Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Yippee!!!!!!

Just a shout out to thank God for keeping Chris's family safe!!!!!!! How amazing is He? I have been glued to the TV hoping to see their face. Thank you God for your many blessings!

Katrina

Well, I haven't had much to say since Katrina pulled in. I've been glued to the TV & on the phone with family and friends who were in the path of destruction. We've been praying for Staci & Chris, that they would hear from some of their family but nothing so far. There is so much devestation everywhere! My aunt, her daughter & boyfriend evacuated from New Orleans. My uncle took his family out of the city too. I'm so thankful that they left this time!!! 99% of the time they don't. Most people don't believe it's gonna happen to them b/c of all the false alarms. It's so sad all the lives lost, homes lost. Stack- we're praying for you guys!!!!!!!

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Progressive Dinner

Anyone ever been to a progressive dinner?? Where you have each course of a meal at a different house?? Last night our women's ministry had one and it was so much fun!! We had a bout 30 some women go & we stopped at 3 different houses. We skipped the appetizer & something else. But we ate salad, main course, & desserts. I was absolutely stuffed!

The salad was good, with any topping you could imagine. Then for the main course we had lasagna with spinach, pepperoni & italian sausage...very good!.. Then the lady who did desserts went all out! She mde this awesome fruit salsa ; we ate that with graham crackers. Orange cake...yum yum. FUDGE :) Some kind of toffee with choc. and nuts. OMG- I was stuffed!

On the rides between houses we learn where each other was born, favorite food & other silly things like that. I also learned names to go with the faces. Bethany went with me, & had a good time. I'm trying to talk her into going with me to the ladies conference in November. It would be during her birthday so it would be a nice break for her! Please pray that she will meet more ladies & be drawn into church. We all need the fellowship & friendship! Guess that's about it.

One small milestone

Justus stayed in church the entire time today!!!!!!!!!!! It seemed like this day would NEVER come but it did! I actually sat through an entire sermon, an entire praise service, and entire prayer time! WOW. It was so nice, I was a little anxious to see if he had been crying the whole time but he hadn't! He slept instead.

Then when we got home he slept for another 2 1/2 hours! I hope he's not getting sick, but I'm glad he stayed in his class today. Our pastor is doing a series on the battle of the worlds. The church vs The world. It was a good sermon but I'm not used to sitting still for so long. OH well, hopefully I'll have the chance to get used to it. I hope it wasn't a fluke.

YEAH for me!

Friday, August 26, 2005

A night out

Tonight we went to Gary's Barbeque, the Best place in town. Then we went to a football game at my old high school. I kept looking for people who I'd recognize and at the same time hoping that I woudn't run into anyone I know. How goofy is that ?
The game was between South Rowan & AL brown. Translation: red neck vs. those with soul. I of course attended red neck high. And we of course lost. But this one kid did an awesome play & made a touchdown without the assistance of his teammates. There was a chill in the air that just gives you that great feeling that fall is around the corner. WHO HOO!!
After 3 hours or so without my baby I was ready to go pick him up. I was in need of some baby love. J was so funny when we picked him up. He couldn't decide if he wanted to go to me or Sam. SO we just had a group hug. AHHHH. A great ending to a fun night!

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Provision

You know how it gets at the end of the month or whatever time of the month that you get paid. There is little or no money left. That would be us right now, scraping by til the beginning of the month. Well yesterday we blew out another tire. This is the fifth one in a matter of months. But after buying 4 last month we didn't have any extra money to fix the origin of the problem. We NEED an alignment. That's what causing the problem.

So yesterday the fifth tire went haywire so Sam had to call my dad for help. Dad knew somewhere we could get a used tire for dirt cheap until payday. But we didn't want to wait another week & kill another tire. So Sam asked our pastor for an advance on his pay. Kind of embarrassing but necessary. After explaining the situation our pastor said that the church would pay for the alignment & new tires for our car.

Holy Crap! I'm grateful that someone who saw our need was able to help. It was totally unexpected provision. YEAH!!!!!!!!!! That's my story, I just had to share!

