Barefoot in the Backyard

Pirate-Eyes...

2012-02-03T19:55:00.000-05:00

I wish this wasn't so out-of-focus...but it is a Randy face if I have ever seen one!

Poor Puny Babies...

2012-02-03T19:54:00.000-05:00

Hailey said popcorn and a Leapfrog video would make her feel better :)

Big Beds For Both...

2012-01-30T19:45:00.001-05:00

Tonite is Hailey AND Caleb's first night in their big beds. Hailey has been in a toddler bed for a few years now but tonite she passed it down to her younger brother (who should not be old enough to be in a toddler bed!) Hailey will now be sleeping in what was my bed when I was a little girl. They were both pretty excited about sleeping in their new beds. So much so that they wanted to go to bed early. I'm not complaining. So far I haven't heard anything out of them! I'm not concerned about Hailey but I am a little about Caleb...

He was just a little excited :)

BRAG ALERT: I got Hailey's bedding at a yard sale for $3 AND it's Hello Kitty. I got Caleb's bedding at a consignment sale for $5. BAM!

Mini Pizzas

2012-01-30T19:37:00.002-05:00

I had a craving the other night for pizza and we had no pizza :( So I improvised.

Grands biscuits (flattened into crust shape) + some leftover spaghetti sauce I had + shredded mozzarella + mini pepperonis + a dash of italian seasoning and parmesan = Some pretty yummy last minute mini pizzas!

Wordless Wednesday...Snuggle Time Edition

2012-01-18T16:46:00.000-05:00

Little Stinker...

2012-01-13T10:15:00.001-05:00

Caleb pooped in the tub this morning. This was not his first time doing that, unfortunately, but this time was extra funny. As soon as I realized he had done it I grabbed him and Hailey out and he sat there by the tub saying "Ucky, ucky, ucky!" And for the next twenty minutes or so after I got him dressed (fortunately they were already bathed!) he kept running to the bathroom, pointing at the tub, and saying "Ucky, ucky, ucky!" Little stinker...

Things Remembered...

2011-12-30T11:52:00.001-05:00

We really had a great Christmas this year. Both kids were old enough to really enjoy it and I wanted to record some of the things said and done so we can remember them for years to come.

Top left: Joash, Christian, Parker
Bottom left: Macey, Caleb, Hailey

~ We got to meet our two new nephews, Christian and Joash. My bro-in-law and sis-in-law had been in the adoption process for what seemed like forever and they finally got to bring their new sons home in October. It was great getting to meet them and getting to know them. Next year is going to be insane. There will be 8 grandkids on the Titus side of the family but we are definitely looking forward to getting them all together again next Christmas.
~We started a new tradition in our house this year. I picked up this nativity set at Family Bookstore that you start the week before Christmas and each day you open a little present that comes with it and inside is one of the people from the Christmas story. The set is called "What God wants for Christmas" and the last day, Christmas day, you open the present and there is a little mirror inside showing that God wants you for Christmas. It has a little booklet in it on how to lead children to Christ. It is such a neat little set. Hailey really enjoyed it. She didn't really get the last day with the mirror but she is only three. I look forward to doing that with our kids for years to come.

~ Both kids got just a ton of new toys. I wish I would have had it on video when Hailey opened her present from her uncle Seth. A few weeks ago he asked her what she wanted and she said she wanted a baby with yellow curly hair that eats and drinks. When she opened her present from him on Christmas Eve her eyes got huge and she exclaimed "It's exactly what I wanted!" He had gotten her a Baby Alive doll and it literally was exactly what she wanted.

~Some friends of ours had gotten a Thomas the Tank Engine table and a whole box of tracks and trains and accessories from a friend of theirs and they gave it to us to give to the kids so we decided to use it as Caleb's Christmas present. When he came downstairs Christmas morning he saw the train table and squirmed his was out of Randy's arms and ran to it and started saying "Too-Too...Too-Too!" So cute!
~Hailey spent most of the month of December walking around the house singing random portions of Christmas carols with her own lyrics. I really wish I would have been writing them down but here are a few that I remember...I may add more as I hear her singing them because I'm sure she will still be singing them still after the tree is down and the ornaments and stockings are put away.
..."Shuck the halls..."
..."Vashing to the snow, in a one horse soap and sleigh, Oh the fills we know, I don't want to stay..."

~Caleb got a Cozy Coupe car from my parents for Christmas and that was the "item of choice" (meaning it was what the kids fought over) for three or four days after he got it.

He boxes out like his momma

~Caleb also got a LIttle Tikes basketball goal from my parents and he was so excited about it. Every time he would make a basket he would say "OOOOHHHHH"

~Nena and Poppa (Randy's parents) got a hotel room at the Marriott so all the kids could go swimming on Christmas night. It was so much fun and the kids had a blast! It was fun to be able to take them swimming in the middle of winter and they got to swim out all of their Christmas energy. I think it may be a new tradition our family is starting and I am pretty excited about that. And yes, I did actually get my pregnant self in a swimsuit. It's for the kids...
There were so many fun memories this Christmas. I wish I could remember more of them. I am so thankful for friends and family to spend it with.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:50:00.002-05:00

He really is a very happy kid...

Another failed attempt of a sibling pic...at least one of them is smiling :)

What Happens While My Back Is Turned...

2011-12-22T13:33:00.000-05:00

They decided it would be fun to make "popcorn" out of a styrofoam block they found...

It's a good thing they are so darn cute!

Daddy-Daughter "Gymaskits"

2011-12-22T13:27:00.001-05:00

Tuesday was Parent Participation Day at Hailey's "gymaskits" (as she calls it.) I would have loved to have been able to participate but I'm kind of getting a belly (it's from the baby) and I had my wild little one-year-old in tow also. I really wish I would have had the video camera because Randy was actually the one to do the participating. And can I just say, for a twenty-six-year-old dude...he was pretty good. He did the trampoline and the uneven bars and did some flips on one of the other bars (not sure what it's called.) He swung from the rope swing into the foam block pit...which Hailey will not do. Oh, and he almost clobbered Hailey trying to bounce from one trampoline to the other...I didn't say he was perfect. Hailey had a blast having her daddy do "gymaskits" with her.

I would have gotten some good pics of them doing stuff together but they won't let you use flash while they are doing their gymnastics so all the pictures I took were very blurry :(

Family Pics...Winter 2011

2011-12-15T11:18:00.001-05:00

Don't forget you can click on these to enlarge them!

Gingerbread House

2011-12-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

Hailey has been begging us to do a gingerbread house so I picked one up at Aldi last week and we put it together Saturday night. Really all Caleb wanted to do the entire time was eat the candy...and I can't blame him. Hailey did a nice job decorating and my excellent icing-er (I just made that up) Randy assembled the masterpiece. The kids had a great time and I think Randy was pretty proud of his work :) oh, and I just take the pictures...and pacify the pleading little one with sugary goodness...

Please Mommy!

Seriously, how could you resist those big gorgeous bluish-green eyes!

The handy work

The goods...

Hailey using her mad decorating skills

Finishing up the Masterpiece

Too Small For His Britches...

2011-12-13T20:56:00.002-05:00

Fifteen Weeks

2011-12-06T20:49:00.000-05:00

I'm fifteen weeks now. I'm past all of the sickness...at least I hope. I haven't felt bad for a couple of weeks. Actually I have felt really good. Aside from being a little more tired and my daily headache that sometimes I think could qualify as a migraine I've been feeling really good. I had an appointment today and everything checked out great. I still haven't gained any weight but I didn't with Caleb until like almost 20 weeks or so. They say to count it as a blessing. I guess I should. I don't know when I would find time to eat more anyway! I go January 4th to find out what we're having. Randy and I don't really care one way or another. I think he may slightly want a girl a little bit more but either way is great. Hailey, on the other hand, is positive it is a girl. So much so that she has been telling everyone that she has a baby sister in mommy's tummy. I know that in life she will face many disappointments, but I do kind of hope for her sake that it is a girl...because she really...really has her hopes up. But we'll see in January!

Mr. Resourceful...

2011-12-06T20:41:00.000-05:00

He knows how to get what he wants...

Day After Thanksgiving Decorating...

2011-12-06T20:36:00.001-05:00

So these are a little late but at least they're on here!

I don't know if you've ever tried to decorate for Christmas with a three year old and a one year old but it is very... challenging... fun... but challenging... especially when you have a sneaky little one year old who is at expert level of seek and destroy...

We had one tired pup by the end of the day :)

My Task Today...

2011-11-21T16:53:00.001-05:00

This is what awaited me this morning. I was determined to get the yard raked for Randy because by the time he gets home and we eat dinner it's dark so he can't mow...and I don't really trust myself with the riding lawn mower.

...Needless to say, I did not get the entire yard raked. I didn't even get a fourth of it raked. Between my being totally overwhelmed by the gazillion leaves and the kids begging me to take them to the playground it was kind of a lost cause. However, I did get the flower beds cleaned out. Yeah, they were covered in leaves so I did accomplish something. And the kids got to play in the big pile of leaves I was able to make from the flower beds...

Can't quite tell if they are playing or fighting...
I think Hailey "thinks" she is playing but Caleb thinks otherwise...

Jumping in the leaves!

If it looks like this one ended badly...
It's because it did...

But all is well now!

The First Fire of The Season...Mmmmm

2011-11-21T16:28:00.000-05:00

Floor: 1 ... Caleb: 0

2011-11-12T15:40:00.001-05:00

Caleb turns 18 months old tomorrow and today he got his first bursted (sp?) lip. I'm pretty sure it won't be his last...

...but at least he still has all of his teeth...

...and he still has a smile on his face... :)

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T12:51:00.002-04:00

Our little monster

Trunk-r-treat...i think he's enjoying himself

Our little Rapunzel

She isn't terrified of bounce houses anymore!

Checkin' out the goods...

Someone has discovered the goodness that is candy...

So I look like I'm 6 months pregnant here but I'm only 10 weeks.
I think it's the angle...I hope...

Pretty proud of her treasures

Trick-or-treating with Nena and Poppa

Caleb absolutely loved trick-or-treating!

Hailey wanted to "Ding the dingbell" :)

Sharing some candy :)

Some Recent Hailey-isms And Introducing Caleb-isms!

2011-10-24T13:56:00.003-04:00

-One day she asked for some milk for lunch and I told her "No, we drink water for lunch." She replied kind of under her breath as she walked past me, "Seriously, you're going to give me water when I asked for milk..."I was stunned. It was like she was thirteen already...

-Today at lunch she had eaten everything but her green beans and I told her she needed to eat her green beans before she could get up. I watched her as she put one in her mouth and slowly swallowed it. Then she looked over at me in total Disney Princess fashion and said, " Mom, I just can't do it. They're just...they're just...disgusting." I tried to control my laughter and told her she needed to eat three before she could get up. She slowly and somewhat dramatically ate her three and got up from the table.

-A few weeks ago, I don't even remember what she did to get one, but her dad was getting ready to give her a spanking. Right before he got ready to give it to her she blurted out,"Oh daddy, just please don't make it a huge one!" I'd like to be able to say we held our ground and she received a "huge" spanking...but that didn't happen this time :) (She actually didn't get one at all...we just all looked at each other and started laughing...it was like a Full House episode or something.)

-I don't really know what her deal with "huge spankings" is. I would like to think I/ we are pretty consistent with the severity/level of our spanking giving. But a few days after that last spanking incident she did something to earn a spanking and she got one and afterward she said, "Mom, I really didn't want a huge one. I just wanted a small one." I said, " Well, Hailey, sometimes you just have to get huge ones." She replied, "But "sometimes" isn't right now."

As you can see ...it really isn't her disobedience that earns her most of her spankings...it's her mouth. Although she does use her mouth for very sweet things, too. I mean seriously, she is just so darn cute!

I am looking forward to starting some Caleb-isms. He does say a lot but most of it I am the only one who knows what he is talking about. He says "brush teeth" (which sounds like duh-dee...emphasis on the "dee") and "read" (which sounds like yeee...and he usually is backing himself up on my lap with a book in his hand as he says it) and Hailey (which sounds like eeeeeya.) He also loves watching for birds outside and gets excited if he hears them chirping. He likes "talking" to dogs. He does a high pitch yipping noise to them. This is his bird "talk" also.

Trust In The Lord...

