Saturday, July 30, 2005
Stack's graduation
1st ever outreach, B'ham
Jamaica mon'
Happy, Happy Birthday
This session is dedicated entirely to Staci. And I want you to know that you are loved...and appreciated! Your friendship has stayed thru all kinds of situations. You have showed me your very heart & we have had loads of laughter and fun. Our conversations have included every emotion: joy, sorrow, fear, hope. Many nights we've stayed up late talking until we greeted a new day. How many "adventures" have we shared?? I can't count them on my fingers. And how many more do we have to share??? I can only imagine. Well, happy birthday my friend...and many more. I love you with all my heart-Tiff
25 Things to Remember
THis might sound a little familiar. A friend shared it with me, so I thought I'd pass it on!
1. 13 Years of Friendship
2. Fighting like sisters
3. Staying up late
4. Eating pepperoni; especially late night!
5. Lots of homemade ice cream
6. Phone calls
7. Sleepovers (mine, yours, & Becca's house)
8. Star Gazing
9. Old Navy
10. Moving to AL for Master's
11. Lemon juice & peroxide
12. Celebrating your birthday two days in a row :P
13. Cards in the mail
14. Beach Vacations: abigail, shelly bean, & I guess LILY
15. That time in Burlington Coat Factory
16. Lots of email
17. Snow Blast retreats
18. Summer Jam trouble
19. Youth Conventions
20. Pool Parties
21. Sharing secrets
22. Other adventures
23. Teaching me to ski (or at least trying)
24. Being there when others could care less.
25. Calling me friend
26. And one to grow on: The anticipation of more to come!
Friday, July 29, 2005
A younger us.
Us drama???
Graduation-duh
The Three Amigos
Sleeping Beauties
Att-i-tude
Who me?
Listen up...
Dumpster Diving
Grandma Becky
My grandmother is in the hospital for a variety of health problems. So we went to see her yesterday & we stayed for almost three hours. I haven't spent much time with her since we have been in NC. We have never been really close b/c I used to be scared of my grandfather so I stayed away. Yesterday I was reminded of what a sweetheart she really is. She's what you could call a "saint" of God. She has a degree in counseling & trusts the Lord with all her heart. I think that I should try to spend more time with her while I can.
When you read this please take a few minutes & pray for her. She has diabetes so it takes longer for her to recover from stuff. They put her in the hospital for a kidney infection & pneomonia(SP). She also has gout (sp?). I don't know exactly what that is but from what she said it basically equals pain on her feet whenever she tries to walk. She describes it like walking when every bone in your foot is broke.
I hate to see people in pain but she smiled the entire time. She put on a brave face! Mom & I are making meals to put in the freezer so when she comes home they can pop them in the fridge for a quick meal. Maybe in some small way this will help. I know that faithful prayer will do the most in bringing a speedy recovery. So that's what I'll try to do.
Storms
Last night there was a major storm that came through. IT knocked down powelines & even hailed some. In Bama these are tornado conditions. For some reason there aren't lots of tornados in NC. I'll leave that mess to ya'll! Anyways during the storm there were over 4500 lightning strikes. I love these kind of storms they are so much fun to watch. Justus got scared couple of times by the thunder but was fascinated by the lightening.
I remember once in MC we had to stop a service & take shelter b/c a tornado had been spotted in the area. We were at a boys & girls home. I think it was Lakewood Ranch. Of course there were several other "close encounter" during MC but we didn't really care that much. Everything was just an adventure then. Oh, those were the days....
J's Cousin's
Thursday, July 28, 2005
The haircut
I forgot to tell you that Justus got his 1st major haircut a coulple of weeks ago. I just got the pics back. I had to use a cheapy camera since the digital is down. Anyways I think that it changed his look a lot. What do you think?? Where has my baby gone?
Before the buzz
Sam had a deathgrip on him
My cutie pie!
