Reflections on 2007!

I got the most fabulous present from my husband!!! This past weekend, he took the kids to Memphis and gave me TWO whole DAYS to myself! It was WONDERFUL! I slept late, drank coffee, read magazines, went to lunch twice, shopped, spent Christmas money, browsed the net, watched a super cute movie (Nanny Diaries), and just totally enjoyed myself! On Sunday morning, I got up and made coffee and climbed back in bed to spend time with the Lord. I actually had peace and quiet to reflect and pray. It was great. I made a whole list of goals for myself, my time with the kids, and my time with Greg. I will share some of those in a later post. I thought it would be fun to look back at a post I made almost a year ago. I don't like to think of these as resolutions, but goals! I am looking back to see what were successes and what are things to continue to work towards. Sooooooo here we go:

Wednesday, January 03, 2007
What I am hoping for 2007!

These are not resolutions or anything like that. I set myself up for failure when I post those. Instead, I am just going to write some things that I am praying will happen this year! Let me preface them by saying that I believe that God is sovereign and in control! I hope to be able to look back at these and see how he chose to answer!

1. I would like for the twins to breeze through multiplication! ( My family is not known for its strength in math!) *** THEY BOTH KNOW HOW TO MULTIPLY AND COMPLETED THIRD GRADE AS HONOR ROLL STUDENTS!!! ***

2. I would like to sell my house and move into a home that we can live in for a long time! ***BOY DID GOD ANSWER THIS ONE! AFTER A LONG WAIT,GOD BLESSED US WITH A BEAUTIFUL HOME IN A WONDERFUL NEIGHBORHOOD. I HOPE TO ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT HIS TIMING IS BETTER THEN MY OWN!!! ***

3. I would like for my parents to move closer. *** THEY ACTUALLY MOVED A LITTLE BIT FARTHER AWAY, BUT THIS JOURNEY IS NOT OVER AND THERE IS STILL A CHANCE OF THEM MOVING THIS WAY. THIS REMAINS ON MY PRAYER LIST FOR 2008! ***

4. I would like for Noah to potty train ( can it be easy too?) ***SUCCESS....IN JULY NOAH WAS COMPLETELY TRAINED. ***

5. I would like to have a full understanding of how a MAC computer works and not have to email Greg's cousin with tons of questions. *** WELL I CAN'T SAY THAT I AM A MAC MASTER, BUT I DO UNDERSTAND IT BETTER. LOTS MORE TO LEARN THOUGH!!! ***

6. I would like to start teaching ballet again ( part time of course). *** MAJOR ANSWER TO PRAYER...I STARTED TEACHING AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER, AND THEN GOD FLUNG OPEN SOME DOORS FOR ME AND I AM ABOUT TO START TEACHING AT A SCHOOL HERE IN MY CITY THAT I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A PART OF. I WILL BE TEACHING 3 CLASSES A WEEK STARTING NEXT WEEK! ***

7. I would like to find a church that we can really grow in and be apart of ( and I would like to be there for a LONG time). *** CLOSER TO THIS GOAL.....WE ARE REGULARLY ATTENDING A CHURCH AND IT COULD BE THE ONE. WE ARE STILL PRAYING AND SEEKING. ***

8. I would like to be able to take really GOOD pictures. *** UNFORTUNATELY, I DID NOT DEVOTE THE TIME TO THIS AS I WOULD HAVE LIKED. THIS IS STILL A MAJOR GOAL OF MINE. I PROBABLY NEED TO TAKE A CLASS! ***

9. I would like to get my entire house organized ( I mean having everything in a place, labeled and sorted so that I never have to wonder where things are). *** ONGOING, BUT DEFINITELY SINCE THE MOVE, I AM MORE ORGANIZED. ***

10. I would like to end 2007 being able to say that I grew in my walk with the Lord and truly saw his hand work in my life throughout the year. ***YES I HAVE GROWN, BUT STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO. I TRULY DID SEE HIS HAND IN OUR LIVES THIS YEAR. IT HAS BEEN A GOOD YEAR, ALTHOUGH TRYING AT TIMES!!! ***

There you have it. Some of these may seem silly, but they are all things that I desire. I probably forgot a few things so I may have to update later. I am the type of person that has to write EVERYTHING down. It feels good to plan and dream! You should try it! :)

A Merry Time....

Just thought I would share a few highlights from our Christmas Eve and morning!









Wii had a WONDERFUL holiday! ;) Oh, and just for the record...it really is as much fun as all the hype has made it out to be! I have to fight Madeline and Meredith so they will let me have a turn to dance with the Hannah Montana game!!!

Noah's Preschool Christmas Party

Noah had his preschool party last Tuesday! I got there early in order to ensure that I would get all of the obligatory pictures!

First he made a craft!



Then he ate:


And ate some more:


He only stopped eating long enough to give me this cute little tile that he made! Little Boys are so sweet!

Santa visits the neighborhood (early)!!!

This past Sunday, Santa made a stop at our little neighborhood party! The kids were delighted, however much to my dismay not one of them asked for a thing that I have gotten them! In fact, Madeline asked for a DOG! HELP!
Noah asked for Batman stuff!!! WHAT????? Everyword out of his mouth for the past month has had something to do with STAR WARS!!!


Madeline asking for a CHIHUAHUA! Uh, say what???




Meredith asked for an Instant Messenger thing that I had briefly considered getting! What about the IPOD she has been begging for, not to mention the certain gift that I have been getting anxiety attacks over?



Greg and I pasting smiles on our face, all the while wondering where our children came up with their wish lists!!! ;)

Our Family: Christmas 2007

Taken at my MIL & FIL's anniversary party last Sunday:

The things a mother does:

I have been hunting a Nintendo Wii since October! I have tried/called everywhere. I am on an email alert system that lets me know when places have them in stock. Literally, they sell out in minutes!!! This would be the "end all " gift for my girls if I could find it. I thought I had TWICE this week. First, I was on my email and the alert clicked on and said that Amazon had them in stock. I immediately clicked over, put it in my cart, entered cc info, etc. I THOUGHT I had purchased one until I clicked 'complete order' and it said "sorry we no longer have these". I burst out crying!!!! THEN....yesterday a friend told me that she may have found me one....some friend of hers mother bought FIVE of them at Walmart in Hattiesburg! How I do not know?? I just want one. Well she had one left but somebody was debating whether to buy it or not!!! HELLO...am I the only one that thinks if you have to debate about it, then you should let someone that has been searching, have it??? UGH! This morning I stood in a line at Walmart, only to be told the truck showed up with ZERO on there! So, I am basically winding down my search...if anyone knows of one...LET ME KNOW!!! **And for the record, I know there are much more impt things to think about ,and to spend my energy on!!! ;( When you are a mom, you do ridiculous things for your kids.

Christmas at my house!!

Just wanted to post a few pictures of my house decorated for Christmas.

The Keeping Room ( I need to let the kids put some ornaments on the tree):




My living room ( notice Meredith's very GREEN room in the background ? ):



Closer look at my tree ( I promise to let my kids hang all of their ornaments...that is why it is a little bare...we haven't had time). I am in LOVE with my new finds...the green sparkly branches and the confetti copper balls. I found them at Thanksgiving in AL! I didn't buy enough though....when will I ever learn??

How Long does it take....

One Mother to completely clean out and re-organize two TEN year olds bedrooms? Well let me tell you.....all Saturday morning, and all Saturday afternoon. I made them try on every stitch of winter clothing and much to my dismay, the majority of it did NOT fit. We have about 3 bags of clothes to give to Goodwill and a whole bin to consign! I also made them go through all toys and knick knacks to donate as well! We completely organized their closets....they have shelves and if I owned a label maker, I would have labeled their shelves (hmmmm, that may be a future puchase)!!! We have a shelf for jeans, a shelf for other pants, a shelf for purses, etc. We dusted and vacumned and *hopefully* made it easier for them to actually put their things away in the proper place. If you knew what a huge sack of trash I threw out, you would be disgusted. One project down.....more to come!!!! Doesn't it sound like I had a FUN Saturday? ;) *** I just about fell over tonight when I took Noah into his room to get him ready for bed....he looked around and informed me that "someone had messed up his room"!!! He is much better at putting things away, then his sisters!!! I am trying to do a better job EARLIER with him on this and learn from my past mistakes!!!