2011-10-21T08:16:00.002-04:00

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5 NLT)
Yesterday afternoon I was laying in bed trying my best to get some rest. I'm not a good napper. I can be utterly exhausted and when my head hits the pillow my mind starts going a million miles a minute. Well, that's what happened yesterday. I had some things I was struggling with in my mind and I could not let them go.
Hailey has one of the Steve Greene "hide'em in your heart" cd's that have verses written in song. I'm laying in bed and the Proverbs 3:5 one pops in my head. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding."
The song kept playing over and over again in my head almost as if God were whispering...or singing...it to me. I have heard the verse a million times but it started to take on a new meaning to me. I realized as I was laying there that I was being disobedient to this verse by sitting there wrestling with the things I was wrestling with. Because the reason I was struggling so much with these issues is because I didn't understand them. I was relying on my own reasoning to give me comfort. And I wasn't getting any. I was not trusting in the Lord and His sovereignty and His wisdom. I was "leaning on my own understanding."
As soon as I realized what was going on I asked God to forgive me for not trusting Him and for relying on myself. This is something hard for me to do. Not the asking for forgiveness but the totally trusting in someone else. But who is more faithful and true and just and righteous than our Heavenly Father?
How about you. Are you having a tough time relinquishing control of your struggles and maybe things you just can't push past?. Put your Trust in the One who is the Author of all understanding. Let Him guide you through His Word and impart His wisdom upon you.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5 NLT)

Dixie Classic Fair 2011

2011-10-19T11:33:00.000-04:00

We went to the Dixie Classic Fair this year with our community group. We had a so much fun!

We went to our first Pig Race. The kids LOVED it!

Hailey and her new buddy Dakota

Hailey rode her first "roller coaster." She had a blast. I'm not sure if it was pregnancy hormones or just from being a mom but I almost cried watching her ride it =)

Kinda' bummed this one is so blurry...

We visited the petting zoo and fed some lambs and goats and donkeys and a very hungry camel.

You know Fall is here when the Dixie Classic Fair comes to town!

Another Failed Attempt At Kid Pics...

2011-10-19T11:11:00.000-04:00

If they weren't so darn cute I probably wouldn't even try...

Oh, and the third "child" in the picture is "Baby Dear," the newest member of our family that we pretty much go nowhere without.

Make Way For #3

2011-10-17T14:49:00.001-04:00

That's right...we are having another baby! We are due May 28 so I am eight weeks today. I haven't journaled about my other two pregnancies so I thought this would be a good time to start.
We are very excited about this baby. I'm a little nervous about having a third seeing that I only have 2 hands and my lap only has 2 legs. But I have heard that it is doable so I'm trying not to worry about it.
I hit a milestone today. I threw up for the first time with this pregnancy and it was everything I hoped it would be. (please note the sarcasm) I have been feeling pretty gross for the last couple of weeks and I guess I still have a few more weeks of it.
Anyway, enough with all the grossness. Hailey has been saying for months that she really hopes God gives her a baby sister. I guess we will see somewhere around Christmas if she got what she wanted!

In Case You Have Forgotten...

2011-09-30T13:23:00.000-04:00

Beach Vacation 2011

2011-09-22T15:34:00.004-04:00

We went on vacation last week with my family. I have been wanting to blog about our trip since we got home but we were there a week and I took a ton of pictures and I have been just a little overwhelmed with how I was going to describe all of the fun-ness that was had. But I can't procrastinate any longer or I will have something else to blog about and this will fall by the wayside. Anyway, here ya go...

We combed the beach...

We rode some waves...

We rode some rides...

Yeah we rode that...

We built a sand castle...

We did a little shopping...

This is about the same expressions of Randy and I for shopping as well...

We attempted some group shots...

We got some incredibly cute shots of our kiddos...

My favorite!!!

Sweet girl!

Lounging with his lovey

We got in some good snuggle time...

All in all we had a really great time. A friend of mine asked me when we got home if I was rested and relaxed. I thought for a second and responded, " I just took two small kids to the beach for a whole week. I can't say that I am rested or relaxed, but I did have a lot fun!"

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-05T13:24:00.000-04:00

I know most kids get out of school for Labor Day but since Randy never gets to do school with the kids we decided we would do school today. We really enjoyed having him there to do our activities with...although we had to call him down a couple of times for playing with the glue...

Building a tower like our Bible lesson of the Tower of Babel

Working on pre-writing skills

Doing some counting for math

Practicing using scissors

Fun times with Daddy

Making a blueberry "shakey" with Daddy

We even got a lesson in agriculture =)

We love it when Daddy's home!

Happy Birthday to My Sister...

2011-08-31T14:19:00.000-04:00

She came into this world

With dark hair and a smile.

Spunky, strong-willed,

Sarcastic and wild.

My baby sister

How I’ve watched her grow

Grow into a woman

More beautiful than she knows.

Twenty-one years ago

She brought joy to our lives

Twenty-one years later

My friend for life.

Happy Birthday Baby SIster

I love you!

Cheese Balls Anyone?

2011-08-31T08:52:00.001-04:00

First Day of Gymnastics

2011-08-30T12:48:00.000-04:00

A New Adventure...

2011-08-29T21:07:00.001-04:00

Our family has recently embarked upon a new and exciting adventure...are you ready...HOMESCHOOLING! We have been at it for 3 weeks now, Monday Wednesday and Friday, and it is so much fun.

Now let me just say, the first two days, not so much fun. I was not nearly as organized as I needed to be but I also really didn't know what to expect. I also was having some authority issues with my Student number 1. They aren't totally resolved, but are much better now. I changed up the schedule a bit to where Randy and I felt Hailey would be able to focus better and things are much better now.

Hailey hiding baby Moses in the river

I am just loving the creativity that has shown up in my brain since we started. All I can say is it must be answered prayer because I am not very creative and with a 3-year-old you gotta be pretty creative. We went on a nature walk one day and then read the story of baby Moses. We put a boat in a little rubbermaid bin with water and then used the items we found on our walk to hide baby Moses in the river.

Making people out of play-doh

We also read on Friday about how God created Adam and Eve and we made people out of play-doh. That was a lot of fun. We learned about how God made them and how God made us and how He created us to worship and glorify Him.

Friday's Bible verse and craft

Learning how to write the letter A

We officially started 2 weeks ago because I didn't have all of my books in the first week so it was just a trial run. We decided to use the Sonlight curriculum. I pretty much fell in love with it the day the catalogue came in the mail. It's a little on the pricey side so we ordered a little over half of the books and will order the rest after Christmas. It is different than any of the other options that I looked at. It uses excellent literature as opposed to textbooks and workbooks. There are workbooks as you get older but I love the fact that we get to read a ton of really good books. Yeah I'm a nerd. The 3-year-old curriculum doesn't really work on letters and numbers so I supplement my own thing but it gives me a chance to think outside the box and be challenged.

So why did we choose to homeschool? Simple. We feel like this is what God has called us to do. It isn't necessarily an easy task. I wrestle with insecurities about not being "qualified" for the job. "What if I can't get her to learn her ABC's?" or "What if she just can't stand being around me after a morning of school?" but God keeps reminding me that this is what He wants me doing and He will work it out. It's funny, I saw multiple comments and reviews of the Sonlight curriculum where the parents were saying that their kids begged to do school after starting Sonlight. I was like, "Yeah, I can't imagine Hailey begging to do school" but you know what, she has. It's crazy. It makes me smile =)

The perks of homeschooling:
1. I get to spend all day with my kids. Some days this is awesome. Some days this is a challenge. Thank goodness for naptimes, right?
2. We get to do schoolwork outside.
3. I have seen God work in my heart and change me in a lot of areas. It's funny how parenting can really show you what's in your own heart.
4. I am getting to watch Hailey figure things out.
5. We are scheduled but we can be flexible.
I could really think of a numerous more reasons but the main thing for me is that I am able to build relationships with my children.

I don't know what the future will hold. I hold nothing against parents who send their children to school, whether it be public or private. I know they can do a lot of those same things with their children even being in school. I don't know what God has for us in the years to come but right now we are homeschooling and I plan to cherish the time I get to do it.

Following In His Daddy's Footsteps...

2011-08-29T20:22:00.000-04:00

On My Heart...

2011-08-26T16:40:00.000-04:00

I need you to soften my heart

to break me apart

I need you to open my eyes

to see that you're shaping my life

All I am

I surrender

Give me faith to trust what you say

that You're good and Your love is great

I'm broken inside, I give you my life

I need you to soften my heart

to break me apart

I need you to pierce through the dark

and cleanse every part of me

I may be weak

but Your spirit's strong in me

My flesh may fail My God you never will

Our Little Swim Babies...

2011-08-24T21:59:00.000-04:00

All summer long Hailey has been somewhat terrified of the water. Well, not really terrified, but she DID NOT...under any circumstances...want you to let go of her in the water. I even got her this cool floaty thing to wear and she still freaked out every time we would go to the pool and I would need to let her go. I do have two children mind you.
Caleb likes the water okay. He definitely isn't afraid of it. He is just busy. And when he is in the water he has to either be confined to my arms or confined to his floaty and really all he wants to do is walk around the pool and pick up rocks. Hey, he's a boy.
We had been going every week to our pastor's neighbor's pool with his wife, Holly, and their girls. We had so much fun with them. Holly would kind of work with Hailey on getting used to the water and every time we would go she would freak out the first thirty minutes or so but after that she would be okay.
A few weeks ago, it was on a Monday, we got to the pool and Hailey put her floaty on and got right in the water...by.her.self. She just got in. Without any help. I don't know what came over her. We were all just looking at her and then looking at each other and shrugging our shoulders. I don't know. I wasn't going to ask any questions. And ever since then she just gets right in. She still doesn't want to jump in but I'm okay with that. She putters all around the pool all by herself. It's so cool! We officially have a swimmer in our family.

Thank You Nena and Poppa !

2011-08-24T17:48:00.003-04:00

So this is a bit late but I forgot I had taken the picture =)

Growing older...

2011-08-23T22:13:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Randy's 26th birthday with family and friends.

A few nights before that Hailey and Randy were talking about what different color hair people had. Some people had blonde. Some people had brown. Some people had black. Some people had white. Randy asked Hailey what color hair Poppa has. She thought for a second and said, "I don't know." He replied, "Poppa doesn't have hair silly." Hailey asked, "Why doesn't he have hair?" He told her that sometimes when people get older they lose their hair.

Fast forward to the day of Randy's party. We are getting ready for it and I asked Hailey if she was excited about Daddy's birthday party. She thought for a second looking a little troubled and replied, "Yes, but I really hope Daddy doesn't lose his hair at his party."

She had been worried all that time that Randy was going to lose his hair. And to make it worse, she and I were having a conversation a while back about how when you get older, like kindergarten and first grade older, that your teeth fall out and you get new ones. This was a concept that I thought she would think was pretty cool. Oh no. She was very distraught about this one. For days, even weeks, when we would say something about her being a big girl or her getting so big she would say, "Yeah, but I really don't want to lose my teeth." I tried to explain to her that you get new ones in really soon but she didn't understand where they came from and I couldn't really explain that one.

So now, not only did we evoke a fear in her of noises in her closet, we also inadvertently gave her a fear of growing older because you lose your teeth and go bald...two enthusiastic thumbs up for our parenting =)

Oh, in case you were wondering, that is a Cheerwine cake and, yes, it was amazing...

Our Crazy Dancing Machine...

2011-08-21T16:07:00.000-04:00

I just figured out how to add video and I am so excited. Hope you like videos!

A Glimpse of Heaven

2011-08-21T14:29:00.008-04:00

Randy and I had the awesome opportunity Friday night to go see Hillsong United. And before I even get started on this post let me just say that it was beyond amazing. Beyond what I expected. I love their music and I love going to concerts but this was more than a concert. It, to me, was a glimpse of what Heaven is going to be...

Randy and I were sitting outside the coliseum waiting for our friend Josh to get their and give us our tickets. We had gone to Steak-n-Shake for dinner and we had been discussing what kind of people would be at a Hillsong concert. We've been to a lot of different concerts and you would expect to see different people at a Disciple concert than at let's say a Point of Grace concert. So as we were standing outside waiting we were kind of people watching. Something I love to do. We saw old couples. We saw youth groups. We saw red-neck, middle aged men. We saw a huge group of Asian teenagers. We saw parents with their elementary aged kids. We saw free-spirited college kids. We saw Black people. We saw Hispanic people. We saw people who appeared to be very wealthy and also people who looked not so well off. People from so many different walks of life.

Our friend showed up and we went inside, found our seats, and were gearing up for a concert that Randy has been waiting years to be a part of. It was awesome. They played for two HOURS and 45 minutes. It was insane.

At one point about half way through the concert I stopped singing, opened my eyes and just took in the sight in front of me. Just picture with me over 10,000 people. Old couples. Youth groups. Red-neck, middle aged men. Asian teenagers. Parents with their elementary aged kids. Free-spirited college kids. Black people. Hispanic people.People who appeared to be very wealthy and also people who looked not so well off. People from so many different walks of life. Eyes closed. Hands raised. Voices shouting praises to our God. The same God who holds the universe in His hands and at the same time knows the number of hairs on each individual person's head. It was a glimpse of Heaven.

