Happy Birthday Halle!!!

I would have loved to post this yesterday on her actual birthday but it just didn't happen. Halle had a wonderful birthday party complete with friends, food, and her very own smash cake made by yours truly. I've never made my girls birthday cakes before but in an effort to be thrifty I decided I'd do it this year. I've wanted to make their cakes but always thought I'd have to buy too many tools thus being cost prohibitive but I opted for simplicity and bought funfetti cake and icing and a can of decorator icing that comes with its own decorator tips and I was in business. It wasn't perfect or extrordinary but I was happy with the way it turned out and Halle seemed quite happy as well. The Kelsos and Fadelys joined us for a BIG party considering the size of our apartment but it was nice having everyone here- LOUD but nice. I found myself being a little hoarse from trying to "yell" over everyone else.

Her actual birthday was not as much fun for her since she got shots that she's been behind on and then had to spend four hours at the mall with Mommy and Daddy who were frantically trying to catch up on Christmas shopping before we go out of town. She made sure to alert us to her displeasure as well as all those around us- that was fun! She didn't have any birthday cake but she had some cranberry brulee chiller from Gloria Jean's and a pretzel from Auntie Anne's and that helped make some things better.

And I'd like to take this opportunity to brag on Amanda. I was really busy yesterday with a Dr.'s appt., working out, and Christmas shopping so I wasn't that much help with the ton of laundry that has to be done before we leave and she worked from the time she got up until after we got home last night doing laundry and cleaning without being asked!!! When we got home the house was completely spotless! She really does so much around here so I rewarded her by telling her she's never allowed to move out. Seriously though, I think I'd have a nervous breakdown if she wasn't here.

So, Florida...I feel relaxed already. It's supposed to be in the 70's on Christmas day and I can honestly say that I'm glad it won't be cold. I can hardly wait to walk on the beach, stick my toes in the sand, and walk in the water- if the water's not too cold. There are a hundred places I want to visit but obviously we won't be able to in the amount of time we'll be there but I'm sure we'll be able to visit several and I can hardly wait!!! Well, I'm off now to pack some shorts and T-Shirts :)

Merry Christmas and Tisra, enjoy your Holiday Cake! 

Man-O-Man, What a Week

Man, has this been a rough two weeks! Last week Luke was sick, I could describe his symptoms but for the sake of your stomachs I'll keep it to myself. Then Jaren was sick. Then Halle was sick. Now it's rough when you're babysitting sick kids but when yours get sick too it's different. She started with a fever and runny nose and then the cough. I mean the nasty scares me cough. It started on Sunday and by Monday night it was pretty bad. Tuesday morning it sounded like she was wheezing and it was taking much too much effort to breathe so we went to the Dr. After listening to her chest the Dr. confirmed the wheeze and suggested pneumonia or asthma which was not what I wanted to hear. If she'd been running a very high temp there would have been blood work and the like but since it was relatively low she prescribed a steroid for the cough and an antibiotic for her very first ever ear infection. No wonder she was cranky! The cough/wheeze has persisted but was much better by yesterday and it's a good thing it was since Chloe woke up with a fever and vomiting that morning- did I mention that Travis was sick this past weekend too? Thankfully she's better after a dose of Emetrol- a medicine that somehow settles sick stomachs; I wish I'd had it as a kid. It did not help her sleep, however and I think I may have had 3 or 4 hours of continually interrupted sleep so I'm feeling a little sleepy. But I'm waiting up for Amanda to come home from watching "Narnia" so I'm typing.

I'm also religiously taking Airborne and I haven't had more than a little sore throat- I'm so thankful! I'm also hoping that since everyone is sick now we've kind of gotten it over with so everyone will be healthy in FL.

And now I'm off to bed and tomorrow will be cleaning, shopping, and a Christmas party. I'm really looking forward to a vacation.

Our Life in Pictures

I was looking back through my blog a few days ago and realized that I hadn't posted any pictures since July! Of course, it's not as important now since we've moved back and our friends see us regularly but it was also a way for me to not have to try to come up with something interesting/witty to write.

Well, Chloe lost her first tooth Thursday night. It had been loose for quite a while and finally she just couldn't eat with it in her mouth because it hurt. So I asked if I could pull it and she gave me the standard reply- No, it will fall out alla by itself. Since I'd been trying to get her to acquiesce to my pulling it for a couple of days to no avail I decided to try another angle- You know that if I pull your tooth it wont hurt anymore and you can put it under your pillow and the tooth fairy will bring you money. Well, that was it she decided that the tooth would come out immediately. She helped me tie the dental floss around it and I expected her to back out or beg me not to (flashback to Amanda's first lost tooth) but she never did. After one quick yank the tooth was out! Her gum was bleeding some and I thought she'd freak out (like her big sis) but she didn't she just held a cloth on it until I said to take it off. She then, in typical Chloe fashion, thanked me profusely for pulling her tooth:

Thank you so much Mommy for pulling my tooth, it doesn't hurt anymore, now I will get a Tooth Fairy Coin!

A Tooth Fairy Coin! Priceless!

Her tooth is really loose!!!

Her first lost tooth!!!

Much Happier!

 

Amanda's new haircut-given by Mom

Halle and Daddy

Chloe is really happy to be with her dad

My new favorite picture

Halle's new favorite Christmas present

Chloe at Opryland

Chloe and Lobsters

Halle and Nanni

Halle and Poppi

Halle's favorite past time- playing in the wipes

Halle trying to clean up some spilled water for me

No photos please

The princess retires for the evening in her carriage

Mommy and Halle

Jaren and Chloe

The glitter princess

Fun at the zoo

Still more fun at the zoo

More fun at the zoo

Girls having fun

Chloe at Kid's Kingdom

Luuukkkeee, I am your father

You Know You're Truly a Mom When....

You know you're truly a mom when...

You are doing Pilates to regain you're figure while you're drooly, snotty nosed, cherub like infant beats on your head with a squeaky rubber ducky.

You are doing Pilates while said cherub like creature is biting your forehead.

That's all I have for today. And "no" I didn't quite finish my workout.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I know everybody is busy this time of year and I'm no exception. The sad thing is I'm not busy with Christmas stuff yet. I mean, I should be busy with that because there's plenty to do but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I have Christmas cards to write and send, cookies to bake, presents to buy, and an endless list of housekeeping things to do and I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. So I'm going to have to really buckle down and forget having much relaxing time until we get to FL for Christmas! I don't know if I'd mentioned that our Christmas present from Trav's parents is money for a trip to Fl. Everybody is sooo excited. We haven't been to FL in more than 2 years so this will be really nice.

There really is so much to report especially on the Halle front. When I get a chance I'm going to post our life in pics because we really have done a lot lately. But anyway, where to start? I could start with teeth- she's had an eruption lately! She had been working on getting her bicuspids (I'm pretty sure that's what they are) and it took them about 3 months from the time you could see them before they actually broke through. So, I wasn't really paying attention to the rest of her mouth. But I noticed on Monday that she was getting two more teeth in the bottom to match the ones on the top and yesterday I put my finger in her mouth and felt a molar that had broken through! Then on closer inspection I realized that she's getting 4 molars! It's not as soon as Chloe got hers (6 months which is freakishly early) but I think she's still 6mths ahead of schedule.

