Back in the Land

Of the living that is. I am feeling much better today. Whew! whatever it was that I had, it totally whipped my butt Monday and Tuesday. After a couple of nights of Nyquil and days of Dayquil, I am proud to say I am almost completely better. I still have a slight headache, and my nose is still stopped up, but at least I can see now. That is a true blessing. I had a shower, fixed my hair, and even put makeup on today. It is a new day for sure. I am probably going to head to Target in a little while with the kiddos. Lord knows we need to get outta here. They are just as stir crazy as I am. Thanks for all of the little prayers and well wishes, they were very much felt. I want to wish all of you all a Happy NEW YEAR. May the Lord bless you in 2009. As far as my resolutions go- here they are

1. To be more diligent with my bible study/quiet time each day. I want to set a specific time period in the early a.m. instead of doing it during the day when the time allows (usually at naptime). I yearn to have this first and foremost daily. I pray that the LORD will kick my butt out of bed early enough to do it. (5:30am)

2. To catch up on my scrapbooking- okay girls I know this is probably a lost cause

3. To eat better and lose the rest of this post Evan weight. I have around 25 pounds to go. Why is it so much harder to lose it than it is to gain it?

4. To have more patience with my kiddos. This goes with #1

5. To enjoy each day of 2009 like it is my last.

Until next time... in 2009

Pray for this family

Hey ya'll,

Please be in prayer for MckMama and her family, especially little Stellan. Stellan has RSV, extremely severe! MckMama's blog is on my sidebar (my charming kids)
I like to read it, and she and her family have an amazing testimony through little Stellan. If you have time, catch up on this testimony and pray for them during your quiet time.

I am pretty sick as well. It is some kind of sinus stuff that makes you feel like you have the flu without the fever. I am trying to rest, but you know that with three kids that is pretty impossible at times. I am going to make them all lay down today so that I can do the same. Until next time...

Not me! Monday

Last week after going to bed with my hair wet, which is something a curly haired girl should only do in the presence of someone who really loves them, my hubby did NOT ask me the next morning if I was from "Whoville" Hey, Cindy Loo Who has nothing on me! I didn't know hair could stand up in those directions.

My sinuses are NOT acting up again, and I am NOT typing this while my eyes are super swollen.

Speaking of eyes, I do NOT need to go to the eye doctor bad. In fact, I did NOT let Tristan's 7 year old friend tell me which streets to take b/c I couldn't read the signs when driving her home at night. I did NOT then tell her mother that I needed to get my eyes checked. I am sure her mother then felt pretty safe about me driving her child after that comment.

I did NOT have the best marathon cleaning session before our family came over for Tristan's birthday yesterday. So good in fact that you really do NOT want to see what is behind any door in our house. They are spring loaded- trust me!

Last but not least check out Mckmama's blog. She is not doing her usual Not Me! Monday marathon today. Her baby Stellan has been sick. For a really awesome story, catch up on Stellan. He is such an amazing miracle. It looks as though he is getting better, but pray for him and his family still. I love her Not Me! Monday posts so much that I wanted to carry it on today. I hope everyone has a great day!!

Another year over, and a new one just begun...

My life feels like this classic John Lennon Christmas song sometimes. It is hard to believe that 2008 is ending and 2009 is beginning. Where did it go? Do I really have an almost 10 month old, a 5 year old, and a 7 year old? My sweet little Tristan will turn 7 tomorrow. I still remember bringing her home from the hospital. Andy and I came home on Dec. 30, 2001. Her first night was great, but oh our New Year's Eve rocked that year- literally. That is rocked in the rocking chair all night long. Tristan cried almost all night long. I remember thinking, "What have I done? I can not possibly do this baby thing". It got much better though, and so did we. Oh what a joy she has been to our family. She is a sweet natured, kind spirit. I could not imagine life without her. We are so excited for her b/c tomorrow night, on her 7th birthday, Mr. David will be baptising our sweet girl. Tristan has never been more excited, and she has been telling everyone. I know this will be a birthday she will never forget. For not only was she born 7 years ago tomorrow, but she will also be able to tell the world the most important thing about her life- That she is born again. How amazing is that? Thank you God for your grace. We so do not deserve it! Thank you for my sweet baby girl's salvation. I truly do praise you for this.
On another note- anyone else's house look like Toys R Us threw up in it? I think we are extremely, highly, underserving at times, super-duper, you get the point Blessed. Until next time...