Christmas Pictures & Braces

Two random things.....Sunday, I ATTEMPTED to take a Christmas picture of the kids. I am usually on the ball with my pictures, but as I stated in a previous post, I am not doing too well. Anyway, I tried to get them out in front of our house before church, but I could not get them all to smile. Noah was fussing because he did not want to sit in the middle. How does he know what that even means? Look at that face!!!!! LOL Anyway, this will not be going out as our card, and I will try again on Sunday afternoon before we go to my MIL's anniversary party!



They start kids in braces earlier nowadays! YIPEE!!! I got mine on in the 10th grade. Meredith got her FIRST round at age 10!!!! Yes, I said first round. Apparently, these are the pre-braces braces!!!! She does look mighty cute though! I had to bribe her to smile and she wouldn't give me a good one!

I learned a few things about myself this week:

1. I CAN teach a tap class!

2. I CAN teach a jazz class!

3. I CAN make it through a one hour ballet/tap class with NO voice, 14 rowdy little preschoolers running in circles, a precocious 5 yr old telling me that I skipped her favorite song, shoe changes (for all 14) , and constant potty breaks!!!

4. Most importantly....I AM more then just a mom. I am a qualified and capable dance teacher and I LOVE it! ;)

Thanksgiving 2007

Has the world stopped spinning? ANDREA did not take ONE single picture during her entire visit home!!!! I am surprised and disappointed in myself! I don't know what was wrong. Well, I take that back....I got a bad cold about halfway through and never felt like myself the rest of the trip! Needless to say, we still had a great time. It was fun to hang out with family, eat lots of good food, watch movies, and football ( how about those dawgs???)!!! We got home Saturday night and here it is Monday again!!!! As I look at my planner, I can't believe how busy my days are about to get. I have agreed to sub for someone this week ( dance classes). I don't know what I was thinking, except that it is important that I do this for future possibilities!!! The girls have several choir performances coming up, Basketball and cheer practice starts TODAY, Meredith is getting spacers Wed and then braces next week, and then I have to find some time to decorate my house in the next few days!!!! Oh and I didn't even mention the Christmas shopping that needs to take place!!!! It will all get done....with God's help!

*** I have said it before and I will say it again. If you haven't seen BBC's 'North and South', then you simply must! We watched it again over the holiday and it is soooooo good. My SIL watched it for the first time and LOVED it. I haven't loaned it to anyone that hasn't thought it was great!!!! So, if you need a good movie to curl up under a blanket and drink hot chocolate while watching it, this is the one!!!!! PS....I think I upset my husband when he caught my mom, SIL, sister, and me watching Richard A. on youtube!!! ;)

Patience...

It's official....I have NONE! This was evidenced last night in the fact that I totally lost my temper with Meredith! I just don't remember 4th grade being this hard when I was young. We didn't have this much homework and this many tests, and if we did have a test, I know my mom did not have to drill me on the information! Of course, this is where having a twin makes it worse because she is never doing the same things and so I have double the tests and double the homework to keep on top of!!! I am going to have to start sending myself to my room or my closet, and doing some deep breathing exercises! This should also help for the times when Noah is jumping off our brick porch outside or SWINGING from my mantle!!!! Ahhh, patience is such a virtue.....if only I had a little! ;)

What a weekend!!!

We were busy from start to finish. I am sure everyone is just dying to hear about it, so here goes. Friday night, we had two couple friends and their kids over for dinner. We have known both of them since before we all had kids. Amazing to think that there are now TEN kids between the six of us!!! We had so much fun laughing and talking, and the kids ran around playing and were making good use of our game room!!! Plus, none of them had been to our new home and they were so complimentary and kind...it made me feel good! ;) Saturday, we had more company over to watch the dawgs BEAT the Tide!!! WOOHOO! My DH was so excited, that I told him he needed to get a State flag and run down the street with it. That would have severely ticked off all of our Ole Miss neighbors, not to mention the 'bama fans that live next door!!! ;) I wouldn't care though...it is about time State fans had something to celebrate!!!!! Saturday night, we went to Greg's 25 yr hs reunion!!! I was not looking forward to it, but I have to say I am pretty pleased that my husband was one of the best looking guys there. HE STILL HAS HIS HAIR TOO!!!!! I pretty much sat in the corner with another wife, and even though I am not a huge drinker, I felt 20 times better after a margarita!!!! HA HA! Yesterday was church and we visited Pinelake again! I absolutely love the church service and I just wish my husband would too. This is one of those areas that I have to yield and just pray for God to work in his heart if that is the place for us. If you know me, then you know that this is not easy for me ( keeping my big mouth shut and just praying). In the afternoon, we walked across the street to my neighbors sons bday party. They are two of triplets and one wanted a rock climbing wall and the other wanted hot wheels in the garage. That is exactly what they had and it was alot of fun!!! Noah pretty much stayed in the garage the entire time....hot wheels are the BEST!!!!! Soooo, we had a great weekend, but I am looking forward to our week off next week. I have a busy time this week with a few school functions for all 3 kids. Crazy, but I wouldn't change a thing!!!! What did everyone else do this weekend ( if I have anyone that finished reading this incredibly long, boring post!!!)?

Soccer Pics ( Go Red!!!)

Fall Soccer is almost over! I am sad! I don't know how this "balletmom" became a "soccermom", but she did. I LOVE watching my girls play. They may never be pro-level or even high-school level players, but I have watched them play now for FIVE years. I realized something today! They are certainly not the fastest runners on the team, but my girls can kick that ball AND they are so much more agressive then they were a year ago. For those reasons, I am a proud momma! We have our final game this week and then the twins will move on to basketball (mere) and Cheerleading (mad). We can't wait for Spring Season Soccer!!!!

Here they are in their typical positions of defenders. They stand in the back ahead of the goalie and "defend" it! They are very good at helping protect a score from the opposing team!




Is that my girl Meredith kicking that ball? Sure is!!!! ;)




Madeline and L wait for the throw-in. L is amazing and she is only 8 years old!!! She scores the majority of our points and can pretty much kick the ball over the opposing goalies head!!! It is incredible!!!




This is the twins and our neighbor AG! We were so excited to finally play AG. Her mom and I have been anxiously awaiting the meetup. Unfortunately for them, our team won by a score of 4-0! AG did play really well though and I told her mom that only for her would I cheer for the opposing team!!! ;)

Halloween 2007 (Lots of Treats!!!)

Despite my moaning and groaning about Halloween, we actually had a really nice one. Our new neighborhood is just awesome. I feel so blessed. One of the ladies put together a party and we all met at her house about 5pm. There was a bounce house for the kids and we all brought food. Everyone left a big bowl of candy on their porch and the kids just ran from house to house. Then we loaded up for a hay ride and went into the front part of the neighborhood for even more candy. I have to say, that this was even better then some of the Fall Festivals I have been to. Other then ONE boy wearing an icky costume, everything else was great. My children had fun and the weather was just perfect. I am officially ready for FALL!!!!

Noah's School Party: Spidey and Me



Noah giving me his best Spiderman impersonation (Ha!)



Meredith (Red Sox Fan) and some of her neighborhood pals:




Group Kid shot before the candy raid began! Can you pick out my kiddos (spiderman, Piratess, and Red Sox Fan)?




Ok, this is me crammed on the hayride. Parker, the little boy just plopped down in my lap. Let me tell you that when the ride was over, I had a tough time getting my legs uncrossed. Greg refused to go on the hayride so he took this LOVELY pic instead. I look like a deer in headlights, and don't you just love Madeline's green mouth?

Belated Birthday Pictures....

Twins age 10 and little man age 4 (WOW)


Beautiful girls!!


The big gift!!!


My little Batman!


At least it is still October ( I made it by one day) ;) !

Halloween!

I just have to link over to Christy at 'Mommy Brain'. She wrote a great blog entry on Halloween, and it pretty much sums up my entire take on the "day". I have a very hard time understanding how Christians have let their views on this slide. The Lord says to "flee from evil". It is very difficult to stand alone, I do understand that! A few weeks ago, I went to read for Madeline's class and they wanted me to read all sorts of scary, spooky stories. I had to decline ( much to my daughters embarassment). God calls up to be set apart....even when it is not easy! That being said, I do not think it is wrong to "dress up" , as long as the costume is not scary, gory, evil, or trampy. We always enjoy going to Fall Festivals,etc because I think that is a way that Christians can take a holiday that was meant for evil and turn it into something that is good! Be sure to click on the link:

http://lauragracesblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/halloween-rant.html

I can't get my act together....

