Hair cuts, publix, and birth mom's

There are three topics that I need to blog about before I leave so they are all getting one post.

1. Hair cuts - both boys received hair cuts last night. This was Little Boy's first hair cut! Why is it so hard for me to cut my boys hair? I love their long hair and have the hardest time cutting it. This is only Big Boy's third trim and every time it is still hard for me! I realized that Big Boy will be so hot in TX and needed a trim to get some off his neck. Aaron did a good job on both their hair and loves to cut it. Oh and yes if you are wondering, the blood on his finger is from a hair cutting injury he received last night!






2. PUBLIX - YES it is true a Publix just opened about one mile from our house and we could not be happier about this! We LOVE Publix and HATE shopping at Kroger or anywhere else, but especially Kroger. The people at Publix are SO NICE and the people at Kroger are SO NOT NICE! I need someone to be nice to me while I'm shopping for groceries with two kids and about to loose my mind. The last thing I need is two whiny boys and one very unhappy, miseralbe, not nice checkout lady. I get that unhappy, miserable, I-hate-my-life, checker EVERY time and I will not stand for it! We will spend MORE money on groceries to have NICE people!!!


3. BIRTH PARENTS - Yesterday I met with a woman who had some questions about adoption. I am always open to talk to anyone about adoption and share our story. I LOVE to do that and LOVE to give adoption a good name and clear up any misconceptions that someone may have about domestic adoption. Of course she had all the same fears that most people have when they think about domestic adoptions. I had the same too before we started the process and began researching it for ourselves. Here are some of the questions ..... "Don't they have 6 months to take the baby back", "I heard it takes 3 years to get a baby", "What if my child wants to meet his birth mom later" "Will I love this child as much as the one I already have" .... ALL of these questions are valid and not stupid. Adoption is scary if you don't know much about it and haven't known anyone that has been involved in it. I have learned so much about adoption that I never knew when we started this journey with life.

This lady and her hubby are not yet sure on whether they are going to pursue domestic or international adoption and I reassured her that God would lead her. I have a HUGE heart for birth parents (mom's especially). They sacrifice something that most of us could NEVER imagine doing. I can NEVER even think of GIVING my Big Boy to ANYONE to parent besides myself. NO WAY! That is what makes it such an amazing sacrifice. Most birth parents LOVE that child so much that they are willing to put their own feelings aside and allow that child to have a different life than they could give them. Each of them has different reasons for choosing adoption, but all of them share the same thing ..... they knew this child first, they loved this child first, they created this child, they put this child's needs at top priority. I love our birth mom and value her life and respect her for what she choose to do for our Little Boy.

I told this lady that no matter where she adopts her child will have birth parents. Even if you adopt from China your child has a birth family. If you adopt from Haiti your child has a birth family. If you adopt from Russia your child has a birth family. A child can not enter this world without their birth families. We MUST remember that and cherish that and allow our kids to explore this and realize where they came from. I never want my Little Boy to turn 12 and think that he entered the world with no one loving him. I will tell him all about his birth mom and how we took the time to get to know her and love her.

Yesterday I came home and watched Oprah from a few days ago and there was a young man that had been adopted from South Korea by an American (white) family and had always ached to know about his birth family. As he got older he qualified for the Olympic skiing team and all the press brought many people out in South Korea claiming to be his birth family. Through DNA testing they found his birth father and they were reunited. It was a great episode and it goes along with what I was saying about all children no matter where they are adopted from having birth families. I loved the show and Oprah did a good job even though she stumbled a few times over what words to use in describing all the family members!

Okay so that was a bunch in one post. I'm back to packing b/c tomorrow will come quite early for me!


*Okay I know there are tons of spelling mistakes. I'm typing quickly, watching The Office and thinking about what I haven't packed and need to still pack.

**Also, I know that not all birth parents are nice and good people. I also know that not all people desire a relationship with their birth parents. I am sad for that and wish that more people viewed their birth parents the way I do. This is MY OPINION and that's it. This is my BLOG too so I can say whatever I want!!!

I'll take a a bloody mary and two apple juices!

I don't even know what a bloody mary tastes like but I always see people on airplanes getting them and tomorrow may be my day to experience one! I am already stressed out about what is going to occur tomorrow around 9:45 am when I board an aircraft with my two boys and no hubby. OH MY GOSH what have I gotten myself into! Big Boy has flown several times but doesn't remember any b/c it was all before he was two and before his little brother joined us as well. Little Boy has never flown and is really the one I'm thinking might send me over the edge and straight into a bloody mary. He is not one to like to sit still (what 16 month old boy does though) and is going to give me a run for my money on the plane.

I plan on bringing lots of snacks and toys, quiet ones for the fellow plane travelers, to keep them entertained. If anyone has any advice on flying with two children ages, 3 and 16 months, please let me know TONIGHT!!!

PS - The bloody mary is a joke ..... I will be a responsible, calm, and happy mom the entire 2 hours!!!!

Picnic Video ...

Our SPUR family

It is not often that EVERYONE in our little SPUR family is together and so this weekend was a blast. We started out the celebration weekend with dinner at Bonefish with Chad and Stephanie. They are getting married in May and Aaron is actually marrying them! How cool is that! So, we had a little marriage counseling session since Aaron and I have it all figured out!!! (that was a joke!)

Then we all celebrated their upcoming marriage with a little "shower" (we called it a party so the guys wouldn't feel girly) at Maggiano's and had fabulous Italian food. We had a "time of the day" shower and we all had an hour to bring them a gift for. It was so much fun and they ended up with two picnic baskets allmost identical from Jimmie and Laura and Amanda. I laughed so hard as they were opening the first one for their 12 noon gift because I knew the next gift was 3:00 PM and would be another picnic basket for them!!! Fun times! After dinner we headed out for dancing at BB King's and had fun there as well.

