Feeling REALLY sentimental

August 23rd, 2008...this is one of the days I have prayed for and dreamed about for so long. This day has nothing to do with me...nothing at all, except for the fact that I get to be a witness and enjoy one of the weddings I have looked forward to almost more than any other in my short lifetime. This is the chosen wedding day of Susanna Guess to Aaron Taylor! Woohoo! Can you hear me shouting in Virginia??? Susanna and I go way back...let me take you there...

Susanna and I are cousins on our mother's side...to put it simply, our grandmothers are sisters. Susanna is and has always been one of my best friends. She is one of the neatest people ever with such an amazing personality that people just naturally flock to her. My earliest memory of Susanna was when we were both about 4 years old, or thereabout. I don't know when or where it was, but we were on a BIG Davis family reunion. I remember vividly that me, Susanna and Jeremy Fulmer were almost inseparable. I don't remember all of the details of that reunion, but I came back telling EVERYONE that my bestest friend was Susanna. I even named one of my favorite dolls after her.

There are so many more funny and vivid memories that stick out...I won't go into great detail about this one, so as not to re-hash too many old memories or embarrass others who were involved [namely myself!], but Susanna was there for me when I wrote my first love letter, when I was probably about 10 yrs old. She even encouraged me in my idea to spray the letter with perfume and put lipstick on and kiss the letter. She was able to provide a stamp and the address of my intended because she is such a wonderful friend [my goodness, this was over 22 years ago, and my face is still lit up like a fire! I am still SOOO embarrassed!]! Since the letter was also sent anonymously, when it was later mentioned by this poor young man, Susanna was able to identify me as the sender...girl, I am forever in your debt! Just kidding...friends to the end, right? :-)

Another wonderful memory that I have is when Susanna and I took a trip to Arkansas with Uncle Tony and Aunt Patty [her grandparents]. That was by far the most fun I think I have had on a trip! We laughed, sang, snacked in the backseat of that van...we told the most appalling secrets, I am sure. One thing that sticks out in my head was the church meeting that we went to in Arkansas. I am not sure what church it was, but Susanna and I were simply not used to singing in the manner that this church sang. Not that it wasn't beautiful, or sweet, but we never knew that it would take 30 minutes for the congregation to sing "Brethren We Have Met To Worship". We tried to sing as slow as everyone else, but we could not do it without hysterically laughing most of the way through. Sometimes, even now when I visit some country churches and this song is called out, I wonder...how slow can it go?

I was going through my sentimental box the other day...you know, we girls keep these kinds of things! There have only been a few letters/cards/gifts over the years that I have kept in a special place. I have a box of letters and cards from my DH when we were courting/engaged. I also have an ongoing box that I keep for his cards. etc., now. Susanna and I spent a lot of time writing back and forth over the years and I have kept all of her cards and notes of encouragement and silly cards just for the heck of it! I love going through those and just remembering our special friendship.

Many of you know that Susanna was my maid of honor when I got married 7 years ago. Before the wedding, she came down to help me do birdseed packs and other miscellaneous things. We stayed up until all hours of the night talking and goofing off. I don't remember much else about what we did, but this was a big time in my life and she was there for me. I remember my wedding day after I walked down the aisle, she adjusted my dress and veil for me, she held my flowers for me when it was time to speak my vows and she simply smiled through the whole ceremony [I know because I went back and watched her!]. That is one of the reasons I can't wait to go and be at her wedding next Saturday. I know I will be grinning from ear to ear and shouting on the inside!

A lot of things have changed. I have gotten married, phone calls and letters have been somewhat fewer and shorter, but before kids, and when I was working overnight, I was thrilled when my phone would ring and Susanna would be on the other end. She kept me awake all of those nights where I probably would have gone to napping and missing a few phone calls. Instead, she endured elevator hold music as I answered other lines and had to handle other calls. I always enjoy my phone calls with Susanna and I love coming home sometimes to hear that she has left a message. A few weeks ago, Susanna left a REALLY long message and my DH said, "Does she remember she is not talking to you, but to the voicemail?" We had a good laugh over that.

After 5 years of trying and praying for children, when I found out I was pregnant, Susanna was the first person I called because I simply could not contain myself [sorry for anyone else who didn't already know I called her first...let by gones be by gones !:-) ]. I remember what she said...she was making cookies for something and she said, "I can't believe you told me now when I can't scream!!!" She screamed the next day, though, I heard it all the way from Virginia! Susanna came to the baby shower my church held for us even though I told her she didn't have to...because I knew that was a long way to come! She has been such a wonderful friend and treasure to me. I simply can't wait to see this next part of her life unfold!