Not me! Monday

Hey guys! Welcome to Not me! Monday. I love this little blog fun started at http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ So check it out, join in the fun, and have fun finding out how "perfect" we really are.

Okay, I did NOT just this past week change both Evan's main diaper pail plus the old standby diaper pail that we have. They were NOT completely packed full to over flowing with diapers. I did NOT change it b/c I was putting dirty diapers in plastic bags on the floor beside the pail and finally ran out of space. That would be so gross. The 30 gallon trash bag that did NOT get filled with the contents of both pails was NOT so heavy that I had to drag it down the stairs and across the living room floor and to the garage. It did NOT sit there for another three days until I finally had to heave it to the trash can. I did NOT almost throw my back out doing this. I mean come on who is that lazy??? I ALWAYS change the diaper pails before they overflow ;)

I have NOT threatened my kids one hundred times today to quit wrestling. The threat was NOT that I would tell Jack to tell Santa that the presents were not coming. I mean I would NEVER threaten with things that I could not follow through with.

I have NOT had the fleeting thoughts today that I am not going to make two weeks of school being out, and that I may have to be rescued. Not me!

Jack has NOT stayed in the same place for two different nights this week b/c I forgot to move him. I have NOT used the excuse that Jack must like that spot. The kids did NOT completely buy into it. I am NOT so bad at this job of relocating Jack.

Our family did NOT stay in our pjs all afternoon. I did NOT contemplate letting Evan sleep in the same pjs as he wore last night and all day long. I did decide to change him though. What kind of mother do you think I am?

and last but not least. I did NOT clean my bathroom today. I am NOT embarrassed to admit that it had been a really LONG time. So long that my sinks were crying tears of joy for seeing some cleaner and a sponge. I am NOT going to blame it on the fact that I have a baby. Wait though that baby is NOT now 9 months old so he is no excuse. Who waits that long to clean their bathroom? Not me!

Merry CHRISTmas everyone!!

Not me! Monday

Hey guys! Welcome to Not me! Monday. I love this little blog fun started at http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ So check it out, join in the fun, and have fun finding out how "perfect" we really are.

I did not work out last Tuesday for a whole hour with my underwear riding up my rear end the whole time. When I finished my workout and went to pick Evan up from the Kids Klub I did not try to put my keys in my pocket only to not be able to find the pocket. I couldn't find the pocket because my shorts were NOT on backwards the whole entire workout. Nope! Not me. I mean come on, that would be too embarrassing.

We do not have a new addition to our outside Christmas inflatable fest. Nope!

It is not an inflatable Santa riding a John Deere Tractor, and he is not right next to our inflatable manger scene. Nope! That would be a little much wouldn't it?

Jeff Foxworthy is not going to add our house to the best redneck Christmas decorations. Nope!

My Evan did not start crawling pretty good yesterday. That would mean I am gonna have to buy more outlet covers.

What about the things you all didn't do?

Blessings Abound

My past few weeks have been somewhat hectic as I am sure everyone can relate to. As I have scurried to buy the last minute presents, food, clean the house, etc. I have not fully focused on what I needed to focus on. Our Lord's birth. I was reminded of this yesterday morning from Pastor Phil's sermon. Please check it out at www.fbcpowell.org.
I also wanted to share with you what I have encountered this past week to make me stop and reconsider the unimportance of the "secular" part of Christmas. I have been blessed abuntantly this week. The blessings have come from a couple of families. One we are close to and love very dearly, and the other we have only known for a short time, but also love them dearly. These two families have both experienced recent difficult trials right before Christmas. To see them glorify God in these trials has been an ultimate blessing to me. That was really all that I needed to be blessed with. God, however, chose to use me and many other individuals, as channels of His provision for these two families. That has been the most awesome blessing! It is truly much better to give than to receive. It starts a spiral effect that is absolutely intoxicating. I have been giddy with excitement this past week knowing how God was using myself and these other idividuals to help out these two families. It has meant so much more to me than buying that shirt for so-and-so, or another toy that the kids sure don't need. I had a concrete example for my children this week of ministry! That is a gift that you can never buy from a store. It is a gift for a lifetime that I hope the kids will look back on and remember. So I wanted to say thank you to the Hodson family and the Richard family for truly blessing me this past week. I pray that you continue to glorify God in these difficult times. Thanks for being a reminder that we should all celebrate Christmas the way it should be celebrated. Love, Giving, and Sacrifice should be our theme, just as it was the theme 2000 years ago. Thank you God for the gift of Jesus