Saturday night they played locally and that was the whole ER day for me. :(

Sunday was our 2nd annual SPUR friends and family picnic! It was a blast and thanks to our wonderful friends Kent and Shawnah I was able to attend as they stayed home and watched my sick allergy boy!!! At the picnic we took this picture of all of us and I love it! We are all together and that won't happen again until Jimmie and Laura's wedding in July and not sure when after that. I love all these people and am blessed to be able to live life with them. I love you guys. Thanks for loving us and for most importantly thanks for loving my boys!

Chuck E Cheese

I realized today why we have never once eaten at Chuck E Cheese before. Yes we have taken the boys to CEC but only to play and never to eat. Aaron and I are not really big pizza eaters and especially CEC pizza! Today I had my two boys and our friend Cadie so we headed to the Discovery Center first and they played and had so much fun. I thought I would be the coolest mom and take them to CEC for some more fun. I didn't know it was going to cost me so much! That place is so overpriced and the food is not that good. I am totally a cheap mom here complaining about money because the kids had a blast. They played with the "free" tokens that came with our meal and then I lied and told them I was out of money and couldn't buy anymore so they just played with the games that didn't need tokens. They ate all the pizza and were so well behaved. I was very proud of my boys and of Cadie too for being such great kids while we were there. Cadie is a little over 2 years older than my oldest and she is very motherly as well. It was wonderful. It was as if I had a second set of hands and eyes with me. I kept telling her take care of my oldest and she always did. (Tracy she was awesome!)

So, will we ever eat at CEC again ..... probably not. We'll go after dinner and just play games!

crazy day

First of all let me tell you this might be completely boring to most of you but so I'm not repeating my story a thousand times here is how my day went down yesterday ....

I ran 7 miles with my friend Becca and it was awesome. So good to run with someone and I'm sure I talked her ear off. I'm not sure why I was so talkative, but I got home and was telling Aaron about our run and began realizing how much I talked while we were running! Sorry Becca!! :)

Big Boy has had redness around his eyes basically all this week and we've been thinking allergies and not doing much about it. Our doc has been out of town all week, so we planned on visiting him on Monday to see if there was anything we could give a 3 year old for allergies. Well, they have continuously gotten worse and one eye looked as if he has been in the latest Rocky movie (thanks for that great analogy Kent!) and not been victorious. He would wake up and his eye would almost be swollen shut. Poor guy. We bought children's claritin and dimetap and were treating it that way but nothing was working.

So, yesterday while I was at Wal Mart looking for a small Hanes grey t-shirt for Aaron I stopped by the Pharmacy to ask him what he thought. I know he is not a doc but he knows more than me! He said it looked like an infection and I should see a doc. I thought of course it is Sat and my doc is out of town and even if he wasn't their office isn't open. I call the doc on duty and tell him all about it and he says to be safe in case it is an infection I should go in to a clinic or ER. Great I am now praying that a clinic is my choice and not an ER with both my boys! Remember I hadn't planned on going anywhere but Wal mart for a grey t-shirt so I head back to the baby aisle and buy sippy cups, juice and some snacks since you never know how long a trip to the ER will last! The funny thing is that I didn't even leave with the t-shirt for Aaron!

I found out where a clinic was and headed that way. I arrived just in time since the sign said "Saturday 9-4:30". Yeah I made it this won't last long in there. I get both kids out and head up to the door and it is locked. I knocked and the lady from behind the counter mouthed they are closed. I then mouthed it is not 4:30. She shrugged and looked at another man to come help me. Now, you moms know this feeling I'm about to describe. I am doing whatever it takes to help my baby - he says his eye hurts it looks horrific and now you are telling me you are closed but your sign says you still have about 12 more minutes to help me. The man comes and says that they see their last patient at 4:15. I said, "Oh as in 3 minutes ago, 4:15" He shakes his head and trys his best to look as though he is sorry for my mistake. I then say politely with a harsh tone and tears streaming down my face .... I don't mean to be rude but if you close at 4:15 your sign should say that and not 4:30 because I busted my tail to get here for a doctor to look at my son and your sign says 4:30 and my watch says 4:18, so you should change your sign or stay open until 4:30. He shook his head as if he had nothing left to say, and he probably didn't because he doesn't make the rules and was just the one that was sent out to deal with the crazy mom who apparently didn't know that walk-in-clinics all close before their sign actually says they close. I still don't get it.

Anyhow, now I'm driving to the ER which is the last place I want to be with two children who have not had a nap that afternoon and will begin to get hungry in about an hour. We check in and there are only 2 people in front of us! Yeah! BUT then two chest pain patients come in and we are bumped back and back. Oh well, they are much more serious than my son's hurting eye.



Okay finally we're back there the doc comes and looks and is kinda perplexed and says another doc will be in. The next doc comes in and is perplexed b/c he now has a rash on his forehead and the eye is gross and swollen and not in both eyes which is weird. She says this to me .... I'm a little concerned about this and would like to have another doc come and look. I'm concerned it could be shingles and I'm going to give Vanderbilt a call. WHAT THE HECK???? She should NOT have said that to me. I began to freak out on the inside and pictured them wheeling my son away in a bubble and taking him to some research room for the rest of his life!

I then quickly called my friend Laura to come and get Little Boy who was about to go beyond the point of return and have a break down from being in a stroller for so long and not able to roam! When Little Boy was gone life got easier. I laid in bed with Big Boy and told him stories and laughed and played together.


