Name that substance

And so the discoveries begin! He's already experienced ashes, rocks, and other random items. But I was able to catch these in action. He's keeping me on my toes!

Justus and I jumped on the trampoline yesterday while it was raining. He thought it was the greatest thing to be outside while it was raining. We were pretty filthy when we finally got to the house but it was SO fun slipping and sliding on the trampoline.

This weekend we have several birthday parties. Bowling. And on Sunday is the awards ceremony for Rainbows. Justus will be getting some badges for attendence, scripture memory and that kind of thing.

My brother and sister in law (niece too) will be moving up here a week from Monday so everyone is busy getting things ready for them. I'm glad they will be here rather than there.

Wildlife

The random rains around here have brought the 'wildlife' out & about in our backyard. Yesterday Justus discovered some tree frogs that were hanging out in the umbrella on the patio furniture. They fell out & scared him. But them we picked them up & held them for a few minutes. And then set them free before the got squished! Poor things! I think that they are the ones that gave us tadpoles by the pool. I"m trying to keep them alive so Justus can see the change from tadpole to frog.

Walmart-

Walmart was unusually crowded today. This actually worked to my advantage. I stuck stricktly to my list & got out quick! Normally we avoid busy times like after 5 and weekends especially. Maybe we should go when it is busy so we don't linger on the cookie isle or other tempting spots!!!!

Is grocery shopping tricky for you??? Do you end up spending WAY TOO MUCH? What are your strategies on avoiding the WALMART trap?

Can you help me??

Today the boys were playing together. Ezekiel had a blanket on his head & he was laughing his head off. Justus was chasing after him saying-'you're Jesus.....Jesus can you help me? Can you help me please.' They kept each other occupied for an hour or so, a very RARE occurence around here! I tried to get a picture but the head dressing had already been taken off.

Pictures...

These are from the fourth of July parade, our church Independence Celebration & Zeke/Leah's Birthday:















Oh yeah-----BOB melted! *Note: never put frosted cake in the oven even if you THINK it's cooled enough!

I'm the basketball player!

Tonight out of the blue Justus decided to tell Sam that he didn't want to play football. Sam was crushed (for a minute or two) but the conversation continued. And Justus said he wants to play basketball. Sam asked about baseball & Justus said 'no way, I'll get hit in the face.' Sport talk continued until they decided who would play what sport. My nephew Brandon will play soccer, Justus will play basketball & Zeke can play football when he gets bigger. Because Justus thinks Zeke is to small now! So that is the future as mapped out by Sam & Justus.

Oh yeah- an update

Busy as a bee! Ft. Myers MC were here last week. They did a MC glimpse. Teaching our students all about MC and the in's & outs. Our 'kids' really enjoyed it. Wednesday night MC's had control of the service & it was awesome. Ft. Myers sent their worship team INTERFACE, they're really good! Worship was great. Our students did a human video. And then one of the guys preached but basically he gave his testimony. He was at a school where they had a student kill two of his classmates. It was a powerful illistration of why you should reach out to others.

During the week the boys & I were at the church each day. I helped Katrina (pastor's wife) get lunches together, served, cleaned up. It was good to be helpful & I enjoyed seeing our students. Some other youth groups came too.

Thursday Sam & the youth group left for camp. They got back today. It was a long week without having Sam here but I had a great time with the boys. Justus & I were super silly! We went swimming almost everyday. I"m glad Sam is back!!

Now we're in hyper mode getting ready for our independence celebration at church on the 1st. Sam is in charge and it reminds me a lot of doing outreach. Trying to cover all our bases but I"m sure there is something we've forgotten.

After that my brother & sister in law will be here for a week. We will have a birthday party for my niece Leah & Ezekiel. They're only a few weeks apart so it will be fun. That about covers life here for the next week and a half. So see you then, hopefully with picture you can enjoy! For now here are two to tide you over.

Bob the builder???


I love bath time!!!!!

