Looking forward to the New Year

For anyone who has come on a consistent basis to look for a new entry, I am sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Life takes over sometimes and leaves me with little time for myself, much less my family, and as you all understand, when there is time left over, family comes first!

I am looking forward to seeing this old year out and the new year in. I am very excited at what the New Year may hold for me and my family. I have a couple of serious projects going on that I need your prayers about, and I hope to blog more about those projects on my health and well being blog site, weightingfornothing.blogspot.com. I am not sure how often I can keep it up , but I will try to write on both at least weekly from now on.

Let me fill you in a little about us since last we spoke...

Bethany got her glasses and they are absolutely adorable on her. There are two questions that everyone asks me when they see a baby/toddler so young wearing glasses, so I will tell you a little. First question is: "How do you get them to stay on?" Well, when we first put them on Bethany, her first instinct was to reach up and jerk them off. For the first few days, I didn't fight her on it. I would put them on her and when she took them off, I would try a couple of more times to put them on. If she kept taking them off, I would put them away for a while and try later. After about a week, she was wearing them for several hours at a time before she started taking them off. Now, she pretty much goes all week wearing her glasses, and occasionally takes them off when she is tired or really upset. Plus, the stems wrap around her ears holding them on really well! Bethany seems to be seeing a whole new world since her glasses. She is so much more bubbly and giddy with people and I think it is because she can now see their facial expressions and interact with them better. The second question is: "How does the doctor know that she can't see or that she needs glasses?" The answer is...I really don't know the answer, but I do know that she can see with them on whereas she could not without them. The doctor said that she is .5 diopter away from being considered legally blind, so, her eyesight is very bad. She will have to wear glasses the rest of her life, and I am okay with that...especially since she is sooo cute!

We had a family and fun filled Thanksgiving holiday. I ventured out on my own and took a trip, by myself with Josiah and Bethany in tow, and we went to Georgia where I was desperate to see my family and spend some time with them. I got to meet my new nephew, and cried the first time I held him. I had been waiting and hoping for him for so long. He is adorable and looks just like my older brother, in my opinion. He has the cutest reddish hair and it just kind of sticks up everywhere! I also got to meet my new niece who was born back in May. I knew if I didn't take this trip to GA that I wouldn't get to see them for another while, so I am glad I went. The trip went well. Me and the kids got up around 5am and headed out. I doubled Josiah and Bethany both up on diapers and we hit the road. We stopped twice, once at a rest area at the NC border, then again in Commerce, GA where we had lunch at Chik-fil-A. I made everyone mad at the restaurant because I took about 15 minutes in the handicap stall changing Bethany and Josiah and also using the facilities myself. After all, it was black Friday and lunch time and people were GRUMPY!!! We hit mom and dad's house in record time and I was so thrilled to be there! Josiah was my constant companion the whole trip, not sleeping a wink the whole way. We constantly talked about all of the big trucks and all of the lakes of water we got to see. He is really so much fun! We also listened to Josiah's new Veggie Tales CD, almost the entire way...it is STILL stuck in my head! While we were in GA, we got to meet up with two of my grandmothers and and aunt and uncle and many cousins for a family luncheon. It was good to see everyone and wish more could have been there. Hey, the highlight was a bunch of the Strevel men got out to play some football and that was pretty fun-ny! I was supposed to head back home Sunday morning, but I was desperate to go to Shoal Creek, my home church, and visit with the saints and the Lord there, so I decided to do it and stayed for church, then the family talked me into going out to lunch with them. This put me travelling home most of the way in the dark, which I did not like, but it wasn't so bad! I had so much fun on this trip and would do it again in a heart beat!

I kept telling Danny that I thought we were due for a really big winter storm this year. Then, the news started posting these winter storm warnings. I really like the snow, but my DH has to drive a truck in it, so it is no fun for him. I called him from work one day and asked him if he heard the news and that they were saying we might get anywhere from 12-18 inches of snow. His response is always: "I'll believe it when I see it." Well, the snow started falling and I was sent home early from work. By the time I made it home, there were already a couple of inches on the ground...unbelievable. So, later on that night, we had TONS of snow and Danny had to get out and drive in it. Around 3:15am, my phone rang and Danny told me he was in his truck, stuck in the snow in a ditch on the side of the road off of Rte 11. He said an EMS/fire worker told him that the road was closed ahead due to an accident and he had to turn around. He thought he was turning around in a driveway, but not so. For 17 long hours, my baby was stuck in the snow on the side of the road in his truck. Thankfully he was able to keep the truck running, so he had heat and he had food with him. He got out at one point and walked up to the house where he was stuck and it turned out to be a frat house where a bunch of guys were hanging out and they let him use the bathroom and sit around for a while. When Danny was finally given permission to abandon his truck [how nice of his employer...] he had a fellow worker who lived in the area come and pick him up and see if he could find a hotel room to sleep in. They drove around for hours and all 18 hotels/motels in Lexington, VA had no vacancies [because everyone was abandoning their cars on the local interstate and seeking shelter]. I tried to find him a place to stay and finally decided to call the local Sherriff's office in Rockbridge County to see if they had a shelter or something like it for stranded motorists. She said that the National Guard set up an emergency shelter at the local High School, so I sent Danny there. He slept that night on the hard gym floor underneath some bleachers with a dumb dog whining near him all night. He was miserable! So, Danny left at 8pm on Friday night and me and the kids were stuck at home without him until Sunday afternoon around 4pm. I was sooo glad to see him! The kids were ecstatic too! I am so glad that ordeal was over and I will not wish for snow again in a while!

We had a nice Christmas with Danny's side of the family. I missed my family, and am still missing them, something terrible! I wish they could have been here, or we could have been there or something! Josiah had fun opening presents this year, but still does not understand what Christmas is all about. EVERYONE kept asking him about Santa and if he was going to see Santa this year, etc., which drove me crazy. Josiah will eventually know about santa, but only as a fictional character and not as some kind of mystical being who brings him goodies. I just don't want him to think that is what Christmas is all about.

Well, it is time for me to close for now. I just wanted to say Hi and I had not forgotten about my blog, just out of time on a regular basis!

Just the Facts, Please!

Fact # 1: This is day four of being sick. I am sick of sick!

So, I picked Bethany up one day last week and noticed she had a bit of a fever. I chalked it up to teething. I gave her some tylenol and figured we were in for a rough couple of weeks. Then, Danny tells me he is feeling kinda sick and achy. That is when I told him he was not allowed to kiss me or the babies and to stay away from us [nice and loving wife, huh?]. Then, after an extremely cranky day with Josiah, I checked him for a fever, and guess what? Yeah, I had to try to not kiss on my kids for a few days. I wasn't supposed to get this! I am the one who has been diligently drinking my emergen-c's and all that good stuff! Friday of last week rolled around and I was at work and I could tell I had a fever because my eyes were so hot! So, we have all had fevers and coughs and I pray we are nearing an end!'

Fact # 2: I miss my family in GA and can't wait to see them all Thanksgiving weekend.

Me and the kiddos, and maybe my sis in law will be taking a trek to GA. I am excited and can't wait. I do not relish a trip by myself and I always have more fun any and every where with my sis in law, so I hope she can come! I am really excited to be able to meet my newest niece and my newest nephew on this trip. Watch out...here comes Aunt Melanie [I bet that is what my siblings have been telling them too!].

Fact # 3: I know we can shop for groceries once a week and spend less than $75.

The discouraging part is that we live in a day and time where if we want something we go and get it and we don't care if we are down to our last penny. It doesn't matter when we last went to the store, if we forgot it, we will go back. I am so frustrated at our spending habits and we continue to daily evaluate and will do so until we change for good. Until then, my discouragement will continue!

Fact # 4: I am tired and it is time to go to bed.

Good night everyone!

100th Blog Post

Wow! 100 posts? Really? I didn't think I would ever go this far! This has been a busy season, month, week, and day for us here at the Hodges'! We seem to be swirling around here in the beautiful fall weather of Roanoke, Va.. I simply love this time of year. Our road is covered fall colored leaves and a lot of leaves in our front yard from the neighbor's tree. I think we will rake some leaves this weekend and play in them for a while. How much fun will this be? A lot, I tell you!!!

So, today has been a very busy day. I worked an early shift instead of the afternoon shift, and I took the afternoon to take Bethany to the eye doctor. She has crossed eyes, especially a problem with her left eye and we needed to have it seen about it. I thought the doctor would tell me that I was over-reacting or that the problem would eventually fix himself, but he almost immediately told me that there was a problem with her eyes and they were very crossed and then after a complete exam, he told me that Bethany is "extremely far-sighted" and that she needs glasses almost immediately. He says that she will proably need them for the rest of her life. Okay, I can handle that! At least it is not surgery she needs or any further problems, this is something that can easily be fixed with glasses. The only dilemma now is...what color... pink or purple? :-) I will post pictures one we get her glasses so everyone can see how cute she is.

Josiah, on the other hand, has entered a new phase of his life which I affectionately refer to as the "Hey momma..." phase. Oh my goodness, every other phrase out of his mouth is "hey momma...". It is driving me a little batty, but I always try to acknowledge him in spite of wanting to plug my ears! Here is a sample of one of our conversations in the car today:

J: "Hey momma!"
M: "What, honey?"
J: "Larry boy is brokie, momma."
M: "It is?"
J: "Uh-huh. Hey momma?"
M: What, honey?
J: "Daddy is driving."
J: "Hey momma?
M: "Yes, sweetie?"
J: "Go bye-bye eat?
M: Yes, we are going to eat Mexican tonight."
J: "Hey momma?"
M: "Mommy's not here!"
J: "Hey, momma? Where are you?" [in a sweet sing-songy voice!]