I am trying, really I am! What has been keeping me from reaching that "unrealistic" goal, you might ask? Well in no particular order..........:

~ My lovely yearly "dr" appt ( you know the one I am talking about....ICK)

~ My dental checkup (" well Andrea, you have a teeny tiny cavity and there is nothing you can do about it" "As we age, our teeth do too" GEE THANKS!!! That makes me feel SOOOOO much better).

~ TWO hours spent registering and evaluating my children for Upwards Basketball and Cheerleading ( I promise you that word must have spread through our city, that Upwards is amazing, because the line was Tripled from last year). Oh and to add to that fun, I had one child throw a fit because she didn't see any of her friends signing up for cheerleading, and my ex-boyfriend was right behind us in the line!!!!!!! These things only happen to me!

~ Waking up at the crack of dawn every single day to make lunches, and haul my sleep intoxicated children out of their beds. This is NO easy feat!!! Then we speed to school to make sure that they are there in time for honor choir rehearsal!!! Yes, I am proud of this!!!!

~ Helping one of the twins with her book report. Could it be the typical book report where you write on paper about the story? Heck no, why make my life any easier??? We are doing a "poster", and it must be creative!!!! I am NOT creative!

~ Surviving our first neighborhood association meeting and finding out that you really don't know what the neighbors are saying behind your back. Also, some people must have alot of free time on their hands if they find it useful to argue profusely about the color of drapes that someone hangs, and whether it is visible from the street!!!!!!!

So, there you have it...just a few things going on in my life! Thankfully, it is almost the weekend and I am planning to go to an all day Scrapbooking thing! Greg has promised to take the kids away for the day!!!! I am really looking forward to Summer! ( Yes I did say SUMMER)!!! ;)

I need to either cry or scream.......

So instead, I will vent on here!!!! I think the Lord is testing me with my patience levels in dealing with people! UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Situation #1......About 3 weeks ago, I went into a monogram store where I have done business before. I had noticed a cute little shirt that I wanted to have monogrammed for my nieces birthday. I picked the shirt out and told her the name, paid, and left being assured it would be done in a week. One and a half weeks later, I go to pick the shirt up. The woman smiles, gets the shirt and hands it to me. She looked quite proud I might add. At first glance, I knew something was not right. I looked closer and noticed that the name was a little crooked. I asked the woman about it and she said "well It is supposed to be like that...it makes a half circle around the emblem". Ok, I may not keep a spotless house, but I am impeccable when it comes to my clothes. It was crooked and looked bad. Then I noticed that the gift emblem was crooked. It went through my mind whether I should just accept it or not. I may look young but dangitt, I am not going to be taken advantage of. I very nicely told the woman that I thought it was crooked and didn' t she. Well she took out a ruler and said "oh well it is crooked and is off about a half an inch. Then she said "I guess I will make you a new one......But it won't be ready for another week. Grrrrr....I told her that was fine but I needed it by the following Thursday because my niece was being picked up that day by her other grandmother. Do you know that when I went back that Thursday morning, the woman looked at me and I could read her eyes ( she was a bit smug) and she said " I haven't gotten to it yet...I will do it sometime this afternoon. I have been very busy!!!!! Oh that did it! I was so mad. I waited to make sure the other customer had left and I calmly said " but I told you that I needed it by now". She said " I know, BUT I have been VERY busy and I just haven't gotten around to it". I told her that I didn't think that was right since it was a mistake on her part. Girls, she didn't ONCE even apologize. I was shaking!!! I asked her if she would rather give me my money back. She said "ok", walked to her register, took the money out and handed it to me. She NEVER apologized!!! Why I ask? I just don't get it. IF I had a store that size, I would want my customers happy. Was I wrong to think that my order should have been first on her list? I told my mom that when I went in there, I noticed that the shirt was in the same spot that she had laid it in when I had gone in the first time. She didn't even bother with it!!! I hate to say it, but she lost my business and I will never recommend her!!! I can't believe she treated me that way!

Second situation....For my birthday, I bought some clothes and I ordered two items off of Anntaylor loft.com Well I got my shipment confirmation over a week ago but still nothing. I got online today to track the pkg and something wasn't right so I called DHL. Well they called me back about an hr ago and basically told me the pkg is lost and I need to contact Ann Taylor. They won't budge on helping me. I felt like a fool. I call Ann Taylor and am told that they will need to put a search to try to find the pkg and it will be another 3-5 days!!! I was spoken to like I was a child!!! I tell you, I put my head down and cried. Then I decided I would come here and vent. What a day......I had my yearly appt this morning, and now this!!!! Surely tomorrow will be better, right? :(

Where have I been?

Well.......I have been busy with Noah's two parties and helping my mom take care of my 2 year old niece! I am WIPED out. I don't know how I forgot so quickly that two year olds are exhausting but I sure did. OH MY GOODNESS!!!! My poor mother was so tired when she left today. I think she will spend the next two days in bed!!!! I am hoping that DH gets home soon and that my kids cooperate tonight. Madeline and Meredith's Birthday weekend is what is on our schedule next! Hopefully, I will be able to upload some pics in the coming days. Until then, just know that I am alive, just very very tired!!!!! ;)

Don't quit....

So we pull up at the soccer field, and at 2pm, it is blistering hot! I notice that we are playing the same team we played a couple of weeks ago ( with the annoying mom) and lost 4-3. I also notice that we are short TWO players ( two of our older players at that). Let me back up...we lost one player at the beginning of the season and so we are already playing with one less. To put it simply, the other team had all 9 of their girls and we had six. That meant, that all six had to play the entire game. IT was SOOOOOO hot. I sat under my umbrella and I was still sweating. We started off with 2 scores right off the bat. I couldn't believe it. The girls all played really well, but by the end of the 3rd quarter, they were exhausted. The other team was hot too, but at least 3 players got to sit out during each quarter. We were tied 4-4 at the end of the 3rd. Our coach came walking over to the parents and said he was going to call the game. The girls were just dehydrated and done. He said he would ask them one more time, and then that was it. He walked back over and apparently they all said "no way...we are not quitting". So.......we start the 4th tied. Would you believe that we scored two more times, got called for a handball, so the other team got a free shot, we successfully defended our goal and ended up winning 6-4? WOW! I screamed so loudly that I am sure that other mom was quite annoyed with me. So, even when things look difficult and you are exhausted, and you think about stopping...dig deep and DON'T QUIT! You just might get the victory! :) How is that for a Saturday sermon? ;)

Busy Weekend....

Ay yi yi! Yesterday we had Noah's party. It was his very first *real* party. We had it at an indoor play place and it was a success. I have tons of pics, just need to upload them and resize! Today I have got to clean my messy house in preparation for my mom's arrival tomorrow and the big family cookout/party. Tomorrow is Noah's actual bday and he will be FOUR! Next weekend, it will be M and M's turn. So, after I survive these next two weekends, I will feel alot better! (BIG BREATH ANDREA!!!!!)

Time is marching on.....

Oh yes it is, and it is going at full speed ahead! When I was a child, I distinctly remember thinking to myself that I had TONS of time until I got old. By old, I meant the age of my parents, who were probably in their 30's! Here I sit today, and I have just finished celebrating the 5th anniversary of my 30th birthday! Somehow, I have to face the fact that I am a full fledged adult and my children are growing up just as fast as I am. October is an exciting month for our family, and I am about to be the mother of a FOUR year old little boy and two TEN year old young ladies! WOW, where did the time go? Why did I wish so many days that they were older? Why didn't I count those days as precious, and cherish every moment? Ah, time goes so fast......I wish I had known that when I was younger!

What has happened to my blog?

Oh my goodness, I have neglected my poor little blog! I think I have lost most of my buddies too! I don't know what happened. I was really enjoying it and I still love reading all kinds of other blogs. In fact, I find a new one to read just about everyday. I guess I have just gotten overwhelmed with life and "stuff". I am so tired right now and I feel like I could sleep for days. I am going to try to start posting more regularly because I always feel better when I do. This is great therapy! I hope everyone is doing well. I will be back soon! :)

Under the Lights.....