Blessings

Well it's time to talk about something good for a change! The first thing I want to mention is a thanks you each of you for understanding & listening to all my jabber. It's nice to know someone cares about the woes of everyday life. You are a major encouragement. Reminding me that I'm semi-normal. And challenging me to be try harder & not to settle just for normal but for excellence.

One thing that i realized the other day was that a lot of healing has taken place in my heart over the past several months. I went through a time of rebelion so to speak. I wrestled with feeling, hurts, & memories. Remember my bump in the road?? Well I can now say I'm over the bump!!!! And moving on. Thankfully God had you each in place & many other lifting me up in prayer.

Learning to move on takes a concious effert every day but I'm not thrilled staying in one spot. So I guess I must move on, on lifes highway & keep going to see what lays ahead. Anyways God has been blessing me!

I'm finally getting to know ladies at our church. The "dreaded nursery" has helped with that and each week Justus gets to know these ladies my day gets a little better. These weekend os our ladies progressive dinner and Bethany has decided to go with me. I'm hoping that she will realize that just like her we all have our issues & problems to deal with. She need fellowship just like we all do.

Justus is asleep right now so I'm goiing to get a few things done. Thanks for lending an ear. LOVE YA!

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Movin' Fast

OK several months ago I mentioned helping my sister get into her trailer. Well it's been slow go for a variety of reasons. One being no electricity. That problem got solved a few weeks ago & she was just waiting for the carpet to be put down in the livingroom.

Well she lives with her in-laws. And they went on vacation last week. Yesterday she got a call at work saying that the power had been turned off (at the in-laws). Very frustrating b/c she gave them money towards the electric bill & they left her high & dry.

So needless to say yesterday we dropped whatever we were doing to help her move all her stuff into the trailer. They only have one window unti a/c but it was so much better than sleeping in the heat! I'm glad that she is finally in her own place and she was so grateful for the help. Maybe I'll be next?

Friday, August 19, 2005

He's got the look

I was sharing with Dana yesterday about the look a child gets when he is trying to figure out if he's in trouble or not. I believe every child has "the look". Justus' is a wide smile with his head tilted down & his eyes looking up like"yep you caught me , now what?" Most times I talk to him & tell him what he needs to do next time. But I barely get the words out before I start laughing. I'm trying to get better at this so I won't send mixed signals. It's hard when they're just so darn cute! The cuteness won't last if he turns into a full fledged brat, so we're working on it.

Eye Test


Eye Test
Posted by: tma.
I thought this was funny so I share it now with you. If you can't read it clearly pull back the corners of your eyes. Like chinese eyes.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

BB

I watched Big Brother tonight & was sad to Kaysar go but pretty much expected that one. I'm hoping that no one will win the power of veto this week. One of those guys needs to go. Maggie isn't all that bad. I think she is pretty smart. My least favorite in the house is Ivette. She grinds on my nerves so bad!!! James will eventually get what he deserves. As will Jennifer. She had such a big smirk on her face the past couple of days. She tried normal when she was put up for eviction but we'll have to wait until Saturday to see what happens!

Just one Minute

After a million NO!'s, Please, & Stops! I had had enough. So when Sam finally got home from work he volunteered to take Justus for a minute. And that's exactly how much time I got before I heard a frustrated daddy. Sam had taken Justus upstairs to warm up some food. Somehow Justus got ahold of mom's bleach & the top wasn't on there properly. He dumped it all over himself & just barely missed his eyes. THANK GOD, who was watching over my baby that he didn't get hurt! Bleach can do some serious damage. I'm not really sure why the bleach was within his reach. I can't really blame anyone. One thing I have learned for sure is that you can't protect them from everything. There is always some danger that goes unnoticed by the naked eye. However our Heavenly Father watches over us. sighhhhhh. Thank you Jesus for your protection tonight!

I threw him in the tub & he had his regular water fix while I washed him down & inspected for burns or skin irritation. NOT a scratch, burn or anything out of place. Yeah! Safe baby!

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

A pile of poo...

As I was trying to say before, I rejoined xanga today. And spend most of the day visiting sites. It was fun but Justus didn't enjoy it as much as me. He spent most of the time coming & going. Sitting on my lap. And finding other things to do.