We had a good laugh over this one. This is literally the way things are going all day with Josiah. I have to keep reminding myself I love to hear him call my name. My mom laughed and said to wait until both Josiah and Bethany are calling my name. I laughed and cringed at the same time!

Well, it is time to head on to bed for another day here at the Hodges.

God Bless to all!

Heart full of Thanksgivings

I have been having so many moments of reflection today. I am so thankful for my children. I love them so much. I remember about 6 years ago my doctor told me I wouldn't be able to have children, and no I have two. I must admit when I saw this doctor coming into the restaurant that I was leaving this week, I enjoyed the fact that she just about had to pick her jaw up off of the floor when she saw me and my two precious children. I was overwhelmed with the love of God and wanted to say "Isn't God good?" but instead I got a little choked up and couldn't say anything at all. God is good. He is God.

This morning as I was waking up, Bethany was playing joyfully in her bed in the corner and I could hear Josiah starting to stir. I went and took a shower and then it began: "Mommy, blah, blah, blah." This is what I heard over and over again. Josiah has begun to add "mommy" or "daddy" at the end or beginning of anything and everything he has to say. I love to hear it ringing in my ears, but this morning as I was trying to get dressed and he wanted my undevoted attention, I thought to myself, "now I know what mom and dad always meant when they said they were going to change their name"! So, I called my mom and dad and left a message telling them it has finally and really hit me why they always said that!

Josiah and Bethany have begun to play together and they have been complete angels today. I guess they sense that mommy has a lot to get done before company arrives this afternoon and they are being so sweet. Josiah will go and get toys for Bethany to play with and he will tell her and show her how some toys work. All in all he tries to take care of her as well as he can. He is an awesome big brother!

Well, I do have company coming and I have a few more things I would like to get done, but I just wanted to pause and say how thankful I am for my blessings!

Happy Day at The Hodges

So, I finally moved into my part time position at my current job, and for some reason it seems like I even have less time than when I was working full time for 10 weeks! This is why I haven't been blogging for a while! Since my last post a lot has happened. I have fell more and more in love with my husband, my son and my daughter. I have also loved spending more time with them even though most of my days seem hurried and worried. Here are some updates on everyone:

Josiah:
- potty time is getting better; he is still not potty trained, but he wears underwear during the day and pullups at nap and night time; he still won't tell me when he *needs* to go potty, but maybe that will come soon
- I have put up a potty time sticker chart where Josiah gets to pick a sticker and put it up and every five that he puts up, Josiah gets a treat - we'll see how this goes!
- Josiah has decided recently that nap time is a thing of his past, but mommy and daddy will fight this one for all it's worth! He has been getting in a lot of trouble for getting out of bed in the middle of nap time and when he gets up in the morning and when he goes to bed at night...
- he is learning so many new words and things and phrases; he is learning to pretend and this is so much fun to watch also! He will watch a movie or a TV show, then he will play with these toys and start calling them by the names on the TV shows. For instance, all of his horses names are "strawberry" in honor of Elmo's Wild Wild West. He also has a donkey he officially has named "Wild Wild West" and some of his farm animals he has named "Pecos Bill".
- Josiah loves Bethany with all of his heart and is really enjoying playing with her lately. He will crawl on the floor with her and say "Come on, Bet-Bet, let's go!". He also kisses and hugs her many times throughout the day.

Bethany:
- she is finally crawling! For two months she would get up on her arms and legs and rock back and forth, but now she is finally on the go
- she is out human vacuum cleaner! No, seriously!!! I never had this problem with Josiah. He never put things in his mouth! Bethany will put anything in her mouth, especially if it is paper. She LOVES paper! I had to call the gas company and ask for another bill because SHE ATE IT!
- She babbles all of the time now about "MA-MA-MA-MA" and "BA-BA-BA-BA". She has also begun to grunt at me when she is frustrated or not getting her way, so a little thump on the hand and a "no-no" has been assisting me in changing her little attitude.
- she is always so happy. She wakes up in a good mood and hardly ever seems to be upset. She loves playing with Josiah and LOVES to pull his curly head of hair...she LOVES it, I tell you!

This past Saturday, we had the first official Happy Day at the Hodges. A lot of party decor and things were being thrown away at work but I instead brought them home with me. I put up streamers and ballons in the doorways and we dedicated the day to being "HAPPY". Josiah came downstairs and saw the streamers and went crazy. He loved walking through them at the doorway and would run through and say "It's a Happy Day!". We also made a picture and he wanted to give it to his Meemaw [Danny's mom] and we made a card for cousin Bailey [I am feeling so bad because I can not find it now!] and we made some music makers - two paper plates glued together with dried beans inside. We danced around the living room and made ourselves look silly, but we had fun doing it!

This next week I am officially dedicating to TV Free activities. The TV being on has been too much a part of my day and the kids day. WE are going without the TV this week!!!

Well, I really am falling asleep at the computer here and I think I will call it a night!

I love Holiday Weekends and TIme Off From Work!

As I write this, my DH is outside clearing brush off of the fences in the cool morning air. Poor thing, he let it go way too long and now he declares he is "paying for it". I think I might take him a cool glass of water...wouldn't that be sweet of me?

We have had a wonderful family weekend together! I started my weekend by being one of the ones who won a contest at work and got to leave an hour early at 4pm. I came home in a hurry to make dinner and we had the most delicious roasted chicken pesto sandwiches. I mean delicious! We then got our swimsuits on and headed to the YMCA. Bethany, who has HATED baths up until a month or two ago, kicked, splashed and squealed in the water for about an hour an a half continuously, then she decided she had had enough! Josiah was very brave in the water as long as he could stand on his own two feet. He would walk all the way to the 3 1/2 foot deep water and hold his head back and keep his face out of the water. He even jumped up and down a few times, going under the water, and declared: "It's not scary!" Which is what he always says when he is scared by something. I spent a glorious 10 minutes in the hot tub, then gave Danny his 10 minutes. Danny and I ended the evening watching about 1/2 of the movie "The Patriot", one of our favorites.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early. We were determined to go yard saling! Boy, did we hit the jackpot at one sight. Josiah was desperately in need of some clothes and I bought about 40 pieces of clothing for him, some shoes and some toys for less than $20. We bought a few things for Bethany a little later on. All in all, we spent $30 and racked up. I think I have clothes to last Josiah from now until next fall! We came home and took a long nap in anticipation of our date night. My dear sister in law agreed to come over and watch Josiah and Bethany for us so we went out. Danny and I had a splendid evening together at Olive Garden, which, we decided our last date night had been the night before Bethany was born, 12/4, also at Olive Garden, except, if I remember correctly we had taken the same dear sister in law and sweet cousin along with us. We had a delightful evening and ended it with some antenna shopping at Best Buy and some book reading at Barnes and Noble, one of our favorite places...I think we own stock by now!

We had a great day at church on Sunday and just enjoyed spending time with the kiddos. We went grocery shopping and had some playtime at the best Mcdonald's playland I have ever seen...even better that we had it all to ourselves!

Well, Danny is still outside chopping away, the kitchen is clean, and lo, I hear baby babbling coming from upstairs. I guess it is time for the kids to join us...but first, to get my love a glass of ice water and a just maybe a kiss...!

Josiah and Bethany - my delights!

Since I have gone back to work, and am there on a full-time basis right now, I have missed SOOO much with my kids! I think one day I am going to come home and Bethany will finally be taking that first crawling step...and I will have missed it! Well, today I was determined I wouldn't miss anything with my little delights. We went grocery shopping together [I sincerely thank the Lord for the invention of the double seating shopping cart at Kroger!], went to play at Mr. Tarpley's park, a real nice park here in Roanoke where a prominent man in the neighborhood left this section of land for a fenced in playground for the kids in our city, we took glorious naps and spent some time in the swimming pool. Josiah also got to "take Daddy for a walk" to the store to get mommy a bottle of coke...what a man! Along the way, we had some rather icky events as well! Bethany still sleeps in our bedroom in the corner in her crib. She is such a good and sound sleeper...I can come and go as I please and she never wakes...even if I have to turn the light on! Well, I woke up to the beautiful sounds of my little girl playing and cooing from the corner. I laid there and listened for a while when I realized something wasn't right! There was a terrible smell, also coming from the same corner. Dare I even look, I thought to myself. I knew I was going to regret it, but I had to look. I rose up out of bed to see my precious little girl on her hands and knees, diaper long gone, and poo-poo from head to toe. Did I say head to toe? I meant HEAD TO TOE!!! Oh gag! I thought. How am I going to get these clothes off of her, then she smiled at me and I realized the distance this disgusting stuff had gone...she had it on her face, in her hair, on her pacifier...which just dropped out of her mouth. She had socks on and when I took the socks off, it was on her feet through the socks. This stuff was everywhere! I held her naked little body by her two hands and hurried her to the bathtub. This stuff gave me a hard time coming off too! So, needless to say, tonight we wore bloomers over our diaper when we went to bed!

As for Josiah, he heard me ask Daddy if Daddy would go and buy me a coke at the store down the street, and Josiah said he wanted to take Daddy for a walk. So, Josiah got to go with him, wearing his big boy Elmo underwear and not pull ups! Woo-hoo! I think I have him scared enough that he won't wet his underwear. He is afraid to "pee-pee" on Elmo. I say: "Hey, whatever works"! So, after Josiah went to take Daddy on his walk, I heard screaming and crying and I see Daddy carrying Josiah back to the house. I thought the sounds appeared to be hurt cries, and that some doctoring might be necessary, so before they got back in the door, I got out the first aid kit and some antisceptic spray. Josiah sat on the table screaming until I cleaned him up and put "boo-boo stickers" on his knees. Who knew a little skinned knee could bleed so much? Well, Josiah was more upset about coming back home than he was about falling and hurting his knees!