It reminded me of the study in Philippians we are doing right now with our small group. A few weeks ago we talked about how the start of the Philippian church was pretty much a rich Asian lady named Lydia, a demon-posessed girl and a Roman jailor who was probably more than just a little rough around the edges. And God met each one of them where they were and brought them to Himself. Jesus Christ and His love is what brought unity to three people who probably never would have known each other much less started a church together and called each other brother and sister. It was amazing to see Friday night how God brought together that many people. That many people from so many different walks of life. All because of His love and what He did for us. We can have that unity because of the love of Christ that is inside us.

I don't know what we are going to look like in heaven. I don't know if we are going to have the same skin color as we do now or if we are going to be the same age we are now. I don't know any of these things. But I do know that when we get there, all we are going to do is fall to our knees and sing praises to our God. Our soul purpose...our soul desire...will be to glorify our God.

Friday night I was given a glimpse of Heaven and all I can say is I can't wait for the real thing!

Sometimes A Song Says It All...

2011-08-09T15:27:00.003-04:00

It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...

To whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly
Something Heavenly

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out

Whatever You're Doing by : Sanctus Real

Guess Who's Walking...

2011-08-05T09:06:00.003-04:00

Not only is he so stinkin' cute...

And super curious...

Now he is up and walking...

Which probably means a lot more trouble...

But also a lot more cuteness!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...

2011-08-05T08:11:00.003-04:00

Jumping....

Twirling...

Watering The Flowers...

Eating Cookies...

Being Beautiful...

Happy Birthday To My AWESOME Husband!

2011-07-29T08:32:00.005-04:00

He's someone I can have fun with...and he loves me...as weird as I may be...

He is the spiritual leader in our household...

He is a family man...

And a hard worker...

He is a man's man...

But still sensitive enough to paint his daughter's fingernails...

Or kiss all over his baby boy...

He is a godly man that my son can model his life after...

And a an example of a father and husband that my daughter can look for in her future husband...

He is a smokin' hot piece of man lovin'... (I couldn't help myself...)

He's the man God had for me...even before either one of us knew it...

He is my best friend...

Happy Birthday to the man who is more than I could have ever asked for...

I love you Randy...

My Pathetic Carrots...

2011-07-28T19:32:00.005-04:00

Not sure if I picked them too early, or if, like the rest of my garden this year, they are a few fries short of a Happy Meal... I'm thinking the latter...

Productive Stalling...

2011-07-27T14:15:00.007-04:00

I decided this morning to reorganize/de-clutter/get all the crap out of the back room. This poor room has been neglected for a while. Not as much as our bedroom. But that is for another day. So anyway, I started this morning and about an hour into it I realized I was completely overwhelmed but I am determined to have it finished by the time Randy gets home.
So why am I blogging right now? I was known as a child , especially by my dad, to be an expert staller. Right now I am just honing that skill. I am in the homestretch but I just needed a break. The kids were in melt-down central so I got them in bed for their naps (early, but they don't need to know that,) grabbed a handful of dark chocolate raisenets and plopped down in front of the computer to commence the stalling.
I figured I should make it worth while and productive so I shall tell of our week of VBS.
I LOVE VBS. It is possibly one of my favorite weeks of the year. I am on the dance team. Yeah. That's right. I barely have an ounce of rhythm in my body but somehow every year around VBS time I am able to pull that ounce together and get down with my bad self. It's for the kids... Oh, and can I just say the music this year is awesome!
I know it's not all about the numbers usually but can I just brag on God for a second? Okay, good. We have about 15 or so kids in our kid's ministry right now. 15. Last night at VBS we had 38 kids. THIRTY-EIGHT! And the majority of the kids we have had outside of our church are un-churched kids. God is awesome. We were kind of fretting over not having many kids and God just told us all to get out there and invite kids. We went to our neighborhoods and parks and just invited kids. It wasn't anything we did aside from just doing what God told us to.
This week has been such an encouragement to me. The kids have been so in to it. It's so cool so be up on the stage and see them singing at the top of their lungs and doing all the motions. They've been so in to the Bible stories and crafts and it's been so much fun to get to know new kids. Tonight's the last night and I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of sad it's over. But, my prayer is that we have made an impact on the kids lives and their parents and that God would continue to work in their little lives and that they would be open to His Word.

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Me getting down with my bad self...

Game time...

Hailey concentrating hard on her craft...

Snack Team...

"But Jesus said, 'Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.'"
Matthew 19:14

I guess I will get back to operation back room now...

Elephant Walks, Loveys, and Sibling Rivalry

2011-07-22T07:50:00.005-04:00

It's Been a while since I've shared about the kids so here ya go. I'll start with Caleb.

Oh, where to start...He's wild...I mean WILD! I love his craziness. He is usually jumping in his bed in the morning when I go get him. He's still eats like a champ...his new favorite foods being blueberries, chicken nuggets, froot loops and milk. My kids put away a ridiculous amount of milk. I have seriously considered investing in a cow. But who am I kidding? I would have no idea what to do with one if I had one.

He is finally walking. Yes, at over 14 months of age he is finally walking. Now, it isn't his main mode of transportation yet. He still enjoys the elephant walk (the hands and feet walk that Mogli does in the Jungle Book with the baby elephant.) That is his main mode. At any given time of day you will hear him doing the elephant walk through the house and squealing at the top of his lungs.

He loves to be outside. He loves to go swimming. He LOVES to play ball. He is such a good self-entertainer. I don't know if it's his personality or the fact that he's the second child or what but he could sit in the back room for an hour and play by himself. But, who could let something so stinkin' cute play by himself for that long?

He still smells like graham crackers when we check on him at night. I know he is eventually gonna smell like sweaty boy so I am enjoying it while I can. He loves his lovey. I had no intention of doing a lovey with him but he had other plans. He has this green bear blankey that he had become attached to and it is so incredibly cute how he will pull it out from the slats of his crib and sit in the floor during play time and just snuggle it. SO CUTE!

And, at 14 months of age, he is becoming a master at pestering his sister. Now, she is a little on the sensitive side anyway, but he definitely knows how to push her buttons. They usually spend the first 40 minutes or so after breakfast and after lunch fighting. I have done pretty much everything I know possible to get them to play nicely together during that time but I think they just need to get the "I need to do everything to irritate my sibling" out of their system and then they are usually good for the rest of playtime. So I just turn the music up and let them have at it. Don't judge me =)

He gets loopy at bedtime. He loves to play blocks. He likes being thrown in the air and wrestled with. He likes to sing in the car. He's such a sweet boy.

Life Lessons From an Ice Cream Cone

2011-07-02T09:07:00.007-04:00

Yesterday Hailey, Caleb, Jeannie (our roomie/daughter/sister) and I went to Chick-fil-A before we did our insane Wal-Mart trip. Hailey had gotten a coupon for a free ice cream cone through her summer reading program. So after she finished eating I took her up to the register and let her order her ice cream. She was so excited. She got her ice cream and took it back to her seat and ate about half of it when I noticed her doing the "pee-pee dance." You know what I'm talking about.
Anyway, if you don't know, she has this incredible fear of automatic flushing toilets. So I went to the bathroom to scope it out and see what kind of toilets they had. I knew Wal-Mart, which was our next stop, definitely had automatic flushers. And to my surprise they had regular potties. So I went back and gave Hailey the good news and she went with me to the bathroom. Well...when we got in there she started FREAKING out. Like "who is this child and what happened to my Hailey" freaking out.
She WOULD NOT let me pull her panties down to let her go potty. I'm sure if people could hear us outside they would think I was beating her up or something. I finally got her on the potty..I mean I am fighting her...and she peed and I MANUALLY flushed the potty like I told her I was going to. We washed hands. I squatted down eye-to-eye with her and explained to her that she needed to trust mommy. That mommy knew what was best for her and mommy knew the potty wouldn't flush on her.
She continued to cry. Not the weeping and wailing from before but this like whiney kind of whimper. I told her she needed to calm down. She didn't. She wasn't freaking out anymore. Just whining. It was a "cry"" I knew she could stop on her own. She wasn't upset anymore. She was just being stubborn at this point.
We got back to our seat and she continued to whine. Seriously... I told her that if she did not quit whining I was going to take her ice cream from her. She continued to whine. I took her ice cream away. She continued to whine. I told her if she didn't stop whining I was going to throw her ice cream away. I really didn't want to throw her ice cream away. She contiued to whine. I reminded her that if she didn't stop whining and have a good attitude I was going to throw her ice cream away. I still did not want to throw her ice cream away. She still continued to whine. I threw her ice cream away. She fell apart. We left Chick-fil-A.
We got out to the car and she finally calmed down. I buckled her in and that's when the heart to heart started. I told her that I love her very much. I told her that I did not want to throw her ice cream away. I told her that I really wanted her to have her ice cream cone. But, because she chose to disobey mommy and continue to whine after I told her she needed to stop I had to throw it away. I did it so she would learn to obey and have a good attitude. I felt like the talk went pretty well. I told her I loved her and she told me she loved me. We hugged it out.
The night before I found/God gave me a passage in Hosea that popped in my head sometime after this whole ordeal. It's Hosea 6:1-3
"Come, let us return to the Lord! He has torn us in pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time, he will restore us so we can live in his presence. Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him! Then he will respond to us as surely as the arrival of the dawn or the coming of rains in early spring."
God doesn't want to take away our ice cream cones either. He loves us and he wants us to have good things. Sometimes he has to take away our ice cream cones....aka a job, a friendship, a loved one, a security, an "idol"...so that we can come back in a right relationship with Him. Not that these things are bad...well, the idols are, but really an idol is anything we place above God and our relationship with Him. I took Hailey's ice cream cone away from her for her, not for me. I don't want just an awesomely behaved kid. If I wanted that I would have let her keep the ice cream cone. I took it away so she would learn to be obedient and learn that when I say something she needs to trust me...whether it's that the flusher won't flush on her or that I will take her ice cream cone if she doesn't obey me. God is concerned about where our heart is, just as I am with Hailey. He wants us to want Him more than anything else. My desire for Hailey is that she would understand God's love (Eph 3:14-19) and that she would want to obey Him because of that love. God does the same thing for me. He "takes" things from me sometimes so that I will dig deeper in His Word and long for His principles. So that I would obey Him because of the love I have for Him and the love He has for me. "The suffering you sent was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your principles" (Ps 119:71.)
My encouragement to you is: What is God doing in your life? Is he taking things away. Does life seem kind of crappy right now? Run to God. Embrace Him. Throw out your idols. Desire His Word. Let it live in your heart. Let it not depart from your mouth (Joshua 1:8.)

Birds, Weeds, and Double Fist Pumps...

2011-06-29T20:45:00.003-04:00

Things God has taught me lately...

1. He cares about the little things. We had a bird build a nest in our hanging basket on the front porch and then lay an egg in it. We waited in anticipation for the egg to hatch and then it finally did a couple of weeks ago. Two days ago we were getting ready to leave and I saw the mommy bird limping about on the ground. Randy put some gloves on and checked it out. It was very hurt and there was nothing we could do. (He wanted to snap its neck to put it out of its misery but I couldn't handle that.) I literally fretted over that baby bird for the rest of the night. I couldn't help but think about how it was going to die without it's mom to bring it food. I checked in on the baby bird yesterday and it was still there. Last night as I was laying in bed, I felt kind of silly for doing it but I prayed for the baby bird. I prayed, "God, I feel silly for asking this but I know you care about even the smallest of animals. And I ask that you take care of that little bird." I went and checked on the bird today, pretty much expecting it to be dead in its nest and it was gone. Now I could assume that it fell out (although I did check the ground and there was no sign of it) but I really believe that God protected that baby bird and it flew away. Jesus says in Matthew 6 "Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your Heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are." I believe God took care of that little bird and I believe that He is concerned about the little things in my life and in yours.

2. Pulling weeds isn't just for the garden. I have too many weeds in my life. Isn't it funny how we like weeds. Not the kind that you pull out of the garden (those kind are a real pain!), but the kind that grow in your soul and eat away at the good things in your life. I know the saying, "Sin is fun for a season." And it's so true but I just don't understand why. Why is it "fun" to wallow in our jealousy and bitterness and self-pity. God has been showing me through my husband and encouragement from friends and especially from his Word that I need to weed the garden. I need to rip out and burn these things that eat away at my soul. They bring no glory to God. And that is what my life is for: to bring glory to God and to lead others to HIm. And after a serious purging of weeds, I need to plant sweet seeds of God's Word into my heart. I will still have weeds pop up from time to time, but since I know so well what the real plant is (the voice of the Holy Spirit) I will notice the weed much quicker and be able to rid myself of it. I am so thankful that God has given me His Word to comfort and direct me.This verse has been lodged in my brain for the past couple of months: "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. instead, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ Jesus has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:31-32.

3. He has overcome this world. John 16:33...AMAZING. "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trials and sorrows. But take heart; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD." (insert big double fist pump!) No matter what I am going through. No matter what you are going through. HE has already overcome it. You can find peace in Him. And He is the only one who can give true peace. This verse has been brought up from random people over the past several weeks just reaffirming to me that He has overcome this world and that He is in control and that there is peace in Him. " I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trails and sorrows. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

Time to share again...