So, then another doc comes in and is not as concerned, thank goodness. The final diagnosis ..... After three doctors checking him out, blood work to the lab, an IV, a cat scan, and 3 hours in the ER ..... he "probably" has an infection in his eye so we'll treat that and really BAD allergies in that eye as well. I was so thankful for the diagnosis and that it was not shingles as the second doc had mentioned. One random thing is that the ER doc told me that they had found something on the cat scan dealing with his sinus cavity. She gave me a copy of the cat scan and told me to discuss it with my doctor. I'm a little concerned b/c on the bottom of the report it says, "moderate right maxillary sinus disease". Anyone know what the heck that means? I guess we'll be asking our doc about that one too.

Big Boy was a champ. He NEVER cried. Not when they took blood, not when they put the IV line in for the Cat Scan and not during the Cat Scan. He was so good that I promised him a toy and he requested "James" the train. As we were leaving the ER at 8:15 and neither one of us had eaten dinner he said he could not wait until tomorrow for James. So, we headed to Target right then to get it and I didn't mind one bit doing that for him!

The sad thing is that he didn't even get to eat dinner last night or play with James because he fell asleep in the car. He was so sleepy and so drained from the ER. As I laid him to bed I told him how proud I was of him and how much I loved him.

I can NOT imagine family's that spend days, months and years in the hospital with their sick kids. We were in there for a red, swollen eye that hurt and I was still so saddened by what he had to go through. I would have laid on that bed in an instant and done it all for him if I could have.

So, there is our crazy day. We're supposed to go to a big picnic today but the Doc advised we not go because his eye could have an infection and because he needs to say indoors and get these allergies under control. Oh well, as much as I'll miss the picnic my boys come first.

Would you rather?

Would you rather ...

swallow a dozen thumbtacks
OR
cut off your lower lip with a rusty pair of scissors?

Aaron's dream come true!

Pregnant!

Well if any of you are wondering from my previous post about someone being pregnant ...... it is JORDAN and KRISTEN! Yeah my brother is going to be a dad!!! That is hard to believe that your little brother is going to have kids. His wife Kristen is going to be a fabulous mommy and Jordan will be an amazing daddy! We're so happy for them. Now Jordan will have his own screaming babies to deal with!!!

I'm so excited about becoming an aunt and for my kids to have cousins to play with. This child will be my first neice or nephew and my kids first cousin! I am torn between wanting them to have a girl or a boy. A girl would be lots of fun b/c there isn't a girl baby yet and girls are much more fun to buy stuff for. A boy would be fun b/c all the cousins would be boys and could have so much fun together! I have an idea .... they could have one of each this time around!!!!

Love you guys and so happy for you!

just a normal monday morning at the ivey house

a day in the life of spur58

A to Z

A-Z

I am taking this from lots of blogs that I have seen lately. Feel free to do this too if you have nothing better to blog about and have an extra 30 minutes. Wait, who ever has and EXTRA 30 min??? So let me say it this way … join with me and do this too if you want to waste 30 minutes!!!!

ACCENT: I don’t think I have one. From viewing home videos when I was little I for sure had the strong Texas accent!!

BIBLE BOOK THAT I LIKE: Philippians, Ephesians, and John

CHORE I DON'T CARE FOR: what chore do I care for????

DOG OR CAT: don’t have any, but would love a dog some day

ESSENTIAL ELECTRONICS: my laptop and TV

FAVORITE COLOGNE: Aaron has this cologne that our friend Amanda from Bath Junkie made him and I love it – don’t know the name though!!

GOLD OR SILVER: Silver these days

HANDBAG I CARRY MOST OFTEN: Diaper bag! One day I’ll go back to cute bags that don’t have diapers and sippy cups in them!

INSOMNIA: not usually …. unless caffeine has entered my body in the previous 12 hours!

JOB TITLE: Wife, Mom, preschool teacher 2 days a week

KIDS: 2 beautiful boys

LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: 1 house with 1 daddy, 1 mommy and 2 boys

MOST ADMIRABLE TRAIT: I love it when someone can make me laugh (I’m pretty sure that is what first attracted me to my love)

NAUGHTIEST CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR: um … rather not talk about this!!! I had some rough years through high school and college!

OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS: in high school I had spinal meningitis and when I had Big Boy I stayed a few nights too

PHOBIAS: Not sure if I have any.

QUOTE: "Your past is only what you’ve done – it isn’t who you are”

RELIGION: Christian

SIBLINGS: One younger bro

TIME I WAKE UP: Whenever the boys do! Usually around 7ish

UNUSUAL TALENT OR SKILL: not much unusual talent here!

VEGETABLE I REFUSE TO EAT: I like most veggies.

WORST HABIT: ?

X-RAYS: don’t mind them and don’t remember when I had them last … Big Boy had them on his teeth today!

YUMMY STUFF I COOK: I don’t cook! I can make some good chili though thanks to my mom!

ZOO ANIMAL I LIKE MOST: The monkey’s always seem to crack me up!

Big Boy reading bible!

I just had to get Big Boy on camera tonight as he was "reading" his daddy's bible. How cute is this! Notice how about 30 seconds into he says "that's cool". I love it! I love that he talks about Jesus and knows that his parents talk about Jesus. Also notice the gymnastics move by Little Boy half way through!

Have a great week!


Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

The sweetest sight to me!

Look at this picture:

Doesn't that just look like the sweetest sight you have yet to see. Big Boy LOVES to color and could sit there for hours a day and color. Little Boy is not into it much, but loves to do whatever big brother is doing. Little Boy will try to join in for a few minutes and then realizes he is bored and would rather dump all the colors on the floor and make Big Boy very mad than color in the silly coloring book! They are so funny!