Last night-

We I decided to go with mom & dad to watch our youth team play volleyball. They won five out of six games, I think that's pretty good! The youth team plays once a week & then the adult team plays once a week as well. I usually don't go since Justus is hard to keep occupied but last night he did great so I may start trying again. It was a lot of fun to get out of the house and not just sit around.

Mom & Dad took us to get pizza before & ice cream afterwards! Not especially healthy but I wasn't going to argue free food and great taste!

When we got home the boys needed a bath since we ate ice cream in the car (not something I recommend). And after the bath the boys were pretty tuckered out. Zeke was sitting on the floor & Justus and I were on the bed. I was tickling J and realized I didn't hear Ezekiel anymore. I got scared because he has been climbing the stairs lately & fell down the bottom three this week.

Luckily he wasn't on the stairs but check out what was going on! That little stinker has somehow opened the bottom door on our wood stove & was munching on ashes. First of all YUCK!!!! Secondly, how did he get the door opened. And third; where in the world was his momma??!!! Seriously though this guy is fast! And quiet when on a mission aka making a mess! Needless to say he got a second bath & the floor got mopped AGAIN!

'Caught in the act'.


'Ash face'.

The week-

Today the boys & I went to a bible study. They're doing the purpose driven life; I've never read it but I'm willing to give it a try! We didn't start the study part today so I have a week to get the book & start reading. Hopefully it will be as great as everyone says it is.

I'm also reading a book by Dr. Dobson called Bringibg up boys and another called Free to be Me which I can't put my hand on at the moment so I'm not sure who wrote it. Both books have been good so far but tedious reading with 'nuggets' of useful information and encouragement. The next book I start will be purely for fun.

Tommorrow is church! No plans for Thursday but we have grad. parties this weekend so if I get the house clean there is a chance I can proudly say- MY HOUSE IS CLEAN for more than a split second. We'll see!

That's about it for now.
ps The excuses were from Justus not me, my legs work!!!!!

Top 3 Reasons not to clean up blocks-

#1 My legs are broken!
#2 I'm to old.
#3 I'm to BIG!

One Awesome Kid!!!!~

This guy gives me a run for my money in the energy department. We have a lot of fun trying to keep busy in the heat. Thankfully the pool is up so after a quick jump on the trampoline we can get in the pool and cool off!

Coloring the porch with chalk. J is really interested in letters right now so we talk about them and practice writing letters that are easy for him to recognize like X,T, and O.


Chalk fun!


Baking cookies for Nana


Sunny fun

Memorial Weekend....

This weekend was my birthday & we had a blast!! My brother & sis-in-law showed up with my niece on Friday morning and the fun kept coming until they left on Tuesday morning. Justus did really well with Leah but Zeke was pretty cranky on and off the whole time. Reguardless- we had plenty of family, friends & fun. And they will be back in about a month when we celebrate Leah & Zeke's first birthday.

Bethany and the kiddos were here each day as well so it was a very busy, busy time. The men put up the pool for us on Friday so that we could use it sometime during the weekend. I really thought it would be to cold but the kids got in and played for hours! We also went to see the third Pirates of the Carribean movie. And of course cooked out on Memorial Day.

If you throw in bath time, trips to Walmart and keeping the house presentable we ran out of time. It was like a mini vacation and we were all pretty tired by the end of four days.

TRYING for a picture of all the grandkids together. My baby grinch wasn't enjoying this moment at all.


Even the kiddy pool wasn't a hit at first. It did eventually warm up some so they came back to splash around.


Zeke on the slip n slide. The pool was a bit chilly but the babies liked this!


Drying out on the trampoline


Leah---fun in the sun (my niece)


Water Balloons!!!!


Andrew Thompson- Nathan's baby


Bathtime babies


My nephew Brandon wrote this for me on my birthday

WORDS WOMEN USE:

1.) FINE: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five Minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5.) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6.) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.

