A few pictures

This is one of my best friends from High school.
We got to spend 4th of July together. Hopefully
we can get together again soon!
4th of July 2006
Little Man playing some T-Ball
Munchkin has absolutely no fear!

Amazed

I am amazed at how smart my kids are. I am not trying to be a braggy mom at all. I know every kid is a genius in his or her mothers eyes but it is amazing when you can see it first hand. I guess I am really more amazed at Munchkins memory than anything. Tonight we were on our way home from buying a new booster seat and she said "Do you remember when we saw the bats at the zoo? " We thought for a minute and asked if it was with grandma and grandpa. "No, it was with my cousins!" Almost 2 years ago we went to the Memphis zoo with her cousins. It has a really cool bat cave. Also tonight she was talking to her grandpa and said "the first time you were here you didn't see Kelsey because we didn't have a dog then." He was impressed that she knew who had and had not seen Kelsey.
In other amazement news, the child does not have a shy bone in her body. Bobby played guitar at our friend Andrews church this morning. When the service was over there was a meal provided by the church. While Bobby was tearing down Munchkin was singing into the silent microphone. The pastor got down next to her and asked if she would still sing if the mic was on and of course she said yes. So, Munchkin had her first church solo this morning. Once the mic was back on she sang Jesus Loves me very confidently which was followed by a huge round of applause from the 100 or so people that were there. Several people gave her high fives and told her how well she did. It's funny because it doesn't even phase her. Maybe because she has seen Bobby on stage so much it just seems natural to get up and sing in front of people.

Obviously I can't leave Little Man out! We were thinking about getting a speech eval done for him recently because his speech had stopped progressing. Well, as soon as he started walking his vocabulary blossomed. He has a few 3 and 4 word sentences now like " I want my daddy", "My shoes on please", "where mommy go?" Every day he has new words.

What an adventure! I am so excited to see the growth and development of my little monkeys! I always wonder what they will say or do next.

Death in the family

Not our immediate family but in our church family. Nathan Thomas from the band Through a Glass was killed in a one car accident this morning. This is devastating not only for his family but his band and for so many others in our church. Please be in prayer for the family, band and other friends. There is a prayer service for the family tonight. If you are in the area it is at 7pm in the Longhollow Worship Center.

Scrapbooking

I love to scrapbook and I don't get to do it often enough. Here are a few of my recent layouts.

Wish

We went to Raffertys on the way home from church yesterday. Since Bobby played guitar we were in separate vehicles and since neither of us brought our phones we decided before leaving church where we were going. I got to the restaurant first and got a table with the kids. Little Man was asleep in my lap and Munchkin decided to imagine. All of a sudden she looked at me and said "I am going to imagine daddy is sitting right there." He happened to walk in right then so I told her to close her eyes and wish for daddy to be sitting there. She followed directions really well because when she opened her eyes daddy was sitting in the chair. Her little face had the cutest most surprised look! It was so sweet to see how surprised she was that her wish worked!

I'm Telling!!!

Little Man came to me yesterday while I was checking my email. I thought to get on my lap and be sweet but no! He points toward the kitchen and says "Sissy Mess!" I go to the kitchen and sure enough there is my daughter trying to clean up potting soil from a little pot that had been on the windowsill. I don' t think she spilled it, I think the cat knocked it down. She was just trying to help. But, it was the first time she had been ratted out by her brother. Did I mention he just turned 2 and we were thinking about getting a speech evaluation? I am thrilled that his speech is taking off but how am I going to handle both of them tattling? :0)

Joy

Suzanne over at JoyfulChaos is doing a series on the Fruit of the Spirit with a small group. This weeks lesson was on joy..what brings us joy and figuring out what busts our joy. I thought I would list those things for me this week.
Things that have brought me joy in the last week:
+ hearing my daughter pray without prompting
+ hearing my son saying all kinds of new words
+ having my husband home from the road
+ trying a new recipe for chocolate chip cake
+ creating a cool scrapbook page
+ reading to my kiddos
+ getting an encouraging email from Sherri

Joybusters-
-bills
-not hearing back from a friend
-feeling like I am in a spiritual rut

At least there are more pluses than minuses. I think I will pick up the book Suzanne is working through with her group to keep up with what they are doing.

She ended with this verse:
My soul, wait in silence for God only. For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation. My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.~Psalm 62:5-8

Canals are fun...

at least the ones are that you can boat on. I had a root canal today. That was not so fun. My tooth has been hurting for a couple of weeks and I have been constantly flossing trying to make it feel better. So I called the Dentist yesterday and got in today. The tooth that has been bothering me has had a crown on it for the last year and the root finally died. The dentist was great at explaining what was happening. I might be weird like that but I like knowing what all the little tools are and what they do. Thank goodness I was really numb, I can't imagine how it would feel if the novicane wore off. After I was all done I found out I only owed $100 for the whole thing. I was expecting somewhere around $400 as my last crown was over $300. So that was a nice surprise. After writing my check they sent me off to the pharmacy for antibiotics and main meds. I stopped a the drug store closest and what do you know the pharmacy was closed for the day. Not to worry, there seems to be a drug store on every corner these days. Within 15 minutes my prescription was filled and I was on my way to meet Bobby and the kids. I only took half of one of the pain pills as I was afraid they would make me sleepy but it was clear by the time I got to where I was meeting everyone that I needed the other half. I am not looking forward to the medication and the rest of the numb wearing off but at least I know it won't hurt as much as it did before the root canal.

Crisis of belief..