This sight made me so happy that I am allowed to be the mommy to these sweet boys. God granted them to me for a moment to love them, lead them, teach them and guide them in this big, bad, world. I am honored and scared all at the same time!

I love these boys with all that is in me.

Shoes.

Another photo tag tonight! What are my favorite shoes you might ask. Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing is hosting a photo tag of our favorite shoes.

So, here are my favorite shoes.

#1 pair right now are my running shoes. I bought them about 2 weeks ago from Fleet Feet Sports and they are fabulous.


The are asics and have been great to run in. I am spending a little time in them each day, so right now they are my favorite!

#2 favorite shoes are my BC shoes that I bought this Fall and have worn them so much that they literally STINK. I washed them today for the first time and hopefully this will help with the smell! I love these shoes and wear them with anything. It doesn't matter what color it is or what the weather is like these go great with everything!



So, head on over to Stephanie's blog and tell us your favorite shoes!

madness

Today at my house March Madness basketball is on every tv so that no matter where I am I can still stay in the game! It's a good thing Aaron is not home, because he would for sure be watching something else! He's not much into sports, so usually on weekends I veg in front of the tv and watch either college basketball or college football - I love it!

Another madness going on in my house today is cleaning. Aaron has been on the road all weekend and is due home in about 45 mintues! I have had all weekend to do my cleaning, but oh no I must wait until the day he is to arrive home. It's not that Aaron requires me to clean the house and keep up to his liking, but he is a happy man when he comes home to a clean house! It only took him telling me one time that it turned him on when I make the bed and so now I make sure every time he comes in from out of town if nothing else is done at least the bed is made!!!! Then we can mess it up!!! :) Ha Ha!

So, the cleaning basket has been outside my bathroom since Wed afternoon. Also outside my bathroom was the mop and the toilet bowl cleaner. I have had to step over this every day since Wed and I finally used all the stuff and cleaned my bathroom today. :) I HATE to clean! I HATE to clean!!! I am also doing laundry. How can two little boys go through so many clothes? My friend Shawnah told me before we brought little boy home that the major change when adding more kids to your family is laundry. She was right. I am always washing little kids clothes!

I have dusted the whole downstairs and swept all of downstairs too. Now I'm upstairs dusting, vacumming and picking up. I wish that I had a romantic bedroom. I feel as though our bedroom is just the place we end up at the end of the day. I want it to be romantic and inviting. I want us to have our special place! Anyone else fix everything else up in their house but their bedroom? It is always the holding spot for crap too until it finds a permanent place!

Well back up stairs to finish cleaning and comb my hair to look charming when hubby arrives home!!! Have a great week!

silly faces.

Go check out Crazy Hip Blog Mamma's site for the other pics of silly faces!

My silly boys faces:

BIG BOY:



LITTLE BOY:

my mom.

Hey guys. Stephanie over at Adventures in Babywearing has us all talking about our mom's and posting a pic of them. Here is my mom:


This is a great pic of her and my dad because it was at little boy's first birthday party. My mom has not missed one birthday of the kids so far and she lives about 15 hours away! Last year for Big Boy's birthday it was just her, the kids and I. I was a zombie last year because I had a son just turning two and Little Boy was about 8 weeks old. Thank goodness Nana showed up to my rescue because I was pooped to the max. We would sit to talk on the couch and I would just fall asleep. That was a great time for Nana to be here.

My mom is wonderful. As I have gotten older I have begun to appreciate my mom so much more than I ever did. As a teenager you think that you know it all and that your parents are stupid and are out to "get you"! You also don't realize how much your parents love you until you actually have kids. Sometimes Aaron and I will be talking about our kids and how much we love them and we'll think, wow our parents love us like this too. It is a great feeling.

One random memory of my mom is from when I was younger and we lived about 30 miles outside of town. We lived in the country and had to drive into town for school and work each day. I must have been learning to read because my mom would have me read to her the whole way home. It might not have been the whole way home, but that is how I remember it! I would read out loud from the backseat and I was always amazed at how she would always know when I had missed a word or said the wrong word. I thought she could see my book from the front seat! I think I read enough books that I earned myself a Cabbage Patch Doll!

When I was in high school I was on leadership with Fellowship of Christian Athletes at our school. My mom did so much for that group. She put together folders, and would recruit speakers for the meetings as well. She was kind of a mentor to us and helped with all the organizational stuff. My mom is great at organizational stuff!

My mom is the queen of volunteering for stuff. Right now she currently volunteers at her local soup kitchen two nights a week and now at the food distribution center for the boxed foods I mentioned in a previous post. She is the first to volunteer to bring someone food or pick up someone for a ride. I admire that about her and hopefully some day when my little ones are not right under my feet I'll be volunteering more as well!

My mom is a food freak. I mean that in the nicest way possible! She only eats VERY healthy foods and it has some what rubbed off on me. NOT all the way because I still love my Diet Coke, Cheese Sticks from Sonic, lasagna, ice cream and cake. BUT she has helped us switch to soy milk, wheat pasta, and all natural peanut butter. Ha we're on our way to health nut freakiness! Ha Ha!

My mom has taught me tons about life. One major thing is forgiveness. My mom has showed me how to forgive as Jesus forgives us, not to hold anything against anyone and keep on with life. That makes me so happy and proud to be her daughter.

SO MOM if you are reading this - I LOVE YOU and THANK YOU for a great example of loving people and loving Jesus!

we love each other

I am confident that Aaron and I are doing at least one thing right in our parenting. We may fail at many other things, but this one thing is going strong. I know that my kids will know that their daddy loves their mommy so much and loves to be with her. The other day we were leaving for small group and a babysitter was coming so we were explaining to big boy that Ms. Amanda was coming over to watch him while we were gone. He then asked daddy if he was taking mommy on a date. How cute! He knows that daddy often takes mommy on dates!

