This, That, and Everything Else

I haven't posted in a while and I do not apologize. The blog takes a back seat whenever we are busy having fun and enjoying life! Let me catch up a bit...

Thanksgiving:

I felt a tremendous need to be with my side of the family for this Thanksgiving holiday. This would be the first Thanksgiving without Dad in our lives and even that thought was tremendously hard for me to bear. Thinking about mom being without Dad was even worse to think about, but we all came together as a family and had a great time at my brother and sister in laws house. The cousins exchanged Christmas presents since we wouldn't be together around Christmas time. A lot of us shared something else...the stomach virus! My poor nieces and sister in law got it first. About 2 days later I woke up to a vomiting son. My poor mom was sick for days. Thinking the illness was over, I made the trek back home to VA, and got sick in the middle of the night. Uugghh! It had been years since I had a stomach virus and I was glad when we were over it and so thankful that Bethany and Danny didn't get sick!

Since Thanksgiving:

We have been busy. Before Thanksgiving I had a terrible toothache that I continued to put off. When the stomach virus was over, I decided enough was enough and visited the dentist. Yep, cracked tooth down to the root...had to be pulled, which was no fun! It was pulled a week ago today and as I sit here and type, I am going through dry socket pain. I have an appt this afternoon to see the oral surgeon again to have the extraction site "medicated and packed". I just want the pain to GO AWAY!!!

The other thing I have been busy with is, frankly, just keeping up with the kids and my home duties. I have really kind of begun again with potty training Josiah. I have pulled out a timer and for the past few days, Josiah has been going potty every time the timer goes off, which I set it for about 20-30 minutes every time. Poor guy wakes up every morning and every afternoon from nap, soaking wet. We have to change the bed sheets everyday, most of the time twice a day. I have limited the amount of fluids he gets a night...no more bedtime milk, but milk and the last of the fluids is served with dinner. Man o'man has this been a long and drawn out process!!! I am beginning to think that Bethany will be potty trained before Josiah at this rate! Ha! Anyway, I will persevere and we will conquer this mountain!

I have taken on a few more babysitting adventures, not every day, but when I am needed. This will assist financially and I have enjoyed having these dear kids with bright, blooming imaginations! They are had to keep up with mentally and physically! They are dear too. It is fun to have them around. Josiah is seeming to feel out of place and unsure of himself. I am just not sure how to help him handle more kids, but I love on him a lot and try to reassure him.

One thing that has taken up an incredible amount of my time is menu planning. Yes, MENU PLANNING! I am trying to have my 2011 menu plans set in stone before the first of the year. I have gotten a lot done, too. Breakfast and lunches were easy to figure out. We will have the same breakfast and lunch menu each week for the entire year. For Dinner, I am trying a wide variety of things. I will be having soup for dinner at least two days of the week during the cold weeks and when it gets warmer, we will be having sandwiches at least twice a week so we might be able to get out and do more in the warmer weeks. I am trying at least one meatless dish each week and one new dish each week. We are trying for a non-monotonous fare. The more engaging the meal, the less likely we will want to go out to eat, which is a major problem for our family. I am keeping a kitchen journal this year so I can keep up with the menu plans and keep up with what my DH likes and doesn't like about the new meals and what I can do to improve for the next year. So, this brings me to another topic....

My blogging New Year's Resolutions:

I want to make things less sporadic, more fun and informational, so here are the changes you will see:

Meal Planning Mondays - will list the weeks meal plans; sometimes I will add recipes, sometimes I will only add recipes upon request

Thanksgiving Tuesdays and Thanksgiving Thursdays: I will share posts of the things me and my family are thankful for

Wordless Wednesdays - I plan to post the cutest picture of the week and let you think what you will

Funny Fridays - we have a lot of funny stuff going on around here - On Friday's I will share the funniest moments of the week.

Saturdays and Sundays will be blog free! Let me know what you think about everything. Do you have any new ideas for blogging in 2011? Let me hear about it!

Doing what it takes to stay at home

My greatest joy in this life is my children. I desire with all that I have in me to train them to be a Godly young man and woman. I desire to be able to raise them myself and to be here at home with them as much as possible. This is not an easy task in this day and age though, you know? It is difficult, at best, to be home with your kids and have one income and be able to pay all the bills and meet all the needs of everyone in the family. Even though it is difficult, I believe I have the talent and resources to make this staying at home thing work!

