent them back to play. It just cracked me up that Stephen wasn't crying just complaining and tattling for the first time. I know that I will have to work on discipline and not allow this behavior to develop a lot, but it's so much fun to see personalities coming out. :)

Zoo Trip in May

2008-06-18T07:25:00.013-05:00

In May while up in Birmingham Andy's Mother took us to the zoo. The Birmingham Zoo is really small, but we still had a great time. Caleb thought the Sea Lion show was so funny and enjoyed being splashed by them. Stephen seemed fascinated by the monkeys swinging around. I think Andy and I enjoyed the Lorikeet exhibit the best. The Lorikeets are beautiful little rainbow birds who will land on you. One persisted on unbuttoning the zookeeper's shirt buttons while another sat on Andy's shoulder and tried to clean his ear. :) Caleb and Stephen freaked out when the birds zoomed down to land on our shoulders and wouldn't stop fussing so we had to leave a little earlier than we would have liked. Both of them loved the train ride we took at the end. It was really neat to see this beautiful Bald Eagle just sitting in the tree, they are such enormous birds.

crocodiles

This is a river otter from here in Alabama, I love them, they are such graceful creatures in the water.

Stephen cuddling with Andy while looking at the lions.

A beautiful white tiger.

The kangaroos were so neat. We even got to see them hop around which was unusual, the zookeeper said that they normally don't move around in the afternoon.

Caleb putting on his hat to go

into the "gold mine"

Our family riding the train at the end of the day. :)

Song I heard today...

2008-06-12T16:19:00.002-05:00

"Holy Water"
Somewhere there's a stolen halo
I use to watch her wear it well
Everything would shine wherever she would go
But looking at her now you'd never tell

Someone ran away with her innocence
A memory she can't get out of her head
I can only imagine what she's feeling
When she's praying
Kneeling at the edge of her bed

And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water
Holy water

She wants someone to call her angel
Someone to put the light back in her eyes
She's looking through the faces
The unfamiliar places
She needs someone to hear her when she crys

And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water
Holy water

She just needs a little help
To wash away the pain she's felt
She wants to feel the healing hands
Of someone who understands
And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me
And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water
Holy water

I found out Andy was my healing hands when we started dating. I love him to death. :)

Stephen's First Birthday--Very Belated

2008-06-12T10:01:00.007-05:00

I have been lazy and didn't get the pictures developed from Stephen's First Birthday party until yesterday. It's hard to believe that he turned 1 year old April 10th. For his birthday my whole family was able to make it in and Andy's parents came down. We also had 2 couples we are good friends with come over. It was lots of fun to just hang out, talk and eat. :) Below are my favorite pics from the day.

Stephen dove into his cake without hesitation :)

Little chocolate boy

Caleb and Hunter enjoyed helping open Stephen's presents... here we are opening a float for Stephen to use at the lake this summer.

Such a cute grin from my wee one

The boys thought Deke was really funny with the bag over his head. :)

David...

2008-06-03T07:15:00.003-05:00

The beginning of May David went down to Florida for the National RUF conference. While down there he met this beautiful young lady from the University of Texas. Mary will be coming for a visit sometime in July and I hope to be able to meet her then. Best of luck to them both. :)

Irritation

2008-05-17T08:37:00.002-05:00

How do you keep people who you know mean well for the most part from irritating you with their opinions or behavior? Especially when that irritation spills over into other parts of your life. It's difficult to tell some people to bug off and keep their noses out of your business, but I shouldn't let them get to me either. I know it's a normal part of marriage, but I'm tired of Andy and I taking out our irritation at other people on each other. I also don't like being grumpy for a week afterwards because I feel people are questioning something I put my all into. Maybe I should say something, but I'm afraid that would upset more than me.

Mother's Day

2008-05-15T15:28:00.008-05:00

After David's graduation we headed over Birmingham to Andy's parents for Mother's Day and to celebrate his Aunt's wedding. We got to see both sides of the family on Sunday and enjoy spending time and catching up with everyone. Uncle Mike loves to take pictures at our dinners and these are just a few of the ones he took of the boys.

We were watching everyone playing frisbee

Sleepy baby

Hayden adores the boys and Stephen loved being tossed around.

David's Graduation

2008-05-14T07:43:00.009-05:00

We started our vacation last week by going over to Georgia for David's graduation. He graduated UGA Summa Cum Laude with highest honors being that in his time there he was only one B from a 4.0 GPA. Next fall he starts Dental School at the Medical College of Georgia down in Augusta. He was commissioned into the Army Reserves this Spring and after he graduates dental school he will be commissioned into the regular army as a Captain I believe.

While we were at my family's Andy, John, James and Becky got to go to a Braves game and Nana and Pop pop watched the boys while Andy and I went out to eat for our anniversay. It was a nice relaxing time there.

It took an hour to seat the graduates and I don't think all 6,000 grads walked :)

David walking through the Arch for the first time.
It's tradition to walk around the arch until you graduate for good luck.

Mom, David and Dad walking through the Arch together.

Our whole family in front of the Honors College

I'm so proud of my brother!!

The boys. :)

David and the girls... everyone has to have a pic with the bench statue.

John...

2008-05-12T10:43:00.002-05:00

John finished his first year of college this year and did really well. He and I are a lot alike and react to stress the same way. It was nice to have him call me and ask for advice and just to talk about school. He has participated in the Air Force ROTC at UGA the whole year and has decided that he is called to be an Air Force chaplain. Most people when they hear this are quite surprised and really don't know what to say, the girl in the picture below is the only one who has really expressed interest and opinions in his chosen profession.

Last year Dad and I were talking about what kind of girls my brothers were probably going to be looking for and we decided that David would find a girl like Mom and John would find a girl like me... I believe John has found his girl and the way he talks about her I will not be surprised to be attending their wedding in 3 or so years. lol Her name is Beth, she is fairly tall and has dark, curly hair. :) I love my brother so much and wish the absolute best for him. Below is a picture of John and Beth at his formal Air Force banquet.

Time Flies...

2008-04-11T15:41:00.005-05:00

It's amazing how fast time flies when you have little ones. I've been feeling a little overwhelmed, but have been catching up with things. Back in February, David came and stayed with us for the weekend before his birthday. We had lots of fun laying around the house, playing tennis and just catching up. Uncle David is also a huge hit with his nephews who adored him and wanted to climb all over him. David was so sweet and played with everything they brought him.

Uncle David putting Stephen's shoes on... see his grin? :)

One of the many times they were both piled on him.

One of the other things that has been happening in our lives is the boys are really starting to play together. Caleb will be with something and Stephen will do a run-by snatch... start from across the room and snatch one of Caleb's toys and take off with it. He'll have a huge grin on his face as he runs off and Caleb chases him down. :) They will also share toys and walk around holding hands. I love watching their personalities emerge as they interact. Below are 2 of my favorite pics of them from the last few months.

They fell asleep on the couch together and Stephen woke up just before I took the picture.

My couch has become a playground now that Stephen is climbing and they have great fun making play areas and jumping around.

Sadness

2008-04-10T22:06:00.002-05:00

It's amazing how people you think are friends and let into your minds and hearts can betray you at the drop of a hat. It doesn't even have to be anything life-changing that makes them decide to break your trust, just an odd mood, or the decision to turn a blind eye to obvious lies. The amazing thing is that we continue to trust and let people into our lives. I wish that I had followed my first instincts which are normally correct, but people have an amazing ability to decieve when they want something.

On the other hand, people who you really don't notice to begin with because of new situations can become a rock and you realize that true friendship can come from the oddest beginnings. Something as unassuming as a discussion about what marital arts forms you have done can lead to a relationship that you know can stand the test of time.

Easter Outfits

2008-03-05T15:16:00.003-06:00

I'm really enjoying smocking and sewing the boys Easter outfits and thought I'd post my designs to show everyone. :) I love the old fashioned Southern boy clothes and am so happy that our church is formal enough for me to make them for Caleb and Stephen to wear. Surprisingly Andy loves them too and is happy for me to make them clothes. Part of it is that he likes Caleb looking more his age I'm sure, but I'll take it anyway I can get it. I'm really careful to not pick out things that are too "girly" too. :)

This first plate is the one I'm making to put in Caleb's shirt.

This is Stephen's. I have a thing for bears on my little boys. lol

This is the little suit I'm making. The shirt will be cream with the plates from above inserted and I have really cute cream and red striped seersucker material for the shorts. I'm looking for more seersucker to make some little shortalls for them especially since you can't find them for Caleb's size.

