Rainy day....

I had several errands I needed to run this morning, so while I did those, Todd did school with the kids. Wasn't that sweet of him? It was nice having a break from the usual daily routine. We had lunch and then got the babies down for their nap. They didn't settle down for a while, but eventually, I think they all rested a little.

Amber called me after lunch. They are doing pretty good-she is having her baby next Tuesday (in Honduras). So, if you think about it say a prayer for her that everything will go okay. Her mother gets to come down-she'll be flying in on Friday. It was good to talk with her-I hate that she's so far away...but I'm glad the Lord is using them.

I feel so sleepy this afternoon....I know it's because it's so rainy out. I'm glad me and the kids went out for a while yesterday and enjoyed the nice weather. I'm terrible about watching the news/weather-I never know what's going on! I call my dad if I want to know something going on in the news...he keeps me informed. :0)

This weekend Todd is off Thurs-Sun. (kind of-he has school on Thursday). I'm so happy...I LOVE his four day weekends. My sister is coming on Thursday, our church is having an activity on Friday night, and we had talked about going down to the property...I don't know what all we'll do, and it doesn't really matter-I'm just glad Todd doesn't have to work!

A sweet surprise....

I went into work this morning for a little while. I left at around 11:00 so I could take Sarah to the doctor. She has felt fine, but her neck looks like she swallowed a golf ball-her lymph nodes on the left side are so swollen. They did some blood work and decided it's a viral thing-he's not too concerned since she doesn't have any other symptoms....that's kinda what I thought, but just to be on the safe side, I took her. When we arrived back home from the doctor, our mail had come. I noticed a bigger envelope sticking out of the mailbox. I open it up, and inside was a headband with two of the cutest bows for Savannah-from my blog buddy, Veronica. Thank you so much Veronica...it was so sweet of you and Isabella to think of Savannah. Bless her heart, she needs some big bows on her head to draw attention away from the fact she doesn't have any hair! :-) She's getting some more, though. I had to go and take some pictures of her sporting her new headband and one of the bows. It is so pretty-it says, Jesus loves me.Here's a pic of all the kids at a park nearby...the trees look so pretty-it was nice to get out and enjoy the evening.My two babies.....one of them missing a sock. I think she's trying to eat grass here, too...EVERYTHING is going in the mouth these days. Oh yeah, I noticed a new tooth tonight...on the bottom! I thought the top ones would be in for sure. I think another one's coming on the bottom.

I love this pic....she's a sweetie.Isn't that bow adorable? Thank you, again, Veronica!

Feeling a bit overwhelmed....

That sums up how I'm feeling these days. I'm having a hard time lately keeping up with everything I need to accomplish....and I'm frustrated that I'm not able to accomplish it all. Enough about that.....

I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted on here! I've been wanting to write about the couples' retreat Todd and I attended-it was so much fun! It was on October 9 and 10th at a camp that we had never been to. Dr. Clarence Sexton and his wife were the speakers. The day of the retreat, I was running around 'til the last minute packing (which is not usually like me)...it had been such a hectic day. The kids and I had done school, then we took Savannah to the pediatrician-she ended up having her first ear infection. My parents came to my house that afternoon, and Todd and I were on our way. We met at church and rode the bus-there were 11 couples, I think that went. I enjoyed the services so much. The first night, Dr. Sexton preached from Gen. 3:14-19...after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden God gave them the thorns. (was the point he made) He pointed out that God gives us the gift of thorns. And of course, the thorns represent the painful things in our lives. They remind us of our dependence on the Lord, and one another. The thorns are for our sake. Then he went to 1 Cor. 12:1-9, I think it was, talking about the thorn in the flesh. He pointed out verse 9, My strength is made perfect in weakness. The thorns are for our strength. The next passage he used was Ephes. 5:21-25-to make the point the thorns are for our Saviour. That we may demonstrate God's love and show the reality of a true and living God. It was such a good service. Then, we split up and the ladies had a session with his wife, and he taught the men. She had so many good things to say-
I can't say enough how much we enjoyed the time to get away and be together. It was wonderful!