This all being said, I would like to share with you what I have been doing from home and I would LOVE for you to share with me any ideas and thoughts that you have that have enabled you to stay at home with your children. As I have mentioned before, I love to sew. My heart is really into sewing little girls items and baby items. I love to make cute little girl dresses, pillow case dresses, pants and shirts for little girls. I also make hot and cold therapy packs for migraines and other aches and pains. These packs are sooo wonderful and I use them for much more than aches and pains! Have you heard of Boppy nursing pillows for the nursing mother? It is one of those big hit items that came out several years ago as a way to make a baby and mother more comfortable as they bond through feedings. For these pillows, I have begun making nursing pillow covers. Guess what else I have been asked to sew? I have been asked the make some doggy diapers! I never thought I would ever make a diaper for dogs! HA! I try to sell my sewing stuff on Ebay.com and a handmade items website called etsy.com. I would love for you to look me up sometime and take a look at my things. Offer insight and wisdom and I would LOVE for you to please share with others the website I share with you. Word of mouth works GREAT!!!

I will say this, as a disclaimer: I know staying at home with your kids is sometimes not able to be done. I know that bills have to be paid, needs have to be met, so I am not saying that women can not work outside of the home or that they should not at all. I even took a year after my daugther was born and I HAD to go back to work to help meet the needs and pay the bills. I am just trying to think outside of the box and encourage others to think outside the box, because for me, I believe I can stay at home if I use all of my valuable resources!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/melliehodges

Really funny story...about a neti-pot

Okay, Friday morning I woke up with a TERRIBLE allergy attack. I hadn't had one this bad in such a long time. My face was swollen, it hurt to talk and my sinuses were pounding me with pressure. So, I got in the car and went to the store looking for some serious relief. Now, I have been told about the neti-pot before by those who swear by it. It is supposed to irrigate your sinuses and make you feel all better. So, I came home with this new contraption. I have always been kind of icked out by the thought of using a neti-pot. Heck, I hate to even blow my nose, let alone, talk about it! It has just been real gross to me. So, I set up to use this contraption and man, did it work! I almost felt a little "high" after the first time I used it. I went from being clogged up, not able to breathe and in pain to being able to breathe better than I had in months! The pressure was gone and I felt liberated!

So, on to the funny part of this post...I was on the phone with someone who will remain anonymous for the sake of, well, anonimity [how's that for originality!]. I told her about my new found freedom and how great I was feeling. I asked her if she had ever used a neti-pot. She went on to tell me a similar story about being in pain with sinuses and seeking relief and turning to the neti-pot. So, she used the neti-pot and said when she did, she thought that there would have been way more fluid coming back out the other side of her nose, but there wasn't. She said that she blew her nose afterwards and that she felt some relief, but that it was really weird that not more fluid came back out. So, later on the same day, this friend had a chiropractic appointment. She said she got settled face down on the adjustment bench and the chiropractor gave her an adjustment and that when he did, the remaining fluid practically flew out her nose. Now, I may just be an icky person, but I found this so hilarious! I have been laughing about it all day. Can you imagine this whole scenario??? It has really just made my day and keeps on making me laugh out loud!

Speak the Truth in Love

Most of you who know me, and know me fairly well, know that I am not an outspoken person. You know that I tend to shy away from arguments, conflict and disagreements in general. You know that I prefer, almost more than anything, to keep the peace and make everyone happy. This past month I have found myself speaking out against things I normally would just shy away from. Things that I would normally just let each person have their own opinion and viewpoint about and simply agree to disagree. I have found myself in some heated and some not so heated discussions on varying topics. In the end I have been left to wonder if I should have ever said anything at all. Should I have spoken up and added my two cents, or should I have just shut up and not worried one bit about what was being said? Well, I won’t bother you with any of the details of the arguments, but there were three in particular that were controversial and I found myself not being able to stay quiet. One of the discussions I particularly struggled over whether or not to speak up. I actually prayed on and off all day and recalled to mind Psalm 19:14 many times, then toward the end of the day, I did decide to speak up. I am glad I did. It was regarding a subject that is near and dear to me and has affected my family and others around me, so I spoke my mind and tried to encourage others. My two cents may not have had a significant affect on anyone but me. I realized that it is okay, and even good, to speak up and even encourage others to seek the One who is Holy and seek to magnify Him and Him alone. Speak the truth in love, dear friends. If you can’t speak the truth in love, it is better to keep your lips sealed and not damage yourself and the friendships and acquaintances around you.

Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Hoarder???