More Music

2008-03-05T07:36:00.002-06:00

A couple of people have asked about the Christian artist that we've been listening to. His name is Mo Leverett. He and his wife have a street ministry in a poor section of New Orleans called Desire Street Ministries. Mo writes all his own songs which are a combination christian and songs about living in the South. I don't know a lot about him right now, but John went down over Christmas to New Orleans on a mission trip and loved this guy so I'm pretty pleased with it.

Singing

2008-02-27T08:09:00.002-06:00

There are two activities that I hope to instill a love of in my boys. Reading books, which they have seem to have mastered, and loving music and singing. I love singing and miss singing in the church choir so much, but between not having the lung capacity for it while pregnant and dealing with little ones it just hasn't fit in my schedule again. Instead I've settled for singing to the boys while pregnant and with them young. They both have their favorites and sometimes will only settle down for one particular song. Since my Dad sang to us all the time when I was little, my repertiore mostly consists of hymns, spirituals and old folk songs but we all love it. Now, if I don't have music going Caleb points at the CD player and says please until I turn something on. Our favorite background CD is Beethoven piano music, but we listen to anything and everything from an awesome jazz Christian musician my brothers gave us from New Orleans, to Latin music. I love just putting music on and dancing around the room holding my boys. They love it as much as I do. All of this to say most of y'all are musicians and share the same love for music that I have, but if you aren't... try to instill a love of music in your children so that they don't miss out on a beautiful part of life.

Backyards and Swing Sets

2008-02-20T10:01:00.010-06:00

One of the reasons we LOVE our duplex is the backyard. It was already mostly fenced in when we moved here and our lovely landlords have told us that we can put up more fencing, play toys and plant anything we want. For Christmas Andy's parents bought the boys a swing set and this weekend was the first chance we've had to bring it down and put it up. Between weather, being sick and people traveling it just hasn't worked out until now. Anyways, we are thrilled and here are some pictures from Saturday. We have since gotten most of the leaves up and have 2 lounges chairs out that we got for wedding presents and have been storing under our bed. :)

Getting everything out...

My cutie pie... he has my eyes :)

Caleb is so excited. Can you tell?

He wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first

Yes, we have a sandbox and LOVE it!

Caleb wanted to "help" Deke so he laid down next to him :)

All done!!!!

I'm back among the living... :D

2008-02-12T10:31:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been over a month since I last posted because I've been spending every waking moment either studying or taking care of sick children. I am happy to say that I took my final in Latin yesterday and while I'm scared to find out how I did, I believe I did well enough to pass the class. That's all I'm asking for at this point so we'll see. After this I have 3 classes left which I will be starting the first of March. :)

On the babies front... Caleb is talking up a storm and 2 days ago said "wove oo" to me after I said I love you. :) He is very smart and we have had to be creative to keep him out of the fridge so that he doesn't eat us out of house and home. Stephen is almost walking. He'll take several steps between pieces of furniture and is starting to walk across the room. It's so exciting and fun to watch. He also says "hi" and "da", we are loving it.

Now it's time for me to go clean my house which I let slip while I was frantically studying for my final.

Marriage and School

2008-01-08T11:27:00.000-06:00

Andy and I are slowly but surely figuring out this marriage thing. :) Both of us have very strong personalities (haha) and volative tempers and the oddest things set us off. So far we have managed to keep from yelling in front of the boys and hopefully we never will. As with most couples, stress sets things off so much quicker. Right now we are both stressed, Andy with his last semester of classes before he student teaches and me with my last couple of classes also.

Please be praying for me. I'm going to have to buckle down and turn in 10 Latin lessons in 3 weeks. This will be difficult, but I can do it. I just have to be able to remember everything I learned in order to take my final in February. I know I can do it, but it's just looking really tough right now. Probably won't see many posts from me this month. ;)

Christmas...

2007-12-29T08:12:00.001-06:00

Life has been crazy since getting home so I haven't had a chance to post anything about Christmas. We spent Christmas with Andy's parents which means fun but stressful. All of Andy's extended family lives in Birmingham so we spend all day driving around visiting. See everyone is lots of fun but the boys are done by about 7. lol Christmas morning started with me waking up to find Andy and I bookended by the boys. Caleb had joined us at a point I don't remember making the queen bed very cosy, but they were both cuddly which made it fun. Presents time with family then breakfast with Andy's Mom's family. Thankfully the boys got full naps over lunch because then it was on to the Wald side where they got passed from uncle to aunt to cousin who all adore them. For dinner we went to Andy's aunt's house. Everything was lots of fun just a little more than I have always been used to since we don't live close to any family. Below are a few pictures from Christmas morning.

Caleb loved handing out the presents then opening his :)

One of his favorite presents: A Wiggles book

Stephen wanted to play with Calebs stuff

Opening his own presents... yes, we always stick bows on the baby's head :)

Just before family showed up for breakfast

Our family Christmas morning :D

Learning...

2007-12-17T11:17:00.000-06:00

It's amazing how just a week will totally change a young child's maturity level. Just this week Caleb started really singing along with all of his favorite Wiggles songs and doing the motions. It was just precious. Stephen would stand at the side table, just watch him and giggle. My favorite though was last night. He was sitting in middle of the floor reading a book and started singing... dee an umm, dee an umm... and doing hand motions. It took me a second and I realized he was singing Deep and Wide. They had been singing it in Sunday School that morning and he remembered it. It was so cute and just makes me so grateful that our children grow up unable to remember when they didn't know about God's love for us. :D

I love pictures

2007-12-14T11:42:00.001-06:00

These pictures have been sitting around just waiting for me to uphold them. lol

I love snuggling with a sleeping baby. :)

Caleb was trying to get Andy's attention.

He was a bear for our church Reformation Day party, see the tail?

This is the same costume Andy wore at his age.

My cutie pies!!

I have more pictures posted here.

Grandparents

2007-12-12T09:57:00.001-06:00

Caleb does not speak English, that is to say he talks all the time, but in his own very expressive language. To the point that when Andy imitates him and doesn't get a sound just right, Caleb will sometimes look at him as if to say, Dad that was terribly inappropriate, how could you say that? lol There have been distingishable words like Mama, Dada, ball, tar (car) food, wa-er (water) etc.m, but it's been a very basic vocabulary. The last few months he's been gaining more of an English vocabulary. This was very obvious at Thanksgiving when he finally called all of my brothers and sisters by name. The funniest part was that my Mom's poodle also got a name and Caleb was fascinated by him. Pip-pi (Pippin) the dog is always tied to Pop-pop (my Dad).

It's really funny that the grandparents spent awhile picking out what they wanted to be called when Caleb was first born and now have completely different names. My Mom was Grandma, my Dad-Grandpa, Andy's Mom- Grammy and Andy's Dad-Pops. My parents really didn't care what they were called and just went standard to begin with. Mom changed first, we could tell that the way Caleb said things she was going to become Mam-ma and she couldn't stand that so she is now Nana and loves it. Dad became Pop-pop, which when you think about it is reasonable from Grandpa. Andy's Dad is currently E, from Deke which is what family was jokingly calling him last time we were there, it stuck so he's Deke. Andy's Mom is now Mimi, neither Andy and I could really get out Grammy, kept saying Granny or Gammy and Caleb finally just went with Mimi. She doesn't know it yet, because Caleb has only said it while pointing at pictures. I think she will be thrilled just to have a name. :D

Where has the time gone?

2007-11-30T12:21:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that today is the last day of November. This year has been crazy, but through it all we can see God's hand on our lives. I was thinking about everything I have to be thankful for since last Thanksgiving and the list is too numerous to count, but I'll list the ones that really stick out to me.

My wonderful husband who has stretched himself thin to provide for our family and stay on top of his school so that he finishes next year. He is my rock and I'm thankful the Lord brought us together.
The opportunity to try a VBAC even if it didn't work, and with that for a doctor who know there was something wrong, saving Stephen's life and probably mine.
Our church, they have loved and helped us. Ladies came and took Caleb to mothers day out so I could rest and many other things.
Parks! Caleb loves slides and can spend a long time on them. Such a great place to meet friends for the afternoon too.
Hot Chocolate. Andy makes me a cup in the evenings when my hands are cold and it tastes wonderful.