A few minutes ago he came & got on my lap. I smelled a dirty diaper. But when I went to pick him up I saw a naked booty. However it wasn't a clean booty. My first thought was yuck, gross, disguisting! Then I laughed. Then I got mad.

I went in search of the diaper & whatever contents were left in it instead of what was on my lap. It was on my freshly bleached floor, smashed on the area rug & on one of J's toys. YIKES. Counting to ten, breathe in breathe out.

Well after changing my clothes, cleaning him up & disinfecting everything Justus & I had a talk. There will be no more diaper baby, which he loves. I won't be making that mistake again.

Sorry if this grosses you out, or you think I'm not very good mom. I'm usually more attentive.

Xanga

OK- I rejoined xanga. Not because I wanted to but b/c it's a pain to email everyone instead of leaving a comment. I want to keep this as a place for you my friends & the xanga for catching up with old friends. Everybody & their brother has one! Including all of you, and many other. John Foley, Pastor Sims, Izzy, Aja, etc. As you probably already know the list goes on. It's mainly people from my second year- todays MC.

Gotta go, grumpy kid. OH yeah- behindthesceens is my screenname.

Kaysar

What an idiot! I was so glad that he got voted back into the house. I guess his "rest" did him little good. I know that Jen seemed like an honest player but isn't that the game??? You can't expect others to play with the level of integrity you have in a game like this. It really stinks that he let his guard down & now he'll be going home. (Unless Janelle ticks someone off.)

AAAAARRRRGH! I really wanted to see him stir things up but I guess he is reaping what he sowed already. Man! What if he strikes a deal with James to get back at everyone?? Don't think James would go for it at this point. WHY can't BB pull out a surprise in this summer of mysteries??? Like another veto competition??? Someone save Kaysar!

If he goes home Oh well. He derserves it for not keeping up with the game. Still it stinks!

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Howdy

Well not much is going on around here. Today we swamne've been painted once & are looking pretty dingy. I want to repaint them and the walls. Now all I need is the paint & some help. Anyone want to help me redecorate??? I get the itch about once a year & we usually buy a new comforter set (cheapy from Walmart). That way we haven't wasted our money and we always have plenty of blankets for when we move or if someone stops by overnight.

The air conditioner is leaking again so we have a bucket under the leak. Justus loves it, he thinks its his personal mission to dump the water on the floor. That particular spot is pretty clean since we've wiped up some much water.

This past weekend was our discipleship weekend with the youth group. Fifteen kids showed up instead of the ten that signed up. Sam was so excited!! It went very well. And is being followed up by an evengalist/revival. So far, so good! That's all I have time for right now.

Can't wait for Big Brother tonight!

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Memories

One that really stands out has already been shared but I'll share it again. You had just gotten a new comforter set, sheets, dust ruffel, shams, curtains...the whole kitten caboodle. Anyways I sat down on the bed , OMG you had a heart attack. "Get up, get up you're gonna ruin my comforter. That was so funny! I think you eventually got over it. I remember that it was pretty pricey but it looked great.

What about at my wedding when you took a bite of fruit & then put it back in the basket. We probably all needed some comic relief that day. Especially b/c of me crying & my gma shouting. LOL. My parents still talk about it.

EEMMM...the summer of our 1st year was the first time I met Brooke Story. You introduced me & then we all went to the church on the hill. Somewhere I have a pic of the three of us. I think I had come to visit you some time during the summer.

Also many great times at Oak Mt. Somewhere I have a pic of all of us at the waterfall. One of always got injured but we kept coming back anyways. Gluttons for punishment I guess.

There are so many more memories but I'll have to save them for another day. Love You Nicole!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY , HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday NIC!!!!!

OK, so I got more pics out & had to show a few that I found. There are many still buried in our storage closet that I can't get to. I guess they will have to wait until next year. Anyways I just want to wish Nicole a very happy birthday!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, August 12, 2005

1st year Graduation party


Look at those foxy ladies! A great pic.

Kid's Crusade


Kid's Crusade
Posted by: tma.
In a word:TROUBLE!

Love Ya Nic!


Love Ya Nic!
Posted by: tma.
Say cheese. Look at that glorious smile!

