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Stories September 3, 2008 Boy Meets Girl: Part 2 Jackson comes home from school today and the first words out of his mouth are "Mom, I have a girlfriend." I tried to stay calm while I asked who she was. He said, "Her name is Skylar and I'm going to marry her." Okay Dacia... keep cool. I said, "Well what does Skylar think of you?" He said, "She just smiles at me. Oh and I'm going to give her flowers!" I threaten his life if he so much as mentions kissing again and he promises no kisses or talk of kisses. I said, "Well Jackson, what does it mean to be married?" He said, "Uhhhh, you knoooow! Like you and Daddy got married." I proceeded to tell him that we'd talk to Daddy about all of this when he got home. The whole way home I just couldn't wait to talk to Brad. So many thoughts ran through our head when we spoke of it. I think this one comment really rang true. Brad said, "Is this what we have to deal with for the next 18 years?" I said, "Yes... times 5!" I also told Brad, "What is this about giving her flowers? He sure isn't learning that at home!" Can I get an Amen!!!!!!
September 2, 2008 My prayer warrior friends and family this post is meant for YOU. My very close girlfriend, Lisa and her son Dorian, live in Indiana. Without going into too much detail, please please please lift this family up to Jesus. Dorian is actually Lisa's grandson. Lisa's daughter passed away 3 weeks after Dorian was born from complications due to childbirth. Dorian's father has been absent all these years. Lisa and her husband Julio are inches away from making the adoption of Dorian finalized. Now there is a kink in the road that does not surprise God but it sure surprised us! Please pray that God will reveal his will in this phase of their lives. Ask that Lisa and Julio ride through the stormby FAITH while Christ navigates through the details.
September 2, 2008 Brad and the older kids made it back from their hunting trip just fine. They did not take a hog but they had a great time. The kids came back with more dirt under their finger nails than I ever thought was possible. I had to cut them to the quick almost to get them clean. I also think they might have been in the same underwear from when they left the house but some questions you just DON'T want to know the answers to. Needless to say they had a good scrubbin' when they got home and Daddy got a good lecture on hygeine! Nancy was sick over the weekend and was unable to come over for our girl's weekend. I still made the best of it though. Friday night I rented a couple movies, had the babies in bed by 7:30pm and just crashed on the couch. It was blissfull. I cherished every single minute of my quiet time. Saturday morning when the babies woke up we ate breakfast and left for a fun filled day of shopping. We pulled out of the drive at 9:30am and didn't get home until 6pm. We did make a pit stop at Memaw's to take her lunch, check on her, change diapers and feed babies. Then we were off again to the Dawsonville Outlet Mall. The babies were so very good. I couldn't have asked for more from them. They tolerated the stroller and the heat like a couple of champs. Sunday morning I got up and dessed the babies for church. It's time to start finding a new church home in our area. It was just the 3 of us and we visited Hopewell Baptist here in Canton. I really liked the preacher, Norman Hunt, and the congregation was welcoming. Anyway, Sunday night the crew came home and the quiet left! Jack and Kate came from Rome, GA to spend the night with us and celebrate Labor Day. It was wild and crazy when they got to our house and I'm sure they were thinking "This was a grrrreat idea." But once the exhausted kids took to their beds we stayed up laughing and talking about life, love and politics (Go McCain/Palin). I had to add my 2 cents worth, besides it is MY website! lol Our menu for Sunday night was a Boston Butt pork roast (Heather, I thought of you!) that slow roasted until it was so juicy and tender it just fell apart. I toasted hamburger buns with butter and garlic, piled the pulled pork on top then slathered it with BBQ sauce. They were incredible if I do say so myself. We added baked beans, potato salad, deviled eggs and sweet tea for a perfect Labor Day weekend menu. Sunday morning was pancakes, bacon, eggs and hot coffee. After our food digested we went to the pool and let the kids maul us in the water. Jack said his adam's apple was demolished after that event. The kids love the pool and love the attention from 4 adults. Sunday night we fled over to Grandpa and Memaws for a short cookout. It ended up being super short because the kids were sooooo tired from the weekend festivities it was turning into a disaster. Jackson asked me today on the way to school a very intresting question. He said, "Mom, why do all the people here talk so weird?" At first I didn't understand what he meant but after talking to Brad we are pretty sure he's talking about southern accents. Brad says that when he is at work his patients say, "You're not from around here are ya?" I never thought I would see the day when Brad was considered not having a southern accent. My prayer is this: "Lord, I love my southern heritage and thank you for giving me the great states of Georgia and North Carolina to call home. Please help me leave a legacy of southern values, hospitality and speech to my children!" Amen Laugh if you want but I'm really serious... if my kids asked me to fix them a "pop" I think I would fall over dead! When Brad got home from work today we decided to go for a quick swim before dinner. The kids love the pool, even the babies. After pooltime we came home and ate pizza. I was still in my swimsuit and to be honest the rest of the family was sporting underwear. I didn't want to put pj's on for dinner because they were going to get baths. So we are eating very informally I guess you could say when the doorbell rings. It was Pastor Hunt and a couple other ladies from the church I had visited Sunday. Well, I did what any southern woman would do... I offered hm something to drink. My moto is a glass of sweet tea can fix anything! I said, "Preacher, I promise we don't always run around half naked but now you can say you've seen the REAL Harris'."