AFter reading a friends FaceBook status this week, I went on-line to www.aetv.com and watched a couple of episodes of a show called Hoarders. I had watched a couple of these shows here and there over the past few months, but when I watched a couple of the shows on line, I have seriously begun to look around my house and have some very small inside panic attacks. Here's my thing...I like a place for everything and everything in its' place, whereas, my husband likes a place for everything all over the place...no kidding! I am a neat freak. I like countertops to be free of clutter, nothing but the crock pot and some bananas on top of the fridge, nothing on top of the microwave, and my goodness, I hate to use my kitchen table as a catch all! On the opposite end of the spectrum, my DH views ALL of the aforementioned spaces as useless wasted space, and frankly, since I can't beat him at it, for the most part, I join him at his game. Then, when I start to have these little panic attacks [I use this phrase so lightly, basically it is just disgust at the way things look that make me upset, so not real panic attacks], I drive my husband nuts making mad dash sweeps through the house thowing out this, storing that and arguing with him about what needs to be put away and what doesn't. So, when I watch this show, I totally do not understand the hoarder mentality. I will give to you that it is a mental disorder...the people on the show are just plain crazy...but I think I have a little OCD on the opposite end of the spectrum. I am an organize it junkie who just can't get organized. Do any of you mothers feel that way? I have two small kids, 3 and under, I babysit 9 hours a day two other small kids, 4 and under, then I have my big baby, my DH, who I would not trade for anything in the world. I just can't keep up, so I give in to the pressure and usually end up with a messy house most of the time. I will say this, though...watching the show has made me make a huge pile of things for my hubby to take to the basement when he wakes up! Happy fall to all, and get rid of your junk!!!

Some of my sewing creations...

Here are just a few of the dresses I have been working on. I love to sew and these are so simple and cute for little girls!


This was an apron for a cousins little girl. I love the fact that it doesn't pull at the neck, but wraps around and ties at the waist.



I have been trying to add a few embellishments to the dresses I make so they all don't look just alike. I pratty much specialize in the pillow case dresses because they are so easy to make and soooo cute!

To sew or not to sew, that is the question!

Last week, I did not do any sewing because I felt that it had become and all-consuming thing for me. I was in a zone and there was not much else I wanted to do or did while I was sewing. I did complete about 20 projects to sell from the week before, but the week before, I also did not have a very clean or organized house, I did not make dinner, Danny did, and time with the kids was at a minimum because I was consumed. So, this week, I want to get back into my sewing, but I must prioritize my time better. This is what I think I will do this week: I will cut out my sewing projects when the kids go down for their afternoon naps, and when they go to bed for the night, I can get about 3 hours of sewing in. That way, my time with the kids is not compromised, dinner is cooked, and I can also focus on the house being clean and organized. This is a lot of what I have been thinking about today and feeling guilty over letting my sewing get out of hand. Sewing is something I have grown to LOVE and even though it is also a means to make money, I realize I have to give it is proper time and place. There is a limit I must learn!!! What kinds of things do you let get in the way of your time keeping house and training your kids? How do you prioritize and plan? I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

WAY PAST DUE

I am sorry because I am WAY PAST DUE with a Hodges Family update. There is so much going on and so much to tell, so let's get to it!

Okay, so the last update was my broken ankle, so let me start there. Thankfully, my break was not too bad, so I spent about 3 weeks in a non-walking cast. I was down and out, meaning, I wasn't supposed to be walking at all, just using crutches, but remember, that was a joke! I couldn't use crutches, the cast came up too high to use the knee walker and a boot that was put on was affecting prior nerve damage in my leg, so that was a no go. It was really humbling! I wasn't really able to do much of anything but sit and watch the kids through the day, and that was with no lifting and not getting up on my leg. By the Grace of God, I got my cast off, and about an hour later, me and the kids hopped in the car and headed for GA! No, I am not joking!!! I was in a caravan with my cousins here in Roanoke and we made it in time for the SHoal Creek 4th of July meeting. It had been forever since I was able to be there and it was soooo enjoyable!!! I got to see and visit a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time and being under the sound of the Word was awesome! What a great meeting!

So, I stayed in GA for almost two weeks, just me and the kids. I spend a lot of time with my younger brother, his wife and kids and I also went to visit my cousin's family and my older brother and his wife and kids in south GA. I really enjoyed spending time with my mom and Granny too. ll in all it was a great and needed trip. I was beyond thanful to be back home though. I missed my husband and the kids missed him so badly too!

You may be asking how I was able to take a couple of weeks away from my job and make it to GA. Well, that is another thing. A few things came up at home making it necessary for me to leave my part time job and come back home as a full time stay at home mom. I loved my PT job, but I love more being here with my family full time where I am completely and 100% needed. We were having some problems with Josiah that required a lot more of my attention that it was getting. Praise the Lord the situation seems to have gotten a lot better since I left my job.

Since leaving my Pt job and coming back from GA, I have been really sick with bronchitis. Who ever heard of bronchitis in the summer...not just the summer, but the heat of the summer? What a bummer! Danny and the kids finally came down with it too, so we have been down and out for a couple of weeks. We seem to be on the upswing now and I am ready to get on with things. I have been really busy this week cleaning, organizing and purging. It has felt really good. I am getting ready to start babysitting again full time so I can afford to stay at home. It will be difficult, but still worth it. I have been working on other things too. I have been sewing a whole lot - especially little girls items, and we are about to begin the adventure of some mild preschooling. I am excited about everything.