The pool party, Huntsville


Here's the one where we jumped in. You always got me to do silly stuff. You're such a great friend!

Good ole' WV


Good ole' WV
Posted by: tma.
Another one of you two...no fair! I don't have a pic with Sam with the beautiful mt. view behind. Must have been 1st year.

Chillin' at mama's


Chillin' at mama's
Posted by: tma.
At your mama's house probably eating & watching something we weren't supposed to. Jason & Sam were probably there. Who knows?

Nasty!


Nasty!
Posted by: tma.
You guys! How many times do I have to tell you to use a tissue :)

Caress??


Caress??
Posted by: tma.
West Virginia, when we actually got to stay together. Before they knew how much trouble we are.

Up close & personal


Sorry this is so blurry, but I couldn't help putting in a shot of the three amigos.

Baltimore,MD


Baltimore,MD
Posted by: tma.
Good time memories!

Nic & sammy


Nic & sammy
Posted by: tma.
I love this one! What good friends. I have about the same amount of pic with you & Sam as I do you and me. I hope that you have a wonderful birthday!!!!!

Porter's Lake


Porter's Lake
Posted by: tma.
OOPS, I forgot to crop out someones finger. I have so many good memories at Porter's Lake, especially our first year. We didn't go to much our second year. Look at our legs...woohoo!

Dressed to impress


Dressed to impress
Posted by: tma.
I'm pretty sure that this pic was taken in NYC our first year at Times Square Church.

Jump Rope

I saw this segment about exercise. Everyone has their version of what will slim you down. This particular person was saying that jumping rope is an excellent way to slim down without a lot of cost. He also said it would not "bulk" you up as some exercise(s) and machines do.

Well, I think I'm officially to fat to jump rope or maybe just to top heavy. I bought a jump rope for a dollar & gave it a try. Torture is the best way I can think of to describe it. I hit myself with rope about a million times. Justus laughed his head off at me. My fat rolls & top shelf wink, wink were bouncing around everywhere. This just isn't the answer for me. I guess I'll give the treadmill a whirl again.

Seriously after jumping about ten times I was out of breath. How embarassing. I thought you might find this funny. I know I laughed at myself. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Winn Dixie

All of the Winn Dixie's in our area are of course closing so they have signs up for 30%-50% off! Mom & I are going tommorrow to see if anything is left. I would be nice to stock up on some stuff for winter but I don't know how long this sale has been going so I just have to wait.

There are three store in our immediate area. It's sad, those are much needed jobs & stores that usually stay pretty busy. Hopefully they won't sit vacant for long.

Tomato in the face...

Justus grabbed a tomato today saying "ball, ball...." I told him what it was and he pinched it just to make sure. It was a small one so when he pinched it I got a face full of tomato. It was everywhere. On the table, my shirt, my hair & all over him too. He is so curious! I'm glad it wasn't one of the ones starting to go bad!

Yippee!!! Bathtime

I couldn't stand it anymore I boiled two pots of hot water this morning & added it to the cold in the tub. Justus loved it, he's been missing water time! Then we packed him up & took him to the doctor. 34inches long & 27lbs! No wonder he won't fit in the sink anymore, that would have been way faster than the tub. After the doctor sam dropped us off & went to work. Justus & I took a nap, ate lunch & got in the pool. It was a fun afternoon.

My dad brought home the right water heater & hooked it up. Viola! Hot water!!! I'm waiting for everyone to take their turn so I can take a long hot shower. I need to shave! Thank God for modern convience or however the heck that's spelled.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Hot water

Or lack there of. Sunday our hot water heater kicked the bucket. And you guessed it, we've been taking COLD showers ever since. I have been pleasantly surprised...it hasn't been that bad. It's inconvenient but not that bad. Poor Justus hasn't had a shower in 5 days now. I usually give him a bath every other day. IF he's not gotten too dirty. And since it's been raining alot lately he hasn't been outside getting dirty & sweaty. Sunday was his day for a shower. It didn't work out.