If you don't know how wonderful Aaron is to me, here is an example - he does ALL the grocery shopping! Yes, he does all the major stuff. It is wonderful. I guess since he does most of the cooking he would be the ideal candidate for the shopping! Often times on his grocery trips he will bring me flowers home. Tonight at dinner Big Boy was talking about the flowers. He told me that daddy brought me flowers because he loves you! My heart nearly melted. He knows that Daddy loves Mommy!

So, to my future daughter-in-law's we are trying our hardest to raise men who love Jesus, and adore and respect their wives with all that is in them. I know that my boys are getting a great first hand demonstration of that on a weekly basis!

Aaron I love you!

cooking.

I cooked TWO meals today. That is more than I cooked all this past week!!!! Yeap for lunch the boys and I had tostado's and for dinner we had turkey sausage and mac n' cheese and rolls. Yeah for me!

I also found this website today that I haven't visited yet but I will tonight after the kids are down - www.thesneakychef.com - it is all about getting veggies and good food into your kids diet without them knowing!! I did get the V8 fusion drinkn today at Target. We went with the strawberry/banana flavor. We'll see how that goes over tomorrow!!

what to eat?

Can a child live on bread, peanut butter, strawberries, grapes, banana's, yougurt, pasta, waffles, oatmeal and crackers? If not, then we're in trouble with little boy. This is basically his daily menu. I am happy that his bread and pasta is always whole wheat, and his peanut butter is all natural with no sugar. This child has made me eat my words too many times about children and eating. I always said that a child will eat whatever you give them. Offer them good food when they are little and they will continue to eat good food. HA is what I have to say to that now. I always said that I would NEVER make a seperate dinner for my kids. Little Boy has had his share of peanut butter sandwiches for dinner or else he would have starved by now! I think he may have accidently eaten one pea before. Last night I tried to trick him into eating some peas. I put some peas on the spoon under the yogurt - oh no he spit them right out! I offer him veggies at every dinner and I am usually thowing away his share after every meal.

Someone yesterday told me that their sister gives her son V8 juice to get in some veggies. I'm off to Target to give this a try. Pray he likes it. This kid needs some veggies!

thoughts.

Thoughts from my rocking chair on a yucky Friday morning ....

* Today is going to be a very lazy day. Every day this week we have played outside so much and today it is wet and chilly (I haven't actually been out yet, but that is what it looks like from my living room window!) and so we're stuck inside.

* It is 9:56 am and I'm still in my jammies and just remembered the coffee I made earlier at breakfast is still there and I haven't had any! Bummer - so I just got me a cup and it's not very good. We've been in a coffee slump. Every pot doesn't seem to be good. We've tried to buy other coffee besides Starbucks, and honestly I think we'll be going back to the Starbucks. This stuff just isn't as good!

* The kids are dressed and ready to go though, so IF I decide to leave the house today they are ready.

* Once again big boy was dry this morning when we woke up. Should I put him in big boy underwear at night? He is ALWAYS dry in the AM. We limit his fluids at night and usually he doesn't have anything after dinner unless we are out. What do you guys think?

* Okay so are you wondering about my lental sacrifices? (Is lental really a word?) Well honestly it is not going well. :( My attitude has been awful and Aaron tells me I should quit b/c my heart is not in the right place. :( The Diet Coke thing is going a lot better. I had one on Sunday (Aaron told me that Catholics take Sunday off from fasting .... was he lieing to me???) and it was SO GOOD! I thought that would make me want one more, but actually I have not craved one all week long. :) So, that is going well. I can see myself making it to Easter and then limiting my intake lots! The internet - NOT going well. I have cheated so much that it isn't even funny! I thought I would just limit the blogs I read ... then I started reading the ones that were adopting so I wouldn't miss anything ... then I started reading my friends b/c she lives in TX and I didn't want to miss out ... see how it just kept going. I have pretty much started reading blogs again. UGH! I feel like a failure! Not really, but here's the deal ... I'm still going strong with my diet coke sacrifice ... the internet NOT SO MUCH. Oh well.

* I got some very sad news today. One of my closest friends (the kind that you don't get to see often BUT your hearts will always be close) has had a hard year with her mom. Her mom had cancer and had a masectomy and reconstruction and now she is having more problems. My heart is breaking for her and her family. How much more do they have to indure. Why her family? Why not mine? How long will this go on? Only God knows these answers and they are a mystery to us. I do know that God has a plan and he may not let us in on it but it is HIS plan and it is PERFECT. So, to my sweet friend - I love you, and am praying for you, your mom and whole family daily. LOVE YOU GIRL!

* I feel like all I do is complain about my knee lately. I know that Aaron is tired of hearing about it and I'm sure you are too! I called my doc yesterday to get a reference for an orthopedic or something. I missed the nurses call back and she left on my machine for me to ice it and take motrin. WHAT? She must not know that I have been doing that for about THREE weeks now!!! UGH! I didn't run yesterday b/c after my run on Wed (only did 5 and was supposed to do 6) my knee has been killing me (what's new!!). So, I'll get back to the gym today ....

* If you've made it this far into my boring nothing of a post - have a great day!

I think we could be ....