Well, I know this isn't much, but this is how my day has been spent...with my wonderful kids and husband - the delights of my world!

God Has Been My Refuge Daily

GOD HAS BEEN MY REFUGE DAILY

God has been my refuge daily,

God has been my hiding place,

He will ever lead me onward,

He will take me home at last.

He knows all my joys and sorrows,

He knows all my trials and cares,

He knows all my sins and errors,

Yet for me He daily cares.

He has taught my heart to love him,

While he found me deep in sin,

Yet He loved me long before then,

E'en before the world began.

All my days I want to serve Him,
He has been so good to me,

Every day shall be to praise Him,

Long as breath remains in me!

I can not get this song out of my head tonight and have been singing or humming it often. It is such a beautiful song about God's love for us. My family is going through some trials right now, our church family is going through some trials, but what a consolation to know that God daily cares for me. He knows all my joys and sorrows...every single one of them! He knows all of my sins and errors and YET He still loves and cares for me! Hallelujah! Despite all of these trials we may seem to be going through, we serve and awesome God and that will never change. I need to remember to constantly look to Him from "whence cometh my help"!

I hope anyone having a rough week or feeling down can read the words to this song and be uplifted knowing that God is in control and loves His children. Praying without ceasing...

You thought I forgot, didn't you?

Every Saturday since I last posted I have had major things going on and simply NO TIME at all to catch up on my blogging. I really don't have a lot of time today, but thankfully I am a fast typist and can get a lot in in just a few minutes!

My DH is out cutting our grass and a neighbor lady's, Josiah and Bethany are both taking a nap, the kitchen is clean and dinner is in the oven, so I thought: why not?! We have been tremendously busy over the past few weeks and it seems like I have less and less time with the family, so some thing have to go. Blogging and computer time are just examples. I have to get up around 6am every morning to get ready, get the kids bags ready and be out the door and to work at 8am. Then, I work and do not get home until around 5:15! As soon as I come in the door, though, my darling son greets me with a big hug and a kiss and begs me to lay down on the sofa and rest while Daddy massages my feet. Bethany sees me and starts kicking and squealing in the floor from her beloved play spot. She is content for me to play with her from my "resting" spot on the sofa. I do this every day for Josiah. He needs this special attention from me and I am glad to give it and get so much in return. I love sitting and unwinding from my day before resuming family life. I love coming home to my babies, but wish I didn't have to leave them in the first place. I am still on a full time schedule, hoping to hear any day about my part time schedule. That is something all of my friends can pray about for me!

Some fun things about the kiddoes:

Josiah:
He is getting bigger and bigger and he is such a sweet big brother. He is always trying to figure out why Bethany might be upset and when she is, he will bring her a new toy and tell her not to cry that it is okay. He has been learning some Bible verses: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.", and "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine". Any time he is fussy or disobedient after disciplining, I make him quote these verses and we talk about them. Josiah also says our dinner time prayer. He can't say all of the words, but he will say most of the prayer: "God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food. By His hands we are fed, give us Lord our daily bread. Amen." He looks forward to this every evening when we sit down to eat. He is such a good little boy, but he does have his moments where I want to wring my hands and pull out my hair. I don't think these times will lessen as he grows, but I am looking for alternative ways to help him not fuss, whine or pitch fits as much. These moments are not fun for me! I do love it when Josiah gets real lovey and wants to "hold me" or love on me and kiss me. It makes everything better!

Bethany:
This little girl is soon to be on the move! She loves to sit in the living room and play. When she does, she rocks back and forth and ends up scooting a good bit on her bottom. She is soon going to be able to get to where she wants to go. She will roll over to her tummy and get up on her hands and knees, rock back and forth, then give herself a good push, which propels her forward. She is our constant delight. About a week or so ago, she cut 4 teeth at the same time and we hardly noticed...she did have some fussy moments though. She continues to be a good eater and sleeper all of the time for which I am thankful. Her favorite past times as of late have been when I drape the big floor blanket over the dining room table and she and Josiah go under there to play. They both love it. Whenever Bethany gets upset, Josiah will go get her another toy and say: "Do you like it sweetheart?". This just melts my heart. A couple of nights ago, they spent about an hour and a half under the table together!

Well, I just wanted to share a few things about us and what's going on. Hope you all are having a GREAT summer and enjoying the sunshine! God Bless Everyone!

A Saturday Posting

Well, it is Saturday again and do you know where my kids are? Yep, they are taking their Saturday afternoon naps and I am playing catch-up once again. This has been another hectic week, but here we are, at the end of it, and soon we will be ready to go again!

One majorly awesome part of this week was that I became and aunt again! My older brother and his wife gave birth to a little boy weighing about 8 lbs. and 4 ozs. this week. This little baby boy is going to be spoiled in the best way possible! He has three older sisters from 14-9 years old and they love him so very much. He has a HEAD FULL of reddish/brownish/blondish hair. He is absolutely cute!!! I am so thankful for his swift and healthy delivery and I simply can not wait to hold him and love on him!!!

Josiah and Bethany have been great and well taken care of this week by my loving family. I just don't know what I would do without everyone who has been so gracious to help us. They really are a tremendous blessing!

We have been tremendously blessed and favored by the Lord this week and that is my update!

One more thing...

I forgot to finish telling about Bethany's DR appointment. So, she is 20 lbs and about 29 inches long [she will be tall just like her brother!!!]. We notices a few weeks ago that Bethany's left eye has a tendency to drift inwards toward her nose, then about a week later, we noticed that he eyes cross quite a bit. We have been set up with a pediatric opthamology appointment in October [as you can tell, they are not too worried about her!] to check out her eyes. The DR was not too concerned, but agreed that her eyes crossing so much and so harshly was not normal. So, we will keep you updated. For those of you who have facebook, check out our pictures there. It is much easier to load pictures to FB than here!

A Lot To Talk About

This has been a ______________ week. There are just too many words I could use to fill in the blank! Any of these words would fit: hectic, great, sad, mind-numbing, tiring, exhilarating, exhausting, weird, nerve-wracking and soo many more! It has been that kind of week because I had to do something this week that I did not think I would have to do this soon. I have dreaded this from the time Josiah first became a twinkle in our eyes! I rose at 6am every day, got dressed up in business clothes, left my beautifully sleeping children and oh-so handsome husband, and went back to work. I put make-up on every day this week! I have gone back to work for my former employer who was always so good to me. They have offered me a part time job back in the call center where I previously worked for almost three years before Josiah came along. I can't wait until the part time hours take effect because that means I will have a WHOLE lot more time with my family. For the next six weeks I have to train full time M-F and this is going to be hard on our family. Please pray for us. I have never been away from the kids this long during the day and I am sad and miss them all day long! They are doing well so far and talk about me during the day, mostly Josiah says: "Mommy no here. Mommy at work. Mommy, where are you?" Danny says he gets up in the morning excited to go downstairs and see mommy only to discover that she is not there. That makes me really sad! It has not been as hard as I thought though. I really enjoyed walking back into that building and seeing all the familiar faces I had grown to enjoy. I enjoyed meeting all of the new people and showing pictures of the kids to everyone. I think anyone who would listen to me got to hear all about my kids this week! Caring for the kids while I am gone has been a challenge, but so many of my friends and family have come along and helped us out and I am so thankful. Let me give you just a snippet of our schedule this week...Monday and Friday, Danny came home from his overnight job, and went straight to sleep, and woke up when the kids did around 9am. He got them breakfast and they did a good bit of playing around and had an early lunch, then he loaded them up to go to Grandma's house where Grandma took over their care. Daddy sacked out in a bed at Grandma's and slept as much as he could for the next few hours, then he brought them home around 5pm, we had dinner and Danny went back to sleep while I excitedly took my turn having a blast with the kids. On Tuesdays, a dear cousin, bless her heart, comes over around 9am when the kids are waking. This dear cousin takes care of the kids until Danny wakes up later in the day. This week, our dear cousin even was sweet enough to put the crockpot dinner on for us so we could eat when I got home instead of having to rush around trying to cook, or even worse, going out for a bite to eat. On Wednesdays, Danny and I get the kids up and ready to go to a dear friends house for half of the day. Danny takes them over to the friends around 7am and then comes home and sleeps, then gets up around noon and goes back to pick them up. Danny doesn't have to work on Wednesday nights so he does not have to find time for more sleep. He does take a nap with the kids in the afternoon however! Thursdays Danny has the kids all day and tries to nap when they do. Right now we have a plan to meet each other for lunch every afternoon at ChickfilA so we can talk and I can see the kids. So, my poor husband is struggling to get his sleep, to say the least. Hopefully we won't have to do this much longer! I am so thankful for dear friends, cousins and Grandma's who do what they can to help us out. They may refuse to take cash compensation, but they will be compensated, just wait and see!