So today I waited all day hoping that we would be able to get a new hot water heater. And we did but it was the wrong kind :( Some have hookups on the side & some on top. Our is on top but the guy who brought it to the house got the wrong one. So I just took another cold shower. It reminds me of mission trips to Mexico. Good times! Get in, get wet, lather up, & get out! Can't wait to go on another missions trip. I didn't get to go this year but hope to go next year!

Anyways I'm still holding out for hot water; guess we'll have to wait one more day.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Nursery Diaster!

Since everyone is on vacation, I got volunteered for nursery this week. Fine by me, I got in my turn for August. I found this out on Friday night. Saturday while at Nathan's birthday party I found out that we would have no lesson either. The coordinator's daughter was in the hospital. Not good news. Sam & I we planning to visit them on sunday after church but she all of the sudden got better & they released her Sunday AM!!!!

Meanwhile I'm at church with no lesson plan. I had tried to pull together somethings rather unsucessfuly. So it was a disaster. We had a visitor who cried on & off for 3/4 of the time. Justus was bouncing off the walls. We has a little spanish girl who didn't speak english. And another kid just didn't want to listen. It was crazy.

We did a craft with fruitloops & glue. Instead of ending up on the paper it ended up in their bellies! Thank God for non-toxic glue! As soon as we got everyone outside for playime I realized someone had a poopy diaper. I went back in to change him but by the time I got back outside it was time to go back inside for snack. WE should have stayed outside longer b/c church went long. Did I mention it was crazy??

And to top it all off my stomach was cramping..hint hint.
Thankfully when we got home my kind husband fixed lunch & I took a 15 minute nap! Now that's what I'm talking about!

Tax Free Weekend

OK, every year about this time NC does a "tax free" weekend. Anything you buy in preperation for school is tax free! Such as computers & all the bells/whistles to go with it. Clothes, for anyone. Diapers & wipes are even included on this list. I knew this weekend was coming up but wasnt sure of the exact date until it was to late :(

Literally I think that we have $10 total to our name. So while all the sales are going on; I sat at home instead of torturing myself. I am thankful that before the money ran out we filled the car with gas & got enough groceries to tide us over til next payday.

Most times when I have no money I find exactly what I want/need. Then when I have money, nothing interests me. Am I the only one? Does this happen to you??

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Nathan's Party

Today is Nathan's birthday so Tracy is throwing a surprise party. Yesterday we went to get the party supplies. While we were out Justus decided to be a stink bomb. So I had to change his diaper at the party store in the back storage part. Poor kid. Since he's so big I haven't been bringing the changing pad, obviously a mistake this day. Live & learn.

Tracy & I are going to set up the party stuff & 4:30. And get any last minute items we forgot yesterday. Sam is taking Nathan bowling while we do that. The party is tonight and Tracy invited about fifty people! Yikes....parties are exensive. Well it should be fun with friends, family & the youth group. Tracy & Nathan are youth leaders also.

Slowly God is bringing us leaders that we need. WooHoo!

Dinner

Last night we had dinner with a couple from our church. We ate steak,corn, salad, beer bread, & brownies. A great summer meal! Corrin just had a baby a month ago and her husband recently started coming back to church. They want to work with us in youth. I think it's great because they are the type of people that the kids can relate to. She was a cheerleader coach & he races cars locally.

Well please keep them in your prayers. She is still in the 6 week recovery period from the baby. And his job is unstable right now. He's really been attacked since coming back to the Lord. And that always makes the journey harder. I have worked with Corrin since we came to SFC & she is becoming a good friend.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

J's class


J's class
Posted by: tma.
A day with only a few kids. It's usually jammed packed with kiddos. Call me crazy but I think Justus is the cutest!

Lil' Miss Independent


This was so funny! She wanted to get the mail on her own without any help. Some how she got stuck. Bethany & I were laughing so hard we cried! Even funnier was how she walked into the glass door bringing it back in. LOL!!! And no, she didn't get hurt.

Justus


Justus
Posted by: tma.
A pic from when we were painting at my sis's trailer.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Suncom

Whn AT&T got bought out I became a Suncom customer. And then quickly switched out to Cingular!!!! However I've had to deal with suncom for the past few months while the old bill & paperwork goes through. Today I spent over an hour just trying to pay the jokers. They had no record that I owed anything. Ha- that's fine by me except that I knew I owed them the money. So instead of waiting another month I kept calling back until they figured it out. Their system is a mess! I'm glad to be a cingular customer!