We have games on Saturdays and on Monday nights. I usually enjoy the Monday ones. There is something fun about sitting under those lights. I really enjoy it, plus our team seems to play better in the night games. It is evident by the fact they have won all of their night games and lost the day ones.....go figure! Anyway, last night we got the late time slot. I had to drag my son to the game and believe me when I say that he was not to pleased! I was tired from a long day and simply wanted to sit. Who was I kidding and what was I smoking? First, I set up our chairs. In my haste, I had grabbed Noah a beach chair. The field was wet from rain and so he had to have something to sit on. Unfortunately, the beach chair kept collapsing on Noah and then he decided it was a tunnel and proceeded to crawl through it! Then, he took my dinner ( a snack bag of wheat thins). Normally it would have been fine, but I was starving. I didn't have the energy to fight him so I just sat there praying that I wouldn't pass out! Once the game started, I was *hoping* he would just sit there.....HA!!!! First he decided to go play in the ditch, then he decided to play in the net behind where we were sitting. Then he got tangled up in it. Then he fell in the ditch and scratched up his knee. THEN...he kept falling on the sidelines, WHILE the game was playing. I am sure that all of the parents around me were horrified at the way I kept snatching his arm and pulling him back. It was AWFUL!!!!! He whined and cried and I realized that it was my own fault for not leaving instructions for my sitter to put him down for a nap earlier!!!!

On the flip side....my girls played so well. Meredith was on fire....she played with an aggression that I don't always see. Her coach was on the sideline yelling loudly...." MEREDITH WAY TO GO" "MEREDITH THAT IS THE WAY TO PLAY". I was a beaming mother. She also played goalie for her first time and I am happy to say that the other team did NOT score on her. We won the game and this was against our coach from last year. Madeline played really well too. She totally got her groove on by the last two quarters! So, I guess that it was worth it to keep up with you know who!!!! All too soon, it will be him on the field playing soccer!

Soccer Season (again) !!!!!

Well Christy's post made me realize that all I have posted lately is pictures of my dining room. By the way, for anyone wanting to know, the drapes are Pottery Barn. They have many colors to choose from!!!! Anyway, back to soccer and the start of yet another season. Every single year, I pray for the girls to get a good coach. They have yet to get one that is well rounded. They usually either get a super sweet wonderful guy, but doesn't teach them a thing about the game...or they get a "yeller" but one who still doesn't really "teach". My girls are in U10 level and the teams are all GOOD! These girls are out for blood and not one game goes by where there isn't a collision, an injury (take a knee everyone), and the sound of the ball hitting off of something other then a foot!!! The twins are on a pretty good team, but it is a young team. They are the older ones and some of these girls have just come up from U8. It is a whole new game in U10 with the addition of a goalie and you play on one field and 4 quarters. All I am asking, is for someone to work with my children on passing and defending. Is that too much? I am such a competitive person by nature, that it is terribly difficult for me to sit still and watch these games. A passerby would think that I had a "tick". I practically move with the girls (from my seat) just trying to will them to play like I think they should. Of course, I never played soccer at any point in my life, so I am not what one would call an expert on the sport!!! Then there is the whole other problem of listening to the opposite teams parents. Our Saturday game, I literally wanted to clamp my hand over a certain woman's mouth. She yelled so loud when their team scored that it became obnoxious. Of course you cheer when your team scores, but you show good sportsmanship and MANNERS by not SCREAMING in the opponents ears!!! I can't tell you how much I had to control my mouth. The end result was a very close game and we lost by one lousy point. So to my friend Christy, even though you feel like the days of your child wandering off to the concession stand, Layton dashing across the field, and fights with your husband are mortifying.....just think about me and know that it COULD be much worse! ;)

My House: The Formal Dining Room

This weekend, my MIL came over and helped me hang my drapes in the dining room. Actually she helped Greg, and I supervised! I had to leave the room a few times because my husband was making me so nervous with the electric drill!!!!!

Update on Susan .....

Susan's surgery was a success in that they were able to remove all of one of the tumors. It did come back from the pathologist as a melanoma, so the next step is radiation and chemo. Susan has a long road ahead of her, but her incredible faith is going to carry her through. I know she has to be scared, as any of us "mommies" would be. PLEASE keep lifting her up in prayer, as well as her husband and 3 young children. THANKS!

Proud Mom Alert!!!

My daughters are beautiful, sweet, and funny! They both love to laugh and LOVE to have a good time. They love food, soccer, and one likes basketball while the other prefers to cheerlead! They are precious girls, but as of yet, we haven't really found our *niche*. For the past few years, I have watched while other moms had their children make the advanced dance group, the select soccer team, and the biggie...the advanced group at school. I really struggled with it, probably more then I care to admit. I come from a family that was always in *that* group. I excelled at ballet, my brothers were excellent in sports, and my sister is one smart cookie. I have "forced" my girls to try just about everything and just waited for them to find that one special thing. Well......drum roll.........after an audition on Monday that involved a solo and other "drills" in front of JUDGES....they both came home with a certificate announcing that they had been selected for the school HONOR CHOIR!!! I am so proud of them for that accomplishment. It is not easy to stand in front of judges and sing a solo by yourself. So if you see some extra light in the south part of MS tonight, it may be coming from my house. This mommy is beaming with pride!!! :)

Juggling it all....

***PRAY FOR SUSAN. SHE IS HAVING SURGERY WEDNESDAY MORNING (9/12) AT 8am. THANKS!!

Wow, I haven't blogged in so long, that I think alot of my friends don't even check here anymore!!! Life has gotten so busy and I can't say that I am happy with that. I don't like to be so busy, that I am stressed all the time and rushing here and there. Yesterday was a crazy example with errands and 2 teacher conferences, evening activities, homework, & getting kids in bed. By the time I was through with all of that, all I could do was get myself in the bed and pull the covers over my head. I don't think that is what Jesus meant when he said "abundant life". YIKES!!!! Every week I say that the next week is going to be different, but so far, it hasn't worked out that way. I have been able to help a few of my friends out and for that I am so thankful, but some of the other things have just been ridiculous. I told my husband that I am really wanting to get back into my photography, my scrapbooking, and then there is my new house that desperately needs some attention! Forgive me if this sounds like a whine. I am going to try to get back to living my LIFE and make this blog what I originally intended it to be. Stay tuned......:)

Update on Susan .....

Thanks everyone for the prayers! I had a good visit with Susan. Bless her heart, the phone rang so much. It was different drs, etc. I got to hold her 4 month old little boy who is absolutely precious! She had a photographer over to take pictures of him and they did some mommy and me shots. Sooooooo sweet. She is upbeat and determined. I can't help but feel that I would be a depressed mess! They are headed to Houston today and I just want everyone to be praying that they get the absolute best opinions there. I *think* what is going to happen is that the lesions will have to be taken out and biopsied to make 100% sure that it is melanoma. The best thing would be for it not to be melanoma, but something else that if removed will make everything better. Please join me in prayer for that!!! Just pray also for Susan to continue to feel this supernatural peace. I am sure that until you go through something of this magnitude, you can't possibly imagine how great and true your faith really is! I know that the Lord is wrapping his arms around her and is giving her the strength to get through each day!!!

Other stuff in my life seems so mundane. I have been busy with all kinds of things and I am ready for some slow days. I plan to get my camera out and take some pics of house and kids very soon. I just haven't been in the mood lately! ;(

Busy Busy....

Well, my weekend was busier then I had planned, but still fun. Saturday night, we had some friends over for dinner. It was fun and I made two new Cooking Light recipes. Both were delicious and I will have to post the recipes. One was a lemon/lime cake....soooo yummy. Yesterday was church and then we were invited over to some new friends home for dinner. The girls ended up spending the night so we had a very quiet morning with just Noah to care for. We went and looked at furniture this afternoon ( didn't buy just looked) and then ran across the street for a little pool party. Noah and I came home early and are just waiting for daddy to come grill the chicken!!! It has been a lovely weekend, but my thoughts and prayers have drifted so often to Susan. This really puts things into perspective and causes me to realize how shallow alot of my thoughts and concerns are. I am so excited because I emailed her over the weekend and told her I was praying for her and to call me if I could do anything. Well she took me up on it and I am going over to her house tomorrow as soon as I drop little man off at preschool. I am thrilled that I can go to her house and keep her company. Please pray that I will be a blessing and that I will know just the right things to say and that encouragement would be the highlight of my visit. KEEP PRAYING.....I am just believing for her healing. Just today I got an email from Donna....my old neighborhood friend. She has a clean bill of health. The cancer is gone. I feel certain the Susan will get the same result. There is power in prayer!!!! :)

Calling All Prayer Warriors..