Well, enough about work! Let me tell you a few things about the kids this week! Bethany is getting sooo big. Last week she had her 6 month check up at 7 months. She is 20 lbs! She is such a big and beautiful little girl! She is beginning to "talk" to us soo much more than she did before. She is still trying to figure out this rolling over thing...she starts to roll a little, then can't find where to put her hands, and gets stuck and frustrated! She may not be fully rolling over yet, but she can sit up like a pro! She loves to sit and when she is sitting, she rocks back and forth wildly out of excitement. Bethany has grown to love sitting in the grass...seriously. We go outside and she squirms and wiggles and squeals until I put her down. When I do, she gets so excited and says: "Ma ma ma ma ma ma" over and over again while rocking back and forth. Today she did something I have never seen any baby do and she quite confused me with it at first! Josiah made a mess in the floor and I needed to clean it up, so I put Bethany down in the dining room, sitting on her bottom. When I came back, she was still sitting facing the same position, but she was across the room about 10 feet. I thought I was losing my mind, but I was sure I put her in the dining room and not the living room! I thought maybe Josiah moved her, but no, he was still in the same place as before. So, I picked Bethany up and put her back in the dining room and went around the corner to secretly watch her. That little booger scooted on her bottom across the entire floor so very quickly. She just pulled her feet into her tummy and pushed sending her backwards. She did this over and over again so fast and was back across the room in seconds! She was very pleased with herself too! Also, Bethany has HATED her baths since she was born. I mean screaming like her legs have been severed HATE. So about a week or so ago, we decided to go to the local public pool with the kids. I thought Bethany would hate it, but she had the time of her life! Since the pool, Bethany has declared her love for bath times, especially with Josiah. She squeals, kicks, laughs and talks the whole time she is in the tub. It is so funny how she has done a complete 180 on us!

Josiah is enjoying his baby sister immensely. He has discovered over the past few weeks that she loves him dearly and he takes advantage of this, in a good way. Josiah is the only one that can make Bethany laugh and he does it by getting near her and belting out laugh after laugh and giggle after giggle. This excites Bethany to no end. Josiah loves to kiss on Bethany and hug her and "hold" her at almost every opportunity. Josiah is beginning to love reading books, especially reading to Bethany. Josiah also tries to help feed Bethany at every opportunity, which is not always a good thing. Bethany has already had raisins, a whole tomato and some whole blueberries in her mouth before mommy came to the rescue. Josiah is truly learning more and more every day about the consequences of his actions. His favorite question right now will be to ask: "What happens if you______?" I will tell him, I don't know, what happens? To which he says: "I skank your hand!" He is learning the hard way not to touch the computer, not to spit, especially in people's faces, and to obey in general. Josiah has become very loving this past week, always laying his head against my chest and saying: "It's okay mommy." He will now kiss me on the lips, which has always been hard for him to do. He has always preferred to be kissed on the cheek. He will pray with us at night before bedtime and tell us he loves us, which warms our hearts!

Well, this has been the Hodges Family update and I hope you have enjoyed. Since our schedule has been so hectic and will continue to be, don't look for updates often, because I ain't doing it during the week! I have reserved Saturday afternoon nap times to catch up on the house and me!

Have a good weekend!

The Month of June

This month has flown by. I have been really busy, but it seems if I were to stop and tell what I were busy doing, my mind draws a blank! Well, I will recap as much as I can remember!

Josiah's potty training is still going, slowly but sweetly. I did cringe this morning when he came up to me and said: "Um, mommy? Yucky dirty on the chair, yucky dirty on the floor and yucky dirty on my hands!" To which I quickly turned from what I was doing to check the adult version of the damage...it wasn't too bad, but he wasn't kidding either! Josiah will tell me when he is wet and when he has messed his pants, but he won't tell me when he needs to go. He will tell me he needs to mess about 10 minute before he does, to which I proactively put him on the potty and cheer him on. Then nothing happens until we put the pants back on. How do we figure this part out??? Well, on to greener pastures...

Bethany is sitting up for 20 and 30 minutes at a time. She LOVES for Josiah to play with her and Josiah loves to play with her, although his playing with her has to be severely monitored! For some reason he likes to plant his palm in her face and shove her over when she is sitting up, and he thinks it is funny. Bethany is also making a lot of sounds and making a lot of noise. Her favorite right now is sticking her tongue out and spitting. Josiah loves it when Bethany makes her spitting noise but doesn't quite understand why it is not alright for him to spit. We went to a church meeting this past weekend and twice I had to discipline Josiah for spitting in people's faces when they talked to him. Josiah spitting has a lot more force than a little old baby spit! I was literally wiping spit out of one lady's hair! So, we were in the car on the way home from this meeting and Josiah turned around to me and said: "Mommy! What happens if you spit? What? What happens?" I told him: "You tell me, what happens if you spit?" Then Josiah said: "I take you out and skank your hand!"He doesn't quite understand why he can't spit but Bethany can, so he has told me several times that Bethany needs a spankin'! Even though Bethany is sitting up, she could care less about rolling over and has maybe done so about 5 times. Isn't that weird? Josiah was rolling from one side of the room to the other by 7 months!

Now for some sadness to share. Danny and I have been praying about our financial situation for a while now and feel led for me to go back to work part time. I have been praying about what to do and where to go when I noticed an ad for the previous company I worked for, and they were looking for part time work! I would love to work for my previous company again and it was PT! Even better! So, this week I have been finishing up paperwork for going back to work at Delta Dental. I have been preparing myself for leaving the kids for 1/2 a day and I though I had gotten to the point where I felt like I could do it and not feel too bad or too guilty. Then yesterday a bombshell went off in my lap! I was told that the training begins this next Monday and that the training is for 6 weeks [it has been over 2 years since I have been at Delta, so I have to go through the training again, understandably!] and not only is it for 6 weeks, it is from Monday thru Friday from 8a-5p. I guess I just didn't think it would be this much. I have been bursting out in tears yesterday and today over the thought of leaving my kids on a daily basis for most of the day. Six weeks! Bethany will be rolling over and crawling and I will be missing it!!! I am so sad and downcast. I am blessed however to have a wonderful friend who is helping to keep the kids one day a week and my mother in law is keeping the kids two days a week. Daddy is off and keeping the kids one day a week and our cousin will fill in for one day a week or as needed. The Lord has helped us to have all of the pieces fall into place and this is what we have needed. Please pray for me while I have to be away from my kids. I am feeling all alone and very sad right now and I don't like these feelings!

This has been our June goings on and I will try to be more diligent to write more in the future!!!

Don't Laugh At Me! Okay, Not Too Hard Anyway...

We have a dilemma here in the Hodges' House...my son's bottom is too big for regular diapers anymore. Yes, he's only a little over two, but he is almost 45 lbs and they just don't make diapers that big! We have gone to pull-ups that don't have enough coverage and we have even bought size 7 diapers that are WAY more expensive. I came to the conclusion that we couldn't do this anymore. We are not made of money, you know! So, I read a book and talked with a friend who has tried the potty training in a day method. My friend said it worked for her, and out of desperation and literal lack of money, we decided to try this method.

Basically, you get a baby doll that has a refillable bottle to drink from, and the ability to pee. You give your child the bottle and have your child give the baby drink. Then tell your child that the baby has to go potty on the potty chair. Instruct your child to then put the baby on the potty chair and watch the baby go potty. After the baby potties on the chair, instruct your child to give the baby a treat. Instruct your child to congratulate the baby and continue letting your child give the baby water and telling the baby to go potty on the potty chair. After this scenario a few times over, tell your child it is time for them to potty like a big boy/girl on the potty chair. Instruct the child to pull their pants down, let them situate themselves, wait for them to pee on the potty, congratulate them heartily, then give them a treat. This should go on for the better part of a day. Try to set aside time where it is just you and the child you are training. Better yet, let the child go naked without pants and when you see them running around every 5-10 minutes, tell them it is time to potty on the potty chair.

So, you may laugh now, but don't laugh too hard, because if you read my blog about a month or so ago, pottying was a no-go. Since the baby doll, Josiah has not skipped a beat. He comes to me at various times of the day and tells me his baby went to pee on the potty and needs a treat, but I make him sit down and pee first. Now, he is not FULLY trained, but we are well on our way to no more diapers for the big kid! He still wets in his pants, but now he comes and tells me he didn't pee on the potty, but he peed in his pants and it is "dirty, yucky". Pooping on the potty has not ocurred yet...I won't even begin to mention that, but if you are ready to start and you think your child is, get the baby doll...it has worked wonders for us!

Happy training!

How can she be 6 months old?

It seems like just yesterday I was whining about how miserable I was in the last stages of my pregnancy. I was miserable, but oh-so excited to meet my baby girl! Bethany has been a delightful baby since day one. Almost from the start, she has slept through the night and she loves the 3 hour routine...eat, stay awake for about an hour and a half, then sleep an hour an a half. This is how she works her days. She can sleep just about anywhere...I have a bed set up over in the corner and she sleeps there while her rowdy brother plays and stomps around, and she sleeps through the antics of the kids I babysit. She hates to go to sleep in your arms and will fight you for all it's worth, but she is so easy to go to sleep. Just give her a "buddy" [pacifier] and a blanket [she rubs her blanket on her face to help her go to sleep!] and she is out in seconds...literally! Bethany is so laid back and easy going. She loves to watch everything that is going on around her. She is so excited to have discovered her big brother. She loves watching Josiah do anything. Bethany hates it when he leaves the room, though. I tease and say that she has brother separation anxiety! One of the best parts of Bethany's day is laying down in Josiah's bed with him. She loves it! She kicks her feet, grabs for Josiah, coos and talks and has the best of times! Bethany does not roll over a lot, maybe only three or four times since birth, but she is already sitting up. She can sit up on her own for about 15 minutes before she shows significant signs of being tired of it! For about 2 months now, Bethany has been giving kisses. What, you don't believe it? I thought at first it was nothing, but I kid you not! If you get close enough, she will grab your face with both hands and plant a juicy one on your cheek, and she will do this over and over again as much as you will let her. It is the sweetest thing ever. Sometimes she takes you by surprise and literally lunges at your face to kiss on you. If I kiss on her cheeks, this always inevitably starts an all out kiss-fest!

I thank God every day for my children and I love them so very much! Happy 6 month birthday Bet-bet [as Josiah calls her!]!

What have we been up to?