And since we're talking about teeth, Chloe has had a loose tooth for about a month! I'm so bummed! From time to time I check on how loose it is- you know wiggle it- and when I did that the other day I noticed that the new adult tooth has already broken through. Then I checked the baby tooth next to it and sure enough, it was loose too! My poor little four year old is already losing teeth. Travis was just like that as a kid and had to have braces and extra teeth pulled and all sorts of bad stuff so I really hope that Chloe doesn't have to go through that. My teeth are pretty straight and I haven't had any work done so hopefully she'll at least get that from me.

This has been an eventful and busy week and one of those reasons is that Mary had her baby a month early. The birth and subsequent events have been recorded in at least 3 blogs so I won't recap but we were able to visit Kris and Mary last night and even though we were in the NICU waiting room we had a great time. You wouldn't have thought we were there because their son isn't completely well. But I've written this at least 3 times today but I'll write it again, that is a gorgeous little boy they have and I can hardly wait for him to get well and go home!

We have Lael's 1st birthday party tonight and I'm excited to go. Don't tell her but I bought a little prince and princess set because I wanted her to have a truly girlie toy and bought bright pink wrapping paper and a large pink bow and a card with ladybugs. After so many years of buying boys things for the Fadely boys I think Tisra will like the girlie-ness of it all. I don't think Lael will notice so, I guess the girlie gift is as much for Tisra as it is for Lael.

Well, I shall go now as I have a poopie diaper to change and children to feed. But hey, it's a gorgeous day!

The Babies Are Sleeping

The babies are sleeping or were sleeping anyway- I just heard Halle cry. I love this time of day, though. Everyone is down for a nap by 1:30-ish and then I get a chance to workout. I can hardly believe I'm able to get it to work out this way and sometimes it takes some work but it's so worth it.

I've never been much of a schedule person before. I like to do what I want when I want but I'm finding out more and more that you can do life that way but there are other things you have to give up. Like a designated work out time or devotion time or just by myself time so I'm thinkin' that a schedule is the way to go. Ironically, I'm going to have to come back to this because 2 kids are now awake...

OK, I'm back. In other news I'm officially and E-Bay-er (ee?). I've never purchased anything from E-Bay before because since it's a bidding thing I've just assumed that I would'nt get whatever it is that I want to bid on. I have been borrowing Christina's Winsor Pilates tapes though and I really wanted the DVD's for myself. I looked at them a year or so ago (when I was pregnant) and the set was about $60 at Target. Well, I wasn't really willing to cough up that much dough so I thought about E-Bay. I figured there were plenty of people that bought them from an info-mercial or something and never used them and I was right. I was able to get the set for $10.50 thanks to Trav's hard work at figuring E-Bay out and bidding for me.

So, Thanksgiving is coming up and my parents are coming to town. Chloe is sooo excited about watching the Thanksgiving Day parade and making breakfast with me. I have finished buying all of our Thanksgiving Dinner supplies and I've never gotten it done this early before. I'll be making casseroles ahead of time so Thanksgiving Day should be pretty stress free. Mom will be here to help out so everything should run smoothly. We'll also be opening presents from my parents since we'll be in FL this year! We haven't been to FL for Christmas in 4 long years so we're long overdue for a visit. We'll be seeing family, of course, but we'll be taking quite a bit of family time as well so it will be a vacation time that we really need.

I don't expect to have time to post for the rest of the week so have a happy Thanksgiving!

November 17, 2005

Hmmm, it's been a while. I think of great posts all the time but I'm rarely in the position to just type it out so I guess you guys will be getting leftovers a little early this year.

Halle is officially crawling. Yep, the little tyke is mobile. She still doesn't crawl all over the house, it's sad but it looks like her teeny arms won't take her that far. So, it seems, she reserves crawling for desperate times, like when she's trying to find me.

Chloe is a doll, of course. OK, this is too funny but the conversation between she and Jaren yesterday was priceless. Occasionally Chloe gets on a kick. Her most recent "kick" is that she's going to marry Grant. It comes up probably every other day, with no encouragement I might add. Well, yesterday she was talking to Jaren and said, "even when you get big I WILL NOT MARRY YOU! I'm going to marry Grant!" I don't think Jaren has ever said anything about marrying her so I'm not sure why she brings it up but it is cute!

I am trying out Pilates. I know, I'm way behind the times. I actually have tried it before and I didn't like it. It seemed a little too "girly" because it wasn't up to the intensity I'm used to. Also, the tape I have was set to some kind of tribal-ish drum music and it doesn't take very long for that to really get on my nerves. Well, Christina has some tapes that don't have goofy music and I tried it yesterday and really liked it. Some of it was difficult and some seemed silly because it was so simple but people say that it works well so I really want to give this a chance since the other things I've tried haven't given me the results I want. The instructor said that it works the little muscles to support the big muscles which is why people that do pilates don't have bulky muscles. We'll see.

There's nothing much else happening on the Button front. I'm meeting Travis for lunch in a while, that should be fun. More later.

Stuff

Well, I'd like to say I have some grand reason for not posting recently but really I just haven't felt like writing. I think I kind of fell into a "worn out" slump from all of the recent events but I'm much better now.

We have finally decided on a church home and that church is- Sumner Life! I'm sure it's not a big surprise to anyone but it was a tough choice. Well, really, we just wanted to find where God wanted us and He didn't seem to be speaking much until the last couple of weeks. So, we didn't plant a church in AL but we'll be attending a church plant in TN, it's funny how things come full circle. We are really excited and everyone that is at the church is excited to be there as well. The energy that's there is refreshing. I think that everyone feels like they are there for a purpose and that God is going to use them to make this a great church and I'm excited to be part of that.

We had a fun Halloween. Chloe was a princess- thanks to a very fancy dress that Grandma bought her a couple of years ago. We weren't really sure what we were going to do for Halloween and then I remembered the dress. It was perfect for a princess and she loved it! We put on lots of hairspray and glitter, eyeshadow and blush and you could tell she loved it! She smiled the entire time I was putting makeup on her. We went to Cornerstone's Halloween carnival and she had a nice time. I don't know how many people were there but for the most part it was shoulder to shoulder people so I think we'll do something different next year. Cornerstone always puts on a top notch carnival but with little girls I think it will be better to do something a little more low key.

This past weekend was a rough one for Halle because she was sick-again. She ran a fever until Tuesday but is much better now.

I'm going to end now. Luke is here for the next 3 days and Jaren is out of town but they still need supervision. Happy November!!! I love November!

