I'm Off...

This morning I'm leaving for a little getaway...till SUNDAY.  

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!

I'm a little excited to get away.  This will be my 3rd year of going to a scrapbooking/Great Beginnings retreat, just a couple of hours away from tiny town.  

It's fabulous.  Great food (which I don't have to cook or even think about,) two wonderful friends to chat endlessly with, times of prayer and reflection, AND scrapbooking.

What?!?  You didn't know I scrapbook?!?  Hmmm...I never talk about it?!?  Yeah...that's because I went on this retreat last January, scrapped my brains out, and then started this little blog in February.  Guess what I have not done since last January....scrapbook.  

But, I have unrealistic expectations high hopes of getting caught up.  Even better than that, is just taking a brief break from reality...with friends.  

Maybe you could all say a quick prayer for my hubby as he becomes a single dad/pastor trying to prepare two sermons for Sunday kinda guy...with 3 little boys to help ;)

PS - I'm fully aware anything I've cleaned or organized the past 2 weeks will be undone in my absence...it's the price I pay...and it's totally worth it.  Amen.

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I Like You

We got 10" of snow (give or take) last night. Ben stayed at my parents house, which is close to his work (not the pastor work, cuz that would be here:) so the boys and I had a wild and crazy night. I put them to bed at 8 and watched a movie...all. by. myself.

You should have seen Odie try to go to the bathroom this morning...it's a tad difficult when your legs are approximately 3.5" long...I assure you that when I was laughing-my-butt-off it was at him and not with him. Poor short dog...he got an extra scooby snack for his quick maneuvering.

After some coffee I'm gonna head out and do some shoveling...because I have no idea how to run the snowblower. If you never hear from me again...at least you know why.

One quick thing before I go...I pulled this out of Noah's backpack the other day. It's a little rectangular piece of paper, colored red and green on the outside. When you open it up it says:

I of course asked him who it was from.

"It's from Lainey, mom...but she just means it as a friend"

I assured him that I knew that already (because he's my son who was traumatized in kindergarten when a little girl kept telling him she loved him)

I looked at the note again, and thought...how cute, and sweet....and oh. barf. ;)

You'll have to excuse me now...I can hear my children yelling and screaming at each other...outside. Good morning tiny-town.

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Before and After...Again

I have to say a HUGE thanks to my friend, Shell, who made the amazing header! Doesn't it look fabulous!?! Getting it loaded was a big pain in the butt (for her...I gave up after 2 seconds.) She's super talented...and preggo right now and so stinking cute! I love her. You should probably go tell her thank you for saving you from looking at my generic header for ONE MORE DAY!

Ya'll know I LOVE a good before & after theme. It probably explains why I feel the need to watch any sort of make-over show, or buy any magazine that has before & after shots...there's just something about it...the transformation inspires me.


So, I've been talking about my first born here and here, oh yeah, and here. Today he turns 7. I will (of course) spend the day reminiscing about the day of his birth. I've already looked through the photo album, twice. I will spare you the details, except to say (again) that he was 9lbs 13 oz, I was induced, pushed for a hour and a half and had a 4th degree tear (for those of you who've had this, I can feel your empathy...for those who haven't, don't worry, I won't describe it for you.) He was perfect. He was my first. He made me a mom...and my love for him cannot be put into words.




So, my friends, you deserve before & after shots.

Before:

After:

Time really does go so, so fast. I want to remember every little detail of him...like his cute little smile with teeth missing all over the place. In seven more years he will be 14...excuse me while I go bawl....ok, really I'm fine :) I know, in my head, that Noah was not given to me so that I could keep him...he was given to me by the Lord for me to love, and train. To help him become a man of God, so that he could grow....UP...but my heart wants to keep him small....just for awhile longer...Happy Birthday precious boy.

This is totally off the subject, BUT, this morning, I actually contemplated moving the coffee-maker to the desk in the office. I mean, really, who says the coffee-maker HAS to go in the kitchen?!? There's room on the desk...and it would save me about 17 steps each way...we're talking 34 steps each time I need a refill! (and yes, I actually had to write 17+17 on paper to add it.) I think this is genius. Pure genius.

Happy Friday, friends!!!

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New Day!

We had one of those nights last night. The kind where several kids wake up multiple times. One wet through his diaper and all over the bed, another time he needed a drink, one had a bad dream and on the way to tell us, ran into our closet door...you get the picture. But! Today is a new day! YAY!

It got off to a bit of a rough start...It had to do with Noah not liking the new jeans I got him (even though the are the SAME as his old ones!) He's been going to school for weeks in jeans with holes...not matter how many I buy, I can't keep up!

Last night, my bro Ryan, aka The Computer Whisperer, graciously fixed all my computer troubles! He also informed me he's never read a blog. *Gasp* I told him if he really loved me he'd read mine...what are sisters for?!? In 6 weeks he will graduate college and be a "Electrical Systems Engineer" or, as I think it should be called....Computer Guru. Love you, Ryan...even though you'll never read this :)

And, with these little rays of sunshine on my feet, I am ready for a NEW Day! Um...for those of you who remember this, let me explain. I blame it on Wal-Mart really, them and their every day low prices...$7 ...what could I do?!? Shame on them ;)

Happy Friday!!