I am almost scared to say the words in fear of what could happen tomorrow, BUT I think we are POTTY TRAINED. I can't believe I just said that! Today marks one week of big boy underwear all day long with NO accidents. We are wearing pull ups at night, but every morning he has woken up dry as well. It is as if it just clicked or something. About 2 weeks ago he stood upstairs in my bedroom and just watched himself pee all over himself and the floor! Then the next day we started doing big boy underwear all the time at home and would put up a pull-up on for anytime we left the house. Well, all of a sudden I think we have it. We've been "experimenting" with big boy underwear and pull ups since January, so we're ready for this. We will be so happy to have only one child in diapers!!! I know we have also entered a new level b/c he is now telling us when he needs to go and it is not just us taking him to sit on the potty every hour on the hour!

to give to others ...

*First let me start by saying if you do either of these things you are NOT a bad person. These are our personal convictions and they are what God has placed on our heart. It doesn't make you a bad person if you do either one of these. God has spoken to our heart on these and therefore we must obey what he has asked of us. I am in no way trying to put my convictions on you either, only share what God had done in us.

Okay now that I have said that ....

Aaron and I have had one garage sale in our marriage. (It was for our adoption and we raised almost $2,000) I never remember my parents ever having a garage sale. I never even went to a garage sale until I lived here. I have just never been an up-at-the-crack-of-dawn kinda person ... especially to drive around and look for my treasure amidst someone else's junk! I do remember my mom always giving our stuff away. Those people would call and ask you to leave it on your front porch labeled for them and they would pick it up and take it and give it to those in need.

I also had never been to a consignment store until I moved here. That could also be because now we have kids and I get lots of summer play clothes from consignment stores and before now never had a reason to shop at them. :) Recently I attended a huge consignment sale that happens once or twice a year and came home with a few toys for the boys and some summer clothes for big boy. A friend of mine told me that recently she consigned some stuff at one of these big sales and made $500! Oh my gosh I thought. Why am I not doing this? I could do a whole lot with $500, and I'm sure I could come up with tons of stuff to sell and get rid of from the boys.

We have recently started hearing about a ministry called Angel Food Ministries. This is a phenomenal ministry that allows people to buy a box full of groceries for $25, which is saving the person about $40 or so on groceries. You can buy as many as you want and they offer it once a month. (I believe this information is correct - please visit their website for accurate details). I first heard about this last year from a friend at work and thought it was an amazing deal. We didn't do it because it has lots of food that we just wouldn't eat. Macaroni and Cheese, meats, pasta, cereal and other things that aren't part of our monthly grocery list. It wouldn't be beneficial for us. My mom recently started volunteering at her local distribution center in TX and was filling us in on how good of a ministry this is. A couple in our small group told us that they participate because it is great for their family with FIVE kids! The ministry does not discriminate on income, sex, age, gender, denomination or anything else. It is available to anyone for $25. Great ministry!

Here is where I am having to follow God with what he has laid on our hearts and not be detoured by the thrill of more money. God has shown us how we can help people who don't have as much by giving away what is not needed for us anymore. We have found a local mission that accepts donations and then gives them away to people in need. That is where our clothes go that we don't wear anymore. We have found an orphanage in Haiti that is always in need of baby clothes. That is where our baby clothes go when we are done with them (summer ones at least!) We don't feel right about participating in the food ministry because we can afford groceries; we feel as though we should allow this ministry to minister to those that are in more need than us. I'm not saying I've never taken anything to a consignment store, because yes I have taken a few shirts there of the boys when I'm about to buy them new stuff. As for most of our stuff, we choose to give them away and help those that need it more than us.

My friend just told me that she is having a garage sale on Friday and right now our car is FULL of stuff to take to the mission. I had to stop and talk with God about this and I was reminded of what he has asked our family to do. I could make lots of money on the stuff in the car, but I will obey and take it to the mission.

Does the money from consignment and garage sales intrigue me - YES. Do I sometimes want to participate - YES. Would a cheaper grocery bill be better - YES. But God has asked our family to do something different. So, therefore I obey and am blessed by doing that.

Disney

This makes me happy! Disney is making a movie with a black princess. It is about time! Here is the link.

the hills of life.

We are out of town this weekend in Dalton, GA and I brought my running clothes with me so I wouldn't miss my run on Saturday. Yesterday I drove two miles out from our hotel so I would know where to go for my four miles. As I was driving I noticed it was a little on the hillly side, but it didn't seem too bad.

Today when I left the hotel for my run I felt great. It is about 66 degrees outside with a slight breeze. Pefect for a Saturday afternoon jog! It was less than 4 minutes into my run that I hit the first of many inclines on this breezy, Saturday afternoon jog! Oh my gosh! This was by far the hardest run I have done so far and it wasn't even the farthest! I think my whole run today was on an incline. There weren't but a few minutes that I was running on level ground.

Half way to the two-mile mark I ran down the biggest hill I have yet to encounter. I almost fell forward it was that big. Although I should have been enjoying this down hill run, all I could think about was the fact that I was at one point going to have to go up this thing.

I encountered many more hills and then the dreaded mountain arrived and I put my head down and started going up. I thought my legs were going to fall off! I was almost to the top and I had to walk the rest. I hate to walk when I'm running. For some reason I feel like a weenie when I walk. BUT my legs were telling me either you stop or we're collapsing!

I got to thinking about these hills and how it is just like our life. We are constantly going through some sort of little hill in our lives and we will all have a big mountain at one point or another to climb as well. I think we need hills in our life; they make us stronger. They also make those big mountains in life easier to deal with when we get to them because we've already been dealing with the little hills of life.

If I never ran these hills I would NOT be prepared for the half marathon that is 7 weeks from today. Although it was a very hard run today I am so thankful for the way it is preparing me for what is to come. I am thanful for my struggle. I know I will be better because of it.

James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "But he (Jesus) said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

who is it?