Amy's Southwest Casserole

Hmmm, not sure I like the name but that's ok. I'm going to do my best to write down my chicken black bean dish but since I just throw in a little of this and a little of that it's difficult to pin down. But here goes:

What you'll need:
1 16 oz pckg. of dry black beans cooked according to package directions or 4 cans of black beans rinsed and drained (if you don't drain them the dish will be to soupy)
3 boneless skinless chicken breast-cooked
1 package taco seasoning
mojo (you can find it in a bottle in the Mexican food section) just use a splash- to taste
1 package frozen corn (I like white best but you can use any variety)
1 small jar salsa-thick and chunky- whatever heat you like
1 8 oz pckg. Mexican cheese

Combine all ingredients in a large skillet and cook until bubbly. I like to serve with Hint Of Lime Tostitos but you could serve over rice or anything else really. You can also make a casserole by layering flour tortillas, bean mixture, cheese...repeat, in a springform pan with the last layer being a tortilla with cheese on top. Cook at 4oo degrees until the cheese is bubbly- about 20-25 min. slice and serve with sour cream and Franks hot sauce, mmmm.

Blink Once for Yes, Twice for No

Have you ever seen one of those Dr. shows where there's a patient in a somewhat vegetative state and they ask them to "blink if you understand what I'm saying."? Well, this post has nothing to do with that.

It does, however, have to do with Halle blinking. I'm sure you're thinking, blinking? It's one of those things like breathing you just do it. Well, she has started blinking with purpose. The other night at Target she bumped her head on the shopping cart and made a face and blinked very hard and deliberately as if to say, "you may pick me up now!". She'll also copy my blinking pattern. We played a blinking game during dinner last night and it was adorable.

OK, so there's only so much you can write about your kid blinking. So, everything else with us is fine and I must say that I'm incredibly happy to be here. I'd like to be more settled but that will just take time. Now if we could only decide what church to go to.....

All Kids Update

I realized the other day when I was reading Mary's blog that I have neglected to post anything about the kids in quite a while. Now, that may not be too important to most of you, but I'm sure it's important to my Mother In Law. I'm pretty sure that my Mom doesn't read my blog but she gets to see the girls way more often so here goes with milestones and little anecdotes.

I took Halle a couple of weeks ago to get her 9 month check up and shots. During the visit it was determined that her weight fell in the 5th percentile. It's funny, she started out in the 90th percentile because she was a big baby, but now she's a tiny 5th percentile. After talking with the Dr. we decided that she's ok and she's just built like her Daddy.

Which, BTW, she said "DaDa" as soon as Travis walked through the door yesterday. She's said DaDa before but this time she was saying it to him, so sweet.

So, back to her being tiny. Yesterday I put her in her little car walker that Chloe had which was a hand me down from her cousin. Well, she started fussing and I thought she just wanted to be held so I didn't check on her immediately. Then Chloe said, "Mom, somethings wrong with Halle. Come in here and I'll show you what's wrong". I'll admit I was a little concerned because of the way Chloe phrased it but she wasn't yelling so I was pretty sure everything was ok. When I went into the living room it looked like Halle was twisted around in the seat but upon closer inspection I realized that her entire body had slipped through one of the legs of the seat and she was stuck! It was cute and pitiful. Of course, I rescued her and everything was much better.

Amanda "almost" broke her pinky. She decided 2 Sundays ago to go to the "Chili Bowl" which is an event that Cornerstone youth group puts on annually. There is lots of chili served and several teams play "flag" football. When she said she wanted to go she said she wasn't going to play. She wasn't dressed for it and wasn't on a team or anything. Well, 2 girls dropped out and she decided to fill in. When she tried to catch the ball it hit her on the end of the finger and sprained or jammed her pinky. We waited until the next day to take her to the Doctor. We were pretty sure it was broken which is why we took her at all. The Dr. said to "buddy tape" it to her ring finger and sent her to get X-Rays. Now, notice he told her to tape it, he didn't tape it himself. It's so aggravating. He couldn't even tape the fingers? I don't like this particular Dr. anyway, but really, the office doesn't have any tape? The X-Rays revealed that there was no break but I guess it's better to be safe...Man that was an expensive Chili Bowl.

Chloe, sweet Chloe. She does so much cute stuff it's hard to just come up with a couple of things. Oh yeah, bedtime.

The night before last I was so tired. I went to bed early and Travis put Chloe to bed then got into bed himself. We were both sound asleep when Chloe bursts into our room with her lunch box, back pack, and wearing only underwear. She cried "Mommy, Daddy, I want to go to Cornerstone! I want to go to school!" To which we calmly replied, "Huh, What! Chloe!!! GO TO BED!!!" Travis said when he went into the hall to put her back to bed she looked crushed. I felt so terrible and really it was cute. I am just not the most understanding person when I'm awakened from a dead sleep.

OK, so that is some of the cute or tramatic things happening here and as soon as I can I will post pics.

OK, that is a post in itself but let me summarize.

Tisra taught me how to put pics on my blog so I downloaded Picasa and set it up to put pics on. Travis moaned and groaned and complained about me putting a new program on the computer.
"What! What is this?!? It automatically comes up at startup? Who did this?!?" Yes, he did do that, although as soon as he reads this he'll deny it. Anyway, later HE decided that HE wanted to put pics on his blog so he changed something and now I can only post pics to HIS blog OR HIS MOM'S!!!!! UGH!!! I love him and his Mom but I want pics on MY BLOG WHICH IS WHY I DOWNLOADED IT TO BEGIN WITH!!!!!

Insert the somewhat sarcastic, give Trav a hard time font here! OK, a really, really hard time font.

All Moved In

You'll notice the title is "moved in" not "settled in". As you can imagine there is stuff EVERYWHERE! It is quite a large task but we're up to it.

So, the move was thankfully uneventful. We arrived at Mom and Dad's house at about 9:30 PM (I'm so glad we both got off early so we could leave early). We left later than we wanted to and were stuck in traffic for a while so it took us about an hour to actually get out of town. The next morning we had a great breakfast that Mom prepared for us and were off to get the moving truck. It's so funny, but apparently you can rent U-Haul's from anywhere. The place we went to for instance was in ghetttoville, OK, Bessemer, but you get the idea. When we got there I was amazed at how run down the place was. Did I say rundown? Because what I meant was a strong wind could have blown this place over. It looked like it used to be a gas station and inside there was a bunch of old used tires and junk. I can't imagine that anyone would buy those old tires, I don't think you could have driven on them and the ceiling was literally falling in. There was insulation hanging down from several places in the ceiling. The guy that ran the place was very nice but I'm sure just being there everyday is hazardous to his health. He did have a computer though and he asked Travis to enter his information so it would be faster- he wanted to get home to see the football game. Again, he was a nice guy and we got our truck.

Then we went back to Mom and Dad's and Amanda and I left for haircuts. Haircuts? Yes, haircuts, much to the dismay of my husband. He didn't want us to schedule them to begin with but we like getting our hair cut at this particular place and since we won't be in town for a while this was the only time to do it.

So after the haircuts we went back to my grumpy husband. He's not usually grumpy but we had so much to do you really can't blame him. I did give him a little pep talk though and he was much better. Hours later we were packed, fell into bed and got up early-ish for the long drive home.