I also want to mention how proud I am of Tristan. Her Sunday School class has been raising money for the Lottie Moon offering for missionaries. Tristan had what I thought was $30.00 saved in her wallet. She decided to give half to Lottie Moon. I was so thrilled with her decision. So when I went to get her from S.S. yesterday, Mrs. Kandy told me that Tristan had given $50.00. I was surprised. She had some more money stashed in another wallet. So when I was asking her if she was sure she wanted to give all of her money, she did not hesitate and said, "Yes, mama". When we got in the car I told her how proud that we were of her and so was Jesus for giving her money to the missionaries. She said, "Mama, I had to give it to them, because that is what Jesus told me to do. The missionaries need it". Oh, to have that attitude. So once again God used my own child to bless me yesterday. It was a great week.

Not me! Monday

Hey guys! Welcome to Not me! Monday. I love this little blog fun started at http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ So check it out, join in the fun, and have fun finding out how "perfect" we really are.

I did not carry Evan upstairs last night to get him ready for bed and put him down on the changing table to find my whole arm wet. I did not proceed to find the biggest blow out of poop in my lifetime. It was not completely up Evan's back and out the sides of his diaper. I did not have to call Andy in for reinforcements because I did not have poop everywhere it could possibly go. Evan was not competely smiling through the whole ordeal like he didn't have a care in the world. Nope! not me

I did not let my kids eat way too much candy and junk this weekend. What kind of mom would do that? Nope! not me.

I did not eat too much candy and junk myself this weekend. For crying out loud I am not a fitness instructor and I am not supposed to set a good example. Nope! not me.

I have not forgotten to hide Jack, our elf on the shelf, at least three times this week. I have not gotten up in a panic to race downstairs before the kiddos and hide him before they could realize he was in the same spot as the day before.

I do not have more Christmas shopping to do. I am supposed to not be finished already, right!

and last but not least...

I do not have leftovers still in my fridge from Thanksgiving. That would be kind of gross, so Nope! not me

Have a great rest of your Monday

Jack, our guest

We have a visitor in our house for the next 20 days. The kids named him Jack and he is a scout elf.

You can find out more about elves like Jack at http://www.elfontheshelf.com/ This is how Jack works. Every evening when the kiddos go to bed, Jack flies to the North Pole to tell Santa how the kiddos have behaved for the day. Then he flies back the next morning only to hid in a different spot in the house. This morning he was on the mantle. The kids have had a blast finding Jack each morning. This is a new tradition we have started this year. It comes with a great story book. It has been so much fun to see the kiddos look for Jack.

Of course this is all in good fun. The kids know that it is a game, and that Jack and Santa are not the true reason we celebrate Christmas. The birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is #1 in our household. Tristan even said today on the way home from school, "Mom, the presents aren't important, but Jesus' birthday is. Why do some people not think so?" Oh such thinking for her little mind, but she sure did hit the nail on the head. Without Christ there would be no Christmas. Without Christ we all would still be covered with sins. He was born of a virgin in a lowly manger to be our KING!!! Wow! how I will never get over this! What a perfect, spotless gift to us. JESUS is Christmas.

On a lighter note, I caught Evan taking his first up close peek at the tree. I love the look on his face. He seems to say, " Oh, how bright and shiny. I wonder what it would taste like"