2011-06-16T16:14:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I've kind of been dealing with various things lately and a friend advised me to find a verse and recite it in my mind. To let it dwell in my heart. I stumbled upon 2 Timothy 4:5 the other day. I'm sure I have read it numerous times before but this time it jumped off the page at me.

2 Timothy 4:5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at bringing others to Christ. Complete the ministry God has given you.

Keep a clear mind in every situation. I need to keep all bitterness and jealousy and all other evil thoughts out so I can act and respond in a Christ-like manner. I need to focus on the blessings God has given me and the immeasurable love God has shown me and not on the ugly things of this world. "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brother and sisters, let me say this one more thing before I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (Phil 4:6-8)

Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. I am in no way suffering like the early Christians suffered but I do feel like doing what God has told us to do can cost us things. It can cost relationships, which it has to me before. It can cause loneliness. It can cause fatigue. It can cause hurt from others and rejection. It can cause a lot of things but reminding ourselves that this earth is not our home and that God is the friend to the friendless and that he gives strength when we can no longer do it ourselves gives us the ability to press on. "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we will get up again and keep going. Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever." (2Corinthians 4:7-10;16-18)

Work at bringing others to Christ. This needs to be my focus. Building relationships with people. Opening my heart and home to share with people. Allowing God to use me even when it's uncomfortable. Being honest with people and letting them see that I am in no way perfect but I serve a God who loves me and them and who is perfect. And once I understand that my heart and mind need to be clear of the weaknesses and strongholds in my life, and once I understand that I will suffer, I will be in the right place to lead others to Christ. God will be able to use me and I will be free to see the opportunities he has set before me. "Whatever we do, it is because Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them." (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) "Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of ever opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone." (Colossians 4:5-6)

Complete the ministry God has given me. This is big for me. This requires focus. This requires commitment.This requires perseverance...none of which are my strong points. But, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) When my mind and heart are clear of the things of this world that bring me down, when I accept the fact that this world is not my home and that I will suffer but I have a Savior who suffered above anything I can imagine, and when my focus is leading people in a closer walk with God, then I am completing the ministry God has given me. "For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him. In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them. Hold tightly to the word of life, so that when Christ returns, I will be proud that I did not lose the race and that my work was not useless." (Philippians 2:13-16)

This world has nothing to offer except a chance to see the love of God redeem it.

And here are some pics of my cutie-pies. I can't help myself =)

Seriously, do they come any more gorgeous than this?

If it looks like all he does is eat...well...it's true...

It's been a while...

2011-06-10T07:53:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since I have posted anything. I have had a lot on my mind the last couple of weeks. Things that have kind of taken up residence in the back (and a lot of times front) of my mind. Things that I would rather not be there. But alas they are...and they are things best not shared on the blogosphere... So I will just share pictures...that always makes people happy, right?

Randy and I just celebrated our five year anniversary. I had this super mushy post planned but life happened so the post didn't. I have half of it saved so I may post it eventually. We went out of town with another couple to celebrate WITHOUT THE CHILDREN and that was A.MAZ.ING! We celebrated Caleb's first birthday a couple of weeks ago and will definitely put pictures up and post on that eventually.

Seriously, how could these not make you smile. Sometimes I really miss being a kid. Mainly the innocence and carefree-ness of being a kid. But, these little boogers in the pictures make me so happy that I am an adult! Anyway, I seriously promise that I will eventually pull myself out of my pensive and reflective (P&R as my friends in college called it) rut and start posting again.

However, I will share a verse that has meant a lot to me this last week, compliments of Brad Sterling via my husband (who is awesome!)...

John 6:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart. I have overcome the world." ....Amen...

Big Boy-ness

2011-05-13T21:43:00.007-04:00

My big one-year-old got to ride in his new big boy car seat for the first time today. He LOVED it. He can now see where we are going instead of where we have been : )

He also got to experience his first Chick-fil-A kid's meal. He has definitely had Chick-fil-A before but this was his first time getting his own kid's meal. And, of course, we got our money's worth. He pretty much ate the entire thing minus the apples because he can't chew those yet. And he LOVED the ice cream once he got used to the coldness.

And I just have to brag about my totally awesome $8 craigslist find birthday toy. I was pretty excited about it and I think he liked it too :)

We had cookie cake for Caleb's birthday tonite. He isn't old enough to have a cake preference but my favorite is cookie cake and since a year ago today I birthed him into this world we had cookie cake :) I think he liked it!

Things I love about my one-year-old...

2011-05-13T15:35:00.005-04:00

My Caleb Joshua, my second born, my baby, is one year old today. It's crazy that we've only had him a year. I don't really remember what life was like before him. He came into this world a calm, quiet little baby and has turned into a loud, rambunctious little boy. I wanted to write something sweet and eloquent today for his birthday, but since I have a three year old and a one year old, my house is a disaster and we have company tonite...so I will skip the "polished B.S" as my college english professor called it and cut right to the good stuff...

Things I love about my one-year-old...

-He's wild and crazy. I love the "little boy-ness" of him. He loves to wrestle and be thrown in the air and be held upside down and all of that crazy stuff.
-The kid has a seriously infectious smile. He doesn't smile for the camera like he did when he was a little younger, but if you can catch him smiling you won't help but be able to smile back.
-He inhales his food. No pickiness here. He doesn't care what it is...even if its dog food. He loves bananas and chicken and peanut butter sandwiches and cheese.
-He smells like graham crackers when I check on him in his bed at night. Randy says he doesn't smell graham crackers, but if you know me, you know I have a unique sense of smell...and he smells like graham crackers. I lean over his crib and inhale the sweet smell of baby boy. It's weird, I know. But it is what it is...
-He loves to be outside...as do I. He loves to play in the dirt and he can't help but get DEE-SGUISTING. He usually has to get a bath after we go outside. But hey, he appreciates what nature has to offer. He likes to climb in the flower beds (which are still flowerless...) and cover himself in the mulch. He could seriously spend hours out there.
-He is a mommy's boy. At this point in his life, I am the coolest thing ever (well, almost as cool as wires and buttons and things that light up.) I know his daddy will eventually be his hero, but I am enjoying this little phase of his life where I am his favorite.

All that to say, we are so blessed to have him in our lives. He is a bundle of joy and we are so proud of him. Our prayer for him as he grows is that he would see and understand the love God has for him and accept it and share it with others. We pray that we would be good examples to him.

We love you Caleb Joshua, more than you could ever know! Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Living Intentional

2011-05-07T15:14:00.004-04:00

My New Years resolution was to live intentional. That's kind of a hard goal to set. It's different than saying, "I'm gonna lose 20 pounds by the end of the year," or "I'm gonna read the Bible all the way through in one year." What does it mean to "Live Intentional." For me it means that everything I do needs to have a purpose. It means that I need to live life in light of eternity. My relationships with my husband, my children, my family , friends, and those I don't even know need to reflect what Christ has done in my life.
One thing I did to live intentional is I got off of Facebook. Facebook is a wonderful tool to keep people connected with one another. And, while I miss the "connection" with people, I have benefited greatly from being away from it. I was going to stay off for two weeks. Then I decided to go forty days. It's way past forty days and I don't think I'm going to get back on. Honestly, I was in bondage to it. Not just the hours I spent on it but the tug it had on my heart. I yearned for the attention that I got from comments. I needed to be "liked" by everyone. Something I have been working on is finding contentment in who I am in Christ and that is very hard for me to do when I am looking for everyone else's approval.
Another thing I am doing to live intentional is I am working on memorizing a passage that has spoken to my heart in more ways than one these past few weeks since I stumbled upon it. I would like for myself and Randy and maybe, that's a BIG maybe , even Hailey to memorize it. That's gonna take a LOT of work on my part but it would be awesome.
The passage is Colossians 3:12-17:
"SInce God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing songs and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father." (NLT)
Have you ever felt like a verse or passage was written SPECIFICALLY for you. Yeah, this one was written for me. It applies to pretty much every aspect of my life. My life as a believer, a mother, a wife, a friend. Anyway, the goal is for it to be written on my heart and for me to be living it out. That's how I am being intentional right now. What about you?

Easter Pics

2011-04-25T14:55:00.000-04:00

The best I could do...

2011-04-25T14:48:00.004-04:00

It is IMPOSSIBLE for me, a semi-professional photographer, to get a good picture of the two of them together...

Cute Cousins

2011-04-25T14:46:00.001-04:00

Easter Baskets!

2011-04-25T14:35:00.004-04:00

Hailey got in her Easter basket some "C" batteries (she has been asking for some for her vacuum since she got it for her birthday...every time we go to Target), Charlotte's Web (the cartoon version), a Hello Kitty PEZ dispenser, some little farm animals and some candy.

Caleb got a book and a little toy truck. I think I may have wasted my money on his present...

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T14:24:00.002-04:00

The Easter Egg Hunt was a lot of fun this year. Hailey was not as afraid of the Easter Bunny as she was two years ago. Last year she wasn't that scared either. This year she was not going to go near it so I told her the Easter Bunny's favorite color was purple. This didn't get us a cute picture of her hugging the Easter Bunny but she did at least give him a high five. And she would sit on the same bench if her cousin Parker would sit between her and the bunny. Good times...

Making Easter Eggs Sad...

2011-04-23T21:20:00.002-04:00

We started a tradition last year of dyeing Easter Eggs with Hailey so that is what we did yesterday since Randy had the day off for Good Friday. When we told her we were going to "dye" easter eggs with her she said, "But the easter eggs will be sad." I had to explain that we weren't doing anything bad to them, just decorating them. It's so funny how she processes things sometimes.
Captain Conundrum Caleb would have created a catastrophe so we waited until he was napping but hopefully he can participate next year...

The one where I show off my short-comings but God still gets the glory...

2011-04-21T08:54:00.004-04:00

Buckle up. This is a long one...
So I know I have mentioned close to a million times on my blog that I love my children. And I do. But they almost sent me to the crazy house last week. Not so much my children but my older, getting-too-independent-for-her-own-good child. She is such a sweet child but she has recently learned and is excelling in the art of arguing. Good times. Oh, and the little one isn't totally innocent either. Don't let those big blue eyes and handsome little grin deceive you. He has a bit of a temper and loves to test this tired and sometimes impatient mommy.
All that to say, by Friday I was done. D-O-N-E. Not done parenting. Just done with the whole situation. I could not do it on my own anymore. We were leaving for Camp Merriwood in a couple of hours where Randy would be leading worship for a youth retreat and I didn't know how I was going to handle the kids all weekend...especially since it was supposed to not just rain but have severe storms all day Saturday. I quickly got the kids in bed for their naps so that I could go to my bed and pout about the whole situation. I laid there fretting and decided to get up and do my quiet time for the day. My book I'm doing had me read Isaiah 26:1-12. Verse 3 says, "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" WOW! I needed that. That's not even the coolest part of this story.
So I go back to my bed and I lay down and start praying and just giving the whole thing to God. I'm not very good at that. I like to control things. But I could no longer control this. Just kind of randomly the thought popped in my head to ask God to keep the storms away at camp this weekend. I am always so afraid to pray things like that. What if He doesn't. Oh ME of little faith. But I asked God anyway to please keep the storms away this weekend. I didn't want to tell anyone I prayed that because I didn't want to look like a weirdo...and what if the storms did come.
We got to camp Friday evening and things were going great. I didn't get to stay for the whole evening service because the kids had to go to bed but Randy said several kids accepted Christ into their lives. AWESOME! I continued to believe that the storms were not coming but I still didn't tell anyone. Saturday morning we wake up and there were supposed to be light thunder storms in the morning and then the severe ones were to come that afternoon. It was gloomy outside and we had had the occasional sprinkling that morning but no light storms. By this time I had told Randy what I had prayed. At lunch time it rained pretty hard for about ten minutes and I think I heard 2 faint thunder rumbles and then it went away. By about 1:30 or so the sky was clear and the sun was out and the rain was gone. I was so excited. The campers were able to do all of the activities planned and we were able to spend time as a family outside.
I know many peoples lives were devastated by this same storm system in neighboring communities. I don't know why God answered this request for me. I really feel like He placed it on my heart to pray that. But, I can tell you one thing, it most definitely strengthened my faith. I REALLY needed that. It reminded me that if God can calm the physical storms of this earth, why couldn't He calm the storms in my life? And if I can place my trust in Him to not bring on the thunderstorms, I can trust Him to administer peace in my life and in my heart. "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" Thank you, Lord, for calming the storms, all of them.

Eleven months old!