Finally Getting Settled

Of course, with the way things go it may be premature to say that we're actually getting settled, but we are going to get our stuff. I really am pressed for time right now because I have to complete the move from apt. #1, (hereafter known as the animal urine soaked carpet, nasty, dirty place), to apt#2,( hereafter known as the clean, what an apartment should look and SMELL like place). I didn't want to post about apt. #1 too much because I didn't want to sound like a whiner but it really was gross and we were very unhappy. So fortunately for us, we were able to move right next door. Unfortunately for the next poor suckers, they will have to live on nasty carpet. The final straw for me was when I picked Halle up from being on the carpet and her face smelled like animal urine! Then later that same day I hugged Chloe and her hair smelled like it! So, so, so, gross! There is a reason we don't have pets and don't smoke.

In a few minutes I will be heading over to vacuum and clean the tile in apt. #1 and then I'll head to apt. #2 to pack up some clothes for the trip and to put away as many things as I can so that nothing is in the way when we get back.

So, cross your fingers, but I think we may just be able to get our stuff and set up house. I will let you know how it goes but now I'm off....

Too Much Bubbles!

"Mommy, there's too much bubbles! Too much bubbles, too much bubbles, too much bubbles..."

Do you ever ignore your kid? I do, especially when I'm doing something important. Like today for instance, I was reading very important TV gossip at E! online about my most favorite show that I never get to watch. Alias, if you must know. Poor Vaughn was "killed" in the first episode and I'm just devastated (man, I'm going to invent the sarcasm font someday and be rich. I mean, I do hate to see him "go" but I'm not too devastated!). Anyway, since we are in our apartment sans stuff I have only purchased the basic necessities. And since I'm in my newfound incredibly cheap mode, we have been using dish soap instead of dish washer detergent in the dishwasher. I know, I know but it's worked fine so far. I had been concerned, though, that I hadn't been using quite enough soap and I'm concerned (I'm a little paranoid) about the sanitary aspect of continually washing and reusing plastic cutlery. Hence the "little extra" soap I put in the dishwasher this morning.

"Mommy theres too much bubbles!" I finally looked up from the computer screen and, in fact, there were way too many bubbles. So, I thought, Well, Chloe needs a bath anyway and she'll really like playing in the bubbles, ah, what the heck! "Hey Chloe, you want to play in the bubbles?" Not to mention that since I didn't bring the mop, the floor could use a scrubbing as well, so I guess I killed a couple of birds with too much dish soap and made one of my girls happy as well.

A Baseball Game and Up To My Elbows in Snot

Hmmm, great title, huh?

Friday night we babysat for the Fadely's so they could go out for a date and when they got home we were invited to Grant's baseball game. Of course, we were thrilled to go. Amanda played tee ball when she was little and I grew up at the softball field so going to baseball or softball games brings back good memories. It's funny but since Travis didn't grow up playing baseball he was unfamiliar with some of the expressions. "Come on, run it out!" I yelled to a little boy I don't know who started to slow down before he got to first base. "Run it out?" Travis looked confused and a little proud that his wife knew what that meant. Several of the adults also took turns to take the little kids to an empty ball field to throw the ball and run bases. An hour and forty five minutes is a long time to watch baseball for little kids. I took my turn and tried to teach Chloe how to run the bases. Touch first, touch first...tag second..., You know, teaching her to actually step on the bags as she runs around in case we put her in tee ball. I'd really like to do that. It's a huge time commitment but I think it would be really good for her.

So, about the star of the game...Grant Fadely. He did a very good job of doing what his coaches told him. He was playing outfield and during a play he ran right over and backed-up first base, which in this league is very important. He also scored twice and I think he's the fastest runner on his team! It's so cool to share these milestones.

OK, so today I'm up to my elbows in snot. Yes, I said snot. It's not a pretty word and it's not a pretty substance. Kind of like the word "blog". I hate the word blog. I know it's short for web log but it really is a dumb word. It reminds me of some slimy substance that would be marketed as a childrens toy. But I digress. Anyway it started out electric green and has now gone clear. I swear with the amount of, you know, coming out of her nose it must be packed up to her brain. I was really wanting to go to church today but sitting in the "nursing mother's" room with an incredibly fussy Halle didn't sound like too much fun. Last week we visited Sumner Life and this week we are visiting Cornerstone. I hate to miss any of these visits because now I feel like I'm a week behind. Not to mention the spiritual "lift" I get from corporate praise and worship and a good message. Well, I hope the the rest of the Buttons enjoy it. I know they will. Chloe and Amanda were very excited to be able to be there today. I don't know what church we'll end up at. I really do love Cornerstone. There are things we don't like, as with any church, but we can get past that. I just don't know if I see us just going back and being in Choir and doing drama and that's it. I know that the Lord will show us where we're supposed to be I'm just not sure why he's hesitating.

OK, does anybody else have as much trouble wrapping up a post as I do? I have no trouble writing, it's the stopping that I have trouble with. Maybe I should just say "I'm done writing now".

I'm done writing now.

A Wonderful Birthday Bash

Well, not to steal Kris and Mary's thunder or anything but the Buttons had a completely wonderful time at Owen's 2nd birthday party last night. I have been so exhausted lately, I guess from hopping around so much. I haven't really had time to rest and I've just been very stressed. Anyway, Travis suggested maybe I should stay home last night and rest to which I responded, "Are you nuts!". Everyone needs time away to play and play we did. I ran through all the tunnels, slid on all the slides, slid on all the slides again with Halle in tow, and successfully beat up on Amanda and her friend Zach, thus ensuring myself the "coolest mom in the world" title with another one of Amanda's friends. I think that playground should be my new hangout. Yeah, Big Mountain Coffee was great, but the playground was way more fun.

Oh yeah, the party wasn't about us, was it? Sorry, but I'll have to let Kris and Mary fill you in on all the great Owen details. I do remember Kris snapping some covert pics of poor unsuspecting adults as we climbed in a very undignified manner through the tunnels. I'm sure we'll see some of those posted soon.

Last night was great fun and I heard it suggested that we ditch the kids and let the grown-ups have a turn...hmmm...now there's an idea!

Well, I guess you've noticed the new look. I've been working on it for a couple of days and I had to go to my blog to remember what it looked like. I tried several different backgrounds and really couldn't find anything I liked so I guess basic black is good. I really felt like I needed a change and I never want to hear the word "gypsy" again.

We do have a new vehicle now. I'm going to spare you all of the boring details, but the jist of it is we are now driving a 2005 white Dodge Grand Caravan. It handles well and is very roomy and of that I'm glad. We do need to get Travis a new vehicle in the next few months and it will definitely have to be something more sporty so we can have a "date" vehicle.

We're in our apartment, sans furniture, and it's nice to have the space here as well. The apartment wasn't in great condition when we moved in but I'm not going to take up any blog time by complaining. We do have a nice view of a fountain out of most of the windows. I love water features and though the beauty is slighty marred by the "tidy bowl" blueness of the water, it's still very nice.