8.) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying Stick it up your ----- (edited for content)

9.) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "what's wrong", for the woman's response refer to # 3

Just genius!!!!

Today I washed a load of water.....no clothes; simply water & soap. Need I say more????

My bebe's

The boys keep me on my toes so there is never a dull moment around here. Ezekiel absolutely adores Justus and is trying very hard to keep up. It's pretty funny to watch. For the most part Justus handles it pretty well. I am so thankful for that!

Justus has started pointing to letters & numbers and trying to identify them (incorrectly of course). I'm glad that he is finally taking interest. So this summer I want to work on that. He wasn't at all interested by them this time last year and I find that if I patiently wait until he's ready then it is so much easier than pushing him. We both enjoy the process so much more.

Ezekiel is growing by leaps & bounds. He likes to touch faces so he's learning boyd parts. So far sticking his finger up my nose is what gives him a kick. Believe me I avoid it at all cost but at least he knows what a nose is. Hehe. He also like ears & pulling out my earings -OUCH!!!!

He is also saying momma on a regular basis now. It's really cute. And he says 'num, num' when he's hungry. Sometimes he gets them confused or maybe I just hear it that way. He really likes balls & he will say ball too. Up to this point it's all been squeals & giggles so its great to hear him 'talk' a bit!!!

This week he has started taking more steps. He walked across the room in the nursery; I wish I had been there to see it!!!! At home he will take eight to ten steps at a time. Whew he is growing fast!!!!!

And now he's up from his nap so I've got to go.

Time for an update-

So, my world hasnt' fallen apart. And I've gotten lots of love from you all---Thanks!!!!!!

Hi.

Thirty minutes ago I swept & mopped my floors. Now it's covered with chicken nuggets, fries & juice. Gggggggrrrrrrrhhhhh!

Say a prayer for me when you get a chance. I have come to the conclusion that I am not satisfied with my life. And it is over the top overwhelming. I am not satisfied with myself, my marraige, my relationship with God, my parenting, the list could go on.

The past couple of days I have shed lots of tears. Whispered lots of prayers. And moped around wondering what is next for me in my life.

Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe it. Disappointment covers a portion of my emotions. Crazy is how I feel. Desperate is how I feel. Outraged is how I feel.

I am not one for confrontation -unless pushed to fight. I am good at forgiving, I am good at letting go. In general I am good at moving on. But at this point in my life I am pushed to fight. I HATE living a mediocer life!!!!!!!!!! But I have given all I have & there is nothing left. But my best has not been good enough. My best is lousy in comparison to my hopes.

My present FEELS worst than my past. That may not make a lot of sense. But I know what God has brought me from. I know that my present isn't all that bad, yet I am not satisfied.

Part of me feels guilty & ungrateful. I have been changed & brought from darkness to light. Still I am not satisfied. Still I struggle.

I am spent, empty. And desire to be broken & pieced back together. Yet I stay the same. I am not satisfied.

It seems that Sam and I share children. We share space. And that is all. But our desires are different. Our goals seem different. In short it seems we are going our own ways. I have lost respect for him. And it scares me. I want to respect & honor him but it is not with me. I am scared for our marraige. Honor & respect are a what a christian wife should do. I KNOW what to do -even knowing that we will be blessed if I obey it still seems an impossible goal.

Although Sam has things he needs to work on (don't we all) he doesn't deserve my attitude, thoughts, or this kind of exposure but I mean business. I need this release. Please pray for Sam.

Not to long ago I decided that since being a mom is ALL I do that I should be excellent at it. But I'm not. At least not right now. There are things I desire to do but don't. They deserve more than I am offering. Please pray for my children.

As for me. I lost my heart several years ago. Life as I knew it fell to pieces. And they haven't all been place back in the right spot. This sounds silly I know. But if I can allow myself to be broken one more time it may be worth it. To someone who is not a christian I probably sound CRAZY!!!! Even christians may be confused by this.....YIKES- I need God's help!