I know this has been a really LONG post, so forgive me, but I was feeling really sentimental and wanted to say a few things about such a wonderful friend!

Much Better!!!

Josiah still has his moments, fits and all, but over all, he has been a much happier and joyful little boy. He has really enjoyed spending a lot more one on one time with mommy and daddy and I think this makes him so happy. Daddy loves to take him on walks and Josiah loves to go. Josiah just sits back and takes in all of the sites and sounds of the great outdoors while Daddy gets his much loved walks in. Mommy spent a lot of time with Josiah on Wednesday playing with Mr. Potato head. None of the pieces got in the right places, but he still had fun because I was sitting in the floor playing with him most of the morning. He did not throw his high chair tray today which was a big plus in my book! The biggest thing is that I have been in a better mood since Tuesday. I realize more than ever that Josiah's moods and actions are based largely on mommy's moods and actions and I needed to make an attitude adjustment more than anyone else did. Well, all is well in the Hodges household and attitudes are better than ever...for now!

Mama said there'd be days like this...

Ever had one of those days? You know...you sit down the night before, plan your next day to a perfect "T" and have all this glorious stuff you are going to get done, then "BLAM!!!". It hits you...NOTHING is going to go the way you wanted it today. Cleaning, cooking, menu planning, straightening and organizing...nope, not here, not today. Instead, I dealt with a DS who pitched fit after fit after fit, threw toys when mommy told him no, screamed impatiently when food was not delivered in what he felt was a timely manner, and a tray of food on the dining room floor as a result of this incredible impatience. Well, DS is not the only one who lost his patience. Mommy lost her cool as well and was in a rage. Unfortunately, it has seemed to affect the whole rest of my day...isn't that terrible? So, we went and took naps...both of us. We neither one woke up in better moods, but Daddy was up and manned the ship this afternoon. Josiah still pitched fit after fit after fit. I am really at a loss to know how to handle Josiah's fits. We try the tried and true punishment, I have tried more attention, thinking maybe Josiah is acting out because mommy is always so busy, but I just don't know what else to do. Well, tomorrow is a new day, right? I am not making any plans for tomorrow except to spend a lot of time with my DS and see if I can get into his little heart and figure out what is going on. Maybe I need to spend extra time with the Lord tonight and check out mommy's heart and see if that is the answer to my little boy's acting out and temper. Please pray for my attitude!

Sonograms, Due Dates, Confusion

It would seem that every time I go back in to the DR they need to do an sonogram. Every time they need to do a sonogram they measure the baby at different weeks gestation, thus giving a different due date. The first time I went in, the baby was measuring with a due date of 12/25/2008. With the next sonogram, the baby was measuring further along than the DR thought and we were given a new due date of 12/15/2008. Today, we had the "BIG" ultrasound where they check all of the really important things like arms, legs, organs, brain, heart, etc.,. Everything looks great, except the baby was in a poor position and they were not able to get a good look at the spine [which means another ultrasound in a month...sick of them, I tell you!]. The due date is now reading aproximately 12/26/2008...kind of funny! So, I am about 20-22 wks along, depending on which sonogram I choose to go by. It is frustrating to me that they keep giving different dates. I wish they could just pick one and give it to me. It doesn't even matter what the due date is, because I will have to have a c-section and the DR will pick the due date based upon the baby's health, my health and how close I am to the estimated due date. Anyway, I am sure a month from now I may be reporting to you a totally different due date and all that good stuff. We did verify that our little baby appears to have all the makings of a little girl and for that we remain extremely excited!

I hope to scan an sonogram picture soon and maybe post it. We did get some good profile pictures...this little girl has some long arms and legs...Josiah did too!!! That must be what is kicking me!

Sunday

So, for the first time in forever, I laid out of church today because of this lingering respiratory infection. I enjoyed the time alone, but missed being in the house of the Lord. I listened to a couple of sermons on line and also to some hymns and this lifted my spirits. I was cooking at the same time, glad to have a Sunday dinner at home, for the first time in SOOO long since we have been having Sunday lunch at church every Sunday for the past few months. We had a nice lunch and a wonderful naptime. There is just something about my Sunday afternoon naps with the family. I just don't know why I enjoy them so much, but I do!

Josiah and I have had a fun time playing this afternoon/evening. He has been "reading" his books a lot and coming to show me what he has found, along with playing with his little kitchen set and riding his lion. We decided to go outside for a while. We went for a walk down to the end of our block and back. Josiah loves to show me what he finds along the way. He picks up leaves, rocks and sticks and wants me to tell him what they are. This is one of his favorite games. We got back to our yard and I decided it was time for some water fun. Josiah loves to play in the water and water the flowers. He is pretty good at watering the flowers if I do say so myself! He desperately does not like to get his hands dirty though. He insists his hands are yucky and wants me to clean them when they have dirt on them. I got eaten up while I was outside and usually the mosquitoes do not find me so tasty. I have soooo many bites tonight though!

