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...!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
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,
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...
Saturday, August 15, 2009
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!
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!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
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 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!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
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!
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!
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