100 Degrees
I know that it doesn't sound very hot to ya'll down in Texas but it's been six years since we've hit 100 degrees around here. If it would have hit 101 we would have broken a 1940's record. Guess there is always tommorrow to try & do that. All the plants in the garden are starting to wilt. The AC has frozen several times. And people are out of power b/c everyone is using the AC. More people died last year in NC b/c of heat than of lightning, car accidents & hurricane/tornados together. That's almost 600 people who died from heat stroke or something related. I hope that the power company can get the air turned on quick! We fortunately still have power.
The water in the pool today felt like bathwater, not very refreshing but Justus didn't care. He was just glad to get out of the house! He's been driving me crazy all day long. He climbed into his crib & got mad when he couldn't get out. It right beside our bed so he usually jumps out of his & onto ours. Well he decided to be adventerous(sp?) and climb out on the other side. He landed with a thud hard head against hard concrete. I was sure I would see blood when I rounded the corner. But no, that head is hard as a rock. Thank Jesus he is safe. And now I'm glad it's almost time for bed my nerves are frayed!
ps Staci's birthday is Sat., don't forget!
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Frustrated!!!
I hate internet explorer!!!! It is frustating. OK I'm over it. I have tried to write this message at least thirty times. The message comes up that my cookies are diabled & java isn't working. My computer shows otherwise. Sam & I tried to figure it out last night for an hour or more...AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Anyways I'm using Safari on my Mac. It's an OK browser but doesn't have all the functions I'm used to with inernet explorer. Are you bored yet with my complaining?? If so, well too bad. Cause that's about all that going on around here. Me pulling my hair out trying to figure out this blasted computer junk!
I hope that I can figure out some shortcuts on Safari & then I'll like it better. I guess I'll go read a few chapters while Justus is sleeping. I emailed blogger to see if they can help me work things out in IE. If not I guess Safari will have to do :(
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
IN response to Nic's latest comment, sorry for my absence. I have been trying to put something up for the past few days. Yesterday I was writing on here & had to take a break. When I came back downstairs there were these black & white shapes all over my computer & nothing would come up. Justus had spotted the unsuspecting computer & attacked it. It took almost an hour to figure out what he had done. I was scared that we might have to take it to be worked on. But alas, my smart husband figured it out!
Let's see, this past week has included two new birth's. Both boys. One was a friend of the family & the other was a highschool friends. Her little one came three weeks early. He was 6lbs. 8oz. Just about the size Justus was. WOW! It's hard to remember how small he was. EMMM what else?
I went to Target & had $20 to spend on a baby gift, I spent $44. That wasn't so good but it was fun spending the money on a little one. That is my biggest weakness. Babies; spending money on babies,etc. I think I want another one but I'm not sure if it's the right time or not. I would like to have a house so the kids could have their own space.
This weekend was my sisters 6th anniversary so mom & I kept the kids. It worked out really well! Brieana stayed downstairs with me, Brandon stayed mostly with Jacob in the pool, and mom kept the baby. I kept sneeking upstairs to play with Jaiden. He is cooing now & smiling. It's so cute! Brieanna only woke up twice during the night & went back to sleep fast. Justus woke up a couple of times too.
The kids were up late Sat. night so they slept late Sunday morning. I got to take a shower all by myself...yea! Justus is usually with me since Sam has to be at church early & go to both services. Sunday am went smooth getting ready for church & I was so relieved! It was also my week to do nursery. It was way better than last month!
There were 6 kids, me & a teen helper. We had twin visitors that were really cute. They knew sign language , it was cool to watch them communicate.(their grandmother is deaf) We talked about what makes you happy & sad. My helper did a puppet show. Only one kid got scared. We sucessfully entertained them & taught what we could. After church we went to Lonestar for lunch, it was OK. Not my favorite for sure!
Traci came over when we got home. She was doing a resume for her fiance Nathan. When she finished we sat on the bed & talked for a few hours. It was great. I liked her but felt like we didn't have much in common. Now I know a few things that we have in common. It was good to get to know her a little better, Nathan & Sam sing in praise & worship band together. And they are both youth leaders. I hope we will get to be better friends.
Today was like most mondays. We went to get groceries since sam has monday morning off. Then he went to the church to try to finish painting the youth room. He wants to finish befor Wed, & surprise the kids. I think they will like the new look. I read a book for a few hours while Justus took a nap. It was a pretty relaxing day.