I know some are funny and I could continue for a while with random things, but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. :D

Eating Solids

2007-11-28T08:16:00.000-06:00

About a month ago I started trying to feed Stephen solids and it has been a chore. He is picky, but in a good way. Yes I know, doesn't seem possible. With Caleb I made the natural progression, starting with bananas and rice cereal then slowing moving up to table food. I never did the baby food in a jar because it was too expensive and I think it tastes nasty. Instead I have the baby food grinder pictured here and would just put whatever we were eating in it. Pork, chicken, spaghetti etc. Caleb would eat a lot at a time, but was happy with the blander foods to begin with and slowly moving up to real people food. He was about 10 months before I stopped grinding everything.
Stephen on the other hand acted like I was trying to kill him when we tried the baby cereal and would sit there and gag himself until he had spit everything out. He does not like applesauce and doesn't want his bananas mushy. At 7 months he already wants flavor and texture to his food. He loves vegetables and will eat any of them, but sweet potatoes and peas are his favorite. Last night I took someone's advice and handed him a pork chop that wasn't sharp and he happily sat there and gnawed the little bits of meat off it.
The most trouble I'm having is trying to keep some foods out of his diet until he is 1. My Dad is allergic to wheat, milk and peanut butter to name a few and I really don't want my kids to have those for awhile so there is a better chance they won't get the allergy. Stephen though will crawl around and eat Caleb's crumbs before I can get to them so I'm kind of stuck.
I just think this goes to show how different every kid is, even if it is in small ways.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-26T09:02:00.001-06:00

I wanted to post these on Thanksgiving, but my family's internet was messed up and John and I could not get the pictures to work properly. We spent the weekend with my folks and Mom and I woke up really early Friday morning to go shopping. It's our time together to buy the last presents on Mom's list and have time together. I don't go anywhere without Stephen yet and he was a dream even with getting up that early.

Saturday we went to Olan Mills and did family portraits. Mom and I realized that we hadn't taken any family pictures since my wedding and with David graduating in May then moving to UNC for dental school we figured we should get some in before we scattered to the four winds. With all that said, below are some pictures from Thanksgiving day. I made the boys outfits, smocking and all. :D

Stephen smiling at Uncle David.

Caleb was curious about the camera. lol

Hey Uncle David.

Me and my boys with my Mam-ma, she is meeting Stephen for the first time.

Us with Pap-pa, I think he has trouble believing his baby girl is married with kids of her own now. :)

This Past Week

2007-11-17T11:12:00.000-06:00

We found a really neat little park while waiting for Andy to finish something for school. Caleb loved the play area.

Stephen has started crusing this week. He is so proud of himself.

Thank You!!

2007-11-17T11:05:00.001-06:00

Thank you everyone for your prayers for Kristin's family. My friend Stephanie went down to try to aid Jessica as she planned the funeral. Jessica is an amazingly strong young woman and we knew that she would be carrying her family through this. Please continue to pray for them as they go through the holidays and what would have been Kristin's wedding day over the next few weeks. Stephanie and I are trying to set up a friend chain to contact Jessica frequently so that she knows we love her and are there for her if she needs us.

So Sudden

2007-11-14T07:41:00.000-06:00

I just found out a couple of hours ago that my dear friend Jessica Webber's sister Kristen was in a bad equestrian accident. She was in the accident either Monday night or yesterday morning and died yesterday morning. I don't have the details of exactly what happened.

Kristen was going to be married in three weeks. Her family is in absolute shock. PLEASE lift this family up in prayer!! I cannot even fathom what they are feeling right now. Please pray that God gives them peace that passeth all understanding as they make plans and try to deal with the coming days. My heart and mind are stunned right now just trying to realize that this beautiful, vivacious girl is gone. Please pray also for her husband to be.

Nighttime Training Pants

2007-11-08T07:43:00.001-06:00

I had been looking into Training Pants because Caleb is outgrowing diapers. :( Since Rachel asked about them, I thought I'd do ahead and post what I had found. There are many different options, but a lot of them don't think they will had night time wetting. These 3 are my favorite ideas and I'll probably try them all.

This is the aristocrat diaper cover I listed for nighttime below in the diapers, but it is suggested that you put normal underwear on the child, then put this cover over it. The cover will keep them from leaking all over the bed, but they will be damp enough they will normally get up to change themselves. Claims are that since they feel wet, kids will start waking up to go to the bathroom. www.greenmoutaindiapers.com

These are just called pull-up or side snap trainers. They are pretty heavy duty, and claim they can hold night time wetting. I think they look like they will work well, but wouldn't know for sure. www.hyenacart.com/thecoveredcaboose

These are called bedwetter pants. They will feel wet to the child's skin to encourage them to go to the bathroom instead of wetting the bed, but will not leak. They are under "other products" on www.mother-ease.com

One other interesting site that has several suggestions is www.pottytrainingconcepts.com it also has some waterproof night time pants.

Cloth Diapers

2007-11-07T09:26:00.000-06:00

I have been using cloth diaperssince the very beginning and LOVE it. I have people ask me all the time if I'll go to disposables when we have more money and I know I never will because I hate them. :) I have in fact fallen in love with wool covers. My boys have very sensitive skin and if they get a diaper rash it hangs around for a while. I have also had problems with both boys leaking a lot especially at night. I was getting really tired of changing Stephen a couple of times a day. A friend lent me some of her wool covers to see if they worked better and in one day Stephen's rash has cleared up completely. You would think that they would leak, but they don't leak at all. In the last month, Stephen has wet the bed every single night, but in the wool cover last night, his pj's weren't even damp. You use them the same why you use any other cover with a prefold under it and either diaper pins or snappis (my personal favorite). I'm madly in love, they are just a little more expensive. lol Anyways, below are 3 of my favorites.

These are firefly's They have a lot of snaps along the sides so they are really easy to adjust.
www.fireflydiapers.com

The 2 pictures above are of covered caboose wraps, they are a little heavier than fireflies so they hold a little more.

www.greenmountaindiapers.com

This last one is called an aristocrat and is for nighttime primarily. They are a dream and you don't need pj bottoms over them. They also come with long legs so that you don't need winter pj's either. These are also on green mountain diapers.

I absolutely love these covers and even if we can't afford them for these two, I know what I'm getting for the next one.

Microwaves

2007-11-02T21:35:00.000-05:00

If you have a microwave, have you ever thought about how much you use it while cooking? Our 30 year old microwave bit the dust last week and I hadn't realized how much time was saved by having it. I can still cook anything I want, everything just takes more time. lol Isn't it amazing how much we take for granted in our "have to have it 5 minutes ago" society? :)

Life

2007-10-30T14:04:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how much is contained in the word life. If someone asks "how's life" we have so many different things we can assume they are asking. How's school? How's the family? How are you doing? All of which can have many different answers and it's interesting to see what people decide the answer is going to be.

For me life right now consists of trying to keep my head above water with school and taking care of my family. It's amazing how little can get done in a day when you have two cranky children who both want all of your attention. By the time I get the both to bed at night and look at our house I can just get depressed. :P Other times, my boys are little angels and I can have the house sparkling clean and dinner ready when Andy gets home from school. I love having my boys so close together, but it can be really frustrating at times. With my family all 2 1/2 to 3 years apart my Mom was able to train us in proper behavior outside the home before the next one came along. I run through stores trying to keep Caleb from falling out of the buggy, hitting Stephen in the head with something or pitching a fit. All of this is made more difficult by the fact that we can't spank in public without fear that we will have social services knocking on our door.
Life is good in all aspects for me, just long at times. :D

Our home and other random pics

2007-10-18T12:41:00.000-05:00

I'm still trying to settle into our new home, but here is a picture of our family in front of our beautiful duplex. Also, some random pics of Caleb's 2nd birthday and of our boys. :)

Our side is the one you can see the most of :D

They love taking baths together and soak me with the splashing.

Watching the Wiggles after their bath.

Blowing candles out with Daddy.

Nana, Becky and Ruth came down for his birthday... his presents

Stephen was chasing the apple juice bottle in circles. lol

Blessings

2007-10-15T10:12:00.001-05:00

God is so good!!! I was going through old bills today and filing them. I was actually looking at what they were charging for and noticed that we had been charged $400 for a circumcision we did not have done. I called the doctor's office and am in the process of getting that removed. It's pretty easy to prove that it wasn't done and I told the lady I'd be happy to bring Stephen in if they need proof that he wasn't circumcised. She laughed and said that it wouldn't be necessary. :) Isn't it wonderful how the Lord gives us gifts we didn't even know we needed? I can't believe I missed that when I first got the bill.