Well, this is a long post, so I am going to close for now and hope to update you all again soon!

Crutches Stink...

I remember when I was little I always wanted to break a lower extremity because I thought about how fun it would be to walk on crutches. I thought it would be so cool and so easy and so fun. Now, I am an adult and am having my first experience with crutches and I want to scream! So, let me take you back a little...

June in Roanoke brings out our delicious wild raspberries in the backyard. We have spent the better part of this last week picking raspberries and Josiah has fallen in love with picking raspberries fresh and eating them for hours at a time. It takes him quite a while to get all of the fuzz off of the raspberry, so he doesn't eat many, but loves telling me all about "drinking the raspberries". So, Wednesday night after I got home from work, Danny told me there were more raspberries to pick and we needed to get them before the birds did. I agreed...I wanted some raspberry cobbler and so did Danny. Danny needed to go to the basement so he took Josiah with him and I told him I was going to take Bethany down the back porch steps. Now, let me tell you, I have NEVER had a good track record with stairs of any kind. I am not allowed to carry anything up or downstairs any more, per my sweet husband, and this time was no different. Bethany is a hefty little girl, so I basically don't carry her anywhere anymore unless really necessary. I started to walk her down the steps, she was two steps above me, and I thought to myself: "The steps are a little slick...what on earth will I do with Bethany if I start to fall?" About that time, I started to slip, and I pushed Bethany backwards hoping she would sit and not fall, which worked, but I fell down about 5 more steps on my bottom and back. I got to the end and was in a little bit of pain, especially with my ankle, but I still didn't know if I was injured badly. My foot continued to hurt, but I got up and picked raspberries for about an hour. My foot was swelling quite a bit and was a little bruised, but this had happened before and was not a big deal, right? I got up and went to work the next day, all day, still in pain. I got up and went to work Friday, still in pain, but relieved when I was told my team got to leave at 2pm. I knew where I was headed...URGENT CARE. I took myself in and was seen and had xrays and they told me...I have a broken ankle! AAGGHHH...They put a big splint on it and told me I need to go to the orthopaedic specialist the next week to see what the next course of action was. Now I sit here, unable to do much of anything for myself or my kids and feeling cmpletely helpless! My sis in law came over and helped me get the kids some lunch and put them down for naps, so that was a big help. My mother in law is going to help take me to the specialist and my cousins are going to watch the kids for me when I go. In the middle of all of this, I still have to go to work part time and all that fun stuff. I am just praying that the spcialist can put me in a walking boot or something like that so I can get around, because crutches DO NOT get along with me!

Well, enough for now, off the computer and time to hobble around!

Playing catch up with the Hodges Family

Sorry for no recent posts. We have been busy, busy, busy! What have we been busy doing, you ask? Well, I am glad you asked...here is what we have been doing:

Danny has been busy working in the garden. We are not as far along on it as we had hoped, but this is the week that we will finish planting so we can have some produce! We do have some lettuce varieties sprouting, but that is all that has been planted so far. Danny will also be planting a wide variety of tomatoes. My only request is grape tomatoes so I can make tons of salsa! I love fresh garden salsa. I don't use any hot peppers in mine, though, so others might be disappointed. We are also planting squash and zucchini, cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, and the rest I am drawing a blank on. Our back yard is covered with raised bed containers and container gardens. As for me, I am going to buy/plant some herbs. I want cilantro, basil, rosemary and thyme. We already have chocolate mint, mint, and lemon balm.

We also recently took a trip to GA. It was a sweet time of fellowship with all of my immediate family, but hard at the same time because it was the first time we have been together without Dad. At one point, we were about to eat a dinner outside at my brothers house and my brother looked around at everyone and said, "Okay, who's missing?" I just cracked up because the only one missing was Dad. That laughing then turned to a few tears. Things will never be the same going back to GA. That's not good or bad, just a fact, you know? We did have a major answer to prayers when we were preparing to head to GA. My mom called me and asked me what we decided about Dad's car. I was a little confused because months ago we talked and I told her we weren't able to buy it. She was a little confused that I was confused, so I told her again that we just couldn't afford to buy it. She said, no, she paid it off and did we want it? Wow. I was dumbfounded. Our cars still work, but we can't travel in them anymore because they are old. Danny has taken really good care of them, they just don't travel. So, we came home with a new charcoal colored 2006 Nissan Altima. Praise the Lord. Sometimes it is hard for me to be really happy about it because it is just another reminder that Dad is gone, and truly, I would rather have Dad, but as Josiah says, "That's just the way the story goes!"

Okay, that's enough of our busy-ness...I leave you with some funnies:

We were on the way to Mee-maw's house one day and this is our conversation:

Josiah: Mommy, is Mee-maw going to slap me?
Me: No, Josiah. Mee-maw has never slapped you and will not slap you today.
Josiah: Are you sure?
Me: Yes, I am sure!
Josiah: [After thinking for a minute] Well, Is Meemaw going to smack you?