I'm looking forward to being at Owen Kelso's 2nd birthday party tonight and should be able to catch up with friends and to let Chloe catch up as well. She asked if her "boyfriend" Grant would be there tonight. I don't know where she gets that from, but whenever we talk about Grant she always asks about her boyfriend Grant. It's funny how kids make things up.

My time is up. Halle refuses to take a nap that she desperately needs and I can no longer bear her pitiful "mommy come get me" cries.

Hey, lets play the disobedience game!

Since I'm babysitting now I have even more kids to talk about, isn't that great! They are all down for naps now so I'm free for a few minutes before Christina gets home.

Typically Jaren and Chloe are very good, compliant children. They usually do what I ask and if they don't I usually just have to correct them once and they're fine for the day. Today was NOT that day.

I was preoccupied with Halle for a while this morning and was trying to get her to sleep so I asked the kids to play in Jaren's bedroom. They've done that before and have done fine. I guess my first clue that something was wrong should have been the fact that they were pretty quiet. Well, I went in to check on them and the first thing I noticed was water on this little car garage -thing Jaren has? "Where did that water come from?", I asked. As I looked up a little higher I saw an amazing amount of toys and debris inside the fish bowl. The conversation then went something like this:
Amy- What did you guys do?
Chloe- We fed the fish.
Amy- What about this mess?
Jaren- We made a mess.
Amy- Chloe and Jaren you go to time out right now!
Chloe- (crying) Mommy!
Jaren- (crying) Mommy!
Halle- (crying the whole time- oh yeah, still crying)
After closer inspection I noticed that Chloe had emptied and entire sippy cup of water into the floor as well!

After time out I had the kids clean up while I searched for a vacuum cleaner (I had already rescued the fish or rescued the toys, however you want to look at it. Fish bowls gross me out btw.) to vacuum up the spilled fish food. I went back into the room and walked up behind Jaren as he was saying to Chloe, "Hey, lets make a mess!"

Yeah, they were just like that today.

Later, I let them play on the patio (lest you think Jaren was the only instigator today) and as soon as we went outside I had to get Luke up from his nap. Naively, I asked them to stay right on the patio while I got Luke up. So, I got him up and changed his diaper and as I was taking it to the trash I heard crying and "Jaren!" I went to the patio and saw Chloe walking up the steps, crying, and holding her head. Now, from that you'd think it was Jaren's fault, wouldn't you? However, it was Chloe that was the instigator. She and Jaren had been playing with a hard plastic dog (it weighs about a pound) and a small butterfly net. She decided that she should go into the yard with the butterfly net and let Jaren throw the dog to her and she would catch it. Well, she sort of caught it, right in the noggin she caught it.

So Chloe got a spanking and was sent upstairs for a nap. Jaren had a little more time to play and honestly he was just fine. Chloe was grouchy from not enough sleep and maybe that was enough to impair her judgement. But whatever it was I hope Wednesday is much better.

Wow! I have not had time or access to a computer regularly to update everyone on all things Button but it is naptime for most of the kids so I'll try to get something up quickly.

I'm babysitting the Spitters boys three days a week at least for the next few months. Christina is pregnant and due in January. She's planning on being home with the kids after that so I'm guessing I'll do this until sometime in December.

As I said in my last post the car was backed into (again) and we had a rental van. Well, we got the car back on Friday and it is not right. We told them on Thursday after we picked it up that it was not driving correctly. They checked it out again and said that the tie (ty, ti, ?) rods were damaged but it was due to wear and tear and not the accident. Well, they may have been worn but my car did not drive like that before the accident so it is very frustrating. So, we'll see what happens next. We're looking at vans now. Our general feeling is to get rid of it before something major goes wrong. We know it needs work but we just don't want to put anything into it since it's really too small for us anyway.

We are now staying with Don and Lana Tracy. That makes our 6th place to stay and our 6th city in the last 4 and a half weeks. Old Hickory, Hermitage, Goodlettsville, Madison, Nashville, and Hendersonville! It's a long story, too long really, but we have some great friends that have helped us out a lot. We stayed in a hotel for a week and a half but other than that we've stayed with friends, house sat for one of Trav's co-workers, and are now with Don and Lana. We're tired to say the least and are just trying to get through the home stretch. We'll be in our apt. on Thursday, sleeping on air mattresses and Friday we'll leave to go to Birmingham to get our stuff. We'll be coming back on Sunday and then it's just unpacking and settling in, whew!

More later, I must research vans.

Real Quick

OK, Halle is fussing so I'm going to make this quick.

1. Found a place to live
2. Got Amanda in school
3. Everybody got sick
4. Went to a baseball game (so fun!)
5. Started babysitting the Spitters boys
6. Car got smashed up (It was parked)
7. Have a rental van (I don't want to give it back)

I'm taking Amanda and her friend to the mall later since I actually have enough room for everyone. I promise to make time to post later.

Sweet Home Ala...er...oops

Well, the time has come to bid adieu to the lovely state of Alabama. It really is a lovely place and we didn't expect to leave so soon but life isn't always what you expect.

Oh, some background is in order. Yesterday, Travis got a job offer from Eric (God Bless Him!) at HMS and he accepted it. He's putting in his 2 weeks notice at Publix today and will start in 2 weeks. We called Beech High School about enrolling Amanda and we're trying to work out those details now. The plan right now is for The girls and I to be in town by the weekend so that Amanda can start school. Oh, I'm feeling a little dizzy. None of that is in stone but that's the plan for now.

But I must go and pack. Chloe says it's time to go Back to Tennessee! :)

Sewing

I think we all know I'm not exactly "sewing inclined". I'm not sure if I'd really like it and I'm not sure I want to take the time to learn how. I know, I still haven't made Trav's pj pants. It's just that when I went to sewing parties I'd much rather talk and eat than sew. Travis has said that I'm not allowed to sew anything until I make said pants. So, I guess I'll have to make a trip to TN to go to a sewing party to make them. But after that I'm thinking of possibly making a little comforter for Halle. I can't find any that I like in the store and it doesn't look like it would be too terribly difficult. I bought a set before we moved but since we weren't using it and weren't sure when we would (and I decided I didn't like it anymore) we took it back.

So my question is- where should I look to research this? I could Google sewing but I'd have to go through a bunch of websites that may or may not be what I'm looking for. I don't want to do that because I figure you guys could point me in the right direction. I don't know what type of fabric to look for or anything like that. I don't think I could do anything fancy and thought basically I could sew two pieces together like a pillow, put some batting in between, and put little ties through it to keep it in place. I'm just thinking that would work, no ridiculing is allowed if I'm way off base. So, thanks for the help and I'm just thinking about it. I'll let you know. I may find one that I like on sale and that would be the end of it but I really do want to try to make one. I think it would be kind of fun and special. If not a comforter then maybe a blanket type thing that she could play with (that's what I'll tell people if it turns out really bad). Thanks again, and happy sewing.