You people are cracking me up! Three people today called Maris and asked her if she was pregnant because of my previous post about someone being pregnant! Ha Ha! Yes, I do wish Maris was pregnant, but it is not their time yet :) .... Also, would I broadcast Maris & Steven's news on here before she told anyone - NO! :) I'll let you know when I get the okay to tell. I already told a few people today and then they called tonight and said oh and by the way don't tell anyone yet. I wish they would have told me that last night! I said um ... well ... okay ... but I have already told a few ... 5 .... or 6 people! I felt awful, but oh well .... I can't contain my happiness for them.

Random things.

Let me mention a few things:

1. I found my phone that I lost a few months ago! Yeap it was in my house just as I suspected. For the longest time I have thought that little boy threw it in the trash, but oh no .... it was in the boys closet! Before you go accusing them of hiding it from me let me tell you where it was. I found my phone tonight while reaching up on their highest shelf to get a few blankets down. Yeap they could not have put it there! It must have been mommy .... BUT for the sake of my reputation of being a very responsible, and organized mom let's just say that daddy put it up there accidently!!!

2. I'm up late tonight doing laundry and getting stuff done while everyone is asleep, and there is some rediculously awful tv on. I'm watching the CW network (which I don't even know what this is) and there is a show searching for the next PussyCatDoll. Apparently the current girls in the PCD are not sleezy enough that they need to add another sleezy girl to the group. This is awful and I can't believe that this is what our teenage girls are looking at. Or better yet, I can't believe that teenage boys are exposed to this trash. These girls are selling themselves short by acting in this way with their bodies and talent. I'm so sad for them.

3. My big boy wore big boy underwear ALL day today with NO accidents! Yippee!!!

Pregnant!

A couple SO dear to us just called us tonight to tell us that they are pregnant. We are overflowing with joy and are rejoicing with them in this new adventure they are about to go on. They will be remarkable parents and I can't wait to watch __________'s belly grow and grow with new bundle of life. God is good and a new life has been created.

Since they just found out tonight and haven't even been to the doctor yet, I'll keep their identity a secret ..... stay tuned to see who the proud parents are!

welcome to womanhood!

Today at the PE class that I teach once a week for homeschoolers a funny conversation went down between me and one of the elementary girls. As I was hanging out around second base where Allison* was playing she told me that her mom is making her wear a bra now. She went on to complain about it itching and being embarrassing to have to wear one. I told her not to be embarassed that we all have to wear them.

As I was driving home and thinking of this poor, sweet, little girl I chuckled to myself thinking of all the more embarassing moments she has to come as she grows into womanhood. From everything to wearing lipstick that is way too red for her, or having a bad period day (we all remember those embarrassing leaking episodes from middle school), or finding out at the end of the day that yes her panties with the yellow daisies on them were in fact showing through her cream shorts the entire day! We have all had those moments as we were growing into our womanhood.

Thankfully no one remembers your embarassing moment the way that you do. When you think you'll never live it down, everyone soon forgets the silly things that happen to us.

So, to Allison, get ready because becoming a woman is not fun but we all have to go through it! One day you'll look back and remember the itchy bra that your mom made you wear and how you thought everyone noticed, but really no one did!

*All names have been changed to protect the innocent elementary school girl who would be mortified if she knew I talked about her on here!!!!

engagement

One of our very close friends got engaged this week. Jimmie asked Laura to marry him last night and of course she said yes! I have grown to love Laura and know that our friendship will continue to grow as she becomes an "official" member of our SPUR family!!! :) She is not only beautiful, but extremely humble and personable and always has a great opinion about life. She is spunky, energetic and a GREAT match for Jimmie. I am so happy for them and look forward to seeing God bless them as a couple now as well as individually.

This event made me remember my engagement and realize how special a time that was. We were engaged on Valentine's Day six years ago. It was a complete surprise to me and my love popped the question on a Wed night in front of all of our student's in the student ministry we were then serving at. Everyone knew but me and it was so thought out by him and pefect for us. We then went to a fabulous restaurant in downtown Houston and I think I just stared at my ring the whole meal!

We had originally set to marry after summer and that gave us about 7-9 months to plan, but a few days into the planning we realized we did NOT want to wait that long and ended up settling on a date that was about 4 months away. After my mom freaked out at the timeline we were now working with, we set to planning a wedding. I must say my mom did ALL the work and I just said yes or no to stuff. SHe was amazing and my wedding would NOT have happend if it were not for her. (thanks mom!)

During our engagement my love for my sweetie grew by leaps and bounds. It is weird, but once you have that ring on your finger, a date set and a future in mind things seem to change. He was no longer just my boyfriend, but he was the man I would spend the rest of my life with. WOW! Everything changes.

Looking back now I realize how confident I was in our love. Previous to dating my now husband I had been engaged before and broke that off (thank God because now I'm with my wonderful love) because I kept having this feeling in my gut that just wasn't right. If you have that, please allow yourself to examine it and determine where that is coming from. Thank goodness I had the strength and the support from family to say it was okay for me to back out even though a dress was bought, reception booked, and lots of other lost deposits. My parents were 100% supportive of me changing my mind even though it meant that they lost money on the whole thing.

Back to my engagement with my love. We had four months before our wedding and within those four months we were tested more physically than we had our entire year and two months of dating. Things were different all of a sudden. I wanted to do more with him and I wanted to be alone with him more than we usually were. I knew I was going to marry him, so what was the big deal. All of a sudden we were having feelings towards each other that we had spent a lot of effort to keep at a minium and now they were bubbling over the top. We were ready to be with each other forever.

Praise God we were faithfull to him and to each other and were able to remain very pure until our wedding night. That is one of the most favorite things about him and I - were experienced each other for the first time on our wedding night. During our engagement it was difficult but the rewards outweighed the temporary feelings of excitment that would have happened.