Yesterday was a hard day. I found out that a friend of mine is about to endure a fight for her life. About a year and a half ago, I had the wonderful priviledge of teaching children's choir with Susan. We had alot of fun and her oldest daughter A is Noah's age and they got along wonderfully! Susan was pregnant with her second child during most of the choir year. Everything was going well until about two months away from her due date. She had discovered a mole on her back and the dr wanted it looked at. It turned out to be a melanoma and they immediately scheduled her for an early delivery. Our prayers were answered when all tests came back clear and the cancer had not spread to lymph nodes. Flash forward to a year and a half later and another baby. Apparently Susan had a seizure and it was discovered that there are two spots on her brain. Friends and family, I am asking you to please lift her up to the Lord as well as place her on any/all prayer lists. She is MY age and she has 3 little children under the age of 4. She has a Caring Bridge site, and if you are interested in keeping up with her journal updates and encouraging her with a message on her guestbook, then email me and I will send you the link. Her optimism and faith in the Lord are inspiring. You will be glad that you visited her link! I am believing in her healing and I am believing that God is going to reveal to her and her husband, the right course of treatment.

Painting & Pointless Trips to the Mall....

What a title!!! LOL I couldn't think of anything else to call my assortment of stories. This morning after I dropped Noah off, I went to Different Strokes to meet some of the neighborhood gals. They have a coffee get together every Friday morning and one of them had suggested we paint coffee mugs. I got there late which as a newbie, I should have known better. It is always best to arrive on time when you don't know everyone. It was kind of awkward when I walked in and they were already all painting and chatting. Let me clarify that they are all extremely NICE, it is just me who feels like the outsider. I have to kind of sense my way around the group and know exactly when to talk and when to just shut up and listen. Does anyone understand that awkward feeling of being the new kid on the block??? Somehow, I managed to paint a decent mug. I chose to do some sort of glaze thing that is very simple. I hope it turns out ok. There were a couple of times where I said things and then wondered if people thought I was an idiot!!! I HATE THAT FEELING!!! I just don't know them well enough yet! To make matters worse, the one I am closest to did not show up. Oh well, I survived and I should have a cute mug to show for it!!!

After the painting party, I ran to the mall. I have been out of my hairspray for almost two weeks and the only reason I went to the mall was so I could go to Trade Secret. Well wouldn't you know it, their debit card system was down and of course I DIDN'T have my checkbook. I tried to go get cash out at the ATM machine nearby, but they were down as well. I left without my hair products and trying not to throw a mini temper-tantrum!!! Somedays are good, somedays are great, and some like today you just shrug your shoulders and thank the Lord for a house you can retreat to! ;)

Did someone declare it "whiney day"?

Seriously!!! All 3 of my children woke up with a bad case of it! The twins were incredibly hard to pull out of bed...yes I said PULL!!! Then they complained about what we had to eat, complained and whined about their clothes, whined about how tired they were, etc. Noah whined because I couldn't "hold" him. He did this while I was driving and I tried to explain to him that mommy can't hold him and drive at the same time!!! Then he whined because he said his shoes didn't match his outfit. I don't know whether I should be more upset about the whining or that he was worried about color combinations!!!!! Good grief! No one was happier then I after dropping all of them at their respective schools! I got myself a LARGE at Seattle Drip and ran to the grocery for a few things. Since it is "whiney day", then I will not buck the trend. My whine is this: why are organic and "healthy" foods so darn expensive??? why does Brookshires *insist* on taking your groceries (even if you only have 3 things) to the car for you???, and why do big large vans always seem to park next to me and make it incredibly hard to pull out??? OK, done.....now back to regular Wednesday. I declare "whiney day" officially over! ;)

My House: The Keeping Room

Here in the South, all of the new houses have what is called a "keeping room". It is basically a room connected to the kitchen with a fireplace and a space for your tv and sitting area. It is one of those "all purpose" rooms where you do alot of "living". I had a keeping room at my home in LA, but we didn't use it very much as there was no tv and it was a different layout. In my new home, this is one of the things that I love the most. We really do spend alot of time in the kitchen and the kids are eating their snack at the table, etc. They can see the tv and if I am cooking, we are all together! It is so nice to have this space. I just got my bamboo blinds installed last week. I get them in every house it seems and I just LOVE them. This room is basically finished. I would like to eventually get a rug and a really cool painting of the kids to put on one of the bare walls. Of course, I can't do that right now, so this will have to do!!! Click on the pic to see it larger! NOTE: ** I think the small boy seated at the table adds a decorative touch...don't you agree?

Thursday already?

Where did my week go? Seriously, it has been so busy around here that I feel out of control. I can't stand that feeling. I never intend to be super busy, but I have a hard time saying no to things. We are gradually getting back into the school groove, but it has been difficult. Noah goes to school everyday and while I LOVE the 3 hrs every morning, I feel like I live in my car. I have some *potential* plans to start teaching dance again but I will post about that when all the details are worked out. I took a few pictures of a room in my house that is near completion ( every other room has something left that needs to be hung or is lacking decor,furniture, etc). I will try to post today! HAVE A BLESSED THURSDAY!

Weekend Fun...

I am alone in my house so I thought I would blog! This week just flew by! It seems like I say that alot now! It is shaping up to be a nice weekend, but a busy one. Last night was an evening my girls have been looking forward to. Can you guess what it was? They have been counting the days until the debut of 'High School Musical 2'. We were invited across the street to a HSM party! Apparently, the whole neighborhood decided to come too. I was quite impressed that my new friend S had this at her home. It was packed with kids running everywhere, popcorn all over the floor, and lots of great food! We had a really fun time and I am starting to feel like I know more of my neighbors now. This morning the twins had their first soccer practice of the season. Dad took them so I will be anxious to hear about it when they return. This afternoon, they are headed to a pool party at one of their friends homes. I am going to take them to that and it will be fun to visit with some of the other moms. Tonight, we have a sitter coming and are going to meet some friends for dinner. Tomorrow will be church and hopefully some REST! Greg is headed out on Monday for a week to go to a meeting in CA! It would happen to be a week when I have school functions on two of those nights! Oh well, we will manage. I hope all my friends and family enjoy a nice and relaxing weekend! :)

Look who is in Pre-school.......

Today, my little boy started pre-school. He is going to go 5 days a week in the mornings and then starting in September he will go until 2 on Wednesdays. He had a wonderful first day and is now exhausted! Noah was the teachers helper today and he also sustained a small *injury* to his hand that required a bandaid ( by that I mean a small scrape). Apparently, he and his new buddy Jake were ramming their trucks too hard. All in all, a great first day. What did Mommy do with 3 hrs to herself? Well she went to Walmart alone and then enjoyed some quiet time at home. Can't wait for tomorrow! ;)


THEN...


NOW....

*** If you want a laugh, remember this post....

http://andrea-livingalegacy.blogspot.com/2007/02/i-said-i-wouldnt-do-it-but.html

Pass the Ibuprofen please...

Shopping with two almost 10 year olds is not fun. I don't know why I told myself that it would be. Saturday afternoon, we left the house on a mission....or so I thought. I told the girls that we were looking for long shorts, not toys! HA HA! I was the one in the crowded store doing a juggling act with all of the outfits. The twins were the ones casually browsing through all of the *cool* accessories, "high school musical" stuff, and Webkins! I tried to keep my calm, but I just don't do well in crowds. I think I blogged about that once!!! It took an act of congress to get them to try things on and we had major disagreements on what was cute and what wasn't. They certainly did not like most of the tops that I thought were cute! To say that they are picky would be an understatement. FINALLY, we made our selections and then stood in line to check out. After they picked me up off of the floor ( that would be due to the total, that I still don't understand), we left the store. How can four little outfits cost that much money??? They said "thanks mom" and I told them that I think I will stick to shopping for them on my own. I honestly don't mind having to return things 5 times, IF it means I get to shop in peace!!! REALLY!!!!!! ;)

First Day of 4th Grade........

Today is the day! The girls woke up with no problem and they were both a combination of nerves and excitement. They ate a little of the special breakfast I had made, brushed their teeth, made their beds, and posed for the obligatory pictures! They picked out their own "messenger bags" and also exactly what they wanted monogrammed. Meredith just wanted her initials and Madeline wanted her full name. I can't wait to pick them up this afternoon and hear all about their day!