Amanda's New Job

April 25th, 1990, at 2:19 pm, there was a cry from a brand new baby girl. She weighed 7 lbs. 9.5 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. She had brown hair, blue eyes, and was immediately adored by all who met her.

That little girl starts her first job on Monday.

AAAHHHH!!! My baby has a job!?!

OK, I'm fine now. Amanda got a call today from her friend Jennifer who works at a restaurant in Helena called Brickworks Cookery. It's a nice little place that serves food cafeteria style. I've never eaten there but I've heard that it's very good. Well, it turns out that the restaurant is very short staffed and they need her to start work ASAP. Travis and I talked about it and said it would be ok on a trial basis, no more than 20 hours and 3 days a week. We'll see how it turns out. She's excited though, as you can imagine. I have mixed feelings about her working so young, but with her homeschooling I think it will help to make things less boring for her. It will be interesting to see what her work ethic is like. I guess I'll see if we're doing as good of a job as I think we are raising her. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Pita Chips

I thought it better to just post about pita chips than to write a really long comment on my previous post.

A couple of weeks ago Travis bought some black olive hummus and pita chips. I told him I didn't like hummus and didn't want to try it. I had tried it on a trip to Atlanta during my college years and I thought it was too tart. Anyway, as he usually does, Trav insisted that I try it and I loved it. The pita chips were great but I didn't like paying $2.99 a bag for 3 ounces (I'm a cheapskate) and thought I could make them. So, picked up a bag of pitas for about a dollar, made chips out of them, and I really like them. They're great for hummus but you could also dip them in warm black beans. It's a really healthy snack alternative and I love snacking. That's actually the thing I hate about dieting. Anyway, here's the recipe (sort of).

Preheat oven to 450
Cut pitas in half open up the pockets and cut them in half again (along the crescent, does that make sense? Cut them so there are two halves exactly alike, I should have taken pics)

Spray a baking pan with olive oil, or pam
lay the cut pita chips on the pan and spray with oil of your choice
Sprinkle with seasoning- I've tried several and I like roasted red pepper and garlic the best, although just plain salt is good too.
bake to desired crispness

Enjoy warm with hummus, black beans, salsa, or the dip of your choice! They don't keep very well so it's best to bake them shortly before you plan to use them.

Halle's First Finger Food

Well, today was the first time I gave Halle "finger food". I went to the mall with the girls because the power went out and it was way too hot to stay home. So we went to the food court and after we got our food Halle started fussing. Usually I just pick her up and eat with her in my lap but in the past couple of weeks that has become increasingly difficult. She has started squirming and reaching and will pull anything within reach of her little fingers off the table and into your lap. She will also (it's really cute) try to pry my lips apart after I've taken a bite, presumably to get to the food inside (well, that's kinda gross). Eating a salad is really a two hand job anyway and I was helping Chloe with her food so I decided to give her half of a cracker (since Chick-fil-a was kind enough to give me 10 packs). She handled it quite well and seemed very happy to have it. After that she took a sip of tea through my straw. I know, I know, bad Mom. Anyway, she has successfully dethroned Amanda as the earliest "straw drinker". I think Amanda was doing that at about 11 months.

Her top left tooth broke through about the middle of last week and the right one should happen any day now. She has started shaking her head "no" and said "bye-bye" more like "ba-ba" imitating my parents. OK, OK, enough about the milestones, but cut me some slack this is my last baby.

Chloe seems to really have an artistic bent and loves all things crafty, artsy, and musical. She's Travis and I on speed. It's really exciting to see her grow. Several nights during the week her bedtime story consists of going through a photo album that Grandma made her. It's an ABC and 1, 2, 3 book so she'll go through and spell things and count at the end of the book. She really likes to count in Spanish to 10. Thanks Joyce!

Amanda is going to be homeschooled again. We tried everything we could think of to get her into school and it just couldn't happen. I say couldn't because there was no way to make it happen. It's weird but around here instead of having just county school districts some cities have their own districts. Bessemer is one of those cities and so is Hoover. The Bessemer High School (that we're zoned for) has done so poorly on tests that under the "No Child Left Behind Act" they are required to let their students transfer. Well, Hoover High School was the only one that we felt was acceptable for her to go to but again, it's in a school district unto itself. You have to live in Hoover to go to a Hoover school. Same thing with Shelby county and there were just no other options. So, at least for now she'll be doing the home school thing.

Wow, that's all I have to write about. Oh wait! Pita chips. I forgot, making Pita chips is my new hobby. Hmmm, still boring. Oh well, I'll try to do something incredibly exciting and post about that.

Well, I'm sure you all remember when we moved here and what we came here to do but I'm going to recap before I let you know what's going on now. This is a long one you might want to go to the bathroom and eat something first. That's my attempt at humor before you read this really, really serious post.

A little over a year ago we started talking with Mom and Dad about starting a church. I don't really remember how it came about or anything like that but we were talking and praying about it anyway. My Dad went to his pastor and said he was thinking about starting a church. Well, immediately the pastor went to his office with my Dad and called the State Evangelism Director for the Church of God. The pastor told him that my Dad wanted to start a church. The Director said that he'd been wanting to start a church in Helena for quite some time. Well, that was the city that we'd been praying about. As time went on Dad was approved to start the church and was told to find a building. That was around the time we moved here. Just prior to our moving here Mom and Dad found out about several inproprieties on part of the pastor of their church and it led to Mom getting fired and them leaving that church.

When we moved here we were still approved to start the church. We located a building that the State Evangelism Director approved and because of their former pastor it was disapproved the very next day. All of this stemmed from the former pastors sexual harrassment and character assasination of the chidren's pastor. Dad told the state officials what happened and asked for a full investigation into all of the allegations made by that pastor and the children's pastor. Mom and Dad sided with the children's pastor because of several lies they knew that the pastor had told and through their own investigation they found out about a number of women to whom he'd done the same thing.

The extent of the investigation into the matter consisted of state officials asking the pastor Did you do this? He said No, and that was it. BUT they said that the children's pastor was barred from ministry and if we were going to use her then they would not approve us starting a church.

Dad asked again for a full hearing in front of an impartial jury, so to speak, and they said they'd get back to him. After two full months of waiting Dad decided to surrender his license and pursue other avenues.

We looked at other denomination options but for several different reasons Dad decided to remain independant.

The things that we know are that Dad is called to pastor and that we did our very best to make this happen. We have exhausted every avenue of starting a church and it has failed. So, where are we now? Well, we're not going to start a church. That's where we are. I know what we came here to do, with much drama I might add. Yes, we uprooted our family, left our jobs, friends (who really are family), stability, etc., to start a church that is not going to come into existence.

So then, did we really hear from God? Yes, I believe we did. I had to ask myself, Is there a scriptural precedent for God telling you to do something and it not happening? Well, there is at least one.