2011-04-15T08:53:00.006-04:00

I cannot believe a month from now my little man is going to be a year old. He is starting to look more like a little boy and less like a baby. He has 6 teeth now. He is crawling EVERYWHERE and is into EVERYTHING. He will cruise around stuff but doesn't seem to have much interest in walking yet. Apparently he has some pollen issues because he has had a super snotty, disgusting nose the last couple of days that only seems to get super snotty and disgusting when we go outside...bummer. He has a ton of personality. He still hates Sunday night nursery. And he will eat pretty much anything (sticks, grass, crayons, dog food, bubbles, meatloaf...)! I guess I should start deciding what to do for his first birthday...

"Look how high I can JUMP!"

2011-04-15T08:46:00.003-04:00

Hailey loves to jump. And more than she loves to jump, she loves to have people watch her jump. It's funny because she doesn't usually like to have the spotlight on her and she doesn't like for people to make a big deal about something that she's doing. BUT, she LOVES to have people see how high she can jump!

Hailey blowing "candy lands" =)

2011-04-15T08:43:00.002-04:00

I'm assuming she heard someone call these dandelions and she processed it as "candy lands." I find this rather humorous.

Speaking of humorous, Hailey has been going around the house the last couple of days singing, "Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Mary had a little lamb and BINGO was his name-o." =)

My Sweet Boy

2011-04-10T14:53:00.003-04:00

Silly Saturday Conversations

2011-04-09T12:22:00.003-04:00

H: "Mom, I'm thirsty"
H: (a minute and a half later...) "Mom I'm thirsty."
H: (another minute and a half later...) "Mom, I'm thirsty."
S: "That's funny, I thought you were Hailey."
H: "Well, Haileys can be thirsty too and they like milk."

********

H: "Daddy...Daddy...Daddy."
R: "Hailey can you just let Daddy read for five minutes, please?"
H: "HMMMMMMM"
R: "That wasn't really a question. I am going to sit here and read for 5 minutes."
H: "Well, I didn't say "No" I just said "HMMMMMMM."

Captain Conundrum

2011-04-08T09:07:00.001-04:00

My tomato plants after Caleb "Captain Conundrum" Titus got ahold of them...

My Sleeping Beauties

2011-04-08T09:06:00.002-04:00

Watching Daddy Work

2011-04-08T08:52:00.001-04:00

Natural Science Center Pics

2011-04-07T21:54:00.004-04:00

So these have nothing to do with the natural science center...they were just taken there...so enjoy!

Seriously, is he not PRECIOUS!!!

"Because I'm a girl..."

2011-04-01T11:19:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since I posted any "Hailey-isms" so here ya go..

Her new thing is wearing her sunglasses everywhere. Inside. Outside. Daytime. Nighttime. She isn't over her rain boots yet either. She still wears them quite often so on any given day she has rain boots, sunglasses and something purple on. Which brings me to the next "Hailey-ism"...
Her new favorite color since her third birthday is purple. If you ask her what her favorite color is she will tell you, "Purple. But I also like pink." And if you are a girl, you are also supposed to like pink and purple. If you are a boy you are supposed to like green and blue. Last night she was trying to get me to lay in her bed with her for a little while and her best ploy was to tell me, "Well, (which she usually starts an argument with...) boys like blue so that's why Daddy can sleep in his room but you are a girl so you have to sleep in here because my room is pink." Needless to say I laid down with her for a few minutes because seriously, how could I say no to that argument?
"But I'm a girl!" has become her reasoning/excuse for everything. "I need a cat because I'm a girl." "I can't do that because I'm a girl." "Caleb can't play with this because he's a boy and I'm a girl and this is something that girls play with." "I should probably eat some fruit snacks because I'm a girl." Im not sure I understand this reasoning...
She frequently tells me that she needs some check-up for her kitchen...meaning she needs some ketchup for her chicken. Or she will ask me if I an get her something from the chicken...kitchen. This mix-up is a little humorous =)
"Look how high I can jump!" "Look what I can do!" She has definitely gotten more daring. Now, she is still afraid of flushers in public restrooms, inflatables, the vacuum and the "fish shadow" that the curtain makes in her room at night. Oh, and the twirly slide...for reasons we don't need to go into. But I have found her standing on her table in the back room and she likes to jump on the couch, which she is not supposed to do.
She is a nerd like me. In school, I was always the one who had to sit at the front of the class so I could pay attention and take notes. I still have to sit on the front row at church because I get distracted so easily. At storytime at the library every Tuesday, Hailey always asks to sit at the front and she grabs her little pad to sit on and stares at the "teacher" the whole time. She's funny because the teacher will do these little rhymes that have motions to them and as soon as she realizes I'm watching her she stops doing the motions and sits back down so I have had to stop watching her...or at least not let her see me watching her.
***
I hate to leave Caleb out. He isn't talking yet, except to say "Dadda" and to babble but he does some cute stuff too.
He has gotten pretty good about obeying me when I tell him not to touch something or not to put something in his mouth but the last couple of days when I tell him not to do something he gives me this little grunt of disapproval It's kind of hard not to snicker sometimes. He still does what I say but he gives this little grunt as to say "I'll do what you say but I don't have to like it.".
He is also recognizing people a lot. Like, if I ask him "Where's Daddy?" or "Where's Hailey?" he looks around for them and when he finds them he smiles at them. And he loves Cooper. I think Cooper may be his second favorite "person" in the house.
He pulls up on everything...everything. And he likes to pull all of the books off of the shelf. And he loves to play ball. He is my squishy baby =)

Guess What?!?!

2011-03-31T17:12:00.003-04:00

Our "Baby Butter" Caleb has definitely four and possibly five teeth now. He had two come in practically overnight. It's the left middle one and the one beside it that are definitely in and the right middle one is on the verge of bursting through. He has been pretty fussy and just not quite himself the last week. I was hoping he would have several pop through since they were irritating him so. I guess I got my wish! We are definitely keeping the makers of Target brand infant ibuprofen in business! I just hope he can get some relief soon. I can't bear to see this sweet little munchkin suffer.

This is my garden...

2011-03-31T17:05:00.003-04:00

This is my garden...

And this is why it is not planted in the yard yet...

I don't know if you can tell by the picture but it's snowing outside. This was 3 days ago. The snow has been gone since later that morning but the cold is still here. WHERE IS SPRING???

2011-03-23T19:44:00.002-04:00

Tonite, Hailey brought me her great-grandpa Titus's Bible and asked me if I could read it to her. I said, "Sure" and asked her what she wanted me to read. She said, "I want you to read to me about Jesus because I love Him."

Pic-a-nicking!

2011-03-23T19:35:00.000-04:00

What mom meant for evil...

2011-03-05T14:08:00.004-05:00

So, I had one of the biggest mom-fails of the century the other morning. Hailey, Caleb and I were upstairs in Hailey's room playing and singing silly songs. Hailey was playing in her closet, going in and out. The last time she came out she must have hit something that made a little McDonald's toy talk. She asked what that noise was. And I, not thinking at all about how our daughter tends to be a HUGE scaredy-cat said, "I don't know. Is someone in your closet?" If she would have had her boots on (which she usually does) I promise she would have jumped out of them. Her eyes got huge and she screamed and took off down the hall. I called her back in the room and she was crying. I.Felt.TERRIBLE! It never even crossed my mind that my comment would scare her, I was just playing around. But I sat her down on my lap and explained to her that there was no one in her closet and we proceeded to open it up (well, I opened it, she clung to my leg with her eyes closed.) We found the little basket that held the talking donkey toy from Shrek that made the noise and I assured her that that was all it was. She felt much better after that but was still not willing to venture into the closet alone so we decided to put the donkey in daddy's office at church (I'm not sure why there but that's what we decided.) I explained to her that there was nothing to be afraid of and then my little light bulb came on and I realized that this could be a very teachable moment. I explained to her that sometimes we do get scared but God is always with us and even when we hear something in our closet or it's thundering outside that God loves us and He will protect us and that He is always with us. We then went downstairs and got her little devotional book which I have found to be awesome and the best book for explaining the Bible in a way her mind can understand it. We found a devotion about being afraid and we read it and then I taught her the song "When I am afraid I will trust in You, I will trust in You, I will trust in You. When I am afraid I will trust in You, in God whose Word I pray." She sings that song all the time now. And every day when we get out her book to read she wants to go to that one and read it and then sing the song. So, what this mom (unintentionally) meant for evil, God meant for good!

Going Swimming

2011-03-03T12:52:00.003-05:00

This picture has nothing to do with this post. It's just a cute picture and I thought I would share it.

Here's a conversation Hailey and I had a few minutes ago. I'm putting dishes in the dishwasher and Hailey needs to go poop...
H:"Mom, I need to go poop. Can you take me to the potty?"
S: "Sure." ...so I wiggle her pants off and sit her on the potty. She can do it herself. I think sometimes she just likes the company =)
H: "Okay, you can go now. And can you shut the door so you don't see the poops because I am going to poop."
S: "Sure." I leave. About a minute later...(she knows how to take care of business quickly)
H: "Mom, can you come wipe my hie-bies (what she calls her hiney buns)? I'm finished pooping."
S: "Sure." I take her off the potty and proceed to wipe. I make the comment, "Look, Hailey, it's floating."
H: "Yeah (with much excitement!) they are swimming! And they have on their water-wings!" =)

Prayer...

2011-02-28T22:33:00.001-05:00

Tonite I was convicted about how little I pray for my children. I feel like I work so hard to teach them and train them and be a good examle to them. It's not that I don't ever pray for them, but I have been struggling lately with just being a mom and I have rarely lifted my little ones up in prayer. I was reading the book "The Stay At Home Mom" and the chapter I was reading was talking about praying for your children and I read a quote that hit me hard: "The only assurance I have of access to my children's hearts is through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit." How have I missed this? I mean I know it but how have I let it slip passed me? I love them so much. And I have been looking to my own strength to raise them and I am realizing that I can only do it through the power of God's Holy Spirit. The book gave a list of things to pray for your children about and I found it very helpful:
1. Pray that your children will fear the Lord and serve Him. (Deut 6:13)
2. Pray that your children will know Christ as Savior early in life. (Ps 63:1)
3. Pray that your children will hate sin. (Ps 97:10)
4. Pray that your children will be caught when they are guilty. (Ps 119:71)
5. Pray that your children will have a responsible attitude in all their interpersonal relationships. (Dan 6:3)
6. Pray that your children will respect those in authority over them. (Romans 13:1)
7. Pray that your children will desire the right kind of friends and be protected from the wrong kind. (Prov. 1:10. 15)
8. Pray that your children will be kept from the wrong mate and saved for the right one. (2 Cor 6:14)
9. Pray that your children and their prospective mate will be kept pure until marriage. (1 Cor 6:18-20)
10. Pray that your children will learn to submit totally to God and actively resist Satan in all circumstances. (james 4:7)
11. Pray that your children will be single-hearted, willing to be sold out to Jesus. (Romans 12:1-2)
12. Pray that your children will be hedged in so they cannot find their way to wrong people or wrong places and that wrong people cannot find their way to your children. (Hosea 2:6-7)
13. Pray that your children will have quick, repentant hearts. (Ps 51:1-3)
14. Pray that you children will honor their parents so all will go well with them. (Eph 6:1-3)
15. Pray that your children will be teachable and able to take correction. (Isaiah 54:13, Prov 13:1)
16. Pray that your children's lives will bear the fruit of the Spirit. (Gal 5:22-23)
17. Pray that your children will live by the Spirit and not gratify their flesh. (Gal 5:16)
18. Pray that your children will trust in the Lord for direction in their lives, including their occupation.

Struggling

2011-02-25T14:22:00.004-05:00

My title says it all. I'm not one to pour my heart out on the internet for the whole blogosphere to see. But I feel like I just need to share. I just finished reading a book and have started another regarding orphans. They are both fiction but based on real life. They are by Tom Davis..."Sacred" and "Priceless." I accidentally read them out of order but that's ok. "Priceless" is about sex trafficking in Russia and how little girls are abandoned when they are too old for the orphanages (14 years old.) My heart aches for these girls. "Sacred" is about the AIDS epidemic in AFrica and the orphans that are left as a result of it. I'm only about 7 chapters in and I can already barely read it yet at the same time I am sucked into it. What I am struggling with is what to do with it. What do I do with this stirring in my heart. My heart says to adopt. But from where? And when? I had had my heart set on China but we would not be able to adopt from there until we are 30 (which is closer than I would like it to be...) But there are so many children out there that need homes...how do you choose? And what about our children we have now. Some days I feel like I barely make it with the 2 that I have. They are great kids but can I really mentally and emotionally handle another child and the adoption process that goes along with it? I mean, I know that if it's what God wants then it will work out. That's what everyone tells me. And I believe it. I am just having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. I want so badly to have reckless faith but right now it really is the size of a mustard seed. Maybe we aren't supposed to adopt but I feel like I need to do something. But what? Anyway, that's where I am.

She's Growing Up...