Meet the Teacher...

I don't know how it happened, but I now have two fourth graders! I also don't know how my summer flew by so quickly, but it did. The girls and I were talking tonight over dinner and we went back over all of the wonderful things that we did this summer. Here is a brief recap:
~ Two week trip to Sue-Sues which included a beach trip. They had so much fun!
~ They attended an awesome VBS at the big Baptist church that we do alot of our activites
~ The next week they attended the same churches sports camps...Madeline did cheerleading and Meredith did Basketball
~ We had a wonderful family beach trip to Gulf Shores. We enjoyed lazy days by the beach and pool!
~ They went on their very first overnight camp experience. They attended Twin Lakes for an entire week and had a blast! They can't wait to go back next year.
~ They went to VBS with a neigborhood friend! FUN!
~ Last but certainly not least, we moved and they have been having a blast playing with all of their new friends.

As you can see, we had a fabulous summer. The classroom is calling again though and it is time to start studying those multiplication and division facts....eek! Homework, spelling words, carpools, and the soccer field are about to be on the agenda. I am ready ( I think)! This afternoon we went to the school 'Meet the Teacher' night. Madeline and Meredith are in different classes and each one has at least 3 friends in their room. Madeline is even in the same class as our new next door neighbor. I think it is going to be a FABULOUS year. I felt such a sense of peace being back at this school. So, get ready everyone for those first day of school pictures. It is time for me to blow the dust off my camera that I have been neglecting for the longest time. My little girls are not so little anymore. They are about to embark on a year full of adventure and fun! I am praying that they will learn and grow not just intellectually, but they will cultivate sweet and compassionate spirits and be a shining light in their respective classes!!! HAPPY BACK TO SCHOOL everyone! :)

Back to Blogging....

Whew!!! I need to catch my breath! What a busy past few weeks! We are gradually getting settled into the new house! We LOVE it! One of my friends said this and I totally agree...."it looks like you custom built it"! It really does, BUT we didn't have to go through the crazy building process. I tell you, when I look back at the 10 months that I fretted and waited rather impatiently, I can see how God's hand was on this situation. This home is just perfect for us and can I tell you how blessed we are to be in this neighborhood? Let's see, I think at least seven different people have come over to greet us. Friday night, we were invited over to our next door neighbors for dinner. They grilled out and made us some frozen drinks! It was heavenly after a busy week. The best part is that they are wonderful Godly people and just as sweet and down to earth as can be. I have also been invited to a weekly ladies coffee. All of the stay at home moms get together once a week at different houses to visit. I am so excited about that. Madeline and Meredith are surrounded by friends to play with. Across the street and next door are fourth graders....and they are GIRLS!!! Hooray! Gradually, I am seeing an end to the boxes. We still have a long way to go, but it is starting to feel like home. Unfortunately, I had a minor accident last week and either broke or jammed my toe. It is quite stiff and very difficult to walk around with! I pretty much hobble around lugging boxes and junk out to the garage. Of course, there are three steps that lead down to the garage so this is no easy feat! Oh well, that is life, & I am not complaining. I feel too blessed to do that! I hope all of my family and friends are off to a great start with their week! :) I look forward to posting on a more regular basis!

Living Among Boxes....

We are all moved in! I am taking a small break from unpacking just to catch my breath. Literally, I have not sat down more then a few minutes since last Thursday. It has just been a very hectic and fast paced few days. The reward however is that we are in our new home and I don't have to deal with anymore moving headaches. Believe me, there were quite a few glitches, but God was faithful and in the end, we are in our beautiful home and a great neighborhood. We feel so blessed. I will have to give you the play by play in a post coming soon. I am sure that everyone is waiting with anticipation!!!! Ha ha!!!

Things are going better....

Well thankfully after my lovely experience on Wed, things have gone better. Well that is if you don't count the fact that I forgot to pick up my son at preschool. He has been going to a little summer program twice a week for two hours. Well I got so busy packing up the girls room (which by the way was no easy feat) with my friend that I lost track of time. Sarah asked me about Noah and I jumped up and yelled for the time. It was NOON...pickup time ...and I was almost 15 mins away!!! YIKES. I have never ever done that. He didn't seem to be fazed by my tardiness. I would have felt horrible if he had been crying.

Anyway, almost all repairs and upkeep have been completed on my home. I think we faired well considering the fact that alot of people have to shell out lots of money for these types of things. My house is slowly becoming a maze of boxes, and we are now one week away from the big move. All I can think is that by this time next week...Lord willing , I will be in my new house and all the moving and closing stuff will be behind us. I can't wait!!!!

Can I scream now?

Most anyone that knows me, has come to the realization that I do NOT handle stress well. I get very anxious, lose what little patience I *may* have, and cry at the drop of a hat!!! Oh I try to cast my cares to the Lord, but for some reason, leaving them with him is soooo hard for me!!! Anyway, yesterday was another one of those stressful days. I am juggling all kinds of things for this move, trying to keep my kids happy, & all this while trying to remind myself that I need to take small breaks. The morning started out great. I had a good workout while listening to praise music and I felt rejuvenated. Then.....I found out my new mailbox (required for the neighborhood) is costing me almost 400$!!! This better be a mighty fine looking mailbox, is all I have to say. Is it made in gold??? I also spent a large part of my day on the phone with various repair people. When you think about selling your house and moving, all you tend to imagine is the fun part. You don't think about all this other tedious stuff!!!! Anyway, yesterday afternoon, Greg gets home and needs to change cars and leave for out of town. I somehow had forgotten to pick his shirts up at the cleaners so I made a mad dash for those. I got home, he kissed me bye and I proceeded to make some dinner for the kids. Twenty minutes later, he calls me to tell me that his van will not start at the storage facility that he keeps it in. I had to throw the kids in the car ( one was still eating), go by a neighbors to pick up jumper cables and run over to the storage place to help get the car started. Keep in mind that the whole reason for the frantic pace is the fact that he has a huge demo today. This was vital to get the big van started so he could take the equipment up to Memphis!!!! We tried for at least 20 mins and FINALLY it cranked. We hugged and I got back in my car and started to back up so that he could get out. Well that was not a good idea. I hear this loud scraping noise and then a bump and my car will not move. Meanwhile, Greg has jumped out of his car and is yelling at me to stop!!!! Oh my word, I had backed over a curve and my wheel was spinning because we were stuck!!!! In my defense, I have only been to the storage place a few times and this curve is new......they put it there because there was a large dip! I immediately started crying. I couldn't believe that I had done this. The girls were soooo sweet. They were telling me it was ok and that I couldn't have seen it!! I honestly didn't. That is the bad thing about driving such a large car ( I drive a Sequoia)!!!! I tried to get out but it wouldn't budge. A nice man came by and he got out of his van and he and Greg tried to lift me out. It wasn't moving. Greg went and got the owner of the facility and she brought some boards and stuff to try to wedge between the wheel for traction ....NOTHING. Meanwhile, I am sobbing and thinking oh my goodness we are going to have to call a tow truck......$$$$$!!!! WHY NOW? Well the guy that was helping us was sooooo nice. He called a friend who came over with his big truck. They jacked my car up and then he put a rope on the front and pulled me out!!!!!! We were probably out there for a good hour and a half. Poor Greg had to come home and shower and then drive to Memphis at 9pm. I felt horrible!!!! I will say this though....there are still nice people in this world. I don't even know that these men that helped us were Christians. In fact, I feel they probably weren't. However, they gave of their time and energy when I am sure they would have rather been at home on the couch watching some tv!!!! It really made me feel good that there are still decent folks. Of course, I know that they were sent by God and he enabled a way for me to get out of a tricky situation......YET AGAIN!!!! Now I am going to go take a few deep breaths and get back to packing. We move a week from tomorrow!!! It WILL be over soon!!!!

First Round of Beach Pics:

I am taking a break from house stuff. It is exhausting. Here are a few pics from our first day at the beach. I used my older point and shoot so forgive the quality. It was still fun!

Did I really ask for this?

Did I really pray so hard for 10 months and ask for all this stress?

Did I ask for non stop phone calls about anything and everything?

Did I ask for facing the daunting task of packing up my 3300 sq foot home???