Genesis 22:1-12
Basically God told Abraham that he would be the Father of a great nation. He and his wife waited for the promise and Isaac was born when they were very old. Verse 1 says, " Later on God tested Abraham's faith and obedience". How did he do that? By asking him to sacrifice his son. The son from which the Lord had already told him that through him the promise would be fulfilled. So, Abraham did what he said. He took Isaac to the mountain that God showed him, carried the fire and the knife himself, bound Isaac, put him on the altar raised the knife, and then the angel of the Lord called out to him. "Lay down the knife...Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God." Abraham got to the point of raising the knife before God called out to him to stop. I think it's Hebrews that says Abraham figured that God could raise the dead. He knew God spoke to him, he knew what the promise was, and he knew that God would make a way.

Am I putting our faith on the same level as Abraham? Um, not in this lifetime. Moving from TN to AL doesn't come close to sacrificing a son. It was hard and I wouldn't want to go through this again, but it doesn't rank up there with the faith of the father of the Jewish nation. I do believe, however, that the Lord tests your faith in order to develop the character, faith, and perseverance, (Romans 5) so that you can do the work to which He's called you.

All through college I told God, I'll do whatever you want me to do, go wherever you want, say what you want me to say," etc. But when things went wrong I cried, moaned, complained, and was angry with God. So, I said "Do whatever", what I meant was "Do whatever, as long as I'm incredibly successful and have the love, respect, and admiration of everyone I meet, and as long as I'm comfortable, yes, please make sure I'm comfortable. I wouldn't want to struggle or anything."

So now, I believe I can truly say, 'whatever God". It's not the whatever of someone so tired of life, so tired of fighting that it doesn't matter anymore. It's not the whatever of stoicism or sarcasm, it's the whatever of surrender. Am I completely surrendered in every single area of my life? I'd be a fool if I said yes. I hope that God's major project is done and that it will just take some tweaking here and there, but I'm not God.

So, where do we go from here? That's a good question. At best, we look foolish, at the worst we look like failures that think they hear from God but don't. I don't think you guys will think that, but people that don't know us will certainly think that. "There go the Buttons, the most unstable people you'll ever meet". I know people and I know they'll think that, but we have to go on. As soon as we know where we go from here I'll let you know. Sorry about the length but I wanted a synopsis so that you wouldn't think we just moved down here half cocked. Well, what I really wanted was to justify our move. Anyway, when I know you'll know. Until then pray for direction for us and for my parents. We're not discouraged. Actually, this is the happiest and most at peace I ever remember being.

Church Update

Well, we didn't get the building. There is a rule that the liason didn't know about that prohibits churches from renting the building unless you are currently in a building program. We're fine. We don't know what's going to happen but I'm fine with whatever. The lesson is obedience. Obedience in everything. So, from now on until we are in the building I'm not posting about it.

Much Love,

Amy

The Buttons and Kelsos at Big Mountain Coffee 

Amanda and Chloe at Big Mountain Coffee 

Chloe is sick so these are the best pics  

Chloe's haircut 

Bangs or no bangs? That is the question.

Well, today was the day. I have been trying to decide for a year or two now wether or not to cut Chloe's hair. I've been afraid that if we had it cut that her curls would disappear. Well, this evening we went to the park and Chloe was doing her best to keep her hair out of her face but it's a constant effort. She really did look like a ragamuffin. Her curls are beautiful but a lot of times they get frizzy and matted and really are a pain for both of us to keep up with. To make matters worse anytime Chloe gets near Halle her little hands automatically grab a handful.

I decided it was time to take the plunge. So I did it.

Yes, I was cutter of the hair.

I can hear the gasps from here, but I assure you her hair is adorable. It is much shorter so I'm glad I started where I did. It's shorter and bouncy and STILL CURLY!!!! I'm happy. I felt like a creep though when she said "I love it! Now Halle can't pull my hair!" I should have done it sooner. I'll post pics soon.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

I remember starting 3rd grade. One of my favorite things to do when school started was to look through my spelling book and see how difficult the words were that year. Well, in 3rd grade "the" word was miscellaneous. It would be several months before we got to that word, but every week I would look to see how long it would be before I learned to spell MISCELLANEOUS. It's silly really, the things you remember.

Halle, poor Halle. Tuesday when we got up, as usual, I sat her down in the living room to play while I made breakfast. Well she started screaming and crying which, even though she's a mommy's girl, was very unusual. I chalked it up to grouchiness, but was surprised because she's very rarely in a foul mood in the morning. Well, as the day went on I continued to try to put her down. I had to put her in the swing so I could shower and she continued to scream and cry and seemed to be seriously distressed. Finally I looked in her mouth and her top gum was amazingly swollen with the right side actually blue from her teeth trying to push their way out. We've had six days like that and now she's got a fever, runny nose, and diarrhea. I feel so bad for her and it's been kind of rough on me too. I haven't even tried to go to the gym since she's got to be in a good mood to go anyway. The left tooth has broken through some but not completely. Hopefully this will be over soon.

Last night we went out to Rooms To Go just to look at furniture. I saw some really cute stuff. Then we came back home and watched "Lemony Snickett". I was a little bit intrigued when the movie came out but not enough to see it in the theater. Travis really wanted to see it, though and so we did. It really was a weird movie. I like Jim Carey in some things but not in this movie. I really didn't know what to make of it. If you haven't seen it I won't spoil it but there were gaping holes in the plot which always irritates me. It just didn't seem to be very well thought out. Perhaps the book was very good and it was just the screenplay that wasn't. The kids in the movie were fabulous though and I would like to see them in something else.

Well Halle is back in my lap now and I'm typing with one hand so I'll go, but one last thing....You must try Publix's "Buckeye Balls" Ice Cream, yum!!!

Catch-Up

Well, I have a second to catch up on things that I should have posted weeks ago and didn't. Not because I never have a second but mostly because I haven't made it a priority. Bad Amy.

Gosh was it two or three weeks ago that the Kelso's visited us? I really should remember the date since it was a huge highlight in our otherwise very boring existence but I can't.

So the story goes;

Kris called and said they'd like to stop in for a bit on their way back from Florida to visit. I really admire that about Kris and Mary. They always seem to be willing to go to extraordinary lengths to visit friends. I'm sure if I was pregnant and traveling with a small child for several hours I wouldn't be inclined to make stops along the way but they did and we had a lot of fun. We were able to finally show them around Old Town Helena. We stopped in a couple of stores and then cooled off at Big Mountain Coffee. I say cooled off because it was in the high 90's that day and the A/C was very nice. They only stayed a couple of hours and it went by much too quickly but it was nice to be able to catch up.

Then this past Sunday Tisra came into town with the kids so that we could visit a mutual friend whose daughter was in a serious accident on Saturday and was in Huntsville Hospital. The little girl is OK but she is still in ICU with some pretty serious injuries. I won't go into all of it on my blog because I'm sure Tisra will cover it better than I could but the Lord was definitely watching over them. Anyway, Tisra stayed with us (we're 2 hours from Huntsville Hospital) so that we could visit with each other and then Dad, the girls, and I went to pray with LaDonna (the mom) and then with Amber (the injured child). Oh yeah, Tisra was there too. (Silly me, I rode with her)

It was great to see Tisra and the kids, I just wish it could have been longer. Chloe was very happy to see Grant and Dean, of course, it's just that she and Grant have been friends since she was born so they're pretty close. Lael and Halle will be good friends I'm sure but they're still to young to make much of a connection.