Pure Outrage

2007-10-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

I was watching Bill O'Reilly last night and he was talking about the gay parade in San Francisco and how hateful they are getting towards Christians. They are now openly attacking Christianity in ways worse than the stories we have seen on Moslem prejudice. In the past I feel that I have been opposed to homosexuality because it is immoral and goes competely against the Bible, but I have not been out-spoken about how wrong it is. After seeing the hatred many are exhibiting and the direct attacks on our Christian foundations, I believe that Christians can not sit back and hope that a small group can protest and win this debate. We must all stop hanging back and instead express our horror that the state is trying to force us into "tolerence" of every other religious or personal beliefs and refuse to allow these things to happen. Between this news that is not being covered and the things that Ms. Clinton has been spewing, I am going to have to get back into politics in some way in this next year. If we all sit by jaded, than our country is ruined and Christians will have no where to go. The rest of the world is even more liberal and accepting of everything but Christians. It is our responsibility to give our children a safe place to grow up in. If this is allowed to continue what is next, people thinking that pedophiles are a normal part of society and looking the other way.

Below is the best description I have found of what happened in San Francisco it is on conservativethoughts.us

I wonder if the media will cover this like it did the Mohammed cartoons! I doubt it, unless you think Christians will hit the streets in riots burning everything in site.Organizers of San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair — sponsored by Miller Brewing Co. — have portrayed Christ and his disciples as half-naked homosexual sadomasochists in the event’s promotional advertisement, and the conservative group Concerned Women for America is complaining about the hypocrisy of it.“The bread and wine representing Christ’s broken body and lifegiving blood are replaced with sadomasochistic sex toys in this twisted version of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper,” CWA said on its Web site.
“‘Gay’ activists disingenuously call Christians ‘haters’ and ‘homophobes’ for honoring the Bible, but then lash out in this hateful manner toward the very people they accuse,” said said Matt Barber, CWA’s policy director for cultural issues.
“In their version of The Last Supper, Christ, Who gave His life for our sins, is despicably replaced by sin itself as the object of worship.”
CWA is calling on California politicians — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sens. Feinstein and Boxer among them — to “publicly condemn this unprovoked attack against Christ and His followers.
“We further challenge the media to cover this affront to Christianity with the same vigor as recent stories about cartoon depictions of Mohammed and other items offensive to the Muslim community,” CWA said.
I think the only thing shocking is that groups keep thinking it is soooo artsy to mock Christ, yet culturally insensitive to mock Islam.
Oh, and San Fran can host this, but ROTC causes traffic problems???? And now they attack the Blue Angels? How long before Sodom sinks into the Pacific?
I won’t say, “This is an attack on Christianity, and a double standard, as this would have never happenned to the Muslims,” because that is obvious.
People like to call Christians intolerant, but I see something entirely different. My friend Brujo stated this in an article earlier:
I read a Liberty Counsel Alert dated August 24, 2007 regarding an incident that is central to my point. There is a church in New Jersey, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which is a ministry of the Methodist Church that happens to own some prime beach side real estate that is used for church services, gospel concerts, Bible studies and weddings. It seems there was a lesbian couple that wanted to get ‘married.’ They attempted to rent this facility and were turned down because of the religious beliefs and practices of this church. Their doctrine (religious belief) prohibits civil unions of same sex individuals. The women complained to the state that the church was violating state anti-discrimination laws and the state initiated an investigation.
I find it interesting that the state would even consider such an investigation. This church, like many Bible believing Christian organizations, live their religion. The do no commit crimes such as murder because of a religious belief and not out of concern for man’s law. They will not violate the tenants of their religion. The U.S. Constitution as primary law of the land is supposed to protect religious practice. Can you imagine the results of a church being ordered to lend its facilities to support an act they consider a religious abomination? (This is the USA. We can believe in abomination at least until the ACLU criminalizes it.)
It has become apparent that the state of New Jersey is going to take a stab at regulating this church and its activities. The claim is that because they allow anyone to enter they have become a public institution and therefore subject to the anti discrimination laws. I submit that if this was a Hasidic Jewish facility or a Mosque there would be no question regarding the homosexual agenda. Christian churches are traditionally open to the all for worship services. Because they do not lock the doors to only allow their membership access does not give government license to regulate.
Now some of the Gay and Lesbian groups are petitioning local and state government in New Jersey to review the tax exempt status of this church. This is a very strong weapon. Many churches and other religious groups cannot afford to pay property taxes and if required to do so they would have to dispose of the property.
I do not really give two damns would people do in the bedroom as long as it is consentual and the participants are over the legal age. But I also see a gay-rights movement more and more hostile to Christianity, and more willing to chip away to freedom of speech and religion to get to it as these new hate crime laws do. All of us should be threatened by these actions. And this, far more then anything else.

My Moby Wrap

2007-10-12T18:28:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! My Moby Wrap get here today and I am so excited. Andy's parents got it for me as an early Christmas present. Stephen and I both love it and I can't wait to try it in all different situations. :) This isn't the best picture, but it will do for now.

Andy tried it with Caleb on his back, but wouldn't let me take a picture.

Baby Boys and Girls

2007-10-11T10:10:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking about which of my friends have had boys and girls this year and Stephen is one of only three boys in my circle of friends. lol Stephen, Luke and Rebecca's yet to be known little boy are the only one's I can think of. 5 other ladies in my church and 2 other friends have had babies or are due in the next couple of weeks, all girls, and Jen, Kelley, Katie and Kristy have girls. Even the year Caleb was born was a girl year for our church, 3 little girls were born in the same month and then Caleb and his friend William with girls after them. It is starting to appear that my little boys are going to be in the middle of a gang of girls like my brothers were. That's ok though, they will have some beautiful, sweet girls to pick from if Andy and I bring them up right. A couple of my friends have already claimed Caleb. :D

On another note, I had my boys measured and weighed yesterday.
Caleb is 38 inches and 40 lbs at 2. Children generally double their height from 2 to adulthood so you do the math. lol
Stephen is 28 inches and 22 lbs at exactly 6 months. Yes, I know, my children are quite large. :)

Grief

2007-10-05T14:01:00.000-05:00

With less extreme reactions, the answer often lies in our culture's inability to deal with grief. People in our society have a difficult time dealing with another person's pain and grief, whatever the source, and tend to avoid or minimize it rather than acknowledge it. We are trained to avoid other people's grief, to look away from pain, to deny illness and death, and leave people to deal with these things in private. Sharing another person's pain is simply not a skill many of us have developed or are comfortable with, and grief is still taboo in our society. Grieving death is hard enough; grieving anything less than a death is often seen as indulgent, self-involved, and neurotic.

Giant Turtle

2007-10-02T10:51:00.001-05:00

Here at Auburn University they have some pretty little ponds/fountains scattered about the campus. Lots of turtles live in them and Andy has been telling me about this gigantic turtle he keeps seeing and I finally made him take a picture so I could see what he was talking about. That is Andy's shadow on the water and the turtles are sitting on a board that is about a foot wide he says. This is not a snapping turtle it is a regular box turtle and you can see him sitting on a normal sized box turtle on the board. I have never seen a turtle this big that wasn't either a snapping turtle or a sea turtle. Just thought it was amusing and would share with everyone. We are going to take Caleb to see it on Sunday when we take our afternoon walk. Maybe I can get a picture of it near Caleb for more size comparison. ;D

Computer personalities

2007-09-29T21:42:00.000-05:00

It has been really interesting this year to see how people act differently when they are hidden behind a computer screen and a pretend character. Andy and I play a game called Warcraft together with people from all over the world. In this game we can join a group of people we call a guild to do different things. We can chat with each other through both an IM chat and a voice service and it's a lot of fun to meet different people and get to know them.

What I find fascinating is how a lot of these people either claim or would claim to be good people, but how when they get behind a computer screen things don't matter since we are in a "different" world. They become very crude and call people things they would never say to their face. These "good people" call girls ho's and talk about sexual things they would be embarrassed by at any other time. Young men talk about raping other characters in game and some of them have never thought about what that really means and how horrible and degrading it is until I've pointed it out. Why do people react like this? We recently left one guild because we could no longer handle the disrespect that people were exhibiting regularly and have joined a guild where people really do seem to follow the rules of normal life. There I am treated like the lady I am and the language is kept to a minimum. In our new guild this game is treated like the game it is and all the normal societal rules are upheld instead of real life taking a back seat to a computer game.