I am not satisfied. I am terrified. I do have hope. Please forgive me for laying such a personal thing out in the open....but I have very few outlets at this point. And I trust you to pray.

I know all the right answers. We will be fine, we'll work on our marriage, I will get past my emotions. Just right now at this moment I am facing a GIANT so to speak. And all I want to do is run the other way. But what I need to do is pick up a stone and start throwing!!!!!!

OK, that's all I can speak of for right now. I ask for your prayers and hope that I won't regret being so transparent. I love my husband & children but I'm not satisfied.

Zeke has a ear infection. Poor Baby. He is also just one ounce short of being 20lbs!!!!

Besides being outside my boys most enjoy bath time. They will play for a LONG time!

Lisa's surgery went well & she was able to go home that evening. They didn't find anything more than what was expected so we are thankful for that. Test results should be back this week that will determine if she has to go for chemo or radiation only. None of it is fun but chemo is way more stressful on the body so we're hoping that it isn't necessary! Thanks for your prayers. I'll keep you updated. Stack, I don't think you've ever met them but they are a really fun couple. Her husband Steve had been a great help to Sam with the youth. And their youngest kid is super busy like Justus so I don't worry that he's going overboard when we're at their house!

Attention: Please Pray....

My gloomy mood has ended & I'm A-O-K. But I really want to ask you guys to be in prayer for a friend of mine. Her name is Lisa and she has breast cancer. In fact tommorrow she goes for a lumpectomy & I just found out today! She found out about a week ago & they're already doing surgery! Please pray that they have caught it in time and that it hasn't spread any farther. Along with the lump they will also take out lymph nodes; it should take about an hour if they only find what they're looking for. However there is a very real possibility that they may find more. She has had this spot looked at over the past four years, this time when they did the biopsy they found it was malignant. Her husband is one of our youth leaders & she is one of a 'few' friends that I have around here. It's very sad that she even has to go through this! They have two children in elementary school and she is afraid that she will have to leave them for radiation therapy and/or chemo. Please pray!




.

GLOOMY

Today it is 80+ outside but looks cloudy. This picture perfectly fits our weather and my mood.



Zeke has finally finished up with the tummy stuff but he is even grumpier than before and I can't figure it out! He was up in the early AM after only a couple hours of sleep for all involved. If I drank coffee I'd be chug-a-luggin right now! I think I've expended enough energy for now. Toodles!

A week has past and I've done little more than change diapers and wash sheets/clothes. Ezekiel has had the stomach bug AGAIN. It may be the rotavirus but I haven't found out for sure yet. My little one has lost at least one pound and it seems closer to the two pund mark. For a momma that would be good news but for my baby it's not so good. Some of his clothes he had almost outgrown are now loose on him.

We've already been to the doctors office once & may go again if the diarehha(sp?) last much longer. They did NOTHING so I am not jumping to go back & sit in a sick room to catch something else. We'll see.

Justus also broke my camera...I'm so sad!!!! Our old one still works but sucks up two batteries daily. I hope to invest in another one soon, maybe for my birthday. Any suggestions????? Oh yeah---mothers day is coming up so that is another plus on the side BUY mom a new one!

I'm still loving my tiled floor which has to be mopped daily, momma's I'm sure you understand. And we have paint for the bedroom and are just waiting for a 'free' weekend to get it done. I bought a new comforter set with our tax money so I'm growing impatient to get it out. It was a compromise. Sam & I both really liked a different set but agreed that it would have to wait at least until the boys get their own room so it wouldn't be completely destroyed in the first month.

J hit the forty pound mark so we bought a new booster for him. I might have mentioned it before but couldn't remember.
Other than that life is at it's regular pace, summer is fast approaching & spring is giving me headaches. YIPPEE!

That's all folks!

Hello Ladies!

All is well in our household. Baby is sleeping & J bean is washing the car with daddy. Hum, what to say??? Many times I think of what I will share with you but when I have the time my mind goes blank.