I didn't realize just how little time I would have once the springs rolled to an end and the summer started breathing down our necks. Warmer weather here makes Josiah want to be outside almost 100% of the time and I try to accommodate him because I would rather him be active and outdoors than inside sitting around or wanting to watch videos. Josiah loves trees, flowers, sticks, trucks, BIG trucks and anyone who will stop and talk to him as they go by or we go by. He loves to get his push toy and walk all the way to the end of the street and back [it would be about 1/2 a mile I would guess]. He would do it over and over again if I let him. We went out this morning for a walk and we got back to our house and he was completely covered in sweat, sweat dripping down his face and curly locks of golden hair. I wasn't ready to go inside yet, but I did feel like we needed some water and this cause much of a fuss! We got our water though and walked again to the end of the street and back.

Well, this is not all we have been up to. I am ending up a school season long babysitting spree [except for the almost 3 months I was out on "maternity leave"]. I love the family I babysit for. They have a 6 1/2, 3 and almost 2 yr old. I have babysit them of and on for about 2 years, or at least since the baby was a baby. They are a real sweet Christian family and I have enjoyed them immensely. I am currently looking for some more babysitting to take on for the summer. I must do the babysitting or something like it for the time being so I can stay at home and be my all to my kids. I may have an opportunity to watch 2 teenage foster girls during the day this summer. I am still praying about this and have not heard back from the lady that interviewed me. All who read this can pray for me to have some one come along that I can minister to and that can bring in enough money to comtinue to keep me at home.

Other than babysitting and working around the house, we have had a rather wondrous occurrence in Roanoke. I won't mention names, because I just don't mention other people by name on my blog because they probably wouldn't want it, but one of my favorite people, and a simply wonderful young lady is now an engaged young woman. If anyone reading this is a part of Facebook and a friend of mine on facebook, go check out my pictures if you haven't already! As a result of this engagement and upcoming wedding, I have kicked it into high gear and I am exercising like crazy and really enjoying it. For more on that, visit my blog weightingfornothing.blogspot.com in the next couple of days and I will have some updates. I have to lose a lot of weight before I will even look decent in family pictures at this wedding!

Okay, so updates on the wee ones. Josiah has been a delight this week. Every week he comes up with something new to tickle us with or delight us with. It is his job, right? Well, this week he has been referring to himself as "Siah". He will say things like: "Siah do it!", or, "Siah help mommy!". He is absolutely adorable with this. He is becoming more and more aware of what it means to obey mommy and daddy and what happens if he chooses not to. When Sunday morning comes around and he realizes we are getting ready for church, he will say: "Go to church, praise the Lord, sit still and be quiet, or get a skankin!" I think he knows we mean business! He really is a good little boy during church and most other times! He has finally realized that Bethany can bring him much joy and that he can bring her much joy as well. He loves to make her smile and to make her coo. She loves him too! Two times this past month I have had to rescue her from Josiah. One of the times I heard Bethany coughing and I turned around to see raisings spewing out of her mouth. Josiah had given her a handful and explained to me that he was "sharing". The other time I walked in the room and Bethany had a tomato slice hanging from her mouth. It was darling, but I have to watch that boy! This time he explained that she was "starving!".

Bethany is still her lovable and agreeable self. She hardly ever cries and those two bottom teeth in the middle finally broke through and are not giving her much more trouble anymore. She has grown significantly in the last month and a half or so. She went from a kind of tiny little 11 pound 4 month old to an almost 15 lb 5 1/2 month old. This is probably because we made a switch to formula because of technical difficulties :-) and she has been having a few baby foods. She LOVES sweet potatoes, but they don't love her tummy, so we have nixed them for a couple of months. She also likes bananas, rice cereal, avacado and sweet peas. This is about as far as we have ventured so far. She doesn't flip over much when she is on the floor, but she is already starting to sit up on her own, but is still a little unsteady.

As for me and Danny, we shared our 8th wedding anniversary this month as well as Danny's 42nd birthday. We didn't do much on these two occasions but spend some time together and that is always fun!

Well, that is about it for now. I will try to get back to more consistent blogging, but don't get your hopes up since Summer is upon us! Happy Memorial Day and Memorial Day weekend!

Bad Habits

I have a really bad habit of turning the TV on and just listening to it during the day. I don't really watch anything bad, mostly news. I realized yesterday the negative affect this is having on my young son though. You know you watch too much TV when your son repeats a popular law office commercial he has heard way too many times:

"Tell them you mean business! Call Kalfus and Nachman on the HURTLINE now!"

My husband and I really laughed hard the first time we heard this, but when he said it so many times, I realized this bad habit HAD TO GO!

What kinds of bad habits do you have that you have seen come out in your kids?

These are a few of my favorite things...

Color:

Yellow

Dessert:

Homemade Icecream

Smell:

Vanilla

Flower:

Yellow Rose

Animal:

Umm...I guess any type of small dog

Month:

October

Beverage:

Pumpkin Spice Frapuccino

Pair of Shoes:

I am sooo not a shoe person, so plain sandals

Snack:

Apple Slices and Peanut Butter

Song:

I Can Only Imagine

by

Mercy Me

Book:

It is hard to name just one

I like a lot of Christian Fiction and Biographies

Fruit:

Cantaloupe

Hairstyle:

I change it so often, who knows? I really like it short enough to wash and go and not have to do much with it

Piece of Clothing:

My undershirts

Store to clothes shop:

Cato's

Season:

Spring/Fall

Hobby:

Crocheting

Things to collect:

I really do not like to collect things, but I have so many collections I never intended

Movie:

Gone with the Wind and the Sound of Music

Restaurant:

Right now, McAlister's

My Little Man

Here is a short video clip of my little man having fun and keeping us in stitches!

What are you trying to say?

If I were to tell you that the way you dress communicates to others what's in your heart, would you agree or disagree? Think about it for a few minutes. The way you dress...a form of communication? Really...what do you think?



Think about it this way: when you see a bride walking down the aisle brilliantly dressed in her best attire for her future husband. When you see her in all of her dazzling beauty, doesn't the way she is dressed make a statement? Doesn't it speak to others of the love that is in her heart for the man she is about to marry? Or, think about it this way: if you see someone dressed in a thick wool hat, wool mittens, a scarf around the neck and a heavy coat on, wouldn't it be safe to say this person is cold and is not headed to a picnic?



Clothing can communicate to others whether we are from a poor or a wealthy family. Have you ever seen someone on the street and thought they must live in a bad section of town, or seen someone else and thought about how nice it would be to have the kind of money they do in order to shop for clothes? Clothing sends out a message about our values, our character and our attitudes. For example, you can look at some people and tell that neatness is not a concern to them. You can look at others and tell by the way they are dressed whether they are having a good day or not. The way we dress and the way that we present ourselves is a reflection of what is in our heart.

In First Timothy 2:9, women are exhorted to dress modestly. Modest? What does modest mean to you? The most fitting definition of the word modest that I could find, that spoke the most to me, was from Webster's Dictionary, definition # 3: "observing the proprieties of dress and behavior". In simple terms, this means to dress decently.

The main reason I am writing this is that we, as Christians, have an obligation to set ourselves apart from those that are in the world. Part of setting ourselves apart from those in the world is to dress differently from those in the world. Ladies, are you doing YOUR part to set yourself apart from the world and dress in a decent manner (I speak especially to teens and young adults!)? If not, you need to take a serious look in the mirror and change your appearance so that you might not be conformed to this world!

I want to leave you with a few examples I have seen recently of immodest dress and ask all of you teens and young women to take some time out to think about and pray about the way that you dress and ask yourselves if you are doing all you can to glorify God in your manner of dressing. Here are some of the examples of immodest dress:

• Tight and form fitting shirts [what good is a shirt that covers private body parts if the size of the shirt enhances that which is covered?]
• Shirts that are too short and expose the belly/hip area
• Shirts that are too low cut or too loose at the top so that every move you make exposes private body parts [you can always find sleeveless shirts to wear under low cut shirts, or button up the shirts, or better yet, if the shirt is too low cut or too short, don't buy it and don't wear it!]
• Shirts that have writing across the chest are NOT decent at all because this only draws the eye to private parts of the body
• Pants or shorts that have writing across the bottom do the same thing - draws the eye to private body parts
• Pants that are too low waisted paired with a shirt that is too short [hey, I know low rise pants, jeans and shorts are the trend nowadays. I am not necessarily against them. It is when your shirt is not long enough to cover what the bottoms leave behind that causes indecent dress]
• Skirts that have slits in the sides and up the back need to be checked. You should sit down in front of a mirror and check all angles of your dress with this type of skirt on. What happens when you cross your legs? How big does the slit open up when you sit, stand and walk?
• See through material is just that! If you want to wear something with thin material, please invest in a nice full body or half body slip in order to more fully clothe yourself.

These are just a few things that I have seen lately. Remember, these things I am seeing from our fellow sisters in Christ! We have a responsibility to uphold one another, exhort one another, and rebuke one another in love when necessary.

I am not the most eloquent of writers or speakers. I really am a mild mannered, down to earth kind of person [at least I think I am!]. My intention here is not to offend anyone or point fingers at anyone other than our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that all who read this take to heart what I have written. Please examine yourselves and your lives and truly ask yourself whether or not you have set yourself apart from those that are in the world.

I welcome any and every comment, whether private or public, and would be happy to discuss this subject more in length with anyone who has the desire!

I've been out of the loop

Hello all! I returned just yesterday afternoon from a trip to GA to be with my family. I had such a great time! Great sleep? No, but a great time, yes! We have planned this trip since before Bethany was born and now I can't believe it is over. We had so many plans and things to do on this trip and I feel like I hardly ever stopped to take time to smell the roses, so to speak.