I know this is random, but I have been trying to figure out why people think that all societal norms can be thrown out the window when they are hiding behind an assumed character.

More Pictures

2007-09-24T11:52:00.000-05:00

Here are some more pictures of my sweet boys. I had to control myself and not post more. :)

They love to sit in the box and laugh, I'm not sure why...

He feels like part of the family at dinner and is so happy to be on the same level we are

Caleb was watching for Andy to get home from class. :)

He loves his swing and was making a funny face. lol He's teething so he chews on his lip.

Caleb tah-turing (coloring)

Caleb will not let Stephen play in the floor gym without shoving his way in and playing with him.

Prayer Request

2007-09-23T13:41:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, could y'all please be praying for my cousin Richard? He is 20 years old and had a massive heart attack on Friday. The doctors say that he is going to be fine and his heart was not damaged, but they can't figure out why he had the attack. Hospitals have a test they can administer to determine if someone has a heart attack and a normal person who hasn't will score a 0 or 1, Richards came back as a 28. My aunt was told that normally only young people on cocaine have heart attacks like this, but Richard doesn't do drugs and when the doctors tested him he was completely clean and there was absolutely no evidence he had ever done drugs at all. His cholesterol and blood pressure were really good too. There doesn't appear to be any reason what so ever that he should have had this massive attack. I don't think he's a Christian, so please pray for him. Thanks!!

More Obsession :)

2007-09-19T10:27:00.001-05:00

I found this video while looking at more information about babywrapping. It's a young father putting on a Moby and he has a tiny newborn. It's too cute!!! :) On another note, if you google babywrapping my blog pops up. lol

Babywrapping

2007-09-18T21:25:00.001-05:00

Other than cloth diapering, which I love, and smocking clothes for my boys especially Caleb so he looks his age, I'm not really obsessive about baby things. Well that has all changed now. I have been getting tired of trying to hang on to Stephen, deal with Caleb and do housework etc. and Stephen was getting too heavy for my Snugli and too wiggly for my sling. I have found my dream baby item and it's called a Moby Wrap. It uses your entire back, shoulders and hips to carry the baby and there are so many different ways to wrap it. Baby can ride as shown in the picture, or facing out, as well as on your hip or back. It is also really easy to nurse in apparently. I am currently looking for one on ebay, but considering how much material must be in it, it only costs $35. One website also carries a nice selection of cloth diapers though I prefer my ebay store or Green Mountain. The Moby wrap site itself also has step-by-step picture directions for 12 different wrap positions as well as instructions on how to breastfeed in it. This is the first item I have not been firmly set on since before I got married and now I have to find a way to get it. :) Babywrapping just falls right in line with all of the naturalist tendencies I already have and I think it is so healthy for newborns especially. This is the way a lot of women in 3rd world countries carry their babies and still get all of the physical labor they need to do done. Hopefully this will enable me to get more things done because I won't have to constantly rescue Stephen from Caleb's love. :D

Friends

2007-09-18T14:20:00.001-05:00

I got to see a friend today that I haven't really seen in several months. She had some tragedy in her life and needed some time to grieve without seeing me and my newborn. I'm really glad that she called and came over today because we are so much alike and have very similar opinions on just about any subject from pregnancy and child rearing to politics. :) I have missed her greatly. Her little girl played in our sandbox and we got to talk while Caleb and Stephen slept. Like everyone else she agrees Stephen looks like me. lol All in all it was a wonderful day and I'm glad to have her friendship and support back in my life.

To die for recipe

2007-09-17T21:40:00.000-05:00

I tried this dessert recipe recently and it was so good and really quick. It says to use fresh fruit you freeze yourself, but I cheated and bought mine pre-frozen. Andy loves it!

Frozen Berries With Hot White Chocolate Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:
6 ounces/170 g fresh blackberries
6 ounces/170 g fresh blueberries
6 ounces/170 g fresh raspberries
4 fresh strawberries, halved lengthwise
8 ounces/230 ml heavy whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
8 ounces/230 g good-quality white chocolate, finely chopped

Method: Arrange all the berries in a single layer on a baking sheet, making sure they are well spaced apart. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 2 hours or until the berries are frozen.

Meanwhile, place the cream in a heavy medium saucepan. Using a small sharp knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the cream. Add the bean to the cream. Bring the cream to just below simmering over medium heat.
Place the chocolate in a bowl and pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate. Discard the vanilla bean.Let stand for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt slightly, then stir the cream mixture until the chocolate has melted completely and the sauce is smooth.
Arrange the berries on a serving platter or in individual bowls and pour the hot sauce over the frozen berries. Serve at once.

9/11

2007-09-11T15:01:00.000-05:00

Since today is the 6th anniversary of 9/11 and the first time it's been back on a Tuesday the radio and TV stations have been going nuts. Andy and I have been talking about it and realized that our memories of that day are as clear as if the events transpired in the last week. It's amazing how we have trouble pinpointing what we did during the day six years ago, but we can remember every detail of September 11th. I remember that my Dad had gotten food poisoning the night before and he and my Mom were at the hospital and I was home with all of my siblings. There were some guys there installing new cabinets and counter tops in our kitchen and I was sewing. I had the radio on and heard the announcers saying a plane had accidentally hit the World Trade Center and turned the TV on in time to witness the second plane in real time. We all sat on the couch and watched TV the rest of the day, having trouble comprehending that terrorists had the audacity to attack us on our own soil. The workmen in our house spent as much time watching TV with us as they did installing things, and only charged my parents for half of the time they were there. Mom and Dad didn't even know anything had happened for about an hour because the hospital staff was trying to keep people calm and they didn't have a TV on in their room.

The gaping holes in New York, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field united our country in a way it had not seem since Pearl Harbor and the start of WWII for us. It's amazing how single-minded we were then and now the backstabbing that is being perpetrated by politicians today. How can people stand the weaseling and finger pointing and forget what was done to us? I believe our country is too soft and is rapidly sliding into the diffident, self importance exhibited by Europe. I'm so disgusted with both parties that it almost makes me want to not vote, but if we all do that the wrong people will be elected and our country will be a disaster. So, I will hold my nose, vote, and pray that we will be able to draw our country back from the brink before it's too late and God allows us to be wiped off the map because of our decadent society.

Worst Luck

2007-09-08T08:55:00.000-05:00

One of Andy's long time friends DB has the worst luck of anyone I can think of. He has been rear ended by a rubber necker at a wreck who never slowed down and attacked by a gang of bikers to name a couple. This week he was robbed and shot. Please pray for him if you think of it and heres what he said about the robbery.

Wednesday night(9/5/07) Scott and I were playing Gears of War at my house. My door bell rang, I got up and went to open the door expecting to see the pizza man with our dinner. When I unbolted the door and turned the handle, the door was shoved in by a tall, lanky black man pointing a revolver at my head. Behind him was a short black man who was sweating and shaking. The taller one forced me back into my living room and kept shouting, "Where's the money Fred?" I tried to explain to him my name wasn't Fred, I didn't know where the money was and he could have whatever he wanted if he would just put the gun down. The short man then proceeded to yank my xbox out of the wall, grab my laptop, and steal both our cell phones. Then they tried to steal my TV, I explained that it was too big for one person to carry and they weren't going to be able to carry it out while they held the gun at me. They saw that I was right and started to back out just before they ran out of my house the tall one shot me in the leg. Scott immediately ran to the bathroom and grabbed me a towel. Meanwhile, I dropped my shorts and checked my wound. Thank God for Scott and my EMT training. One look and I knew it was non femoral and the bone was intact. Scott Helped me tie a tourniquet and apply pressure. I saw an entry and exit wound so I hoped the bullet had passed straight through. Scott ran up stairs to try and get some help from my neighbors. No one came so he came back downstairs and helped drag me to his car. He drove me to Highlands hospital which was only a few blocks away. Highland's ER doesn't get a lot of traffic and hardly any trauma, they were extremely startled to get a gun shot wound. After they stabilized me, they decided I needed to go to University because they were better equipped to deal with me. While I was being treated Scott called my family and my close friends. I was loaded up and taken by ambulance to University where they decided my wound was clean and flesh only, no bone, nerve, or severe vascular damage. They gave me a shot of Morphine and sent me home. Thank you everyone who has called or e-mailed. Thank you for your kind words and your prayers!