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Painful But SO Worth It...

They're cute...I know. I wore them for Easter, I don't mean just church. I wore them all day long. I did take them off for just a bit, while we went out and hunted for eggs. Rumor has it, that my husbands grandma, who's in her 80's gave them a try! She couldn't resist...I know the feeling. They are my latest love in the shoe world. So...guess what these lovely shoes and....

this wonderful Bible study have in common? PAIN!!!! They have both caused me much pain and suffering this week.

The shoes...kill. After church, I had to wrap my big toes, very meticulously, so that the pain from the rubbing would stop, and yet I could not have it showing through the cute peep toe (that was the cause of the pain in the first place!) A little pain has not stopped me before...I have three children to prove that :) These shoes are certainly worth it...and so far, so are my kids. HA!

The Seeking Him study; *OUCH!* Nancy, (we're on a first name basis, she however, does not know this) has been stepping on my toes and pushing me out of my comfort zone all week long! I was going along, totally agreeing with her, and then I got to pages 12-15 "Making It Personal." Yeah...fun times. Hard "Do I?" questions. I found that I had to answer no or I wish for many of the questions. Revival hurts....but is so necessary and worth it...kinda like the shoes :) Okay, okay, more than the shoes!

On a side note...I'm very honored to be mentioned over at www.allthatnaz.blogspot.com go check her out, and I've been reading her other blog (which you'll find after you go to her site) and it's so wonderfully thought provoking and well written. Makes me think I need to take some online grammar/writing classes! Thank you new bloggy friends!

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I Dunno...

When my alarm went off at 5:45 this morning, I was not a happy camper. You should probably feel sorry for my running partner...God bless her for putting up with me that early in the morning! It's been a long week. No major catastrophes...but lots of those tiny little irritations that just keep building and building until I feel like I just can't take anymore. The dogs incessant need to bark at everything this week, the phrase "mom, can I have something to eat?" uttered a bazillion times a day, two trips to the dentist, constant fighting and bickering amongst brothers, battling the will of a 2 year old, who topped it all off last night when we found he had eaten most of a corn dog...frozen! WHY!?! Anybody know what I'm talking about?

So, as I sat down at the computer, trying to think about what to say...I knew I needed to open up my Bible first. So...I flipped it open and guess where God sent me? Psalms 119:25-38. The ones that really jumped out at me were, v25 "I am completely discouraged - I lie in the dust. Revive me by your Word." v37 "Turn me away from wanting any other plan than yours. Revive my heart toward you" *big sigh* As I read those words, I knew that in my heart that was how I was feeling...I just couldn't put my finger on it until I read them. I need Him to revive me...again...I'm in constant need of it.

Then, I popped in my earphones and cranked up my lovable Sansa....and the song (above) by Newsboys came on...and it was perfect. I dunno...I dunno why my 2 year old thinks eating a frozen corn dog is delicious, I dunno. But, I do know, that His love really is better than life! :)

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If These Walls Could Talk...

Our little church celebrated its 150th birthday last summer. The parsonage (or, our home, as I like to call it :) is around 100 years old. (That's a guesstimate...I'm too lazy to walk 27 steps to the church to actually look up the exact age...bear with me, I did go running this morning!) Generally, all of those husbands and families that have ministered here, have lived in this house. Of course, there have been many updates through the years...but still! I'm not quite sure why this fascinates me so much...but it does. I love this house...not only because I think its adorable, but I feel a sense of peace knowing that others, who've gone before us in ministry, have lived their lives within these walls. I also love to find the humor in it as well :) It's a little "bit" I like to call, "Do you think other pastor's wives who've lived here...fill in the blank." Usually, no one else finds this as amusing as me...but if you've invested this much time reading so far, you may as well finish ;) Here's my list for today...
Do you think the other pastor's wives that have lived here....

• fed her kids turkey sandwiches for breakfast?
• drank a pot of coffee every morning?
• blogged? HA!
• put their treadmill in their husbands home office?
• had their children splash so much water out of the bathtub that it ran down through the bathroom floor (upstairs) and through the ceiling and out the light fixture in the kitchen?
• loaded her kids in the mini-van and drove around, just so they would be strapped in and stay in one place?!?
• busted a move to Tobymac's Boomin', while hoping that no one could actually see in the windows (good thing my wonderful neighbor already knows how weird I am:)
• bought 2 gallons of ice cream and a box of monster cookie, cookie dough from the Schwans guy...and then ate 8 cookies?!?
• did not enjoy cooking...wished she could have take-out for every meal?
• shoved so much junk in the attic (because it was too cold to actually go in) that now I can't even get in there?
• fed her family a rotation of frozen pizza, mac&cheese, and cheese quesadillas?
• wore red patent leather shoes?
• stood in awe of the fact that God had graciously placed them in a wonderful little town, with amazing people, in order that she may love on 'em and show with her life the amazing difference that Jesus made. ...I can only hope so :)

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