2011-02-16T09:34:00.007-05:00

My baby girl is going to be three years old tomorrow. Where has the time gone. It seems like it has gone by so fast but, at the same time, it feels like we have had her forever. I don't really remember what life was like before her. There are a million things I want to say to and about her this day before she turns three. She has been such a blessing. She is a little ray of sunshine when the day seems gloomy. She loves to sing and dance and just be goofy. About ten times a day I hear her say, "Mommy, hol'me, hol'me, hol'me." Usually because I'm holding Caleb and she wants my attention. But on the rare chance she just wants to snuggle, I cherish it. Her favorite activities these days are being "mommy" to her babies, playing hide-and-seek, pestering her little brother, having "Bible study" which consists of her sitting down with her Bible, crayons, and her little notebook and asking me if I have anything I want to talk about, eating, watching Kipper, and piling everything she owns in her little baby stroller so she can go to the "grocery store" which is the spare bedroom downstairs (which she still calls "Uncle Seth's room). She has developed a rather argumenative nature lately. Not exactly with an attitude but she questions everything and she has an answer...or should I say excuse for everything. We are working on that...although I'm not really sure how to.
Her Daddy is her favorite person on the planet. She adores him. I don't really get jealous because my dad was my favorite person when I was growing up too. The relationship between a Daddy and his daughter are very special. She loves going on dates and sitting on the couch eating snacks and watching Kipper with her Daddy. It's amazing to see her grow and mature. It makes me want to grow in my relationship with my Heavenly Father because I know I can not be a good mommy without Him. I know she is going to make a great Mommy some day and I strive to be a good example to her. She is so precious to me and I have thoroughly enjoyed these last three years I have had with her.
Happy Birthday my sweet Hailey!

Caleb is 9 months!

2011-02-13T14:05:00.006-05:00

Our sweet little Caleb is 9 months old today. He is definitely proving himself to be a little boy. He is wilder than Hailey has ever been and he isn't even walking yet. He is all over the place. He doesn't really like to sit still. And he is LOUD. Not necessarily a bad loud. He just likes to squeal and talk when he plays. His favorite place to play is under the kitchen table. He always manages to find himself under there. He loves playing ball and he likes anything that is round...hailey's baby stroller wheels, Hailey's grocery cart wheels, the treadmill wheels. He loves wires. He is always trying to get under the computer desk to get the wires. He has had his fair share of hand-pops so far, and he is learning not to touch things when we tell him not to. And i think I should start saving now to feed him through his teenage years because he already eats like a horse. He is all boy and I love every bit of him!

Waving "BYE, BYE"

Car Rides, Hiding Spots, and Squealing Children

2011-01-24T18:45:00.007-05:00

I had an appointment today at the eye doctor that I used to work for. When I was pregnant with Hailey, on more than one occasion I found myself driving to work in tears as WBFJ played "The Cinderella Song" by Steven Curtis Chapman. I couldn't wait to meet my baby girl and the thought of her dancing with her daddy and just the relationship she would have with her daddy just overwhelmed my emotions. On my way to my appointment today, Chris Tomlin's song, "I Will Follow," came on and once again I found myself in tears because I can hear that same baby girl who is almost three years old now singing at the top of her lungs, "Where you go, I'll go. And where you stay, I'll stay. And where you move, I'll move. I will follow you." I could not control my emotions. There is nothing better than hearing children sing praises to our Lord =)

(And, on a side note, if you haven't heard Chris Tomlin's CD yet, "And If Our God Is For Us," you need to. It's amazing.)

Hailey's favorite thing to do these days is play hide and seek. She pretty much asks everyone who comes over to play with her. She hasn't quite gotten the whole "hiding" concept yet, but it's pretty cute to watch her try =)

"Biter Biscuits" are great. I think Caleb is getting his second tooth and the kid just needs something to chew on. I need him to chew on something. He does this squealing/screaming thing that is...well...ear-pearcing. It isn't a cry...it's more of a squeal...but either way, he needs something in his mouth. The downside to biter biscuits...the incredible mess they make.

Our Little Muscleman

2011-01-21T08:48:00.001-05:00

A little prayer...

2011-01-20T20:21:00.005-05:00

Nothing super exciting going on around here today, except Hailey prayed for the first time. We have never really pushed her into praying. We have explained to her that it is just talking to Jesus and we ask her occasionally if she would like to pray but we have never pushed the issue. But today, she and I were playing and I was the daughter and she was the mommy and she asked me to pray for our food during our pretend trip to Chick-fil-A. I told her that she was the mommy so she should. So she said, "Thank you for the food, amen." I was kind of surprised she actually did. So then at lunch... this time me being mom and her being daughter =) ... I asked her if she would like to thank Jesus for our lunch and she said she did. She said "Thank you Jesus for the food. And thank you for this day. And thank you for the food. Amen." It was so sweet. My heart melted. This is one of the things that makes the time and stress and lack of sleep and all of the other crazy things that go along with being a mom totally worth it. It is so awesome to see God working in her little heart and softening it towards Him. Anyway, I was pretty excited. I know it was just a prayer of thanksgiving for her lunch but God hears even the tiniest of prayers =)

Anybody want a dog?

2011-01-19T14:06:00.010-05:00

Four years ago, right after Randy and I got married, we...or...I decided we needed a dog. Well...I told Randy that I either needed a dog or a baby...and he chose dog. A few days later a girl comes into church with a sign she found at the grocery store for a dog that was "Free to a good home." And not only was he "free" he was a golden retriever which is what I/we wanted. So we call the number and make an appointment to go see the dog. He was a 10-month-old adorable golden retriever that ran up to us and rolled over as soon as he saw us. PRECIOUS. We paid no attention to the fact that the house no longer had carpet on the stairs or that the banisters had been chewed. No. We...I...had to have him. So we took Cooper home. And he was great. A few days later we find a nasty note on our apartment door saying we need to bleeping shut-up our bleeping dog. Apparently while we were at work he barked and whined and howled the entire time we were gone. Then, over the course of many months, he ate window sills and tore up carpet and ate three...THREE remotes. We move to our townhouse. He eats our blinds. He chews our banisters. He has a massive blow-out on our bedroom carpet. Fast forward a year and Hailey is born. I hate to say it but I couldn't handle his nastiness anymore so he went to summer camp...i.e. my parents' house. He spent the next year and a half there until we move into Randy's parents' house. We decide to let him live inside because we felt so bad for him. Caleb is born in May. He has moved out of his puppy phase where he has to chew everything but now he all of a sudden decides he has a ravaging appetite for diapers ...yeah...diapers. So I send his rear-end out to the dog lot and eventually switch to cloth diapers. Winter comes and it is way below freezing every night. So we make the decision that he either needs to live back inside or find another family that can allow him to stay inside. He comes inside and does great. Now...he has rekindled his long lost love for diapers. I only use disposables at night but he can't keep his disgusting mouth off of them. I can't give him away because he is like my first child and the kids love him. And I can't send him outside because it is way too cold and he loves being around people. But he is disgusting!!! I have 2 kids. So there are times when a bag of goldfish is left out. Or we forget to shut the laundry room door so the trash is ripe for the picking. I feed the dog twice a flippin' day! And right now, he is sitting on the back steps gawking at me with his big brown puppy dog eyes, begging me to let him in...but he is driving me NUTS! And he knows he has done wrong because he immediately tucks his tail and slumps in shame, YET he continues to do it! I can't get rid of him...I don't think. But, he had better straighten up or when spring comes he is going to become best friends with the dog lot again. Okay, I'm done. I feel better now. It's a good thing we love him...

I said I was going to post once a week, so here ya go...

2011-01-15T15:04:00.003-05:00

We started off the week with Hailey having an ear infection. She hasn't had one since she was a baby so I wasn't sure to start with if that was what was going on. It snowed/iced Monday evening so I got to take a trip to the doctor's office Tuesday morning in the snow/ice. Hailey was much better after just two doses of Amoxicillin. However...she has been pretty much a different child since Wednesday...a not so great different child. I think she has started having some jealousy issues towards Caleb which she has never really had. I was trying to figure out if we weren't giving her enough attention or something like that but I really just don't know. I hope this blows over soon. I need my old Hailey back. And if she doesn't start taking naps again I think I might just go nuts. SERIOUSLY!
We said goodbye to our sweet friends, the Truhes, on Monday. They will be gone for three years. And while skype is great, there is nothing like sitting in the living room having conversations with them while our kids run wild =)
Caleb turned 8 months old on Thursday. He is starting to look more like a little boy than a baby. His first tooth popped through this morning. I am really going to miss his gummy grin. Although, all that is there is a little point so I think I will still have it a little while longer.
On another note...I am getting old.... and I don't like it. A few days ago I realized that I will we 26 in two months. 26. I know that may not sound old but 25 was kind of hard for me. And 26 is closer to 30 than 20. I know it is inevitable. I also had to schedule myself an eye exam because I had to close my left eye and squint to read my book. And I found a bag of what-used-to-be-frozen baby food up in the cabinet where apparently I put it when I was finished instead of putting it back in the freezer. And, I can't finish sentences. And, I forget why I walked in the room. And, I mix words up all the time. I am getting old. Everyone keeps telling me to embrace it...I haven't embraced it yet.
I found a verse this morning that I have heard a million times but needed to be reminded of. Proverbs 15:1 " A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger." Note to self...think before you speak.

Reckless Faith

2011-01-06T08:42:00.005-05:00

I just finished reading the book Reckless Faith and it was so good...well, good isn't even the right word. It was awesome! It came at a time in my life when I really needed it. Besides giving me the urgent feeling to pack my bags and my family and move to Mexico to minister in an orphanage and adopt a houseful of children, it also taught me lot of things...some things I already knew but just needed to be reminded of.
1. Jesus can use me. It's a simple thought but it is so true. I kind of feel like growing up I was pressured to make sure I got a college education because I would just not be able to make anything of my life if I didn't have that on my resume. And, honestly, that has been something that has weighed on me these last couple of years because I didn't finish college so I don't have a degree. God had actually been impressing this on my heart before I read this book that it doesn't matter what kind of formal education I have because it's not about what I can do but what God can do through me. And whatever I am able to do outside of my own abilities is just that much more pointing to Him working in my life. The lady who wrote the book, Beth Guckenberger, actually had a degree in Education but God used her so much more beyond that. And many of the people she spoke of in this book were not even educated past junior high and went on to lead awesome lives because they allowed God to use them.
2. It's not about me. Seriously. It's not about me. All this talk about me and my education I still feels like points back to me. I am learning...and it's a slow process...that this life is not about me. And if I could just let that settle in and take up residence, God could use me so much more. I am learning that God will be glorified. And God's will will be done. I just may miss out on being a part of it if I don't die to self and let Him take control.
3. God's plan doesn't always make sense. I love pulling for the underdog. And that is one of the attributes of God that speaks most to me..."He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might he increases strength." (Isaiah 40:29) I love the Beatitudes because they speak of hope...the underdog always wins! If God did everything that made sense to the world, why would we need Him? If the rich man always won what hope would we have? It is when we recognize ourselves as sinners and in need of Him that we are truly lifted up because we are forgiven and our strength is renewed.
4.Orphaned and abandoned children are a big deal. Okay, so I already knew this but it has just never been something that I thought much about. The second day I was reading this book I had to stop because Caleb woke up so I went and got him out of his bed and I sat and rocked him for a few minutes. As I was rocking him, the thought occurred that there are MILLIONS of babies and children out there who have no one to hold them and rock them and tell them that they love them. And even more than that, that there is no one to tell them that God loves them and that they are important and that God does have a plan for their little lives. I take for granted a lot of times the two little lives that have been entrusted to me and there are many days that I miss out on opportunities to show them a glimpse of Jesus because I let my busyness and my feelings get in the way.
5. Make every opportunity count. I am very much an instant gratification person. I want to see results. But I am learning that God does not always show me what I want to see right away...because...again...it's not about me. There are several things that I have been praying about and honestly getting a little discouraged about but I am learning that I may not see results this side of eternity. But God is God and He will be glorified. And I am glad I don't know everything.
6. See people how God sees them. I am a cup-is-half-full kind of person. I usually try to see the best in people. But even "seeing the best in people" isn't really seeing them how God sees them. I love how in this book, Beth was talking about how prostitutes and drug dealers are just orphaned and abandoned adults. It really taught me to look past what I see on the outside and the situation they are in and see them how God sees them...lost sheep. He would leave His 99 other sheep to go find them...so they are important. And even though they may never be able to do anything for me, and I may be put in uncomfortable situations and even though I may never see the end result, God has called me to reach out to those people and love them just like Jesus loves them.

SO with all that...I don't know if I am supposed to uproot our family to another country or adopt a houseful of children...but I do know that I need to obey God in the small things. I know that I can't reach every person around the world, but I do know that I can reach my neighbors and my friends and the lady in the check-out line. I need to strive to be uncomfortable...to let God take control...to have a reckless faith.