Potty Training

2007-09-07T10:08:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited. I have been working on potty training Caleb for the last few days and he is doing so well. Since he's a boy, I was afraid it was going to take a lot longer before he was ready to potty train. I remember my sisters potty trained easier and sooner than my brothers; part of the genetic differences between boys and girls liberals are trying to refuse to acknowledge. :) He's only wet his underwear once in 3 days, though I still put a diaper on him for naps and errands. I'm not brave enough to try those yet. lol Caleb is loving it and has his little routine down. After he's finished he hops down and says YAY, then closes the lid and flushes the toilet before we put his underwear on and wash his hands. That's great for me because he seems to understand patterns well for other things also. This is a wonderful development because he's so big we were getting close to him outgrowing the diaper covers I've been buying. I hope this continues well and soon I can leave off diapers most of the time without worrying that he's going to wet his clothes. :)

Yakama

2007-09-03T16:05:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have been to the Yakama Indian Reservation. I don't know if some of you knew this, but there is a full-time missionary out there now and he and his family have been there for about 4 years. His name is Chris Granberry and he was Andy's youth pastor and my team leader the first time I was there.

God is working incredible things on the reservation and Chris decided to post his quarterly updates on a new blog this summer. I thought you might like to look at it and see some of the amazing things the Lord is doing in such a dark place. I haven't been able to see the pictures he has posted so I'm going to email him and see if that can get fixed.

http://sacredroadyakama.blogspot.com

Cuddling :)

2007-08-29T17:40:00.000-05:00

The boys and I were playing in their room this afternoon and they were being too cute. Stephen is almost sitting up on his own. He balances fine until he gets REALLY excited. :) Boys are so much fun.

Aren't they precious?

C-Sections

2007-08-28T20:37:00.000-05:00

The fact that I have to have C-Sections with all of my babies is a constant struggle for me. I know it shouldn't be, but it just tears me up sometimes. I was planning on going completely natural, use the Bradley method and no drugs. Then Caleb stayed breech and even though we tried 2 external versions (turning him from the outside) he would not move. He even kicked the doctor and flipped back one time. It just killed me to see all I wanted going out the window at the time.

With Stephen my doctor gave me the chance to have him naturally and I labored for 9 hours without drugs and all, before the doctor told me that I had stalled out, there was something wrong, and we needed to get the baby out as soon as possible. Afterwards, he told Andy that 30 minutes more and my uterus would have ruptured because it was as thin as gauze around the old scar. Stephen's head was so large that it was not coming down and he was facing the wrong way. They had to break my water to start labor, though I believe that my body tried hard to labor on it's own 2 weeks before.

All of this is to say that I'm heart-broken over this. My body can only handle at the most 6 pregnancies before it's dangerous to me and the baby, so even though I don't want more than 6, I hate that I don't have a choice in that. I have been trying so hard to get past this, and I have a little peace that there is obviously a reason God has set me on this path, but I still don't know how deal with it. I try to be relaxed and tell Andy that now we can pick our kids' birthdays, but that's not what I want and I don't know what to do. It's just hard to understand why this heart's desire of mine was not to be.

2 year olds

2007-08-21T16:12:00.000-05:00

Why is 2 sometimes the most fun and other times the most irritating age? It must be because they are learning new things everyday and then use it so much that it drives their parents batty. Caleb is so much fun to watch as he discovers new abilities and words. He is already learning to help me put all of his toys away, though he wants to immediately pull them back out again. He also adores music and dances whenever there is something on. His favorite show is The Wiggles and we also have some of their Cd's. The Wiggles have dances that go along with all of their songs and Caleb has started copying them instead of just bouncing around the room. It's quite cute because half the time he does the moves just slightly off from them and it's hilarious to watch. If anyone gives instructions in a song he can follow along as well and that's a recent thing.

His vocabulary is growing on leaps and bounds and he is learning to speak in sentences. He loves for me to do the This Little Piggy Went to Market poem on his toes and I must do it on both of his feet and both of Stephen's before he is satisfied. He'll also run around saying wee wee all home after I'm done. lol I don't know if this is a good thing or not, but he now knows to run to me and say poop poop and hold his diaper if he needs it changed. I'm not thrilled with this, but am looking on the bright side that maybe it means he'll start potty training soon. Andy thinks it hysterical and I just tell him to wait until he tries to shush Caleb in church and he screams out that he pooped at the top of his lungs in the middle of the pastor's prayer.

Stephen is also growing fast. He can almost sit up, just still has a tendency to get excited and throw himself backward. He adores Caleb and just lies on his stomach and giggles while watching Caleb play. He is also teething already and I can see the teeth in his gums though they probably won't break through for another month. Caleb got his first tooth at 5 months so I'm not surprised that Stephen is on the same track. Stephen is desperate to be moving so I hope he starts crawling soon. He is already sliding himself backwards across the room so maybe he'll be crawling by 6 months.

I'm amazed at how much I can get down around the house with 2 such little children because sometimes I feel that all I do is play with them. I love my life. :D

Praise God!!!

2007-08-14T16:32:00.000-05:00

My car is not actually fixed yet, but we have found a collision shop who is really working to help us out. The man who owns it came in and talked to me and found out that we had 2 young children and Andy was trying to finish school with a teaching degree. After that, he looked at the damage to my car and told me that he would give me the parts necessary in order to keep the car from being totaled. That was unbelievably generous of him and we are so thankful that God led me to his shop. He told me that he understood that we could not afford a car payment right now and that my car would be as good as new when they were finished with it. This was an answer to our prayers.

Wreck

2007-08-07T19:24:00.000-05:00

I was pulling out of the grocery store parking lot today and hit a car I did not see, even though I looked both ways 2 or 3 times before moving. I would appreciate prayer because we have been just making it financially and really can't afford to have to repair my car. I know the Lord takes care of us, but it just feels like we finally get something taken care of and have a little bit of leeway again and things of this nature happen.

Pictures

2007-08-06T16:22:00.000-05:00

We had a family get together this weekend while we were in Birmingham getting the rest of our things from Andy's parent's basement and one of Andy's uncles took these great pictures of my boys. :)

They had just been swimming

Caleb was fascinated by the fountain and kept running back to mess with it.

Marital Relationships

2007-08-04T22:09:00.000-05:00

Now before you get scared this is not a R or X rated post... :) Andy and I just had a lot of time to talk on the drive to and from Birmingham this weekend when we went to pick up our stuff from Andy's parents. The main thing we talked about was how do you handle relationships with people of the opposite sex after you are married and what is an appropriate level of friendship. When we first got married we agreed that we were never going to be alone with someone of the opposite sex just to rule out temptation. It has been very easy to apply this rule and have realized that since we got married the only friends we have made have been couples that we both get along with well and when we meet someone think about whether or not both wives and husbands will get along. The issue we were talking about is what do we do with friends from before we got married, or from before we were even dating? How do you handle it when a majority of them are still not married and many aren't even in a relationship? The biggest thing was what do we do about people we were physically attracted to before our relationship, but our partner has become good friends with in the mean time? Do you ask that the friendship be broken off or just be a surface friendship? Neither of us are very good at surface friendships because we read people to well and either really like them, or can't stand them so we decided that would not work. We went back to our first inclination which was that the friendships can continue and grow as they will, but that we would never be alone with people. I don't want to put Andy in a situation that might lead to temptation and could have been easily avoided, or vice versa. Does anyone have advice on this?

Moving and Politics

2007-07-28T15:32:00.000-05:00

Well, we are down to crunch time with our move. We take possession of our new apartment on August 1st and we can not wait to be out from under our current realty company. It has been an interesting experience trying to pack with a curious 2 year old. Caleb wants to see everything that I put in a box and I have discovered that he is strong enough to pick up most of the small and medium size boxes to make sure I haven't packed one he hasn't looked at yet. :P I'm sure he will be a big help when we are in our duplex. The biggest problem I have had is that I developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my left wrist and arm and it's really painful. Unfortunately I'm left-handed making it really hard to rest it the way I should. Toteing my 35+ pound child around doesn't help either.