In other news....Savannah has been pulling up for the longest time now....she still only has 2 teeth, but is working on I don't even know how many on the top! I think they are close.... Seth has an ear infection now...poor little guy. He has been kind of congested, then he woke up from his nap on Wednesday and was so fussy-he wouldn't stop crying and pulling at his ear. Todd took him to the dr for me, and sure enough, he had an ear infection. He's acting so much better, thankfully...now if only he and Stu would take their naps. I don't know what their deal is here lately, some days they just won't rest....and then they're so cranky at night-I don't deal well with whining. Spencer has lost 2 teeth now, but they have already been replaced-his teeth never even got loose, his permanent ones just popped in right behind them! We worked on one of them for what seemed like forever-Todd finally pulled it last week. Shelby also lost a tooth the other night...at McDonalds. All of theirs are coming out, and Savannah's are coming in.

I guess I better wrap it up for tonight. Hopefully it won't be a month before I post again.

Fall is upon us....

Fall definitely was upon us today...and I think it's going to be that way for most of the week. The highs today were only in the 60's, and it was SO windy. I've been trying to wash clothes like crazy to make sure the kids have warmer things to wear...since just yesterday it was pretty warm. Oh well....

Today was pretty busy, as are most days around here. I went in to work this morning, worked 'til about noon and then headed to the dentist. They found one cavity. :-( By the time I got back home it wasn't long before Todd had to leave for work. We tried to sit and talk for a few minutes. I don't like those days when everything's so rushed and we only get to say hello and goodbye, it seems, in passing.

I would like to ask anyone who reads this, if you would, to pray for my sister. She will be having a heart cath done in the morning-she's 33. I'm not sure what type of symptoms she was having, but she went to the doctor, they did an EKG-it was normal. They sent her for a stress test last week, they called her the next morning and set her up for this cath. tomorrow.

I cannot believe how the time is flying. I know I say that so much, but it seems to be going faster! I don't know if it's because Todd's shift is always changing, or because we have a lot going on......I looked at Savannah today sitting in her exercauser-I just can't believe how big she is already. I think she's grown up faster than any of our kids, but then again, maybe it just seems that way because we're so busy with the others.... ???

I would like to share a praise. I am so thankful that the Lord is always with us, and watches over us. I'm thankful He is taking care of my kids. Last night after church, we picked up the babies from the nursery. The kids were all playing with Seth, getting him all wound up. We were all heading for the door, but he was ahead of everyone, and I think he started picking up the pace. I was behind him, calling his name, trying to catch up to him. There were people standing all over the place-it was hard to get through. Seth comes to the door, goes right on out, onto the porch of the church, still running full speed, right into the parking lot. I cannot even see at this time, but a car was coming-it came probably within a foot of him. People gasp and turn to look at me....I was trying to get to him, but there were people everywhere...like I said, I couldn't even see the car for people standing around. It didn't phase Seth, he takes off through the parked cars, still heading for our truck, full speed ahead. I finally get him and try to tell him he can't run through the parking lot....as if a 2 year old comprehends. He had no idea of the danger and what had almost happened to him. I keep replaying this over and over in my head-so thankful that the Lord spared my baby boy.

Something else that happened last night, we had the Lord's supper in church. I don't think Stu has ever been with us in "big church" when we've had the Lord's supper. He had already told me that he was getting hungry, as the preacher was finishing his message. I think he thought the elements were appetizers when they brought the trays around-especially the juice, he was ready to grab a glass of it. He had a minor breakdown when I told him he couldn't have any-that was probably due to the fact he took about a half hour nap-he and Sarah had play time when they should have been resting. Kids are so funny....you never know what they are liable to do in any given situation. :-)

The weekend...

This weekend has been Todd's time to work second shift....these are not my favorite hours, but at least it rotates and he doesn't work this all the time. A few of the kids have been coughing and all, I think it's mainly due to allergies. Sarah was coughing and sneezing so much yesterday-I gave her Benadryl and she used her inhaler, but it didn't seem to help much. When Todd got home from work last night, he went into Sarah and Stu's room because he could hear someone talking. They were both still awake, Sarah wasn't feeling well, and had a fever. I kept her and the babies in today-I hated to miss church, but it was probably for the best. It has been such a nasty, rainy day.....



While everyone else was at church, Sarah and I were talking about last week at church how three little girls got baptized. I asked Sarah if she knew for sure she was saved. She told me she was, I asked her how she knew, she told me. She seemed pretty sure. Then she says, "I need you to help me with Stu" in other words, he needs to be saved, too. She went on explaining how she'd "preached" to him. :-) I'm glad the older ones are concerned about the younger ones and their need for salvation.

Can I just say....