So I will simply start on saying Congrats to Jamie!!!! You get a girl!!!!! I'm so excited for you! And I'm of course anticipating finding out what Staci will have- meany...you make us wait. And Melanie, I hope she shares too! Babies, babies....spring is here!


As for life in NC, it's been pretty busy. Last week was spring break for our students so there was an event planned for every day. Woo hoo! We also prepared the Wednesday night meal at church as a fundraiser for the students. And the youth league rapped up their season of basketball. The mens league is STILL going on and I just found out that they will be having a tournament as well. OH yeah- Sam loves it!

The weather here ( and everywhere else it seems) has been SUPER crazy! The winds were out of control and blew so bad that it bent the frame on the boys swings...so now we're looking for a new frame. It also moved the trampoline 5ft or so across the yard. The rain we got was very much needed! It hasn't really been the April showers kind of season. We really need more rain!

I'm about ready to put up our little pool. Zeke loves the water so I hope he will enjoy the pool too. Justus was a water baby too and would play until the water was freezing if I let him. We're going strawberry picking in a few weeks and that should be fun. I really love this time of year....there is a newness about it, like you could start fresh. In fact, I prefer to do my 'new years resolution' around this time for that very reason. It's silly I know but it works for me.

Gotta run, talk with you soon.

Caught in the act

If Zeke gets quiet you can probably find him by the wood pile. I have to pull him away several times a day. For some reason he thinks it's a great chew toy...GROSS!!!!!!!!!

I must have scared him---he looks terrified.


Mommy means business I better get out of here! Ummm, this is tasty.


OK, ok I'm really leaving this time.

Well, it's day seven & the ICK is still around..the fever has FINALLY left but the cough is still full blast along with a snot nose. Zeke officially HATES to lay on his back. That is because he now knows that one of two things is coming. Nasty meds or the dreaded snot sucker. Poor baby! I'm thinking that since it's lingering so long that it may be a virus that's been going around in conjunction with allergies.

Justus woke up froggy this morning and his been sneezing & had itchy eyes. Jamie I understand your woes! There have been several times I thought the boys might spew because of the drainage. And several times I thought it might actually be helpful since Zeke can't blow his nose. Truthfully I wish it would just all go away but I'm not expecting that to happen any time soon.

ICKY

Well we had an icky night. Zeke has oink eye...oops-pink eye LOL. And he was very wiggly last night & couldn't get comfortable. Then his nose got stuffy so he was breathing loud. Eventually he woke up & I tried to feed him a bottle which usually he takes and then goes directly back to sleep. Of course that is not what happened. The drainage must have tickled his throat because next thing I know milk was coming back up. ICKY!!!!

This lead to Justus & Sam waking up. So our 'wee' hours of the morning were spent trying to get everyone back to sleep. A very frustrating process. This is when I wish the boys had a room of their own & weren't in the same space with us. Most of the time I love having them so close.....last night was NOT one of those times.

This week is our consignment sale for our children's ministry. We do one in the spring & one in the fall. I always have a blast helping organize & weed out the junk that some people try to sell. It's really quite funny when someone wants $5 for a stained dress. Get control of yourselves people! The ladies that are in charge of this are so much fun to be around. And Sam gets to ENJOY the boys for a couple of hours.

This couldn't have come at a better time for me. The youth are going to Aquire the Fire this weekend so I will get a bit of a break from the house while I help out at the church. Throw in the good company & a little shopping for my boys and I'm there!

Hopefully whatever is bothering baby oink eye will pass quickly; I'm not really up for caring for a sickie all by myself.

Surprise, surprise...nothing spectacular going on here. But I must say that I saw the most beautiful sunset this weekend and in my favorite color--PURPLE!!!!!!! That triggered a spontaneous moment of reflection & a quick prayer thanking God for being in the little things and loving me so much. I wish I could have gotten to the camera but it wasn't with me at the time.