We left around 2pm one afternoon to make our trip. It was a nice trip except for maybe the last two hours where both Josiah and Bethany screamed and screamed. Bethany was miserable and was scrunched up in the back seat of the rental car. We stopped and decided to switch the places where both car seats were and this seemed to greatly help. Danny has such long legs that he had to put the car seat back a lot further on Bethany than we would have wanted. This seemed to calm both of the kids down and we soon arrived in Conyers, GA around 10:30pm or so. It was a long trip, but well worth it!

We met up with my little brother, his wife and their little girl who were also visiting at my parents for a week or so. The Wednesday after we arrived we decided to take the kids to the Yellow River Game Ranch where you can feed live animals. This was great! Deer came up to you out of nowhere, eating carrots and apples right out of your hands. There were also foxes, chickens, roosters, rabbits, bears, squirrels, pigs, goats, sheep and so many more animals. I am sure I am leaving some out, but you get the point! The kids had a blast. Josiah has a rooster's crow down to an art now, as the roosters followed us around making all sorts of noises. Josiah lost interest a lot sooner than his cousin did, and he just wanted to "Run, run, run!" all over the place.

That evening, Danny went to the Atlanta Tea Party with some of the local church family, while I gladly stayed at home and looked after the kids. Truth be told, you would not have found me dead on the streets of Atlanta in all of that mess!

The next day, I went to a huge kid's consignment sale with my sister in law and got a good bit of things, spending less than $20 - that is always a great feeling! We spent most of the rest of the day letting the kids nap and catching up ourselves, then we went to Shoal Creek PBC for their dinner and prayer meeting. It was nice to see friends and family and spend time with them in the Lord.

Friday my older brother, his wife and their three girls came up to my parents for a couple of days. The first order of business for us all was a trip to Stone Mountain State Park. It had been a long time since I went to Stone Mtn, and I had a great time! We took a picnic and had a great time eating, some walked down to the mill, and some threw the football around and had a few laughs. Mom and dad went back home for the afternoon to get some rest, while the rest of us split up for just a little while. Me, Danny, my younger brother and his family and the kiddos went and rode the train around the mountain. It was nice, but the seats were less than uncomfortable! We then went to the barnyard for the kids to play...it wasn't quite meant for their age, so we stayed for a minutes, then moved on. At that point we decided to ride the airlift to the top of the mountain. It had been forever since I was up there and it was nice to see again. I am so glad I didn't have to hike the mountain to get there! We met up with the rest of the family, then headed home for dinner with all of the family and togetherness...playing some Wii. Yes, as you guessed, it was a sight to behold!

Saturday we all had plans to head to the church for the Strevel Family Reunion. I looked forward to spending time together with family from near and far. We all gathered at the church and prepared to have a nice potluck dinner when we saw the commotion outside and noticed that one of the little cousins was hurt. Our 10 year old little cousin fell off of about a 10 foot platform and broke both of his arms and scraped his chin. He was rushed to the nearest ER while we prayed and waited for news on him. They returned a couple of hours later, indeed with 2 broken bones in one arm and 1 in another. He had temporary slings put on and would have to get casts on both arms a couple of days later. Poor guy! Since the accident, I heard he is well, although in pain, but he does have his casts on and is on the mend.

A lot more went on while I was in GA, I have only hit the highlights, but I must say that we had a great time and I can't wait to make it back...although I have no idea when! I miss my family and can't wait to hear about the new arrivals of my niece in May and my nephew in August.

I hope to catch up here around the house and to write more soon. I have a subject that I have so strongly on my mind that I am currently writing about and praying about and I hope to share it with you all really soon, so don't be a stranger to my blog!

Unwanted Phone Calls

This really annoying debt consolidation company got our phone number and will not stop calling me! I have had at least 3-5 calls a day for the past 6 days [except for Sunday...]. They start promptly at around 7:30am and call all throughout the day. I have done all of the following:

• I have requested that they take me off of their call list
• I have asked to speak to a manager - which got me nowhere
• I have even become sarcastic with them when they ask for me by name. "May I speak to Melanie please?" To which I reply: "I'm sorry, I'm not available right now, can I leave myself a message?" To which the person on the other end says yes, so I say: "Please leave your message at the sound of the beep. BEEP!"
• I have even not answered or hung up on them

Even though I have done all of these things, they STILL will not quit calling me. I have been able to find some humor in this situation though. The humor came when every time they called today, I answered, put them on speakerphone, and let my two year old Josiah do all the talking for me! He loves to talk on the phone to anyone who will talk back. The conversation went somewhat like this: "Hi, can I speak to Melanie?" To which Josiah replied: "Sljufkmws sdkfjsdkjf fksmneom sljfosemv sldlsdmp slmjsldfmk s;dkflsm,bsa;vm bgkfbbafalsdjf asdfkjdksfskl dlmfksdjfkdj fkdjfkv apepmvaopdmm wpasoefsdf." This must have tickled the caller on the other end almost as much as it tickled me because the caller put Josiah on speakerphone so all of his fellow workers could hear him. Then this is what I heard: "Is your mommy home?" To which Josiah replied with A LOT more babble. The workers listening on speakerphone began to laugh at what they were hearing, then Josiah let out a big fake laugh himself and says: "You so funny!". I know this may seem weird or odd to a lot of you, but I despise it when people call my house over and over again, especially if I have requested that they not. I am VERY MUCH not a phone person. I can go days without answering the phone. I can ignore a phone ringing like no one's business. I guess this comes from working in a lot of call centers at various times in my life. At my last job, some days I would answer as many as 160 calls a day. So, this was one of the highlights of my day, and I WILL use my son's love for the phone to my advantage again, whenever the opportunity arises!

Another funny...

As naptime comes to a near end, I hear my son on the baby monitor starting to babble a little to himself. Then all of a sudden, I hear this: "Momma! Whell all oo?" Which, coming from Josiah means where are you. I hear this over and over again, then I hear: "Momma not coming!". Precious...t-totally!~

Weighting for nothing

I have created a new blog, separate from this one, that will be more about losing weight, WW, and my effort to help others and myself lead a better lifestyle through healthy eating. If you want to follow or chime in, please go to: weightingfornothing.blogspot.com. Anyone at anytime please feel free to send me your tips, recipes or articles that you think might be helpful to me or others!

Your laugh for the day

This morning as I was awakened by Josiah's loud bedroom banter, I went to get him out of bed to begin our day. He was soaking wet! Usually we don't do diaper changes until after breakfast, but this one meant a change of clothes immediately. So, I got him undressed and undiapered and realized all of the diapers were downstairs. So, I went and gathered Bethany and directed little naked bird downstairs. I laid Bethany down in her portable crib and decided to throw an egg and some cheese in the microwave for Josiah before sticking his diaper on...after all, it would just take a second, right? So, I am mixing an egg up and from the other room I hear: "Oh, pee-pee! Wow! Pee-pee!", proclaimed proudly. I hustled into the dining room in time to see Josiah leaning over the baby bed while peeing all over Bethany. When I say ALL OVER, I mean ALL OVER! She had it on her head and face, clothes and feet. Now, mind you, Josiah didn't do this on purpose. He was trying to put Bethany's pacifier in her mouth when he just let fly. So, instead of breakfast first thing this morning, we started off with a bath for Bethany. She was a trooper and smiled and cooed at her big brother like he was her best friend in the whole world! This, therefore, is your laugh for the day!

Potty training is for the birds!

Okay, so I have made a decision...Josiah may be mentally ready for potty training, but he is not physically. I made this decision after 7 attempts of sitting on the potty only rendered Josiah wetting his Elmo underwear within two minutes after each attempt. Congrats to me though! I managed to keep a smile on my face every time he/we cleaned up the floor. After talking to several people and doing a little research, I have decided to put potty training on the back burner when Josiah is able to understand a little more about what actually is going on with that part of his body.

One thing that has been working though is cutting back on using the "buddy". I have been telling him that he is a big boy and doesn't need his buddy. He was getting sleepy today and came up to me, laid his head on my leg and said he needed a baby buddy. Josiah now only sleeps with his buddy at nap and night time. We went a full Sunday service without the buddy, only one trip to the bathroom for some discipline, several pinches and whispers in the ear and we came out on the other side still not giving in and giving him his buddy. The buddy during church has always been my calming mechanism because I worry about him being loud during church, but he is just fine without it! At the end of the closing prayer, when the amen was said, Josiah did tickle everyone when he jumped down out of Daddy's arms and loudly proclaimed: "Run, run, run!!!"

Thanks everyone for your insight and listening. Our next big transition will be no more crib...when did my little boy get so BIG???

It's time...

Oh my goodness, how on earth do you potty train a boy??? I wish he weren't ready, but fact is, he is. I have tried to deny it and tell myself that he isn't, but the fact remains that he will be potty training himself soon if I don't get on the ball. How do I know he is ready, you ask? Well, the other day as I was changing Bethany's diaper, in the kitchen I heard: "Go poo-poo on the potty! Good job! Hold it down!" These are all of the things that I tell him when I occasionally sit him on his little porta-potty. When I went into the kitchen, not only was he sitting on his little potty, but he had pulled his little elastic pants down and pulled his diaper off and was pretending to grunt and strain. It was HILARIOUS until I realized...it's time. So, in the spirit of potty training, we bought Elmo underwear to go with the Thomas the train underwear he already has. He loved the Elmo undies so much, I put them on him tonight and let him prance around in them. He had his first accident tonight at his play table. He stopped and had a shocked look on his face, clasped his cheeks with the palms of his hands and proclaimed loudly: "Oh no!!!". I gave him a little towel and told him to clean it up and then I told him to take off his undies. He did all of this, then took it upon himself to sit on the potty one more time. I really am not sure how all of this is going to go. From all of the tips that I have received from friends and family, here is what we are going to do: Tomorrow starts the run around in nothing but your undies and socks day. I bought a timer tonight that has a lovely ding. I am going to make Josiah sit on the potty for 2 minutes every 20-30 minutes ALL DAY LONG. I made a sticker chart for Josiah and he will get one sticker for sitting on the potty, 2 stickers for pee-peeing and 3 stickers for poo-pooing. I decided not to go with the candy reward system yet because Josiah has never had candy besides a sucker at the DR's office and sugar tends to be a love for our family, so I do not want to start on this road unless I have to. I have promised myself not to get mad or upset if I have messes to clean up, this is just part of the fun. Also, as much as possible, Josiah will be responsible for cleaning up his accidents. I will let you know how this goes...