Then tonight after supper I was cleaning up the dishes. Justus fell off moms exercise bike onto the bricks at the fireplace & busted his head open. I had a small heart attack , then picked him up. Sure enough he was bleeding. We always make him get down off that thing but he is so fast he just gets back on. I figured he would get hurt sooner or later. Thankfully it wasn't to bad. I was OK until I got him calmed down enough to wipe all the blood off his head. It looks gross to me.
It looked like he got stabbed in the head by a pencil. There's a little chunk missing. GROSS!!!!
We cleaned it with peroxide & put neosporin on it. Its too small for stitches. I'll be watching it closely.
Well there you have it, all caught up for the past week. I'm sure there is more stuff that happened but that's what stands out.
ps The internet service was down most of yesterday, so deal with it!
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Stung!
Today Justus got stung/bit by the same bug 4 times before he reacted or I had any clue what had happened. I was skimming the bugs off the pool & he started to wiggle. Followed quickly by a frown & loud screams. I ripped off his swim trunks & killed the hateful beast that hurt my baby. Well, it was obviously too late. Justus had four sting marks on his booty. Ok that part was a little funny, after I got him calmed down. I'm glad he didn't get stung anywhere else! I gave him some allergy meds. just in case he were to have a bad reaction. He was OK though so he still wanted to play in the pool for a while. The sting swoll up a little at first but now just look like a red dot on the booty. Poor kid! I contemplated taking a pic, but figured you have all seen enough butts to get a good mental pic. Although it would be a good way to moon you all.
For all having a bad day, I hope this brought a little comic relief. I love ya!
Saturday, July 16, 2005
p.s.
I've talked with the coordinator & she said she didn't know I wasn't their b/c she doesn't go on Wed. night either. Ironic, don't ya think??? Either way it didn't bother her and we worked it out. She is trying Oh so hard, it makes me want to try harder. Keep praying!
Excuses, excuses
Ouch!! That hurt. OK, I know that in part it is just an excuse. But maybe in part I didn't fully explain the situation. I WANT TO GO TO CHURCH! I DON'T want to sit in the nursery every time I go. Justus WON'T stay in the nursery. And since the nursery and the sactuary are only seperated by a small hallway & two walls the workers WON'T let him just scream it out.
I've worked in daycare so I know kids adjust. I'm willing to let that happen but others aren't. And really I don't mind working in the nursery; even several times a month but Wed. seem a waste to me. At least at this point in the game.
I do agree that being there more often might make it easier for J to adjust, but I don't want to be taken advantage of. Which is what was happening when I did go. Everyone dropped off their kid & got to go to church while I sat there with their children wishing I could be part of an adult conversation.
Yes I know you're hearing more excuses but be patient. I might talk myself into trying one more time, with the help of YOU my friends! So, THANKS for hearing me out!
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Was I rude?
OK..we have a new nursery coordinator at church. She's doing a great job!!! But seems a little pushy to me. Justus is now in the 18-3yr. class & I teach his class once a month on Sundays. It's absolute chaos. I don't like it at all & there are 7 kids in a tiny room. Granted, this is all my point of view.
I got the calendar for this month that told me which Sunday was mine to teach. She had scheduled me for a Wed. & a Sunday. One day of torture is enough for me!!! I called & left a message that I don't go to church on Wed. so she needed to find someone else.
Was I rude??? I can't really explain how much I would actually like to go to church myself. But J won't stay in class. So I have given up on going to church on Wed. until he will stay on Sundays. Maybe I'm not really trying. IT's just frustrating to take an hour to get ready & then just sit in they nursery for the next 2-3 hours. Justus hates it & that makes it more frustrating.
They are planning to expand the room & I think that will help a lot. Kids have too much energy to be pent up in such a little space.