My favorite Josiah funny of the week:

We were on the way to the grocery store and this is the conversation:

Josiah: Mommy, will you turn it on Boortz? [Neil Boortz is talk radio]
Me: No, I will not turn it on Boortz!
Josiah: Well, then, will you turn it on Rush? [As in Rush Limbaugh]
Me: No, I will not!
I thought to myself "Daddy has been found out!"

My favorite Bethany funny of the week:

We were leaving Meemaw's house one day and Bethany saw Pap-pap coming out of the house and says:

"Ohhh, Pap-pap! I want him, I need him, I want him, I need him!" Which she said through tears ALL OF THE WAY HOME!

Hope everyone has a good week!

Discipline...such a hard task

Today was hard with Josiah. Almost anything I said to do or not do, he disobeyed. If I told him to do something, first words out of his mouth was no mommy or growling or pitching a fit. He was disciplined MANY MANY times today. So, when we got home, I don't remember what he did, didn't do or said, but he got in trouble and was disciplined again.We usually quote Ephesians 6:1, Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right, after a moment of discipline....after this moment, he was in stubborn stand-off mode and would not quote the verse with us. We stopped, prayed about it and prayed over him, but he still pitched a fit when he tried to say the verse. Then, as we are quoting the... See More verse to him again, we hear from the other room: "Chiwen, obey parents and Lord this is right!" This was shouted out from Bethany, who said it pretty clearly, as if to tell Josiah..hey, it's just that easy! We decided after praying to go and take naps. Josiah took a three hour nap. The first words out of his mouth when he woke up was "Hey, mommy! Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right!"

Oh, my!

As I was getting ready for the day one morning, from Josiah's bedroom, this is what I hear:

At the gate to the bedroom door, Bethany and Josiah are playing and Bethany throws her Elmo doll over the gate...

Josiah: "Bet-bet! You not supposed to do that! You can not throw Elmo! That's not good!"

Bethany fusses and whines because she wants her Elmo doll back...then I hear:

Josiah: "No ma'am, Bet-bet! I'm sorry, but you've lost your 'piz-e-ledge'!"

I am constantly telling Josiah that when he disobeys that it results in lost priveledges...at least I now know that something might be sinking in, right?

REAL SIMPLE

I love magazines that focus on family, organizing, cooking, crafting, children and the home. Danny came home one morning and brought me a huge box full of REAL SIMPLE magazines. I LOVE this magazine! This magazine has so many useful and helpful hints and tips and it inspires me to do better and think differently about things,especially about things in my home. As I read through these magazines, I think I am going to post some things here on my blog that others might deem useful and helpful. Here is some information from a REAL SIMPLE:FAMILY EDITION that I really enjoyed:

Q: How do you get your kids to pitch in around the house?

A: Each of the kids would draw a slip of paper and do their activity for 15 minutes

We leave a list of chores that need tending to on the kitchen counter, and each child writes their name to the ones they want to do. It is first come, first served.

We have a toy race.

Instead of saying, "Pick up your room," I say, "Hang up five shirts."

I give chores for the unreasonable arguments that break out in the house.

Every morning before they leave for school, they have to spend five minutes straightening their rooms.

I had each of my children a laundry basket and set them on a treasure hunt for items strewn around the house.

I assign each child a room to clean based on their personal preference, and they were responsible for that room every week.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Now, on the flip side, this question was asked to children of these same parents:

Q: How do you pitch in around the house?

A: I take all of my game boys and push them up against the wall.

I organize the socks.

I cook breakfast on Sunday mornings.

I help mom do the laundry and I set the table.

Whenever something is messy, I just pick it up and put it where it belongs.

At night I lay out what I am going to wear at school the next day.

I take out the garbage.

I make frozen macaroni and cheese by myself.

I take a shower every night.

I just try to stay out of the way.


The kids answers just tickled me! Right now, the kids are not quite old enough to do a lot of things around the house to help, but Josiah knows, before nap time and bedtime every day, it is time to put all of the toys away. Bethany is learning, and doing pretty good. Bethany, however thinks that putting the toys away means putting them in the kitchen sink...it is so cute. She will go and put something in the sink, and come back clapping and says, "Good job, Bet!". Josiah also is responsible for putting all of his dishes away, and he also puts his dirty clothes in the dirty pile. He also is responsible for picking up the food off of the floor after meals. Most of this he does with little prompting and I am proud of my little man.

How do you inspire your kids to help around the house? I would love to hear your answers!!!!!