Have you ever had those times in your life when you feel really far away from God? You know He hasn't moved but you have. I am not sure what my deal is lately. I do not feel like being vulnerable with my friends, I feel manipulated by the worship at church, our Sunday school class has gone through major changes and it feels like I am just floating along not really feeling God. I admit, I pray with my kids at night, I sing the worship songs at church and the hymns in my CD player, and I can talk the talk but I am not doing the things a good Christian should. I have been beat over the head for so long with "you have to have a quiet time every morning before everyone else gets out of bed" that I just don't want to. I think I am having obedience issues. Sometimes I feel like I will never be close to God again but I know everyone goes through valleys and mountaintops. I have had those moments when I am super close to God and know what I was doing to feel close to God and in my head I know that that is what I am supposed to be doing...reading my Bible, comparing my life to the Biblical standards, praying all the time but I just don't feel like it. This is the time that I need to more than ever I suppose to get back into relationship with God. What do you do when you feel far away from God?

Showcase Debut

Munchkin made her showcase debut singing today. We ate lunch at a little cafe that has Karaoke and she wanted to sing. We popped in Carrie Underwood "Jesus take the Wheel" and she sung her little heart out. So sweet!

New Earrings

Ear Piercing and VBS

Obviously not 2 things that are done at the same time. Today is Munchkins birthday. She is 4 years old. I am looking at her short little life thinking where has the time gone? Just 12 minutes ago she was born 5 lbs 15 ozs and 19 1/2 inches long and now she is 4. She could do nothing for herself and now she can even buckle her own car seat. My baby girl has become my 4 going on 14 teenager.
I got my ears pierced when I was 4. My mom has told me the story over and over again about how I sat in the seat and looked a little green but didn't even cry. We started talking to Munchkin several months ago about getting her ears pierced to see if she was ready. She told us that when she was 4 she would be brave and would not cry even if it felt like a shot. Today was the day. We took her and Little Man to a kids only salon where they do birthday parties and all kinds of fun things (mini-manis, mini-pedis, mini facials...the whole bit). While she was getting her hair trimmed Little Man was getting his hair cut. He was not so fond of the whole get strapped to a chair and have something sharp coming toward your head thing. He cried almost the whole time. This was his first haircut and you could tell he didn't like it one bit. He looks like a little boy now instead of a wispy haired baby. :0( Do you think we should have any more babies? Apparently he did ok though as he wasn't screaming or kicking the hairdresser like a former 5 year old customer did.

After the haircuts it was time to get ears pierced. Munchkin sat in a giant shoe chair and waited while they looked for the second piercing gun. They were supposed to do both ears at one time but it didn't happen. They marked her ears and had her take a deep breath on the count of 3. She looked a little shocked after the first one but didn't cry and sat nice a still for the second one. I handed her a sucker right after the second one as a prize for being so brave. After retrieving our certificates for Babys First Haircut and A Piercing Experience we headed to Shogun for a lunch filled with fire on the table. Yum. We then took the kids for ice cream at Maggie Moos.

So that part of the day was full. After that you wouldn't think we could fit any more in. Oh but we could. We gave Munchkin the option of VBS or going to see daddy play a show with his band. She chose VBS. Now, our church is having VBS this week but we are not going to our church for the simple reason that it is from 6-9pm 1/2 an hour away from our house and I would have to work at it for the kids to be able to go. The church around the corner from us has theirs from 6-8:30 and Munchkin is able to go without me working. This does not mean we are changing churches or anything it just means I want the kids to do something that does not require me driving 1/2 an hour each way and having to teach and changing their schedule.

Munchkin liked going tonight. She didn't like the big people part, which I think was the end when all the kids were in the sanctuary singing songs she didn't know. She liked the games though and the craft that was a snack they got to eat. We have to take a bunch of pennies tomorrow. Hopefully she will have an even better time.

Letterboxing

So, a little over a year ago a girl posted a message on a scrapbooking board about going letterboxing. I looked into it a little and even went looking for letterboxes around our area. I came up with nothing! None of the boxes I looked for were there. I told my sister about it who now lives in Alaska and in the last year she has planted 61 boxes I think. She has also gotten so into it that she is hand carving her stamps and is teaching a 4 hour class on it. It really is a fun thing to do. My first letterbox was found in California with my sisters and my mom. They are all getting into it too. So, today I went and found my first letterbox on my own. It was an easy one thank goodness and it was quick. I had to get back so Bobby could go play a show. If you would like more info on letterboxing go here or here. Have Fun!

YUM!!

So, Bobby has been at a camp all week and it is really difficult for me to want to cook (not that I do that much anyway). While he is gone I get to take the kids to places that he does not like. He would eat Mexican food for every meal if it was an option. I like Mexican food but it gives me heartburn. Anyway, I took the kids to Chefs Market a couple of days ago. This is one of those restaurants that qualifies at froufy food in Bobby's book and he just doesn't like it. I got beef tenderloin, ambrosia salad and green beans with sliced almonds and a roll. I shared the entire meal with both kids and was stuffed at the end. It was so good! Plus they have delectable desserts! The kids shared a cookie and I know from past experience that the milky way cake is not to be missed. If you ever get to the Nashville area we must go to Chef's Market. Not only is the food good, they also have a little play area for the kids! A+ in my book!

1 hour photo

at Sams club is never 1 hour. I went to turn in 4 rolls of film to 1 hour photo today and was told that it would be at least an hour and a half. If it is over an hour are they going to charge you less? No! Then I decided to use the 2 day service that was less expensive than 1 hour. AFTER I finished filling out 4 envelopes she tells me that it will be at least 4 days not just 2! Ok, so 1 hour is really 1 1/2 hours, and 2 days is really 4. Dies anyone else see this as a problem but me? It is so difficult to provide what is advertised? I guess it is if you are dealing with the photo department at Sams!

1 year anniversary

Well, I meant to blog on my 1 year blogging anniversary but I missed it. It was June 24th. Where the heck did a year go? Hopefully I can be more consistant in the next year. Comments are welcome to tell me what you like or what you would like more of.