Gabriel Paul
Well the baby arrived safely. Weighing in at 10 lbs. even & 23 inches long! That is how big Jaiden is now at 2 months old. No wonder Bekah had to have a C-section. I talked to her for 3 seconds & her voice sounded raspy and exhausted. That's it on the baby announcement.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Prayers for a friend
Sunday my friend Rebekah went into labor. She was having some contractions but didn't want to go to the hospital until they were regular. Yesterday she went to the hospital b/c the contractions were gettting pretty close together. She was only 1cm & it took her a while to get to 3. Last night at midnight she was only at 5. She wanted to go natural but by this time she was getting pretty tired & got an epidural. That stopped everything. At 7am this morning nothing had changed. They called 45 min. ago(11:15) & said they are going to do a cesarean. I know she is probably disappointed but also just ready to see her baby.
Anyways if you would please pray for Rebekah & Paul. They are planning to name the baby Ethan so please pray for their health & safety.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
The ten day break
Well, my parents have been gone for the last ten days visiting my brother Josh. It has been so nice to have a house all to ourselves. We've cooked and cleaned like normal married people do. And done other stuff married people do without wondering if someone was going to come downstairs to start a load of clothes while we were well, you know.
Both the bathroom & kitchen are upstairs, so we usually cook meals together with mom. Anyways it was nice to pretend that we had a space of our own. We also had friends over to eat with us, came out of the shower with only a towel around us instead of getting dressed in the bathroom. This is all more info than you wanted so I'll come to my point.....I really want my own place!
The ten day break was great & I am ready for them to come home. But, I still want to get out of here. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH. All in God's timing. Guess I'll just have to wait.
Sam's Birthday
Can't remember exactly what was happening Wed. & Thurs. But Friday was sam's birthday so Pastor Dave gave him the day off and we went to Concord Mills and spent money that we didn't really have. Oh well. Sam got three new shirts for work and we had a great time being silly. Justus was great & stayed in the stroller most of the time. I got in trouble when we stopped in at the Carter's outlet. But I now have one item for each kid for christmas. I also got a gift for the two new babies at our church.
After the mall we stopped by to see Sam's old youth pastor who is now a senior pastor here in NC. They started a church on the outskirts of Charlotte in January of 2004. That's where we were going to church before sam got the job as youth pastor. I miss going there sometimes. He and his wife are great, I hope that we can someday work with them. Also, they are looking for a children's church pastor. It's an AG church. Anyone interested??
After that we headed to walmart to pick up some groceries. My sister met us at the house and we surprised Sam with a family birthday party. We ate KFC , homemade vanilla ice cream & Bethany made sam's birthday cake: strawberry with cream cheese icing. He said it was the best birthday in a long time, so that made me happy too!
We also rented a few movies & watched them after the Justus was tucked in bed. Maybe it doesn't sound like much but I was exhausted. We didn't get to bed until almost 3am.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
The Storm of the Century
Anyone ever seen it? IT's a Steven King movie & I thought it was pretty good. A huge snow storm hits this island & everyone meets at town hall to figure out what to do. Since it's the storm of the century it's pretty big and soon people start going missing and turning up dead. Then a strange man appears & they figure that he is somehow to blame. Soon he starts opress/possessing people to try to get them to do what he wants. While he can't force them to do anything he can cause them physical harm.
Well it turns out that he is Legion the demon(s) that were cast into the pigs & into the sea. That is how he has the power to possess. Anyways as the story progresses we find out that his "body" is dying and he needs a new one. Of course for this he needs permission of sorts. He wants a child & threatens to kill the entire town if they don't pay up.
The town decides that it's worth it to sacrifice one child instead of the entire town. There is one exception, one man who doesn't want any part of it. He tries to explain exactly what they will do by giving up this child but they are to afraid. In the end it is his child that gets "sold to the devil". Of course he fought as much as he could but no one would listen.
Our 4th
We invited some friends over to cook out and my sister brought the kids to swim. We had grilled chicken & burgers, fresh veggies w/dip, baked beans, watermelon, brownies & some homemade ice cream.
The homemade ice cream was supposed to be for during the fireworks but the word got out & everyone wanted some before. I ended up making cookies & cream but will make it again soon b/c I all got gone before I had any :(
At 8 we rushed to the church to watch fireworks. Haha. They decided to wait until dark...DUH! So around 9:30 they started with the sparklers for all the kids. Justus tried to burn the hair off my head. It's hard to control a child & hold them at the same time. (Sam looked the other way & Justus saw the opportunity). He loved the sparklers but didn't like the noisy ones so much.