Did I ask for the endless expenses for everything from getting a lower rate to putting blinds up in the new home to paying TWO moving trucks as they haul all my stuff just 12 short mins away?

Did I ask for this sheer exhaustion due to making too many decisions?

Did I ask for the pit in my stomach when I think about all that has to be done in two weeks?

Did I ask for having to explain to a different person each day why I am moving and how much I WILL miss my neighbors?

Did I ask to go from good sleep to restless nights and mornings?

You know what? I sure did! However, I can ask for something else. God's grace over these next two weeks, which I desperately need! :)

The Long Journey and My testimony....

I have tons of pics to share of our beach trip, but I need to post something else first! Most of my friends/family know about my year. Back in August of 2006, we felt led by the Lord to put our home on the market. We had found a home that we loved and after much prayer, decided to go for it. Little did we know, that it wasn't going to be an easy sell. We had one offer immediately, but after that nothing. Seven months later, we changed realtors. This was a godsend because it turned out that the realtor recommended to us went to high school with Greg and most importantly she was a Christian! Immediately, we started to see more action, but still no offers. I found at least 3 other homes that I loved, and we even went up to North MS to look thinking that maybe God was wanting us there. Still, nothing happened. I can't tell you how many times I cried and felt so alone. I felt like God was not hearing me and I wondered why. I wish I could say that I held a steadfast faith, but I did not. My husband did however and he was very strong when I was weak! In early April, I was searching the MLS and I found a home that looked promising. I knew I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I called my realtor and we went and toured it. I fell in LOVE with it. It wasn't much larger then my current home but it had almost everything that we wanted in layout and rooms. I looked at it two more times and even took Greg to see it. I thought for sure that since I had found *THE* home, that God was going to sell ours. Still nothing, and so I did what I often have to do when I have a hard time surrendering. I took the listing sheet with this particular home and wrote on the front that it was my dream but that I surrendered it. I also put the date of April 15, 2007 on it and tucked it away in the little box on my nightstand. Three more months and nothing on our home and I pretty much had forgotten about it. Two weeks ago, after many discussions and lots of showings but no offers, Greg and I came to the conclusion that when we returned from the beach, we were taking our home off the market. We met with our neighbor and made plans to do a minor renovation in my kitchen. I was excited about that. The first night of my vacation I get a call from my realtor telling me not to get my hopes up, but we were supposedly getting an offer the next morning. WOW! I didn't get my hopes up and the next day we got a pretty low offer. We prayed and countered back. They countered again and we had a decision to make. We slept on it and prayed and had arrived at a number but at the last minute decided on one last offer. After my agent hung up, I sat on the bed and felt a mix of emotions. Then Greg came out of the bathroom and said he felt like we needed to pray. We held hands and prayed together...as soon as we finished, the phone rang and I heard those words I have longed to hear for months....CONGRATULATIONS!!!! The panic set in soon though when we realized how quickly they wanted us out. My agent sent me tons of listings to view on the computer. I spent a large part of vacation on my laptop. We had very particular requirements so I didn't see much of anything. I decided to ask if *my* house was still available and remarkably it was, and had gone down a little in price. We looked at it on Sunday and a few other things but decided that we would try an offer. We offered a much lower price and yesterday the builder came back with a counter. It was lower then I had expected and after realizing how much of a deal we were getting, we decided to accept. This home fits all of our needs and location wise puts us right in the middle of where we want to be. We are about 12 mins from church, 6 mins from shopping, and the girls will return to the school that they attended in the very beginning. We are getting such a deal on this home because it is truly a buyers market right now. There are things in this house that I can't believe we are being blessed with. Can you tell I am just a little excited? So long story short, we are scheduled to move on July 27th. Yes this is happening quickly but you would just not believe how smoothly everything is going. My current home inspection went extremely well. In fact the inspecter told the buyers agent that it was the cleanest one he has done in a long time. My heart is singing with praise to the Lord. He has answered my cries and given me the desires of my heart. I do not in anyway deserve this, but in his great mercy, once again his timing is perfect and his plan is far better then anything I could come up with. TO God be the glory! He alone gets the credit for this! He is so worthy to be praised! I just had to share and had to proclaim my deep thankfulness! We are so blessed! Thanks for reading and I pray this has been encouraging to someone! Psalm 18:30

Vacation at last....

Boy oh boy do we need one! Tomorrow we are heading out. We are spending an entire week at the beach and I can't wait. I just downloaded several new songs on my Ipod, bought two new books to read, and am finishing up packing! I am looking forward to the laid back atmosphere that comes with condos on the beach! My absolute favorite thing to do is sit on the balcony overlooking that gorgeous water and READ!!! I would not be able to do that if not for the fact that Greg's favorite thing is taking the kids to the actual beach! So, I hope to take lots of pics and hopefully I will have some great stories to share! Have a fabulous week all and Happy 4th a little early. If I have internet connection I may try to pop on!

I would rather do anything else....

Then shop for bras!!! Yes, it is true and all you people that are reading this in bewilderment, well I don't really like you!!! JUST KIDDING! In all seriousness, if I want to put myself in a depressed state of mind, all I have to do is go try on bras at V. Secret! I will literally wear and wash the same bras over and over. Even when a certain friend tells me that I need a little "lift", I will just try to ignore her! Of course, this is the same friend that has about 50 beautiful bras and does not have the problem that I do. Last Sunday, I was told that the previously mentioned store was having a sale and I should go look there first. BIG MISTAKE and why didn't I just laugh and head for the Loft. I have no problem finding clothes, afterall! Let's just talk about the V. Secret sale. They put all the sale panties and bras in these little bins with big signs as to which size they are. Everything is picked over and people put things in the wrong place. My other big complaint is the amount of men that are dragged in there. They stand there not knowing where to look and totally looking out of place. I would NEVER drag Greg in that store and make him stand around while I shopped for panties and bras. Good grief, can't these girls find a time to go when boyfriend isn't in tow? Is anything "private" anymore? Plus, it doesn't make my shopping experience any better to have a man standing there staring at me while I pick through underwear! I digress, the actual trying on part is what kills me. I think I tried on at least 8 bras in various sizes. Not one fit me. I was about to cry not to mention that my shoulders started to hurt from trying to clasp and unclasp and tighten straps,etc! I went to another store and tried on about 6 more....again nothing. Finally, the Lord had mercy on me and I found some bras at Belks dept store. Of course, during the process I took off a bracelet that Greg had recently bought me and left it in the fitting room, but that is another story! ;) I am going to try to take excellent care of these bras, because I don't want to have to look again for a long long time! Before kids, I had no problem going into V. Secret and buying all of those pretty ones. Now, there is nothing to my poor chest! They will not stay put! Therefore, there is really no point in me even trying on a single thing in "THAT" store. I will stick to buying my pj's,etc from them but nothing else! So, I am writing the brand down that I bought and praying that they are
not discontinued. I figure I have another six months....at least...until I have to look again!!! ;)

A Recap...

So after the debit card debacle, my week didn't get better until Thursday! Wednesday included another franic cleaning and a no-show by a realtor ( we are pulling the house VERY soon)! Thursday was a nice day with a refreshing trip to the pool. My weekend included date night with my husband, and a girls night out last night with a friend. We went out to eat and then to see 'Waitress'. It was a quirky, cute movie. I definitely left the theatre with a smile on my face! Today, I am planning to run some errands later and take the twins to see 'Nancy Drew'. I am as excited as they are although I know that it is not "from the books"!!! I have some other posts planned so be sure to check back. I have lots of thoughts regarding how very frustrating it is to shop for bras. In fact, I had just about decided to wear the same ones FOREVER when I did have some luck! I know everyone is waiting breathless for that post! I hope you all have a FABULOUS start to your week! :)

My looney tune episode of the day....