I am truly married to the man of my dreams. God blessed me beyond I could ever imagine when he put us together. He is extremely thoughtful towards me and our kids. He surprises me with spceial gifts when he's been out of town. He hardly ever goes a week without taking me out on a date. He knows me like no other person does and still loves to be with me. It is only God that could have matched me with my true love.

So, to Jimmie and Laura - YIPPEE for you! Marriage is by far the BEST thing on this earth. I can not imagine my life without my partner. My advice to you - Do what you want with your wedding! It is yours and no one elses so it doesn't matter what anyone else says! If you want to wear a pink leapord outfit then you can because it is YOUR day! Go for it! Make it your special day to represent you guys! I love you both dearly and can't express how happy I am for the both of you! You guys are awesome and God WILL DO AMAZINGLY wonderful things through both of you to impact this world for eternity!

It's official!

It is official I have registered for the 1/2 marathon at the end of April! It feels good to know that I'm commited to something and it makes my goal even more important to me! I went today and bought new shoes. I went to a running store and they measured my feet and recommended the perfect shoe! It was cool to buy a shoe that actually fits your foot. I found out I have flat feet and when I run my feet turn in and that could be effecting my knees. So, the shoes will help correct that and hopefully help my body not hurt so badly.

My knee was acting up again tonight on my lousy 2 mile run! I am taking advil and icing my knee and will probably run/walk my 6 miles tomorrow. The lady there recommended me running 5 minutes and then walking 30 seconds to a minute. I told her I would feel like a weanie if I did that. BUT if my knee is still hurting I think I'll be doing some walking!

Oh and did I mention that I'm getting sick. UGH is all I can say to that. Our family has been very blessed this year and we haven't had much sickness in our home. I'm thinking I may have a cold. My throat hurts, head was pounding this morning and now my voice sounds all scratchy. TYLENOL COLD NIGHT TIME will be my friend tonight!!!

distant memories

As some of you know that read my blog often, I am kinda going through a mid-mommy crisis right now. One day I want to go back to work (teaching) full time and other days I never want to leave my kids. It is a constant battle within my soul that somedays leaves me feeling very guilty at even the thought of leaving them for those 8 hours each day to be with other children. Some days the teaching job wins the battle and I think I'll be a better mommy when I am with them because of my fullfilment outside the home with teaching and coaching.

Just today as I was running at the Y and watching The View the subject came up with the girls on there about staying home or working full time. Rosie said that she left her show when one night as she was leaving to go to a fundraiser event her oldest son Parker (4 at the time) asked her where she was going and she told him to help raise money for kids who have an illness and he then asked her why can't she just stay home and take care of him. WOW! Kids pick up on everything. She said she realized then she was away too much. Elizabeth Vargas just made the jump backwards to spend more time with her kids. Rachel Ray on The View said she is not having kids b/c she doesn't have time for them. I'm not saying these are all women I look up to, but just referencing them b/c they all came up today and that one show I was watching.

THEN I read something like this from the monthly calendar that our Mother's Day Out sent home last week - "Our sons and daughters will be grown so quickly and these days together will be nothing but distant memories. Make the most of every moment!". This is a quote from James Dobson from his book Parenting isn't for Cowards. I read this and I think .... gosh teaching can wait, but my kids can't. Each year they are closer and closer to school and then they will get closer and closer to graduating and then leaving me for college and then leaving me for a wife ... oh my!

So, back to cleaning my house while my sweet babies nap. They are so precious and I do cherish each day I have with them. I am blessed beyond measure to have two boys who love each other and love me!

The battle in my soul will continue and I am constantly asking God to show me what to do. He hasn't shown me anything new, so today I am just me - a stay-at-home mommy who his loving this opportunity to be with her kids.

the little things

It is the little things sometimes that I need to rejoice in! Today I put the kids down for a nap at 2:00 and did a few things around the house, responded to some emails, watched the Oprah special and read a little in my book. At 3:30 I decided to lay down for whatever few minutes I had left before they woke up. As I laid down I said a silly prayer asking God to let the kids sleep for at least 30 more minutes so I could rest as well. Now it is 1 and a half hours later and I'm about to go wake them up after all of us had very long Sunday afternoon naps - aren't those the best! Thank you God for my rest!

Oprah in South Africa

I am watching the special that was recently on TV about Oprah's new Leadership Academy for girls in South Africa. I must say I am moved to tears by her actions. These girls lives are changed forever and in a weird way I am so proud of all that Oprah is doing for them. WOW! Some of these girls said they have one meal a week at home and now they are surrounded by wonderful beautiful things with everything they need and want at their school.

These girls are beautiful and are the future of South Africa.

Watching this show brought back so many memories of mission trips that I have been on where children are grateful for whatever you bring them. Even though some of us may not be able to open multi million dollar faciliites like this one to help young girls, we can still do so much. I am inspired to do what I can with what God has given me, just as Oprah does good with what she has been blessed with.

Chocolate pudding

The other night we had chocolate pudding for dessert. Doesn't little boy look as though he LOVED it! It was everywhere!

one week down.

Well I'm one week into NO diet coke and very limited internet, and it is going great. I missed the diet coke greatly one day and besides that I'm doing pretty well. :) The internet has been good as well. I am getting much more done and actually reading more and resting more too!! :)

Ran yesterday for the first time in a week and felt ok. Ran 3 today and felt ok. Now my other knee is hurting. UGH. This is one of the most frustrating things I've delt with in a while. I actually WANT to run and I can't. That has NEVER happened! I'm going next week to get new shoes since so many have suggested trying that first, so hopefully that will help! I'm back at the gym tomorrow though. I feel like I lost so much ground during my week off.