Then we rushed to Faith to meet up with my sis & her family. It took about 30 minutes to get into the town & find a parking place. We were originally going at 9 to find a spot but were held up at the church. We made it right on time to put down a balnket & get the kids settled. By that time what was left of the ice cream was now a milkshake but the kids still loved it. I was disappointed. OH well. The fireworks were great and the kids liked them! It was a good day!
Monday, July 04, 2005
Rain, rain go away...
Yesterday we had a great afternoon at church. Justus actually got in the bouncy thing and loved it. He also went down the slip n' slide and hated that. One of the youth kids took him down this huge inflatible slide, he laughed the whole way down. Bethany & I got there about quarter to 4 and changed the kids into their bathing suits, so Justus ran around half naked the entire day.
When it was the youth bands turn to sing Justus went up to the stage and stared at Sam. He also decided to entertain everyone with dancing, running and falling down. It was cute! Everyone did a great job and I think that there were about two hundred visitors that came threw.
Spanish church did some music and drama, they were good too. Ft. Myers MC sang also. IT was nice entertainment for everyone. I know the kids had a lot of fun. Justus got all sugared up. They had cotton candy, and an snowcone stand and he of course wanted in on the fun. He was passed along to different people most of the day and with each new person he got some other treat I normally wouldn't give him. He got pretty wired up.
Around 6 the storm rolled threw and Sam barely had enough time to give his devotion/sermon. Followed by a fast forward giveaway of candy and prizes. It poured rain for the next four hours and was still raining some when we got home at 11 last night. Brandon and brieanna won a bubble blower and I think they are going to come over sometime later today to play with Justus. I hope it doesn't rain again today!
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Freedom Fest
Today our church is having a Festival of sorts to celebrate the Fourth. Bethany and I are going to take the kids. They are having games, inflatables, and a big slip n' slide for the kids. Free food, live music of course. Thinking about reminds me of MC block parties. I think it's going to be fun. Sam is in charge of the whole thing so he is hoping that pastor will be pleased.
Today we had Interface at church (Ft. Myers MC). They are awesome at worship. There dramas are pretty good. I'm not sure if they will be part of freedom fest or if they have to head back to FL. Our pastor's daughter is going there this year for her third year of MC.
I'm hoping that Sam isn't completely warn out tonight after everything is done. I'd like to take Justus to see the fireworks in Faith. I think that they usually do fireworks two nights in a row. We plan on taking all the kids to the fireworks tommorrow night at the Intimidators stadium. (the local baseball team). I'm going to make homemade ice cream. I can't decide what flavor. Cookies & cream or Cheerwine??? Maybe I should just do plain ole' vanilla. We'll watch them on the back of the truck. Pray for no rain!!! It's stormed here for the past couple of days.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Always at work
The other night I was considering writing a letter to my brother as Jamie suggested. I got emotional just thinking about what I would say and how I could state these powerful emotions in a way that I wouldn't regret later and that would leave room for healing in our relationship. I had plenty of conversation with the Father that night. In fact I was still awake at 3am, knowing that we had to get up at 7:30 the next morning.
One thing that God reminded me was that we are all only human. It is really easy the blame most of this destruction on our former pastor b/c he let us go and his manner of doing so was anything but christian. But I came to the realization that really I'm not much different than him. For example: I have lied to make myself look better, manipulated to get my way, etc.
Although I don't consider myself to be selfish in those ways anymore I know that God has taken me a long way from where I used to be. (and of course is still working) I have asked God why he allows this man to be in a leadership position of any kind. The answer- he works it all for good. It's so hard to understand but God's word doesn't return VOID; ever. I realize that in all things God's will is going to be accomplished no matter what we as men do.
Whenever I contemplate the what if's of my life I end up being thankful to be right here where God has me. Even if I don't like it. He is so gracious to remind me that he is Faithful. And that is the one thing in my life that never changes. You see, he is always at work.
(I still haven't wrote the letter yet, but am warming to the possibility.)
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