This has been a good Lord's day for me, just a little bit down because I wanted to be in church and couldn't be. I know the Lord had other plans for me though and it was good to have some rest and time alone.

Back again...

Maybe I should catch everyone up since my last post...

Last Friday, August 1st, my mother-in-law and I took a trip to the Mossy Grove PBC annual meeting. It had been years since I had spent any time in that neck of the woods. I was graced with so many memories for friends who have moved out of the area, friends who are still in the area, and a wonderful meeting. Unfortunately, one of my lovely migraines surfaced making a lot of our visit somewhat miserable for me. I learned one valuable lesson: never leave home without your migraine medicine! Yes, we were only gone for 24 hours, or a little more than, but as I learned, you can never be too cautious. I do believe this migraine was by far the worst I have ever experienced. It was a throbbing, pulsating mess that had me in the bathroom sick between 3 and 4 am. It came and went at random, but I do praise the Lord that it finally went and has not returned. I am struggling to find the cause and the triggers to my migraines. I wonder if they are stress, food or hormone related, as most of them are. Well, my hormones are going strong now, being that I am almost 6 months pregnant, and unfortunately, stress is a factor of my life. I also noticed that the last three times I have had a migraine that the meal I ate before the migraine was a chicken salad sandwich from Chik-fil-A. Hmmm... that is off of my menu for good...at least until the baby comes! I can't wait to visit the Mossy Grove area again when I am feeling a little bit better and it is a little less hot!

One of my favorite times on this trip was my visit at the Thomas Family's home. Troy and Rebecca Thomas have become dear friends and I love them dearly! Their children are so sweet and kind, and good role models for my own son! Their home was lovely and a simple joy to be in! Rebecca shared with me a lot about homeschooling and the curriculum they will be using. It has very much interested me and enthused me about homeschooling in the future. I so want to homeschool my children and I hope laws in VA don't change so much in the next few years that I won't be able to. Josiah enjoyed playing in the family play room with the other kids, breakfast was a treat, and Josiah slept well, which is always a worry for me when we are out of town.

When I last wrote, we were getting ready for some visitors this weekend, but we had to call and arrange for our visitors another place to stay because I became more and more ill as the week went on with an upper respiratory infection. I did not want to get them sick, so I had to release them to stay somewhere else. Unfortunately, they had to cancel their trip because one of the visitors was sick as well. Please pray for me as far as my sickness. If I am not a lot better when I go back to the doctor on Monday, he will consider putting me backing in the hospital because I am having a hard time breathing. I feel a lot better already, but I am laying low this weekend and not doing much of anything but resting [I know many of you wonder why I am up this late, but I was so tired this afternoon, I ended up taking about a 4 hour nap...also, I crave water at night and tonight has been a lot worse...I need to wait for 3 glasses of ice water to make its way out of my system...]. So, visitors have been rescheduled and cleaning has been put on hold until my energy renews!

I am really looking forward to spending the day with my DS tomorrow. He is just the joy of my life! He is having so much fun out doors that I am going to have lunch on the front porch [my DH cleaned it off and put up a lovely table and chairs set!], and we are going to play in the yard. He loves the flowers and calls them "wowers" and has to kiss them every time he walks by them! I love it that he loves the outdoors so much, I just wish the heat was not so hard on me! We will probably play in the water and just have loads of fun!

I love watching Josiah blossom. I know I have said it about other phases of life, but this period where he is just learning to talk and developing more personality is one of my favorites. Ever since our trip with Grandma, Josiah has been saying "Dramma!" all over the place. This morning, he had been babbling and her name came up every few minutes, then he walked over, got the diaper bag, kissed my leg, walked to the door and said, "Dramma! Bye-bye!" and tried to open the door like he was leaving. It was precious! He is saying a lot of words now, among which are: apple! nana! gook [for book]! gilk [for milk]! wowers! babo [for baby]! yucky [for any and all trashcans]! and dedu [for Jesus]! He is also singing [incomprehensibly, of course] and waving his hand like he is leading songs in church. He loves to talk on the phone, when no one else can hear him and he loves his bath time and loves his books. He now sleeps with one of his favorite books and instead of crying in the morning, he wakes up and I hear him "reading" his book.

Well, it is late, and now that you are caught up with us, I will close this for now. Happy August!