"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

2011-01-03T20:18:00.007-05:00

I always say this, but it has been WAY too long since I have been on here. One of my New Years resolutions is to blog at least once a week. I have to have enough interesting things go on in my life that I can at least do once a week. And if I set my goal to high, like blogging once a day, I will stress out about it and then not do it. So once a week is good...

So my little Caleb is about to start crawling. I am loving the sitting-up-and-can-roll-but-can't make-it-across-the-room-quickly phase. He is really trying hard to crawl. He has mastered the getting up on his knees and rocking and he can make himself go backwards but just not forwards yet. I CANNOT believe he is almost 8 month old. I miss him being small but I am enjoying every new phase. He is getting TONS of personality. He has started to be a bit of a ham for the camera (I wonder where he gets that from =) ). I don't know if it's coincidence or not but every time I bring the camera out he puts on this enormous grin, which, by the way, makes him look SO much like his daddy.

Hailey is also growing up way too fast. Tonite she and I were talking about what we are going to do for her THIRD birthday. She wants a pink party. Pink cake. Pink ice cream. Pink presents. Guess what her favorite color is =) I told her I was going to let her have a tea party and invite some of her friends over. When I asked her which friends she would like to invite, she replied, "I don't want to invite any friends." "Why not?," I asked. Her response was, in a most serious manner, "Because I don't want them to eat my cake." Now, I could have taken this moment to exert my parental duties and have a discussion on the importance of sharing, but I couldn't keep from snickering so I saved that for another day =) Speaking of personality, this girl is such a goofball. I mean, between her daddy and I and the rest of the nuts in our family she really didn't have much of a chance of not being at least a little goofy. One of her favorite things to do is make up songs about random stuff and sing it to the various tunes she has heard on barney or veggie tales. I have heard songs about toilet paper and airplanes and spitting and brushing her teeth and wiping her buns. She is potty trained now which is AMAZING! I am a firm believer in the statement "When they're ready, they're ready." This was my third attempt at potty training and I really didn't have to do much at all except remind her the first couple of days to go. She even wears panties to bed most of the time.

On a side note, I am reading a book right now that my sweet mother-in-law gave me called Reckless Faith It.Is.Amazing. It is something I really needed to read right now. If you haven't read it you should.

I have so many posts that I feel like I need to catch up on so if it seems like I am a bit out-of-order...I am =) But I have some things I really want to get recorded!

Here is one quote from Reckless Faith I want to leave you with:

Reckless Faith always has one foot in eternity. It measures people by their actions and not their belongings. A reckless faith believes when there is no evidence and hurls itself at what is unseen but promised. A reckless faith isn't "refined" in the least. It does not make sense to the world, and yet, the world often seems fascinated by it.

MMMMMMM....

2010-10-07T18:48:00.010-04:00

Caleb will be five months old next wednesday so today I decided to let him try some cereal. He was too cute eating it. After the first couple of "bites" he couldn't get enough. I had just fed him about 10 minutes before giving him the cereal and he was scarfing it down like he hadn't eaten in days.

He sneezed a couple of times while he was eating and spewed cereal everywhere and he thought that was hilarious. He would get the biggest grin on his face and giggle a little. He kept putting his fists and his bib in his mouth. I made a little bit for him just to try and he finished that and was like freaking out because he wanted more so I made him some more and he watched every spoonful go into his mouth. I guess he is going to be a "Big Hungry" like his daddy! I just can't believe he is old enough to be eating cereal already!

"Mommy, this is where you put the spoon."

The year of weddings...

2010-10-06T10:17:00.004-04:00

This has been the year of weddings for our family. We have been to four weddings since the beginning of August. We went to Uncle Jordan and Aunt Whitney's wedding on August 7 in Alabama. Randy, Hailey and I were all three in that wedding. It was so much fun and we were able to see a lot of family, some we haven't seen in almost seven years. Then we went to Amanda Young and David Miller's wedding. Amanda is a good friend of mine that I went to church with and also went to school with. That was such a sweet wedding and an awesome reception... breakfast for dinner and a doughnut hole cake! Then there was Hillary Johnson and Kyle Vernon's wedding. I worked with Hillary and she is probably one of the best friends I have ever had. She made such a beautiful bride. Out of all of the weddings I have been to and worked, she was the most glowing bride I have ever seen! Last, there was Josh Spencer and Leslie Vannoy's wedding. It was in the mountains of Virginia and it was beautiful! Josh and I have been friends since 5th grade and he is one of Randy's closest friends and we are so happy he met the perfect girl for him. Here are some pics of the weddings we have been to...

We are so happy for our friends and excited to see how God is going to use these new families for His kingdom!

Randomness

2010-10-05T14:00:00.010-04:00

Okay, so I decided to go ahead and write another post anyway. Hopefully the cleaning fairies will show up tonite while Randy and I are out on our date. And can I just say this date is much needed. It has been WAY too long! Okay, on to the randomness...
Ladies and gentlemen, we officially have an AWANA clubber in our house. Hailey started Puggles 2 weeks ago. I cannot believe she is old enough to be in AWANA. Nor can I believe that I am old enough to have a kid in AWANA...
-Pastor Tim encouraged us last Sunday to examine our lives and see what is one thing we can/need to get rid of and fast from it for two weeks. Mine was a no-brainer ...Facebook. After I made the commitment to not get on facebook for 2 weeks, I told Randy that maybe I should have went with a more realistic goal. But I can honestly say that I have not been on since last Sunday and it actually feels pretty good. I have spent much more time reading my Bible and it has been awesome. I have spent more time with my kids and that has been great. But most importantly, I have realized how enslaved to facebook I was. That may seem a little crazy but it is absolutely ridiculous how much time I was spending on it. While I do miss catching up with people and sharing cute photos and comments about the kids, it really feels good to not have to get on it. There. I said it. I can live without facebook =)
-All summer long Hailey has refused to wear flip flops (or "poop-plops" as she calls them.) She insisted that they hurt her feet and would not wear them. I gave in to this because Randy will not wear them either because they hurt his feet as well. Now that it is colder oustsde...guess what she wants to wear...that's right..."poop-plops." So I let her wear them...unless it's raining then she wears her rainboots, which really are her favorites.
-We are making huge strides in Hailey's fear department. For those of you who don't know, Hailey is seriously a big scaredy cat. I can honestly say I have never been afraid of her jumping off something and breaking a bone or climbing too high on something or anything of that nature. This summer she has been especially afraid of things. But I am pleased to announce that she will go down the big slide at church now. And if you take a look at the picture, you can see she has her hands in the air. HUGE! The coolest part about it is that there was no coaxing or bribing involved. One day she just decided she was going to do it, and she did it, and now she loves it. She still will not go on the swirly slide but that could possibly be because when I was pregnant the two of us got stuck in it and we didn't think we were going to make it out...but that story is for another day. Anyway, we are proud of her for giving it a try.
-Caleb is getting so big! He is such a sweet baby and is so snuggly! He has just in the last month or so developed a really cute personalty. He loves smiling and he loves "playing with Hailey.

I can't believe he is almost 5 months old! well, thats' all for now. I have a ton more I could write about but the cleaning fairies were a no-show last time =)

So stinkin' cute!

2010-10-05T13:53:00.005-04:00

I really, REALLY need to make a new post about all that is going on in our family but I will probably have to wait until later to do it. Randy and I are actually going on a date tonite and I am so excited. But, I have a million things to do before I can even start getting ready. I just had to post this video because it is toooo cute! Caleb just started laughing this past month and he has THE cutest little giggle. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Thoughts from this mom...

2010-09-02T15:10:00.004-04:00

Every night Randy and I sneak into both of our sweet babies' rooms to check on them and kiss their sweet cherub cheeks before we go to bed. It is one of our favorite things to do and we have done this since Hailey was first born. One night last week, after we left their rooms and were headed to bed, Randy asked me, "I wonder if God looks down us and smiles while we are sleeping just like we do to our kids?"
WOW. What an awesome thing to think about. It's funny because some days I feel like Hailey and I have had just a rotten day together. She would be EXTRA whiney, I would lose my temper, and so on. It would be one of those days where I couldn't wait for bedtime. I love her more than words can say but sometimes life is just hard for the mom of a two-year-old. But there is something about the stillness of her laying there in her bed at night that erases the day from my memory and I just want to scoop her up out of her bed and snuggle her the rest of the night.
The thought of God looking down on us while we sleep and smiling on us never really crossed my mind until he mentioned that but it reminded me of why God looks on us and smiles. No matter how rotten I was that day. No matter how many wrong thoughts I had. No matter how many unkind words I said. No matter how many times I lost my temper with my children or my husband. God still smiles down on me...because He sees His perfect Son. His Son who took the place for me and bore my sin on the cross of Calvary. I hate it when I act that way and I know it hurts God's feelings. However, I know He loves me because I am His child.
I am, by no means, a perfect mother. But I am so glad I know the perfect Father. And I am so thankful that He loves me no matter how horrible of a day I have had and that He smiles when He sees me.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Because I love him =)

2010-07-29T14:43:00.000-04:00

Today is my husband's birthday. I love him so much but I am not very good at verbally expressing how I feel (just ask him) so I decided I would publicly declare my love for him to the cyber world =)
Thirteen years ago, I started the eighth grade at Vandalia Christian School. We were getting a new student in our class named "Cletis Titus" and we were all wondering what this redneck or possibly African-American kid was going to be like. It turned out he was a super-cute. athletic guy with a Nick Carter hair cut (those were totally in back then.) It didn't take long for me to figure out that I really wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure he didn't know I existed. So I went on my merry, dating way and dated 2 or 3 guys (who's counting?). I had always had a place for him though in the back of my heart. There was just something about him. He wasn't the most popular guy in our class, although most of the girls would have loved to have "gone out" with him. He wasn't a class clown but he was very funny and always had (and still does) a witty comeback or zinger to through at someone. But besides that I think what attracted me most to him was and is his character. In my mind he had so much integrity and wisdom. And I wasn't the only one that saw that in him. Not to say he never got in trouble but there was something about the way he handled things and people that I admired (and he did tend to man-handle some of the guys at school, which I also found attractive.) Anyway, thanks to my now mother-in-law and a certain sister-in-law who is about to get married herself, he finally noticed me. I had to break up with my boyfriend first but we started dating the second semester of my senior year. I honestly can't remember life without him and really don't care to.
I could not have asked for a more godly husband or a better best friend. We have been through so much and I would not have wanted to go through it with anyone else. He has taught me so much and I am grateful for his patience with me. He has been such an encouragement to me in my walk with the Lord and in the things I struggle with. He is an amazing daddy to our two precious children. Hailey adores him. She can't wait till he gets home from work everyday and loves to go on dates with him. I know Caleb will adore him also but right now his clothes tell how he is thinking =) We just love Randy so much and thank God for the blessing of a man that He put in our lives! Happy 25th BIrthday Randy!

Our sweet Caleb

2010-07-13T09:56:00.001-04:00

Our sweet Caleb is 2 months old today. I can't believe it has been 2 months already! He is such a sweet (and fat!) baby. His Nena (Randy's mom) wrote this about the day he was born and I wanted to share it because I thought it was so sweet....

It is spring in North Carolina. The grass is as green as I have ever seen it....perhaps that is because I rarely see pretty green grass anymore. Everything is in bloom..and my itchy eyes alert me to that each day. There are budding flowers and signs of new life everywhere. New Life....nothing better. I arrived back in North Carolina on Mothers Day and just in time for the birth of our third grandchild, Caleb Joshua Titus. He is 6 lbs 11 oz of pure preciousness-sent straight from Heaven. (Think I'm kiddin'? Check out the attached picture!) He is also the spitting image of his daddy, our oldest son Randy. He is of course beautiful....and a reminder of all things new. A brand new little human miracle from God. The day he was born we also realized that there were four more new additions born on the Titus property. As Hailey (Caleb's big sister) and I were swinging on the front porch swing that evening, we noticed four little baby birds had hatched in their nest in the bush beside the front porch. We snuck over and peeked in to see four little featherless chicks just chirping away for their mommy to return with their meal for the day. (I captured the moment in an awesome picture) It was a teachable moment as Hailey and I talked about what a great God we have, the God that not only gave us Caleb out of mommy's tummy that morning, but also the God that gave us new life in the four little baby birds all snuggled up in their nest. Each day since then we always stop to sneak a peek at the growing baby birds and marvel at our great God's creation. Something so simple, yet so profound. A creator that gives us little baby Titus'es is the same creator that gives us little baby birds....and He loves and cares for us all.
This is just another rambling of one tired Jamerican.....SELAH

"God is sad. Him needs his mommy."