Can I just say that I LOVE my new church? I am still having issues about fitting in, but I can tell those are easing (it might have helped that the past 2 services Todd has been with me), it's not "home" yet, but I am so excited about what the Lord is doing there. Every time we go to church, we are hearing about someone new that just got saved since the last time we were there. It's amazing! I am going on visitation tonight, I'm a little nervous-it's been a while since I've gone out door to door...I'm not exactly sure how they do things, but I'm excited, too, because I know as a Christian, this is what I should be doing. I am so thankful we left our old church, hard as it was, we should have done it a long time ago! That's what Todd said as we pulled out of the church parking lot last night. He was talking about the Pastor's message and how much he enjoyed it, he said something to the effect that he couldn't believe we waited so long. Oh well, the past is the past-I'm just glad we have moved, and we're beginning to start a new chapter in our lives.

I had such a good time at the Ladies' Retreat I attended on Fri. night/Sat. I got to see one of my friends from camp and one of her friends, that has become my friend-we stayed in a cabin together, just the three of us. It was fun sitting around talking, acting like a teenager, w/NO INTERRUPTIONS! ;0) I enjoyed the teaching sessions, too...they made me feel like dirt, but conviction's good, right? One of my friends that I worked with at camp, spoke at one of the sessions, she was reminding us that we are going to fail as parents, lose our patience, but the Lord is merciful. She used these verses:
Ps. 103:13-14 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
I'm so thankful the Lord has pity on me! I fail Him so much....I lose my patience so many times, EVERY day...it's good to remember the Lord is gracious and loving. I don't mean to say that He is okay with my wrong attitudes and behavior, but as the next verse says, He knows my frame and He remembers I'm dirt. :-)
I may mention some more about the retreat later....it was so good....just what I needed. Speaking of retreats, Todd and I are going to be going to a couple's retreat in October at another camp close by with our church. I'm so excited! I don't even remember the last time we went somewhere overnight, just us, and I think it will be so good. Dr. Clarence Sexton, and his wife, from Temple Baptist Church/Crown College in Powell, TN are the speakers. I can't wait!

I guess I better go. Just wanted to do a quick update.

Remembering.... and a ladies' retreat! :-)

I thought about the fact that today was 9/11 yesterday, and Todd mentioned it because the building he works in was going to be handing out pins today for Patriot Day, but then this morning the kids and I got busy doing our routine and I hadn't given it much thought, until things slowed down. I remember that day so well.... I wasn't watching the news at all, but my dad called me and told me a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I must admit, when he first mentioned it, I wasn't even sure which building he was talking about. I think I turned on the tv then, I don't remember now if I actually was watching when the second plane hit, or if I've just seen it so many times on re-plays, but I think I was watching. I remember Todd and I headed over to our church so he could change the filters. We were listening to the radio as reports came in about the Pentagon and the other plane. I remember just how unbelievable it all seemed....this is America...that kind of stuff isn't supposed to happen here! We went to my parents house, Todd was helping my dad do some project...it seems like they were tearing something out. I was glued to the tv...I couldn't believe it all. I remember when the towers fell. It seems like we had a prayer meeting that night at church, but maybe it was a different night...I'm not 100% sure. I just remember putting Shelby to bed that night (she was 13 mths old) and looking at her, thinking about all the families that had been affected by this....how many moms or dads went to work that morning, but never came home. I remember trying to read my Bible. I went to Psalm 11. Vs. 1 says, In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? It did sound good at that time to go somewhere and get away from all that was happening. Vs. 2 says, If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? I definitely felt that our "foundations" were being attacked that day...the financial side of things, by striking the towers, our Pentagon... Vs. 4, The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold...... I'm so glad the Lord is aware of everything going on-nothing takes Him by surprise. These verses did serve as a comfort to me on that day, 8 yrs ago; it's just good to be reminded that God is in control. As a song that I love says, Nothing can touch me that doesn't pass through His hands.

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In other news, I am leaving tonight to go to a Ladies' Retreat. I'm so excited to get away and spend time with other ladies. I am hoping to come back to my family refreshed....then I need to get busy....it's been so crazy-I'm behind on my work, my house is needing attention (although I have done a few things trying to straighten up-and at least I got the mountain of laundry done). Todd will be with the kids after he gets off work tonight, then my mom will be keeping them tomorrow while he works. She usually goes with me, but she thought they were still going to be out of town...I'm thankful she's keeping the kids since Todd wasn't able to get off work, but I will miss her.