Sam put in his two week notice on his second job! Hopefully most of his evenings will be spent at home & now we will be able to eat supper together-I'm so excited!!!! It's been a long time coming and I'm extremely thankful for this change!!!

Tonight a friend is bringing two of her children over to play while she & her husband go eat dinner. Baby boy (three weeks old) will be joining his parents...RATS! I wish she'd leave him here but I don't blame her!

Well that's all folks. Zeke is sqiggling & squealing in the other room.

Life in fast forward.....

Zeke has hit a growing streak! He's wearing some 12month stuff. This week he started waving bye-bye. He's said 'daddy' once & BEST of all he said 'Momma' today!!!!! As for Justus- well he keeps me laughing out loud! On Friday he pooped in the urinal at church!!!! So funny! He had asked Sam for help but apparently Sam didn't get there in enough time for the proper direction. Needless to say I stay busy simply keeping up with these two.

As for me- I'd like to lose some weight but I have NO will power so it seems a distant dream! I have been trying to make healthier choices & I feel better mentally if not physically. It's nice to do something for myself. And rewarding to make good choices. This will probably be short lived...we'll see.


The boys hanging out:

A few pictures.....

Behind the boys is where our woodpile went to keep the house warm during winter. We had a wood crate to hold the wood. Since then we've replaced it with a new wood holder.


A shot of the walls and floors before:


One of the worst spots. Although you can't even tell this floor had been cleaned & bleached even. I'm sure you can see my reasons for NEEDING new flooring. The paint on the floor was also peeling in places.


Laying the tile


All tiles down!


Grouting....MESSY!


Step one of painting: sealer. This keeps the mold out!


Step two---PAINT! No more ugly blue.


All in all I am VERY happy with the results. The paint in the room is lighter than I wanted it. I actually prefered the color of the wet paint. However- this is a look I can live with!!!! Thank God for tax returns!

We're still moving things around a bit but once the furniture is settled I'll show a picture of the final results!

Home Improvements

Last week we started working on our house. The first half of the week was taken up by gathering supplies & rearranging our house. We had to move a portion of our stuff out of the room so that nothing was on the floor. So now on third of our basement apartment is tiled & it looks fantastic or as Justus says "Bantastic".

For those of you who don't know we basically live in a concrete rectangle aka an unfinished basement. The rectangle is divided into three sections. Anyways the part that you walk directly into now has a fresh coat of paint & a nice tile floor. And I am SO excited!!!!! It's always nice to have a feeling of accomplishment.

We have changed things around a bit & now I want to paint the bedroom. Eventually the entire basement will be finished. Complete with a bathroom & real walls and all that normal stuff. Hopefully we'll be in our own place by then but for now I am happy with our improvements!

Last week we also had my grandmothers 70th birthday party and our youth had their second basketball game. I took the boys for the first time-----disaster!!!! Sam was coaching so he couldn't help at all. Thankfully some church members were there & my brother Josh as well so I wasn't completly out of sorts. I won't be taking the boys again!

Well reading over this my week doesn't sound very full but believe me I stayed busy! Oh yeah, we made time to go see a movie. We went to see 300. It was a decent movie. But not one I would see with our youth for sure! It's rated R for some sexuality & nudity and of course battle scenes. We almost took my 15 year old brother Jacob.....he would have missed several 15 minute scenes! I'm glad he ended up doing something else!

I also have to say that I have the BEST three year old in the world!!!!!!! He's just awesome!!!!

As soon as I find our computer cords I'll post some pics of our changes!

Why try???

I just finished fixing supper. Justus is asleep. Sam's at work. Zeke is fussing & I"m not hungry.

It's been almost a week-

Did you miss me??? Well I missed you all but haven't had much time to really think about it until now. We've been busy & I'd love to tell you all about it but Zeke is up. I'll update on last week soon. I promise. I know you're all just drooling to know about my boring life!

Check this out!