In more Halle news:

She now says MaMaMa, BaBa, DaDa, and NaNa. She's the most consistent in saying MaMa and really seems to be calling me or wanting me when she says it. I'm convinced that she's brilliant. But the big shocker was when we were at the hospital. We were saying goodbye to Tim (the girls dad) and his family and they have a little boy that is about 2 months older than Halle. Tim was saying "bye-bye" and was trying to get Allen to wave. Well, Tisra and I (and maybe my Dad) were saying "bye-bye" and waving and all of a sudden Halle deliberately stuck out her arm looked at it and waved her hand! Everybody saw it and we were all very surprised. I know, I'm a proud Mom and yes, I am bragging.

We have some prayer requests in regards to the Church getting started if you all would be so kind.
1. Approval by the board for us to actually have the building. This could be a mere formality unless someone wants to be testy. But we should be starting church August 21st.
2. Funds. We're not affiliated so we're on our own, with God of course.
3. Equipment. An immediate need is a sound system. Not anything huge just something that would sound decent in a lunch room.
4. Wisdom. That should have probably been first.
5. People. Well, you can't have a church without them.
6. Musicians. Travis tries but he can't do it all.

We have a space and 200 chairs at our disposal. It looks like we may need a Children's Pastor. As of right now it looks like I will be leading worship, doing drama, and at least some children's services. Travis needs a new job so that he can be at church. And we need the Lord's will in everything. This should have probably been its own post, oh well.

Our hearts desire is to know God and to be available for the Holy Spirit to work through us to change peoples lives. If this is truly what His will is I know that we'll have all these things, I don't doubt that. But prayer will help. I'm excited that it's finally happening. I know that God has great things in store for this ministry.

Romans 8:26-28

"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's will. And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

I know this passage. I know lots of passages. But there are some times that the Lord leads me to certain ones so that I'll remember. This one has helped me so much lately because God isn't giving us specific direction. That is unusual for me. God usually leads me in a very specific direction and I follow it. I don't think I've ever been in the place where the only thing that I knew God was saying to me is "just trust me". I've been frustrated because I don't even know how to pray but the Holy Spirit does. I know I serve and amazing, awesome God that is completely in control no matter what my circumstances look like and I'm thankful. I'm excited about life and my creator, and I am waiting to see what he has in store for us.

Extra, Extra Read All About It

Yes, I do have good news! I really am so excited. I found this out Monday but wanted to wait until everything was absolutely finalized before saying anything but I have a moment to type and I really just can't wait any longer.

Drumroll please.....


It looks like we have a building for the church!!!

Dad got the call Monday morning that we have approval from the principle at a different school to hold services. I'm not going to say where for now until everything is finalized but it is in a different city than we were going to be in. We are going to look inside the facility today (in about an hour actually) and to sign the contract. The next step after that is for the actual education board to approve our being there, hence the bit of secrecy. If someone were to happen to find my blog (any of the someone's that have been giving us trouble and that are opposed to this ministry) then theoretically they could give us some trouble and I'm just not up for any more drama.

I'm excited and I really think this is it. So, we could be holding actual services in 6 weeks or less. We do need much prayer since we have no affiliation we don't have a whole lot in the way of funds and we need equipment, etc. We'll actually find out today how much stuff we need today because we'll find out if the school will let us use their sound equipment, if they have it, etc.

I know that God is doing great things and I'm looking forward to much more good stuff happening.

Kris and Mary's Visit to Old Town Helena 

The Y

I'm having issues with Halle and the Y. That a gym has childcare is a big selling point but if the child doesn't want to stay then it really doesn't do much good. Actually, there was a point (after they called me to come get Halle for the second time) that Halle was crying because she'd had to stay and Chloe was crying because we had to leave. Oh, and Amanda was whining because she'd come at all. As cute and wonderful as my girls are they were really trying my patience at that point.

Travis is off tomorrow and has an early appt. to get set up on the weight machines so maybe she'll do better tomorrow. Mornings are when she's in the best mood. If she doesn't start doing better I don't know what I'll do. It takes about 25 minutes to get there and it just doesn't make sense to work out for 10 minutes and then have to leave.

Chloe is starting to show an extreme interest in photography. Truth be told I would like for that to be one of my hobbies, along with cake decorating. I really don't have the money for either but it's nice to know that Chloe and I share some interests since she is so much like Travis. Anyway, she has taken a few photos recently and they are pretty good for a 4 year old. I'll post them soon.

She loves baking too. I love baking (hence the cake decorating desire). I just don't like to have sweets lying around the house because I will eat them. I used to think I didn't have a sweet tooth. I don't really crave sweets much at all but if there is something sweet in the house I can't leave it alone until it's eaten. And since Travis works in the bakery he's been banned from bringing things home. You'd be amazed at how much stuff he could bring home if he wanted to. Stuff I like too like Publix's Key Lime Pie, yum. But, eating it would totally negate any good I'm doing by going to the Y. Hmmm, seems like I've come full circle...

blahdy, blah, blah

Hmmm...what's new? I'm sure lots but I'm not sure how interesting it will be.

Halle says "ma, ma, ma" quite a lot, she's been doing that for a few weeks now. Today she sat in the shopping cart at Publix without her carrier for the first time. I strapped her in, of course, to help her with her balance. She wasn't as excited as I thought she would be. Her reaction was more, yeah, so? Anyway, she is still scooting herself into all kinds of precarious positions on her back and her tummy now, but no crawling yet.

We had dinner with Amanda and her prospective beau last weekend. His name is Clark and he seems to be very nice. He said that Amanda and I are just alike. He's a perceptive boy, no? Actually, Travis and I have more in common with him than Amanda does. He's planning on being in Jazz band and is very into music. We approve so far and that makes Amanda happy.

Speaking of Amanda, she has less than 2 weeks left of being grounded and she's very happy.

Travis is still looking for another job. Blah, blah, blah...

I am taking care of kids, leading worship on Tuesday nights, working on Arbonne...Overall, busy but not feeling overwhelmingly productive.

I'm going to finish up the books that I checked out of the Library and then find How to Win Friends and Influence People and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. My Arbonne quest has led me to the conclusion that I'm not a "highly effective" person. I'm going to work on that. I've never read the book but I'm going to guess that "highly effective" people probably plan their days, set goals, and have routines. Hmmm, no wonder I'm lacking.

Well, every Arbonne representative that I've talked to so far has said that even more than a financial journey Arbonne is a personal journey.

I've got my hiking boots on and I think I'm ready to change.

Cereal Time! 

Chloe showing Halle how it's done 

Daddy and His Girls 

Oak Mtn. State Park 

Oak Mtn. State Park 

Good Morning Princess'