Guess what else it is time for? I think it is time for Josiah to make the transition from the crib to a bed. First of all, my little boy is HUGE and I can't believe he still fits in the crib, but he does. We have a convertible bed given to us by a cousin, so we are going to move Josiah's crib to the guest room for Ms. Bethany and set up Josiah's bed. I really am interested to see how this goes...it ought to be fun!

It is also time for one more thing: goodbye buddy! Josiah calls his trusty pacifier sidekick his buddy. I have all but eliminated it from everyday life, but I think it is totally time for it to go as I can see a sort of overbite forming with Josiah's teeth. Right now, he only uses it for bedtime and church. Bedtime I am not necessarily worried about, but church scares me. Unless he has his buddy, he just will not be quiet! I guess I am going to have to increase the discipline measures as well!

Don't worry, I am not going to do all of these things at one time...that would be a recipe for disaster! I will slowly but surely get around to making these changes before Josiah is five...or maybe a little sooner!

Weigh In Tuesday

After being T-totally upset with myself and allowing stress to motivate my food choices, last week I was determined to "eat to live, not live to eat". Well, my determination paid off. I had three goals last week:

• Track everything I ate, every day for the week
• Get more fruits and vegetables in
• Exercise at least 5 days out of the week

So, how did I do, you ask? GREAT! The only goal I did not attain was # 3 and it wasn't for lack of trying! I went to the gym 3 days out of the week, but due to my aforementioned knee re-injury, I went two days and could not really do anything! That was really disappointing! So, yesterday I really got back into kicking it at the gym, but my knee is still bothering me. Instead of walking at a high intensity level, I walked longer at a lower intensity level. Still hurt, but not as bad as I could! When we went to weigh in at Weight Watchers this week, I was eagerly anticipating my weigh-in because I knew I did a good job of watching myself this week. I lost 6.2 pounds! I know this is abnormal for 1 week and I don't expect as much the following weeks, but this is great motivation for me, and I believe great motivation for my DH too. My DH is motivation to me and I am glad that I might be able to be some for him! Until next Tuesday, happy exercising!!!

Time to catch up!

I am so sick of DR appts! Sick of them, I tell you! In the last month with trips to the DR and hospital, we have spent well over $500 out of pocket, and let me tell you, that money could have been well used somewhere else! I am thankful, however, that Bethany and Josiah are well, Danny is well, and well, I am on the road to total recovery! I had a DR's appt this past week that will probably result in making an additional appt with another DR. I was in the waiting room with about 10 other people when the receptionist called me back up to their counter to get my insurance card. On the way, my left knee had a hard meeting with a foreign object and down I went, crying like a baby. Now, I don't normally cry like a baby over things like this, but now is the time to share with you what I didn't in any previous posts. About a week and a half ago, I had a pretty nasty fall here in my kitchen and ended up landing in my dining room. I tripped over one of my sons push toys [which has been since relegated to the backyard, never to return to the inside!] and down I went. I fell so hard that my husband, who was asleep at the time, heard me before I screamed his name and came running downstairs to help me. Boy, howdy, I was in some major pain. I fell on the knee and elbow that I had fallen on a few weeks ago, but this time I also injured my wrist and whacked my knee so bad that it is still numb! Well, when I hit my leg in the DR's ofc, I immediately started crying because my knee already hurt sooo bad, and now my whole leg, from ankle to hip was throbbing in pain. A guy in the office was laughing hysterically about the whole ordeal, which irritated me, so when I stood up, I looked at him with tears streaming down my face and said to him, "I am so glad I could provide quality entertainment for you this morning", to which he continued to chuckle a bit. What was this foreign object you ask? I feel a bit stupid telling you, but it was a glass top table and I simply NEVER saw it! Before you think this is simply ridiculous, let me tell you, nothing was on the table and the carpet beneath the table was yellow as was the frame holding the glass table top, so really, it was hard to see. Yes, I did complain about it to the receptionist! :-) So, I am still waiting for the numbness and throbbing to go away. It is very hot to the touch and swollen, and any amount of pressure or anything just makes me want to scream! I am praying that it will heal swiftly and that no serious damage has been done. Until then, I am trying to stay off of it!

On to more exciting things! I asked you all to pray for my mother a few weeks ago because a mass was found in her small intestines. She has had a procedure done and will hear the results of that procedure on Wednesday. At this time, there is every indication that she will have to undergo surgery to have the mass removed, but we just don't know yet what all is happening. I will mention this again next week, Lord willing. Until then, please continue to pray for my mom and dad and my family!

I haven't written about my Weight Watchers Tuesdays in a while, not because I have been doing badly, but because I just simply haven't gotten in here to do it. I did gain a little bit while Bethany was sick and was in the hospital for the night, but I am back on track and I have even joined the gym! YES! I am so excited, except my knee has kept me away for a few days. I do hope to go back tomorrow and go VERY slowly on the treadmill and then maybe do some upper body training. Everyone ought to check and see if there is a Planet Fitness in your area because they have a great gym and their small package is only $29 yearly fee then $10 a month, guaranteed to never increase. There is no contract with this plan and you can cancel at any time!

Well, I am going to close for now and hop off to bed...on my one good leg!

Sweet...or embarrassing???

Josiah bought his first drink for a little girl today... after he went up to her table at Chik-fil-A and swiped her applejuice! So, we have to work on this "we don't own the world" stuff!

I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

No, seriously, I can't hear you! I was so sick last week with my kids being sick and Bethany being in the hospital, it just wasn't Momma's turn to be checked out by the DR. I realized my turn had come when my hearing had just about gone. I can't hear out of my right ear, and the left ear has an echo that is so annoying! That good old sinus infection I had developed into my ears. Nice, huh? My DR fussed and fussed at me for not coming in sooner, and I finally told him, the kids come first! I have always taken my hearing for granted, I realize. It is so frustrating not to be able to hear everything I once heard. On the other hand, I realize also that it is nice not to hear the intense fussing that goes on around here. I can't tell you how many times I have looked at Josiah fussing and whining and have been oh so happy to tell him: "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!". This just about makes him stop immediately because what purpose is there in fussing and whining if you can't annoy someone with it? Anyway, this is what's happening at the Hodges'. We are slowly but surely getting a little better all of the time!

"I like it!"

Even though Josiah is battling this ickiness with the best of us, he has been cute as a bug! I was sitting here doing some bills on the computer this morning and thought about how he would like to see some Elmo on the computer. Elmo is one of his favorite characters right now. I typed Elmo into the google search engine and came up with lots of stuff to see. Josiah promptly asked, "In your lap? In your lap?" So I put him up in my lap and we enjoyed some Elmo together. I love seeing him get so excited about things. After every little video clip he saw, he would loudly proclaim: "I like it!", and then he would proclaim a lot of un-understandable words very excitedly. He enjoyed our little video watching so much this morning that he got down and sat by Bethany, who is in her swing, and held her little hand and excitedly told her all about Elmo. The only words I really understood in his conversation with Bethany was "Elmo" and "I like it"! Bethany smiled and cooed at him through the whole conversation!