Has anyone heard about the child rapist that got released because the court could not find a translator who spoke his obscure dialect? What do you think of it? He apparently graduated from both high-school and college here in the US, so I think that the judge was extremely stupid to allow the dismissal because he "couldn't understand English well enough to defend himself." Things of this nature really scare me when we are looking at an election year coming up. I'm afraid that Hiliary Clinton has a chance to win and what our poor country will suffer for at least 4 years while hse is president. I don't think our country is ready for a female president especially when we are dealing with so many Muslim countries. A female president would just hurt us even more right now. I also am not sure that a liberal woman, but especially Clinton, can win right now. It might take a conservative woman because some liberal women would vote for her because she was a woman, but must conservative women abhor Hiliary Clinton and will never vote for her. If we get a Liberal president period, I'm afraid that terrorist attacks on American soil will happen again. I think the terrorists will feel pretty secure in the belief that the liberals will talk, but never actually fight back. The only reason I believe that we should stay in Iraq, and my military friends say this too, is because we are fighting all the jihadists over there instead of in New York or Atlanta. I do not believe that Andy and I will be living in a major city for the next several years.

Thank you for listening to my rant, off to pack more boxes...

Birthday

2007-07-20T22:19:00.000-05:00

Today was wonderful. I spent all day playing with the boys, laying on the couch and smocking. As much as I can't wait to move, I couldn't stand the idea of packing on my birthday. lol Andy had told me yesterday that he was planning something and that I was to get rid of the boys for a couple of hours. Some of our friends took them and had a blast playing with Caleb and getting Stephen to giggle at them. Andy walked in the door carrying a single red rose and a CD I really wanted and took me to dinner. It was so nice just having some time with my husband. We were able to talk and hold hands without worrying about Caleb trying to fall out of the high chair, or Stephen deciding he was bored and fussing. (They aren't normally bad, just nice to be alone for once. :) He also sent me the meaning of roses while he was at work and I thought they were interesting. Hope you like them too. :D

Red
Red roses are the traditional symbol for love and romance, and a time-honored way to say "I love you." The red rose has long symbolized beauty and perfection. A bouquet of red roses is the perfect way to express your deep feelings for someone special.

Pink
As a symbol of grace and elegance, the pink rose is often given as an expression of admiration. Pink roses can also convey appreciation as well as joyfulness. Pink rose bouquets often impart a gentler meaning than their red counterparts.

Yellow
The bright, sunny color of yellow roses evokes a feeling of warmth and happiness. The warm feelings associated with the yellow rose are often akin to those shared with a true friend. As such, the yellow rose is an ideal symbol for joy and friendship.

White
White roses represent innocence and purity and are traditionally associated with marriages and new beginnings. The white rose is also a symbol of honor and reverence, and white rose arrangements are often used as an expression of remembrance.

Orange
With their blazing energy, orange roses are the embodiment of desire and enthusiasm. Orange roses often symbolize passion and excitement and are an expression of fervent romance. A bouquet of orange roses will send a meaningful message.

Lavender
The unique beauty of the lavender rose has captured many hearts and imaginations. With their fantastical appearance, lavender roses are a perfect symbol of enchantment. The lavender rose is also traditionally used to express feelings of love at first sight.

Lotion

2007-07-16T08:31:00.000-05:00

I just had to tell everyone that when I got out of the shower this morning I discovered another new thing Caleb can do. He was sitting on the toilet with a bottle of baby lotion, a can of vasoline and my natural bath salts. (Caleb has very dry skin, so I'm always putting special moisturizing creams on his face.) He looked up at me and there were big globs of lotion on his nose and forehead and vasoline all over his face and in his hair. The bath salts were mixed into this mess. Thankfully the salts were just sea salt with a little bit of mint mixed in. I have spent the last little bit cleaning this little stinker up and I don't think I'll have to worry about his face being dry today. lol

Uncle David

2007-07-16T07:27:00.000-05:00

My brother David is going to Mexico on a mission trip and found out that his passport expired this summer because it was a youth passport. He ended up having to drive down to New Orleans in order to get it renewed and stopped on his way through to see us. Caleb adores his uncles and Stephen is just such a people person. While he was here David took these pictures.

Uncle David playing with Stephen

My cutie pie standing on my lap. He has very intense eyes in pictures. :)

Stephen thinks that dangling in the air is the best thing ever, here he is giggling at me.

Caleb is a little camera ham. He has also learned to say cheese. lol

I love the intense look and the drool. :) Caleb is telling David something...

Figuring out family names for our kids has been fun. We finally decided that David, John and James would get to be Uncle David, Uncle John and Uncle James, but the girls are so close in age to my kids, especially Ruth, that they are just Becky and Ruth. Caleb calls them Beh Beh and Roo. :)

Pictures

2007-07-13T17:14:00.000-05:00

Caleb finally stopped bruising his face so I was able to get the boys pictures made at Olan Mills today. :) They behaved and were so cute. Caleb is such a camera ham that the photographer could get him to do whatever she wanted, except let her take pictures of Stephen alone. I realized why people end up paying so much at a good studio as well. I was there to only get a group picture, but some of the singles were SOOO tempting. Only the fact that I knew we couldn't afford them right now, and that Andy would kill me, kept me from succumbing. There is also a good chance I sold 2 smocked outfits while I was at it because the photographer and on woman with the next appointment couldn't believe I made their outfits and got my name because they were interested in having me make something. I'll post some of the proofs when they are uploaded to the internet in a few days.

It has also been a relaxing day because Andy took the day off from work so that we could have a mini vacation. We haven't had a break to ourselves since our honeymoon since every holiday has been spent with family. His boss was extremely kind and gave him some money and told us to enjoy our vacation. We went out to eat for lunch and have spent the afternoon "camping" in the living room with Caleb. Tomorrow we are going to the Infantry Museum at Fort Benning and having dinner with friends posted there. It'll be a lot of fun.

Children's Prayers

2007-07-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

Andy and I recently decided that Caleb was old enough to understand bedtime prayers. We probably could have started earlier because he watches and imitates everything. He is not ready to eat until he has held both Mommy's and Daddy's hands, bowed his head and Daddy prayed for our meal. Andy's family has always held heads while praying so we do to and after watching us do it, Caleb started holding his hands out for us to take as well. It's so cute because he'll wave them and say da da da until we take them. :)

Anyway, we started bedtime prayers with him last week and he already goes to find Andy when I say it's bedtime. We go in, kneel on his bed with Caleb in between us and he folds his hands while his Daddy prays. It is so precious to see, and brings joy to our hearts, that even if he doesn't fully understand why we pray, it is still something that he has to do at certain times of the day.

Boys

2007-07-07T15:56:00.000-05:00

For the last 2 weeks I have been trying to schedule an appointment to have Caleb and Stephen's picture made at Olan Mills. In typical boyish fashion, as soon as I decided to do this, Caleb started bumping up his head. First, he fell into an end table and had a HUGE green egg on his forehead for a week, then he scratched his nose up and most recently scraped up his cheek chasing a ball on the 4th. I have given up on having the perfect picture and will keep my next appointment unless there is something wrong with his whole face. :) These normal little boy bumps and bruises have caused me to think about all I have to look forward to for the next 18 years with 2 little boys first. (I loved to play outside, but never got as scraped up as my brothers.) With mine and Andy's abilities to think of things to get ourselves in trouble as children, we know what to expect. A friend sent me something with a story I can clearly see being my own in a few years. lol

Today I sent my two boys (3 and 4) outside to play with little sister (1). After awhile I noticed that they were awfully quiet and I went to investigate. I went out the back door and found them each with a paint brush and an open can of raspberry fizz (bright pink) paint! They had painted themselves, their sister, the carport, the rocks in the path, the shingles that were laying next to the house, the solid white cat, and a stray chicken that had the misfortune of wandering by at the wrong moment. They both dropped the brushes and just looked at me. I had to just walk off. I didn't know what to do with them. I called my husband (who is supposed to know what to do in situations like this) and he just laughed and laughed and laughed! I still don't know what to do with them. They are in their room now (after a bath) playing. The cat got a VERY unwanted bath, she is now light pink. Just thought I'd share...