Goals for the week

We heard a wonderful sermon at church yesterday by visiting preacher, Elder Glen Ray, from Georgia. He spoke on "Controlling the Tongue", which is a topic very needful in today's age and time. This sermon was very convicting and I am basing my weekly goals upon the message that was brought forth yesterday. Here are some of the main points he made:

* We need to stop and literally think before we say things.
Is what I have to say really important? Is it going to hurt or cause anger or strife?
* Be ready to learn, not ready to teach. James 3...
We need to close our mouths and listen and be willing to learn instead of talking all of the time because we think we have things others need to hear.
* Fires always start out small
Remember, little things we say can have drastic consequences.
*Proverbs 15:1: "A soft answer turneth away wrath."
Do you ever speak sharply to someone, anticipating a sharp response, as if to say, "Bring it on, I am ready for a fight!"? Does anyone ever speak sharply to you making you want to lash back out in anger? We need to fight to give a sharp answer, no matter what is said to us, and it will diffuse the situation immediately. Speaking to someone sharply is like handing them a firework and waiting to see if they will light it!
*Do not be a gossiper or tale-bearer
This one speaks for itself
*Wait until the right time to approach someone who has offended you. Do not go to someone in anger, because you will be sure to say the wrong things at the wrong time. Sit back and wait until the anger has dissipated, then go to the person in love.

These were just some of the highlights, but they spoke volumes to me! My goal for the week is to guard my tongue and think before I speak.

_____________________________________________________________________________________


On another note, last week was a great week. There was a lot of sunshine and record high temps. We spent many an evening outdoors with the kids playing, either in the backyard or walking to the park. We had a lot of outdoor fun this week, with a lot more to come, hopefully! I got up at 5:15a every week day this past week, except for Wednesday, and hit the gym. This was no easy task, and I have been so exhausted I can't see straight, but I did have goo results on the scale...I lost 5.4 pounds! My goals for this week, in this area, is to hit the gym early again this week and not strain my knee anymore. I think I will be hitting the pool and hot tub a lot because of this severe pain in my knee.

Whatever your goals are for the week, May the Lord bless you endeavors and cause yoiu you to reach them!

Some funnies

I have been sewing for a few days and really enjoying it, so when I finished another pair of bloomers for Bethany this morning, I got really excited to try them on her. Josiah was sharing my excitement and this is what happened next:

Josiah: "Mommy, will you make me some boomers like Bet-bet's?"
Me: "Well, honey, bloomers are for little girls to wear."
Josiah: "Mommy, please?" [followed by "please" in sign language]
Me: [Heart incredibly softened] "Okay buddy, I will make you some 'boomers', to wear to bed, okay?"
Josiah: "Um, yes, mommy. Make them with Veggie Tales, okay?"


He just tickled me to death! This did prompt me to search the internet for Veggie tales fabric for which to make him some "boomers" for bed time. I found a really good deal and purchased some!

Another funny was on my birthday and this is what happened:

I got the kids up early and I decided we were going to go out to eat for mommy's birthday. On the way this was the conversation:

Me: "Today is Mommy's birthday!"
Josiah: "Um, Mommy, today CAN'T be your birthday!"
Me: "It can't? Why not?"
Josiah: "Because you don't have any presents!"
Me: "Well, it is my birthday, presents or not..."
Josiah: "No, mommy, it still CAN'T be, because you are sick!"

It was true, I was trying my best to get over laryngitis, but it was still pretty bad. After a couple of days of whispering and telling Josiah I couldn't talk, he would tell me to "hush" because I was sick.

So, we went into IHOP and when the waitress came around, to take our order, I began to "try to talk" and Josiah said:
"Um, hush mommy, you're sick." Then, after a little bit of being in shock he said: "Mommy wants 'mancakes' [pancakes], Bet-bet wants fruit and I want cottage cheese, okay?"
My mouth just about hit the floor...he just took over and me and the waitress cracked up!

My little man is getting so big and he keeps us in stitches...most of the time!

The phone call I will miss...

About this time every year I get a phone call. It is a sweet and funny call and it usually starts off with a song and ends up with some fussing and play arguing on the part of the callers, which always makes me laugh. I have been thinking all day about the phone call I would have had tomorrow. The one where mom and dad call and sing to me to wish me a happy birthday. I have had a rough day today thinking about dad and how he isn't here to call me for my birthday this year. This is the most of several "firsts" we will go through this year. For some reason, it has made me weepy and sad all day and I have had a hard time shaking these feelings. I know it is normal, I just don't like feeling this depressed. Music has been good therapy for me though. I heard several songs today that reminded me of dad and allowed me to cry and weep for missing him. There are two songs in particular that really bring out the cry sessions for me. They are very moving songs and I know Dad would have loved them because he loved contemporary Christian music. Anyway, I am going to send you the links to the songs so you can hear how beautiful they are and weep yet rejoice with me!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3CVlv2dz3w
This is Mandisa singing "He is with you"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvrBQL8swLl
This is Chris Tomlin singing "I will Rise"

These are my thoughts for the day and I thought you would enjoy these songs as much as I do.