2010-07-12T13:41:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I have posted. About five months to be exact. Our sweet little Hailey is getting to be such a big girl. I was going to do another post about "hailey-isms" but her speech has gotten so good that you (or at least I) can understand most of what she is saying. I do however, need to write down the things that she is saying because there is almost nothing better than the thoughts of a 2-year-old.
This morning she and I were sitting down reading her little Bible and we were talking about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and it was talking about how it makes God sad when we disobey Him. I was trying to explain it to her in a way she could understand. She sat there for a minute with a sad look on her face and said "God is sad. Him needs his mommy." I honestly didn't know what to say. Can you explain to a 2-year-old that God doesn't exactly have a mommy? And then we were doing the questions at the end of the story and the first one was "Can you think of something you have done to disobey your mom and dad." She replied after a moment to think, "Yeah...I dit out of my bed." HALLELUJAH!...she is learning! It's the little things , ya know!
As most of you know we have added a new addition to our home, Caleb Joshua Titus. He has melted my heart already. He is so sweet and cuddly. I love seeing Hailey interact with him, too. It is just so sweet. She is always telling me " Mommy, he tho thweet" and "mommy, him pwecious" and "Mommy, him twying. Him needs hith pathy." I am surprised how gentle she is with him. She is not normally a rambunctious kid but i didn't expect her to be as gentle as she is with him.
As good as she has been, I know it has been hard on her not getting as much attention as she was getting before her little brother came along. She has had her share of meltdowns but she really has been great. I have been trying to take her out once a week even if it's just a couple of hours just so I can spend some time just me and her. I have been taking her to the water park the last couple of weeks. She loves to go on dates. I'm not sure if she considers it a date when it's just me and her. She usually goes on dates with her daddy and her Beepa (my dad.) Either way I enjoy my time with her. If you take her on a date and ask her where she wants to go she will more than likely tell you she wants to go to "Chit-Lay" (Chick-fl-A.) And if you ask her what she wants to eat she has her list down pat of what she wants...." Chitten, fwies, chotalate molt, and ithe tweem." If you didn't catch that, it was chicken, fries, chocolate milk, and ice cream. Healthy and nutritious, I know. But it's a date. You're allowed to splurge on a date, right?
Last story for the day...our pastor's wife, Holly, is Hailey's buddy, and every wednesday and friday we go over to the church to see Holly and Holly gives her candy. Holly has taught Hailey about putting candy in her pockets. So now, every time she wears something that has pockets on it she thinks she needs some candy to put in it. Yesterday morning, i put a little sundress on her and it had pockets. When I got the dress on her, she immediately put her hands in her pockets and said, "Mommy, I dot pottets! I need tanny for my pottets!" Like I said, it's the little things in life =)

It's that time again...

2010-02-24T22:11:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy writing hailey-isms. I really write them to keep a record of the cute stuff she says but I also hope that those who do read it find humor in her little 2 year old language. So here are the latest hailey-isms...

-"buff-a-teef"- brush teeth. This is one of my faves.
-"alonen"- another one
-"tuvey-dup"- cover up
-"pay tado"- play play-doh...her newest obsession
-"chotolate molt"- chocolate milk. The kid seriously LOVES chocolate milk... so much so that her and randy made a "chocolate milk dance" that they do every time she gets chocolate milk. Her father has created a monster.
-"toot"- cute
-"heydoo usut"- hey dude, what's up. She has been listening to her daddy and uncle Seth too much.
-"uhhdooooin"- what are you doing. and yes she does say it just like that.
-"waaayeeeer"- where. She doesn't have much of a country accent but this particular word makes up for all of it.
-"wite"- why. For some reason she puts a "t" on the end of it.
-"i wunnin"- I'm running.
-"dive-a-hair"- dry your hair
-"odirt"-yogurt

I also wanted to right a couple of cute things she has been doing recently:
-We just moved and she has a new room that has a big girl bed in it which she loves and we are so happy about. But every time someone comes over she wants to show them her new room with her big girl bed and she goes around to each wall in her room and says "peent" (pink.) She is very excited about the fact that her room is pink and she wants everyone to know it.
-Also at our house we have our church right behind us which comes in handy when hailey wants to play outside because we have the playground right there. But she calls the church's playground "Nena's park" because Nena used to live here and would take her over there to play. She still calls this Nena's or Poppa's house sometimes and sometimes she will point to something and say that it is there's but she does understand that it's her house so it's all good.
-She has gotten to where lately she has to be wearing some type of jewelry and has to have a purse. I'm not sure where this girly-girl came from but it's super cute.
-Two of her most recent phrases that we hear a lot are "I'n play with boys" and "I'n doe shoppin." She is only, two mind you, and she already wants to play with boys and go shopping. Help.

The start of a new adventure!

2010-02-15T14:05:00.000-05:00

I am one of those people who actually enjoys grocery shopping. But I hate the drive home. I bite my nails and sweat the whole way in fear that I just spent WAY too much at the grocery store. I really feel like I do the best I can. I buy pretty much Wal-mart brand everything and still end up with a ridiculous grocery bill and nothing to make for dinner. I don't know if anyone else out there is feeling my pain on this but I have to say I think I have had enough.
I have recently started clipping coupons. I have been inspired by a lady on the internet that a friend referred to me. She is the coupon queen. I used to clip coupons but I honestly never felt it was worth the time to sit and clip. But I have been introduced to a new way of shopping...and it really is going to be a new adventure for me. I have always watched for sales at Lowes Foods and places like that but I have recently learned that with a little bit of time and a little bit of thinking skills (which I try to use occassionally!) you really can save a ridiculous amount if money at the grocery store...and better yet the drug store.
Below are two seperate shopping trips that I took. I did have to clip coupons and I did have to sit down and map out my shopping trip but it was totally worth it in the end. I saved a grand total of $67.05.
My first trip was to Lowes Foods yesterday afternoon. I already knew I needed cake stuff for Hailey's party this weekend and they just happened to have a sweet deal on their Betty Crocker Stuff plus I had some coupons. With a little effort I was able to turn a $36.18 trip into a $16.97 trip. Here is my pic from that trip:

---4 boxes of supreme brownie mix, 2 boxes of cake mix, 3 packages of cookies, 4 tubs of frosting, and 12 cups of yogurt---

This next pic is from my trip today which I am very proud of because I saved $47.84 and I worked pretty hard on it. I owe it to my friend Chantelle who walked me through over the phone how to make the separate transactions at Walgreens because they are kind of picky and I have never really shopped there before. I also thank DeShawn, the lady at Walgreens, who helped me when the other check out lady didn't know what to do with all of my coupons. My total bill was $76.99 and I paid $26.15

---4 canisters of Lysol wipes, 2 Lysol toilet cleaners, 2 Crest pro health moushwashes, 2 Gillette Fusion razors, 2 bottles of Downy fabric softener, 1 oral-b toothbrush and 1 tube of Crest toothpaste---

I spent all together $43.12 on everything you see here! I can honestly say it was well worth the time I put into clipping coupons and navigating sale papers. I think I may have found a new hobby!

"Mo" Hailey-isms

2010-01-11T12:14:00.000-05:00

After I wrote the last post on Hailey-isms I thought of a lot "mo" that I could write. I'm sure there will be "mo" to come later.

-"wowies"- flowers
-"nuts"- lips. This one is too funny. She calls lips "nuts." And she LOVES chapstik so several times a day she will come over to me and hold up a tube of chapstik and say "Mommy, pudit onda nuts!" She will hear about this for years to come.
-" meemos"- movies. The first movie that we really sat and watched with her was Finding Nemo and we always just asked her if she wanted to watch Nemo. So now any movie is "meemo"
-"tato"- veggie tales movies. Kinda' weird but that is what she has always called anything veggie tales. She does know Bob and Larry's names but still calls anything veggie tales "tato." And she does love to watch "tato."
-"muh-may"- mermaid. Her favorite "meemo" of her almost 2 years of life is The Little Mermaid. She has started quoting it, which is sad, which is why I have started limiting her time watching it...but it's really cute. it's actually pretty comical to watch her watch it.
-"I shinish"- I'm finished.
-"I'ne shanish"- I want a sandwich.
-"hi-bies"- hiney-buns. That's what we call her rear end.
-"molt and mutties"- milk and muffins...a favorite breakfast of ours.
-"fote"- fork...or spoon...whichever one she is currently holding.
-"messin"- medicine
-"Teenup teenup ebody ere. Teenup teenup body sare"- "Clean up, Clean up everybody everywhere. Clean up clean up everybody do your share."
-"ronies"- macaroni and cheese. Other than candy it's her favorite food. She asks for it every day for lunch. I would actually eat it every day too because it's one of my favorites but come on...we have to have some variety.
-"titten"- kitchen...or chicken. Just depends on the situation.
-"A B Thee"- She loves to sing her "A B Thees"
-"baby butter Taylobe"- baby brother Caleb. This is one of my favorites. The other night she told me she was "cited bout baby butter Taylobe"
-"bayntee"- blankie. She has a favorite that her Aunt Candy gave her for a shower gift and she loves it. She has told me that she is going to give it to "Taylobe." That was cute because it was just a random statement she made one night.
-"wuv too much"- I love you very much.

That's it for now. Hope you enjoyed!

Really...again?

2010-01-06T14:02:00.000-05:00

This morning I found myself, once again, wide awake way before the sun came up. Pretty much since the very beginning of this pregnancy I have woken up at 4:30 every morning. I am actually sleeping better than I was so this morning 4:30 was the only time I woke up, but still...what's the deal?!? I am starting to wonder if there is something about Caleb (the baby on the way) and 4:30 am. This morning as I laid in bed I started pondering all the things that it could mean. I thought maybe my water would break at 4:30 in the morning. Or maybe that would be the time he is actually "birthed" into this world. Or maybe it will be our little morning feeding time. I would be okay with any of these. Especially if 4:30 is the only time he wakes up...that is as long as he is 6 weeks or under. Hailey started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks and I am trying not to get my hopes up with this one but it's hard to think of a baby not sleeping when Hailey has always been such a good sleeper. I was going to get up and write this blog at 4:30 but instead I decided I would get up and use the bathroom and check on Hailey. I had only taken 2 steps into her room when she popped up, grabbed both of her "bayntees" (blankets) and staggered to the front of her crib with her arms up in the air. I couldn't resist so I picked her up and let her lay with us for a while. For the next hour i laid there while Randy slept and Hailey tossed and turned between us (which is what she does when she sleeps in our bed...which is why she never sleeps in our bed). Finally, I picked her up and put her back in her bed and laid back down and decided I would pray. I was asleep in no time. Don't you hate that. Anyway, that is my rant about 4:30 am. I guess I will be seeing it for at least the next 4 months.

On a completely different note...one of my new years resolutions is to memorize a verse of Scripture a week. I figured since I have most of Hailey's books memorized I would fill my mind with something a little more "filling." My verse for this week is Deuteronomy 15:10 "Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on that account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake." I figured if I kept track of them on here I could keep myself accountable.

And my fingers hurt so I am finished!

Some Hailey-isms Worth Sharing...

2009-12-30T04:00:00.000-05:00

Hailey is starting to get quite the vocabulary and Randy and I both enjoy hearing her talk and trying to decipher what she is saying. I wanted to share just a few of the most recent Hailey-isms that i thought to be "post-worthy."

- "Ranny, tumineer an sinda pud!" -translation- "Daddy (who she sometimes calls Randy," come in here and sit in the tub!" The story behind this one is she is sitting in the bathtub and Randy is in the next room. She wants Randy to come sit in the bathroom with her so this is how she phrases it. Too cute, huh? This one is my absolute favorite!
-"i nawaaanna!" -translation- "I don't wanna" No explanation needed...not our favorite phrase of hers.
-"Sinnare" -translation- "Sit there." She will literally point to the exact location on the floor/chair/step that she wants you to sit on...usually right next to her and the toy she is playing with."
-"Ine tall daddy onda wone" -translation- "I want to call daddy on the phone." I hear this several times a day but you could replace daddy with beepa, mimi, nena, or poppa, and sometimes bubby.
-"Mommy, Ine huuunry. Ine eeeet." -"Mommy i'm hungry. I want to eat." This one is pretty simple but it is the one i hear most often throughout the day. She has the appetite of her father... or a small grizzly bear...whichever you see closest.
-Mommy, Ine paaay." -translation- "Mommy, I want to play" or "Mommy, I want to pray." If we are sitting down to a meal she is very adamant about praying before she eats (while she doesn't understand the concept yet we are so glad she is forming the habit) so if we haven't offered our hands to her and said "let's pray" she makes sure we do. Or if she is having to sit still or is doing something she doesn't want to do it's "I want to play." You just have to check out the situation.
""Mommy, Ine tanny" -translation- "Mommy, I want candy." We pretty much hear this one all day to. Sometimes she will whisper it in our ear like it's a secret and that is super cute...but we literally hear it all day.

Well that's all the hailey-isms I can think of right now. She will probably be upset with me when she's older for posting these blogs and pictures of her but I only do it because I love her to death and she is the cutest kid on the planet...in these two parents' opinions anyway. Here are some goofy pictures of Hailey to go along with her goofy sayings. We love you Hailey!