I died laughing when I read this and started thinking of all the stuff my brothers and I did. Such as, David and I setting a whole roll of toilet paper on fire while Mom was is the shower. I was 5 and we burnt it in the sink so there would be water right where we needed. There was a burn spot on the ceiling and the sink was cracked, but the house did not burn down. These 2 stories make me think I shouldn't keep bright paint or matches around the house, amoung other things... :)

Gifts and Empathy

2007-07-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

A long conversation I had last night has gotten me thinking about people's gifts. One of Andy's is leadership, he is very good and figuring out what needs to be done and getting the people for it. My friend Stephanie is an organizer and is very empathic. My main one seems to be empathy. I have the ability to sit down with a complete stranger and have their entire life's story and problems they are having in 5 minutes. Friends come to me with problems and ask for advice I often feel unqualified to give, but they want it anyway. (I'm not trying to brag just explain. :P) For a long time it could drive me to tears trying to help someone and feeling like they through it back in my face. One person did so many times before I realized that it was not good for me and that I needed to stop talking to them for my mental health. Andy says that it is because people recognize that I am genuinely interested in them and will listen to what they have to say, instead of everything being all about me. I just don't know. This was all brought to mind by a friend I really like, but don't know all that well yet, who called me for help last night. I hope I was able to offer comfort and help with the depression that was there, but just found it interesting that they would call me instead of someone they were closer to. I love talking to people and helping them, I just have to be careful that I do not hurt myself be taking their problems on my own shoulders. Empathy is a wonderful, but dangerous gift. And this post is not meant to ask people to stop calling me. PLEASE do call. :) It's just a way to organize my thoughts and try to straighten things out in my head.

Shots

2007-06-29T12:41:00.000-05:00

I never knew that getting children shots would be one of my most frustrating experiences. :P Our health department gives shots for free if you are under a certain income level, otherwise I would have taken them to the doctors so that I could be a little more picky about which shots they get, but it really doesn't matter for boys. Anyway, I made an appointment for 8am so I could be one of the first ones there and it still took 2 hours. It was absolutely ridiculous trying to keep Caleb from running wild without being able to spank him, and Stephen thought he was starving before we were called back. On top of that Caleb decided it was the perfect place to have a blowout stinky diaper. At that point I just had to laugh. Once we actually got back there, the nurse was really surprised and impressed that Caleb, who got 4 pricks, only cried with the MMR and watched her stick him. He also stood quietly and held Stephen's hand while Stephen got his shots. She said his behavior was really unusual because they normally scream the whole time and Caleb was not affected by Stephen's crying. Now I just have to hope they don't get fevers and are cranky for the next few days. lol

Lightswitches and Doorknobs

2007-06-27T07:26:00.000-05:00

Caleb crawled into bed with me this morning after Andy left for work, dragging his blanket and bear. He just recently became attached to the blanket as well as the bear but thankfully they are only necessary for naps and bedtime. :) He likes to sleep with his foot up on my hip, don't ask me why. Unfortunately, I found out at 7 that he is now tall enough to reach light switches and likes to flick them. lol Stephen and I could not remain alseep with the light flickering in our eyes so here we are. Stephen is talking to me while I type and Caleb is happily watching TV, which he can also turn on by himself now, telling me all about what he is watching. Because of these new abilities we have already bought doorknob covers so Caleb can't decide to go outside without us, he can reach the deadbolt.

Watching Caleb turn the deadbolt reminded me of our next door neighbors. They have 2 little girls who at the time this happened were 2 1/2 and 1. I got home from shopping and saw them happily running around naked in the living room the way kids do and one window was open because the weather was beautiful. About 5 minutes later I heard them giggling running up and down the sidewalk, still blissfully naked. :) Turns out that the oldest knew she couldn't open the door with the doorknob cover on, so she backed out the open window and opened the door from the outside to let her sister out. It was hilarious and their mother was so embaressed. lol

How to grow up

2007-06-26T17:17:00.000-05:00

The longer Andy and I are parents the more we realize how much we have grown and changed in the last few years, and that we are the final human authority on our family's lives. It has been a stuggle to assert that authority in some places and to decide where the line is between having family relations and protecting our children from things we do not want to go through. We believe we have finally reached the best decision for us for the time being and the pressure placed on us no longer matters. The Lord made everything clear for Andy in the days following Stephen's birth, especially after he was told that another 30 minutes and we would have lost Stephen and there was a strong chance I would have died. It seems like a horrible incident, but it was actually very special because it just showed Christ's love and protection in a very clear way.

Another note...
I have come to learn the joys of consignment sale shopping. I found a glider rocker that looks brand new for $30 and several really cute boys outfits for next to nothing. I have to avoid the books, because I'd buy way too many. The kids books especially. lol I don't have room for more books until we move and Andy can build another bookcase.
Caleb has recently learned the joys of coloring and tries his best to share his crayons with Stephen. :) It's precious and I can fold laundry at the table while he colors. lol

Babies... Miracles

2007-06-18T11:17:00.000-05:00

Something my family and I were talking about yesterday made me go look up the story about the baby that was born at 21 weeks and survived. The link is below of anyone is interested in looking at it. But this quote made me sick to my stomach. "Should one really be trying at all to keep that baby alive?" asks Professor Richard Nicholson, editor of the Bulletin of Medical Ethics. "Chances are it will require an enormous amount to be spent on it for the rest of its life. It disgusts me that life is worth so little anymore that all people think about is how much it will cost them, not the miracle of life itself. This past Spring there were huge bulletin boards around Auburn campus with extremely graphic pictures of abortions on them for a week. The stir in the students was profound. I heard one girl in my apartment complex who said that she didn't know that was what they did in abortions, that she had to go throw up after seeing them, and that she could never support abortions again. It was amazing to hear. I wasn't able to go see them, because I knew I couldn't handle it, especially since I was pregnant. Anyway, that is my deep post for the week.

The link... http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2017772,00.html

Father's Day

2007-06-18T09:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm exhausted, but last week was very productive. With the girls here I got several Latin lessons done, so I can take it easy this week and spend some time with my babies. They miss Mommy. :) Unfortuately this morning I discovered that my smart, tall son has been watching how Daddy turns on the TV without a remote and is now tall enough to push the button himself. :P This means he can turn it on and leave it running without my help, no more peace and quiet. lol

Stephen was baptized yesterday which Andy said was the perfect father's day present and we were very excited that our families were both able to come. Infant baptism is such a beautiful symbol and we loved having everyone witness it. Andy's parents are Baptist and don't believe in infant baptism, so Andy appreciated them coming. We also had fun cooking for our families for a change. Andy got to grill pork chops, which he loves doing. It was a little cramped in our apartment with 12 people there, but it was a lot of fun.

2007-06-13T19:23:00.000-05:00

I am finally in the process of finishing up my bachelor's degree. I was on track to be done in a total of 3 1/2 years, but that was before we got married. I have finally signed up for my last 4 classes and have my sisters here for the week so I work intensely on my Latin. If I work really hard and don't goof off I'll be done by Christmas, but will definitely graduate in the Spring. It will have taken me 2 1/2 more years than I thought, but I'll be glad to be done. lol

Even though things have not gone the way I've planned them, it is all the Lord's timing and Andy and I couldn't be happier. We often wonder what the Lord is preparing us for with some of the things we have gone through and are faced with currently, but are safe in the knowledge that everything is in his hands. Even in trials there is still great joy.

We are looking forward to moving the first of August. Our apartment was getting a little small and the reality company became neglectful, so after trial and error we have found a beautiful duplex and can't wait to move in. I can't believe I'm moving with 2 such little children, but we are really excited that Caleb will never remember being without a yard. We will be surrounded by trees and best of all will not have loud neighbors partying until all hours of the night. YAY!!!! :D

More??

2007-06-12T16:51:00.000-05:00

Should I post a more detailed story if how we ended up together? It's kinda funny, just long. lol

My beautiful boys

2007-06-12T14:54:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist and had to put up a picture of my babies. :)

About me...

2007-06-12T09:55:00.001-05:00

Most of y'all know me and how Andy and I met... We met on a mission trip in 2000 and I knew the first time I saw him that I was supposed to marry him. Kinda startled me, I was 15 and he had a girlfriend. Serveral years later we were set up by his youth pastor and we both knew after our first date that this was it.

In someways we are complete opposites. He loves sports and is pretty good at most of them and really good at some. I would rather curl up with a good book, though I have athletic abilities. Just means our boys will probably be able to play sports. Andy is mathematical and I'm good at english and history.

Even with what some people consider major differences the ones that matter the most we are alike in. Thankfully, Andy is a strong leader, because with my dominant personality I would run over him if he let me. He is a careful biblical leader and always attempts to study things through and guide me when I have questions. He is one of the most compassionate people I know and even though both of our beautiful boys were surprises he is a wonderful father. The Lord has blessed me with my husband who complements my personality and gifts so well.