I am posting this so that Christy feels better about yesterday! I am letting go of all sense of dignity by posting this! ;)

Yesterday started off fine. I took the girls to sports camp and dropped Noah off at his summer program ( 9-12). I went to the bank, put gas in my car, and got a coffee from my favorite place. I came home, emptied the dishwasher, and sat down to watch an episode of 'The Closer' on my DVR ( Love my DVR and LOVE that show)!!! It was very nice and very quiet. When I picked everyone up, the girls begged to have a friend come play and I agreed. They wanted Backyard Burger so that is where we went. They got a table, and I got in line. After I ordered, I took my wallet out of my purse and surprise, my debit card was not in its usual place. Let me just add that losing my debit card is one of my biggest fears in life. I pray constantly that God will protect my checking acct. I am just really paranoid. Anyway, I digress, it WASN'T there and panic began to set in. Thank the Lord I had some cash and I paid for the food and tried to walk to the table without keeling over. I sat down and began to go through my entire purse and wallet. At this point, I am sure that anyone sitting near us could tell by my WHITE face, that something was not right. I quietly told the kids to sit at the table and wait on the food as I ran out to the car thinking I certainly must have dropped it or put it in the front seat holder! I looked and looked, but it was no where. At this point, I am paranoid and I feel like I am going to hyperventilate. I come back inside and the food is there, kids are eating, and I am really at panic mode! I look through my purse and wallet TWO more times and then grab my cell phone and try to call and get a number of my bank. All I can think is two things.....all my vacation money is in my acct, & my husband is never going to let me live this down since I am always ragging him about keeping up with his card. I try the 1-800 number that the operator gives me but it just rings and rings. FULL BLOWN TERROR HAS HIT!!!! I *calmly* tell the kids to grab their food and we are taking it in the car. The poor little friend is staring at me like I have lost my mind. They are all saying "what is wrong, why, etc etc"?? I grab Noah and his food and for some unknown reason I grab my untouched hamburger meal and THROW it away. My girls and their friend are bewildered at this point. We head for the car where I practically throw Noah in and off we go. The whole time I am driving towards the bank, I am trying to breathe because I feel like I am going to pass out. It was that horrible. Now, one would think that as a Christian, I would be able to stop and pray and just have a little bit of FAITH! Yeah, one would think that!!!! I screech the car into the bank parking lot and run inside. The teller looks at me like I have lost my mind. I ramble on about everything. She looks up my acct and shows me that the only two purchases made that day were mine. We call the gas station to see if I dropped the card there...NO. She asks if I want to cancel it and I am trying to make some sense come into my foggy brain!!! Then, out of nowhere, I have a thought. It had to have been from God but I have to race home to make sure that I am right. I tell her that I will call her back in 10 mins if I need to cancel the card. We head home. I run into my house ( before the kids can see what I am doing), and run to my laundry room, open my dryer, sort through clothes, and there in all its glory is my card!!!!!! What was it doing in there you may ask? Well, for some unknown reason, my cropped pants were too loose for my liking, so I stuck them in the dryer for 5 mins when I had been home earlier. Obviously, I had stuck my debit card in my pants while I was pumping gas!!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Now, as you are laughing, let us ask a few impt questions.
1. Why put a debit card in your pants pocket?
2. Why didn't you remember that you had put said card in pocket?
3. And most impt. why did you throw that perfectly delicious Bkyd Burger and Fries away??? The lean cuisine meal I ate just didn't do it for me!!!!

If only....

I could get my act together and do the OAMC thing! About a month ago, my neighbor and I got together and cooked freezer meals for my friend that is having the chemo treatments. We tripled everything so that we could enjoy some of the meals too. Oh my goodness, it has been GREAT. When my mom brought the twins home, I was able to pull out my spinach lasagna and just make a salad and bread. Last night, I popped in my meatloaf that I had defrosted earlier in the day. All I had to do was warm up leftover mashed potatoes ( that I turned into cheesy ones), make greenbeans and some bread. Seriously, if I could just motivate myself to come up with some healthy choices and then cook for the freezer once in awhile, then we might eat a little better around here. If only........ !

TWO GREAT MEN!

Today being Father's Day, I have to post about two exceptional men.

First of all, I was blessed with an incredible dad. Growing up, I think ( no I know) that I took for granted the fact that I had a Godly man training me and guiding my life in the right direction. Sure there were times when I thought he was way too strict, especially when giving me tv tickets and asking me daily if I had done my devotions! Being a pastor, is one of the most stressful jobs on this earth, but I never once doubted my dad's love for me and my siblings, or for my mom. He put up with all of my feminine drama and sat through who knows how many ballet performances, and was always there to lend a supportive and encouraging voice. I think he might often wonder if he did a good job raising his children. He didn't! He did a GREAT job. I hope he realizes how much he is loved and appreciated and that one day he truly will stand before his heavenly father and hear those words..."well done my good and faithful servant"! I LOVE YOU DAD!!!

I wasn't just blessed with a good dad, I was also blessed with a wonderful husband and father to my own children. Greg is one of those men that everyone likes. He is friendly and kind and positive at almost any given time. When we first met, he told me that he wanted to have five children. He was always rolling around with the kids from church and they affectionately labeled him the "big kid". Thankfully, he reconsidered the number of children after watching his wife go through pregnancy twice. However, he is the very best dad to the three he was gifted with. They absolutely love their father. In fact, I think he is known as the "fun" one around our house. Since Greg travels, his spare time at home is often spent with our offspring. Some men choose to hunt, fish, or golf in their free moments. Not my husband, no he spends almost all of his free time taking them here and there. He is forever pointing them to Christ and he sets an amazing example of a man who puts the Lord first in everything. I know that they will grow up with a confidence that their father loves them with all his heart! I LOVE YOU GREG!!!

Great Weekend!

I had a wonderful weekend and it was just what my spirits needed!!! Friday night....my friend and I went and had dinner at a great place. We also split dessert ( which we always do). It was some sort of apple and caramel thing with ice cream....DIVINE!!! The concert was FABULOUS! Martina is awesome. She also knows how to perfectly blend her brand new stuff with all of her older hits. She came up from under the stage to start it off with 'Anyway'! We were screaming. She was wearing like 4 inch heels and I wondered how she ran around and up and down those ramps without tripping. She is absolutely a gorgeous person! The crowd went WILD when she sang 'Where would you be'! I mean....she can SING!!!! I had read on my cd cover how she said that the song was incredibly hard to sing so it made me respect her that much more. She doesn't miss a beat! Anyway, enough rambling on that, but if you ever get the chance, go see her! You won't regret the money spent!

Saturday, the girls came home. It was so good to see them. It was obvious from their freckles, that they had been at the beach. They had a great time. So, I am up to my ears in laundry and getting my house back in order. They started VBS this morning and Noah starts his KDO tomorrow so I will have a few hours of alone time this week! ;)

Yesterday, I convinced Greg to watch some of 'North and South' with me! Yes, I could watch it over and over. We made it through the first two parts, but he did doze off at one point. MEN! I found a trailer on You Tube for it so I may try to post it. IT IS THAT GOOD PEOPLE!!!!

As you can see, it was a busy but fun weekend. The summer is off to a great start! 3 more weeks until our BEACH trip! I can't wait!

Random Ramblings....

I have been neglecting my blog...well not intentionally, but just because I don't have anything exciting or funny to post about. Noah and I have been quite lazy this week and that has been both good and bad. I have had lots of time to think and reflect and sometimes my brain goes into overdrive and then I am just completely exhausted. On the flip side, it has been nice not getting up at 5:45 and not worrying about a particular naptime,etc. The twins will be coming home on Sat but before then I get to have a little fun. Tomorrow night is the big concert. I am very excited about it and looking forward to a lovely evening. The next few weeks will be a little busier. The twins have VBS next week and Noah will start his two day a week kid's day out program. That means I can go to Target by myself!!! The following week the girls have sports camp and then 3 weeks from now, we are leaving for our beach vacation. I absolutely cannot wait to have a week long vacation and I hope the weather cooperates!!! As soon as we get home from that, the girls will be leaving for a week long camp experience. This will be their first time to go to an overnight camp, but they are so excited!

So now you know a little of my summer schedule. I know it will be over soon, but I am desperately trying to enjoy it! Before I realize, we will be heading to back to school night and my little boy will be starting pre-school..........STOP ANDREA!!! See what I mean when I say that my brain won't relax? ;)

Friends Forever.....

Noah and I got to go to Christy (mommy brains) new home today! It is absolutely beautiful and I am totally impressed that I only saw about 3 boxes! I know that they are going to love their new place and make many happy memories there. Noah had a blast playing with Laura Grace and thankfully, I remembered to bring my camera. They ran around in the sprinkler for a bit and then played really well together in her new room! Here are a just a few pics and click on them to get a full view!

Best buddies ( and future husband and wife ;) )



Lovely Laura Grace



Who can resist that adorable face (oreo's and all)?



My wet little fella!