RSV - Respiratory Syncyntial Virus

This has been some week! I noticed Josiah developing a cough about Sunday a week ago, but it was very light and not very often. By Monday, I knew it...he was sick. The poor kids I babysit had the same coughing and runny noses so it was hard to escape. Monday night I noticed Bethany feeling uncomfomfortable and kind of fidgety - yes, I know, she is a baby and that is the way they are, but something told me to put her in the bed with me that night just in case she was sick too. That is when I heard the coughing. Bethany started coughing and it sounded like a pack of dogs barking. Tuesday morning, we took the kids in for a sick visit with the DR. Josiah was given and antibiotic for a severe sinus and respiratory infection, and they swabbed Bethany's nose to test for RSV. I had never heard of RSV until this year, or maybe the very end of last year. I have learned a lot of things, such as RSV usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, like a runny nose and fever. However, in infants, particularly those under 3 months or preemies, the symptoms can get dramatically worse. We were told that we did the right thing bringing them in, and that there was nothing that could be given to make the RSV better for Bethany because it is a virus and it just has to run it's course. We were told to look for a few things and if we noticed any persistent coughing, wheezing, rapid breathing, grunting and gasping for air, or blue color around the lips and mouth that we were to contact them immediately or go to the ER. Well, Wednesday morning came around. Josiah had a 103.4 temp and was begging to go outside and play and was very disappointed when "No" was the consistent answer. He then began to lie around a little more, one time he got a book, laid down on the sofa to "read it" and I heard him talking to himself: "No outside. I sick!". Bethany on the other hand seemed much worse to me as far as her coughing. She was coughing, gagging and choking so hard that I could not get her to nurse. When nursing failed, I tried a bottle of formula. When that failed, she was peaceful, so I let her sleep and was determined to keep trying to get some fluids in her every couple of hours. Wednesday night was rough. Poor Danny, who works over night hadn't had any sleep, and Wednesdays are his night off, so he crashed. I laid there with Bethany beside us in the bed coughing and gagging terribly. I knew the coughing was good for her because it meant that the junk was clearing out of her lungs, but when she was not coughing, she was incredibly lethargic and at one point went about 12 hours without even opening her eyes. Her cries were pathetic little kitten mews, so I knew she felt terrible. On top of all of this, did I tell you I was incredibly sick at this point? Yeah, momma got it too! Well, Thursday morning was kind of a blur and I can't remember exactly what was happening, but we called the nurse and she told us to go to the ER to have Bethany seen. I know she had a fever, slightly, but I can't remember what it was about her breathing that made us concerned. Can you say lack of sleep??? We went in to the ER and they saw her immediately and pretty soon thereafter gave her a breathing treatment. Bethany nursed great in the hospital, two or three times in fact, then by the time we left, she was smiling and cooing! I told one of the ER nurses that Bethany was high maintenance and wanted to make sure we were spending money on her [well, it seemed funny at the time...remember: lack of sleep!]. We went back home and crashed! Bethany was well through the rest of the day and slept all night. Friday morning, Bethany wouldn't nurse again and was very congested. We held the poor thing down and suctioned out her nose and got her good nad mad, but she still wouldn't nurse. Danny got her to drinking from her bottle, so I was getting dressed and ready to go to the DR for myself. I was sooo sick and only got about 2 hours of sleep the night before. When I got out of the shower, I heard Danny kind of freaking out, heard Bethany gagging and choking with that cough, and I went into our room and Bethany had vomited up some of what she ate. After Danny got that cleaned up, I could hear Bethany wheezing. I asked Danny to make sure that is what I was hearing and he said he heard it to. Something in me made me take off her clothes so I could see her breathing. I got her PJ's and onsie off and was watching her. Now, it is normal for a baby to retract just a little bit when they breathe, and I know what normal looks like and what I was seeing was not "normal". She was retracting greatly, with every rapid breath, her belly ballooned out and I could see all of her ribs. She was grunting just a little with every breath too. I called the DR and spoke with the nurse and told her what was happening. They said they could see us for a "sick appt" at 4pm...what? are you kidding me? I couldn't let this go on for hours and asked her what I needed to do immediately. She told me to go in the bathroom and close the door and turn the shower on as hot as it would go and to lay Bethany on a towel on the floor to see if the steam would help her breathe better and then to call them back. In the meantime, I called my cousin and my aunt and told them what was happening [they are both nurse midwives] and asked for their advice, which was to go back to the ER. We did that, I was met immediately with someone at the ER room who could tell Bethany was struggling to breathe and so she took her back to triage while I checked in. When I got back to where Bethany was, they were already giving her a breathing treatment to see if that would help. We were put in an emer room and waited to be seen by the DR. Bethany had calmed down greatly by this time. Her breathing is always better if I can just keep her calm. Once she gets to crying and coughing, that is all she wrote! So, Bethany nursed again, but was still pretty lethargic and incredibly pale. She slept on and off, was given another breathing treatment. Her pulse/oxygen level was 100% so she did not need oxygen they said. With just some rest and the breathing treatment, Bethany was breathing so much better, but she was still retracting in her chest much more than normal. They finally decided to admit her overnight more for observation than anything else. Since she was admitted Friday night until Saturday morning, she was doing real well. She was alert, smiling and cooing at us all, eating well and her coughing was not quite so bad. They finally released us today around 2pm. I stayed with Bethany through the night so by the time we got home, I was going on about 32 hours of no sleep. I slept for about 4 hours, then it was Danny's turn to sleep because he had to go back to work tonight. I took Bethany down into the basement where she slept almost the entire rest of the evening, and so did mommy. Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but I am about to go back to bed...still haven't caught up!!!

Anyway, this is what we have been up to the last week or so. Grand, huh? I am so thankful that Bethany is so much better. I am so thankful to have friends and family praying for us and for Bethany and Josiah to get better. I truly believe we are on the mend. One thing I feel really compelled to say is this: If you are sick, with just a common cold, or a cough, PLEASE stay home and away from other people! A common cold in an adult can turn into life-threatening RSV for infants. Also, in the winter, wash your hands often and thoroughly! You should wash your hands often and with hot water and soap. You should wash long enough to sing the song "Happy Birthday" twice. Teach your kids to wash their hands often and thoroughly Poor Danny, I know he thinks I am on his case, but I will tell you like I tell him - even if your kids are acting fine, but you know they are sick, they need to stay indoors, away from other people, especially senior citizens and infants. They shouldn't go play at the park, they shouldn't go with you to the store, but they should stay inside and recuperate. Surely you can find something indoors that is fun for you and your kids and a way to pass the time until they are over their illness and ready to be among the living again.

Stay happy and stay well!

Obey immediately, completely, joyfully and from the heart!

It has been a while since I have posted, but man, have I been busy! I had a dear friend and her family come and stay with us for a week and a half. My house is small, but we managed 4 adults and 5 small kids, 6 and under for those 10 days. We managed by taking MANY trips to the park, a trip to Mill Mountain to see the Roanoke Star, and even a trip to my dear mother in law's house where there is a huge field in the backyard. We played and played and drained some of the kid's energy to a mere fraction of what it could have been inside!

Danny and I are trying really hard to be consistent in Josiah's training, and when needed, discipline. This takes real work and dedication on our part, but with the mercy and grace of God, we know we can attain our goal. Some funny moments along the way are bound to happen, right? Well, when it is cold outside, Danny and I take the kids to the mall and we walk. I was trying to give Danny some time alone in Barnes and Noble, so he took the baby, who did not require my immediate attention, and I took Josiah to play in a kid's play area. Why a door would not be put on a kid's play area, in a mall, is beyond me. But, there we are, all of these little attractions to play on, and what does Josiah choose to do? He chooses to run out the door beyond me and into the mall. I pulled him back in, told him not to go out and to go play. Well, he did this again! I got him, took him back in and sternly reprimanded him and told him he was not to go out the door. Well, do you think this worked? 1-2-3!!! He was off again! I told myself this had to stop. I had other parents looking at me and laughing. I then got down on Josiah's eye level, discreetly took the palm of his hand and pinched him very hard as I spoke to him: "Josiah, do not go out the door again. You must obey mommy or we will go to the bathroom for a spanking." Pinching the hand while we are in public when no one else can see has proven to work well with Josiah. I took him back into the play area and he went to play. A few minutes later, he slowly walked to the door. He looked at me, took another step, and got the the very edge of the carpet at the door. Very loudly, he said: "Obey mommy! No-no!" and then pinched his hand. At this point, he turned back around and didn't go by the door again the rest of the time we were there. All of the parents were laughing about his sudden attitude change and his obedience. This really tickled me too because it proved to me that a 2 yr old knows what you are saying to them. Some people out in the world today don't think you should discipline children for disobedience or disrespectfulness, and I firmly will tell you, if you don't get it early, when the first signs are exhibited, you will pay for it later in life!!! If they are old enough to exhibit the sinfulness of their hearts, they are old enough to be disciplined. We are also trying to diligently train Josiah to come to us the first time we call him. This one has been tough. I think we let him get away with not coming on the first command for too long and now we are having to pay for our procrastination. Danny and I both are practicing telling him to "Come here" once and if he does not obey, he is disciplined. Tonight when I told him it was time to go to bed and to come here and kiss mommy. He looked up at me, smiled and said: "Obey mommy now!", but he sat there another few seconds without moving, and then said: "Need a spankin' mommy!" Well, he got what he asked for, and still had to go to bed. When we got to bed and I was tucking him in and about to pray with him, he kept saying: "Sorry, mommy." I am not sure what he was saying sorry about because this is his new word and he has not been using it in the correct context, but it sure was cute!

I remember my Aunt Judy always teaching her kids to obey immediately, completely, joyfully and from the heart. Danny and I are trying very hard to instill this in Josiah as well. We also are practicing Ephesians 6:1 with him, which is: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." Make no mistake, parents. Your children hear you, know what you are saying, and it is up to us to make sure they obey us and do what is right. This is a role given to us by our Heavenly Father, who we also hear and also know what He is saying to us. It is simple...we just have to obey!

Josiah Kenton Hodges 2/10/2009

Wow! I really can't think of a much different word right now. Is my little boy really going to be a two-year old tomorrow? This sweet little boy who we were told we would never be able to have? He is daily evidence in our lives that nothing is impossible with God! Josiah had a particularly hard day today and I really couldn't totally put my hands on why. We have company right now and are having a great time with them, but he really has fussed and cried most of the day. I think it is still his poor molars and Praise the Lord that the teething tablets seemed to help right away! As Josiah was told it was time to go nite-nite, another crying spell immediately came upon us. Bethany was screaming to be fed, our guests little ones wanted some reading to, but I took "little" Josiah, all 40+ pounds of him up in my lap and cuddled him in my arms and sang to him his favorite song: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty...". When he was an infant and he was crying and crying into the wee hours of the night, I would belt out this song and he would instantly become silent and look into my face and just listen. Well, tonight was no different. He let me cuddle him and sing to him for a few minutes as I scratched and rubbed his back. As I was singing to him, I was remembering how the only times he would sit in my lap and let me cuddle him is when I was also singing to him. Maybe all he needed was a few minutes of completely undivided mommy time or just needed to be held, I don't know, but I loved it and cherish these moments when my little boy will let me hold him and sing to him. God knew that I needed my little boy and when I needed him and sent him to us almost 2 years ago. We pray daily that we may teach Josiah by example and train him to be a Godly young man. Sometimes the days are long, hard and trying, but the days of joy and fulfillment far outweight the trying days. Happy Birthday to my dear, sweet, gift from God. Mommy, Daddy and Bethany love you dearly!