The things you'll do...

It's 4:45am, and I am up again. This nagging cough has me awake again...I was determined the next time this happened I was going to try a new natural cough suppressant I had been given. It sounded awful, but I was willing...more than willing to try it! Here is what you will need:

1 small jar [I took a baby food jar]
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ginger
2 Tbsp. Water
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Honey

Put lid on and shake until well incorporated. Store any unused portion in the refrigerator.

I joke and say the reason this is so effective is that the cayenne pepper singes your throat so bad that you aren't able to cough any more. No, but really, try it the next time you really need some relief. It has given me some this morning. Along that same note, I decided to google natural cough suppressants and there is a wealth of information out there. Next time you are up at 4:45am, and desperate to quit coughing, do some research and get some relief!

Family Notebook

I have been busy. Busy and sick. This new start to spring is not what I care for in the least little bit! This has happened for two years in a row and I have a year to figure out why we all get sooo sick this time of year. I have been able to contemplate about a lot of things while spending a majority of this week at home with my family.

This is what I have been thinking about...Family Organization. It is something I think about all of the time, mostly because I am not able to acquire it for the most part, or haven't been able to yet. Over the years I have thought about a central location that we as a family can turn to for household needs, wants and information. So, after years of thinking about it, my thoughts have developed into a Family Notebook. Here is what is contained within:

"From the Kitchen"

• Menu Plans
• Grocery Lists
• Coupons and Ads

"Around the House"

• Daily To Do
• Weekly To Do
• Monthly To Do
• Master Cleaning Lists

"Spiritual Growth"

• Scripture Memorization
• Scripture Reading
• Prayer Journal
• Hospitality and Giving

"Hobbies"

• Arts and Crafts
• Fun w/ the Kids
• Ideas

"Addresses"

"Calendar"

"Danny"

So, my idea that has come to fruition at least shows that I "want" to be an organized person and family. I want my kids to have organized lives with some sort of structure and meaning and hopefuilly this will get us back on the track.

So, I would love to hear from others...how do you keep organization in your families? Please let me know so that I might be able to fill out the Ideas section of our family planner...It is lacking for the moment!

Happy Spring!

What's up with us? Not much!

Just wanted to stop by for an update. I don't have a lot to say or anything, just wanted to say I am still here, just not into updating too often! My family is still trying to get things back to normal after the death of my father, but I have a feeling this whole next year, things are going to be in an upheaval. Please keep praying for us.

We don't have a lot going on, but we are looking forward to spring. I am looking forward to planting new things in our backyard garden. I am also looking forward to having an herb garden this year and have been reading up on the art of growing and drying herbs. I am really looking forward to this. Ya know what else I am looking forward to? Salsa! Yep, some good ol' salsa from the garden! I told my husband I want lots and lots and lots of cherry or grape tomatoes [because in my opinion, they make the best salsa!] from the garden. I am also looking forward to our elderly neighbors plums falling because every year he lets us have them all. Last year, I made TONS of baby food with it, this year, I am not sure. I will make something for the neighbor though! Also, we have two huge wild raspberry bushes in our backyard, and some over in the brush on the other side of the street that I love to pick as well. Oooh! I am getting excited about the spring and summer!

What about the spring and summer are you getting excited about? What kinds of things do you grow in your gardens? Let me know! Share your knowledge!

Let it snow!

We are getting snow, snow and more snow this Winter season. Josiah loves the snow and often asks if he can go out and "touch the snow". He does not like to stand on it or sit in it, or really play in it, just be out in it and occasionally touch it. He loves to shovel snow with Daddy and loves to eat the snow. Bethany is not quite old enough to enjoy the snow, plus she is sick, so she has been staying inside and putting on hats and scarfs and just being soo cute and funny! We have been "snowed in" for about 4 days now and I am loving it, but I guess the roads will be clear enough for me to go back to work tomorrow...it has been fun while it lasted!

Update

Good Evening to everyone. I am sorry, but blogging has taken a very big back seat in my life right now, although, I feel as though I may be able to get back into the swing of updating more often soon.

As my last post stated, I was looking forward to the new year. I was ready for 2009 to be done and over with. I was ready to take my new years resolutions to new heights and begin another year fresh. So far, this year is not what I ever would have chosen for my family. Not in a million years! What I have to realize, though, is that what I want for my family and God's will for my family may not always be the same. That is a hard fact to grasp hold of sometimes, so we plod along, grasping and grasping. Sometimes we fall, but God in His mercy gently lifts us back up and helps us, in many ways, to keep grasping and reaching for Him.