Wednesday already?

This week had been both slow & fast. And another weekend is only three days away. Time flys by! Most of the week I've been trying to get into the pool but haven't quite made it there yet! Jacob had a friend over last weekend & the skimmer mysteriously got broken. Mr. Chainey did it. (That's who we blamed in on when I was a kid & none of the four kids would own up). Anyways the bugs flowed freely on the top of the pool.

And then it rained for three days. I kept waiting for the rain to stop to put in the allgeaside. To kill the green stuff. Well I shouldn't have waited, it would have been better to put in a little in each day. So on monday is it was a green buggy mess. Yesterday it started to look clear & like I might put by baby in there. We also put in a new filter & shock to help clear things up.

I was gonna go today but Jacob & a friend dominated it today. I wasn't in the mood to swim with teens. And Justus too. So I'll wait until tommorrow.

Monday, August 01, 2005

You might be from Bama if...

You have a party or a barbeque whenever Alabama plays Auburn in football.

You go to Gulf Shores every summer.

You call the Atlanta Braves baseball team "us" like they're actually from Alabama.

You would much rather visit Florida than California.

You don't "take", you "carry" or "tote"... as in "You want me to carry you down to the 7-11?"

A soft drink isn't soda, cola, or pop, it's Coke.

You call it a "buggy" and not a shopping cart.

You've said "fixin' to," "might could," or "usetacould" during the last week.

Someone you know has used a football schedule to plan their wedding date.

You know the meaning of the phrase "Fobbed again."

You can properly pronounce Eufaula, Opelika, Bayou La Batre, and Oneonta.

The Talladega 500 is the biggest sporting event of any sort during the entire year.

You know exactly what chitlins and mountain oysters are, and you know someone who eats them anyway.

You think that people who complain about the humidity in other states are sissies.

You aren't surprised to find rental movies, groceries, ammunition and bait all in the same store.

You've missed a wedding or a funeral to go to a football game.

Asian food is always "CHINESE" regardless of the fact that it may actually be Korean or Japanese or Thai

Our weekend

Well it was a pretty long weekend, with Sam being busy as usual and me being with Justus as usual. Mom & I went to Walmart on Friday and then came home to start supper. After supper Sam wanted to go bowling with the youth kids so Justus & I sat at home.

Then Saturday was Brandon's birthday so I used most of the day to clean up just in case it got to crowded uptstairs and people wanted to come down to our place. IT was good that I did that b/c that's exactly what happened.

The birthday party was spiderman themed & that kid got so many toys! I know the same thing will happen with Justus so I need to start weeding out some of the toys he already has. There's only so much room, ya know? People were at the house from 5 to 10. I thought it was a little long but that's just the way it goes.

Sam had praise & worship pratice sat am, followed by "volleyball" day for the youth he got home at 4pm just enought time for me to get dressed & pick up the few remaining items laying around. Sam left the party early to go play golf with some of the guys. I helped mom clean up from the party. And found something to watch on TV.

Sunday was busy as usual & we were at the church until almost 3pm. It was a long day for Justus but he did good. This week was the new members dinner so all the staff & elders/wives served the new member while each ministry gave a 3min. explanation about what is going on and how to get involved.

Sam had to leave that early to get to Sloan park for a benefit bor a crippled girl. I still don't know the entire story but they asked the youth band to play. When they were done with that they had youth service so Sam got home around 9pm.

The whole weekend Sam felt sick but just kept on going. So last night we went to bed at 11-ish. And got up this morning around 9. Sam cleaned up in the livingroom and I read a book most of the day. I'm trying to get it done before its' due back a the library. Sam left to go to work at 4:30 and now justus is playing on the floor beside me. So that's about it. Not to exciting.

Coloring

It's justus new hobby. Coloring on paper, himself & the carpet. I've tried to put him in his highchair to lessen the mess but he knows where everything is & gets into it. So far it hasn't been to severe & I've been able to clean it all up. I need a padlock to keep all the stuff from little sticky fingers.