Most of you who read anything I post already know what I am going to tell you. For others, I am sorry, but I am not going to go into a lot of detail. Monday night, January 4th of this year, my Dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. We all knew that stage 4 lung cancer was treatable, but not curable, therefore, we knew Dad was going to die, we just didn't know how much longer God would leave him with us. My Dad died at home, in the arms of my mother, surrounded by my brothers, his mother, and my mother's parents on Thursday, January 19th around 7:15 in the evening, 15 days after his original diagnosis. My Dad's last breath in this world was his first breath in Heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ, praise the Lord!

While I STILL feel a little bit in shock and absolutely devastated at the loss of my father, I also have a peace that has come over me. It is really awesome. The peace of which I speak came over me when I first got to GA and walked into my Dad's hospital room and saw him laying there struggling to breathe. I knew Dad was going to die and I was soooo sad. I was sooo devastated and sad, but God gave me, and I believe my entire family, such peace about His will. I remember when the DR who came to give the final diagnosis to our family about Dad's condition and just how bad things were, Dad listened to the DR, asked a few questions and then looked at us. I remember him telling us so many times that he was not afraid to die and that he wanted, more than anything, for God to be glorified in his illness. We all gathered around the bed listening to the DR talk and Dad asked her if taking chemo would help anything or how long it might prolong his days on earth. She said that there was really no telling how much longer it would allow him to live. He asked what the DR thought his quality of life might be if he decided to try to do chemo for the sake of more time with his family and she said the quality more than likely would be poor. He looked at us and said: "I want to go home and spend my last days here on earth with you at home." So, that is what we did. Dad got progressively worse in the hospital and frankly, we did not think that he was going to make the transport home because he was so ill. Not only that, but he was coming home to much less oxygen than he was on in the hospital. We brought Dad home under hospice care and Dad seemed to get a little better.

Let me tell you a little about my Dad's last days. Dad loved his church and God so wholly and they loved him too. The church members were so desperate to see him, and they knew how bad Dad wanted to be at church, that we set up a church service in mom and dad's home that afternoon and the members came to him. I am almost certain all church members were there save one member who was sick. What a blessing it was! We sang to him, a little preaching was done and members came and gave him the "right hand of fellowship" . Also, in my Dad's last days, he was not able to get up and down much, but he was able to go back out on the back porch one last time and be with my Papaw Nacho who helped him rebuild the back porch several years earlier. He was able to go upstairs, shower, shave and get a haircut one last time. My mom called me crying one day telling me that Dad got to go upstairs and lay down in bed with her one last time. She said she figured they would have gone up there and talked and chatted while laying there in bed, but she said Dad rubbed her head and they both fell asleep for a while together.

I must say that Dad being sick and me living 8 hours away was the hardest thing about this entire ordeal. I had work to think about, Danny's work to think about, my kid's. There were so many things I did or didn't do and decisions I made that were really hard. The first time I went to see Dad after finding out this news was really late one night and we had a call that we needed to come asap, so we drove all night to get there and for the next several days, I threw my kids in the laps of others and my husband and spent most of my time with Dad and my siblings and their families. I dreaded making a decision to go back home and I prayed all night one night and begged God to show me what to do. Danny had to go back to work and I would have to within a day or two. God answered my prayers and I was able to stay one more day after I sent my husband and kids home. I remember telling Dad goodbye when it was time for me to leave on that go around. I sat beside him holding his hand and told him I had to go but that I would be back in a few days. He asked me what day I would be back. I told him on Friday and he looked at me and said: "You go on home and go back to work. I will be here Friday when you get back." That was all I needed to hear. The next weekend we went on down to GA, but leaving this time was different. I wanted to be with my Dad and my family when he passed away so badly, but I knew I had to get back to VA. When I sat down with Dad this time, it was different. I still sat beside him and held his hands and told him I had to leave and how much I loved him. This time Dad asked me: "Do you have to go?" When I told him I did, he asked me: "Can you take Danny and the kids home and come right back?" It was then that I realized that Dad may not have known when he was going to die, but he knew that it would be soon. I told him how much I loved him and that if the Lord called him home to be with Him, then I would be okay. We said our goodbyes and I went home. It was less than 24 hours later that I was called and told that Dad had passed away. That was soo hard, but I know that it was not God's will for me to have been there. I am at peace, but I miss my Dad oh so much!

Well, that is really all I want to say. I could go into much more detail, but I won't. I will say this though: My dad was an awesome father, husband, son and grandfather. He was a devoted and loved church member and he was an awesome friend and co-worker. He was loved by many and will be missed by everyone who had the awesome priveledge to know him.

Please don't stop praying for me or my family. Keep my mom in your prayers. Also, please pray for my granny. Dad was her youngest son and last living. I can not imagine what it is like to lose all three of your sons to an early death.

Thanks for all of yours prayers so far!