August 29, 2008 Brad, Grandpa, Jackson and Connor decided to go spend some time this weekend in Danville, GA at their deer land. It's over-run with wild hogs so they usually do a little hog hunting while they are there. They thought they were going to have a boys weekend but Sissy decided she wanted to go, too. GG is over today spending some time with us and playing with the kids. GG asked Gabrielle where she was going today. Gabrielle said, "I'm going to shoot pigs, put mustard on 'em and eat 'em!" We laughed so hard I couldn't stand it. Memaw is going to stay home with me and the babies. We are going to do a little shopping and just hang out at home. Should be a perfect weekend... especially with start of college football!!!
August 28, 20008 Jackson (and I) made it through his first week of Pre-K. He loves it more and more each day. His new friend is Nathan. Nathan loves to dress up like Jackson does. They have all kinds of costumes and it's Jackson's favorite part. Each morning I pull into the carpool line. Jackson unbuckles, gives ALL of us a KISS and HUG then proceeds to tell each of us how much he'll miss us but we'll see him this afternoon. Then the teacher opens the car door and he pops out with his little book bag and boops right into the building. When we pick him up in the afternoon first thing he says is, "Momma, I had soooo much fun. I was only a little bad sometimes and only said a few bad words. I'm sorry and I won't do it again. AND I didn't kiss a girl!" Then he gives all of us a hug and kiss and asks if we missed him so much and if we were sad he was gone. We all have to shut our eyes while he shows us his latest artwork or papers he's worked on. It is so precious and I look forward to his enthusiasm with each passing day. Friday's are a no school day and Monday of next week he's off for Labor Day. Brad is taking the older kids to Grandpa's hunting land in Danville, GA. They are all looking forward to the trip. I decided to stay home with the babies and have some one on one time with them. Memaw will come spend the weekend with us. Papa left this afternoon and GG is coming to visit for the day tomorrow. We are going to dogsit, Sampson, for 2 weeks while she and Larry go on a 2 week Alaska cruise and expedition of some sort. Sounds wonderful and I may stuff myself in their suitcase. There is a new strip mall being constructed across from our neighborhood entrance. I told Gabrielle that there would be SuperTarget opening. She started to smile and her face lit up. I've trained her right. Then she said, "A Ta-Get... I so happy. Can we pee-pee and poo-poo in it?" I said, "I guess." Then she told Connor, "That's our new Ta-get to go pee-pee and poo-poo in!" For some reason they thought that was very exciting. I guess it goes without saying... we spend A LOT of time in Target!
August 26, 2008 Today was another good day for Jackson at pre-K. I on the other hand was balling as I watched his little head bob into the building. I felt like I was letting go to my baby. I cried for about an hour then got it under control. We've had the most amazing rain storms the past couple days. Thank God for some precious rain. We need it so deserately. Jackson said he did not try to kiss a girl today and I said how proud I was of him.... giggle giggle. It's worked out so far that when we return from dropping Jackson off and get home the babies eat breakfast and are ready to go down for their am nap. They sleep a couple hours and that gives me a good opportunity to work on the house. I was able to get all the toliets clean and sinks wiped down. Gabrielle thought it was so fun to help me clean. She took her little baby wipe and cleaned every surface within her reach. At one point, Connor announced he had to "Poo-Poo." We got him on the potty and Gabrielle said in a very motherly way, "Now Connor, when you done goin' poopoo you tell me and I wipe you bottom, okay?" Obviously that didn't happen but how precious that she's acting out my role as caretaker and mother. My heart almost crumbled. Brady and Cooper are starting to eat real food. They had grilled cheese sandwich for lunch and spaghetti for dinner. They've dropped their mid day bottle and replaced it with a cup of milk. I really want to be off bottle/formula by their birthday (10/04). I think it's a reasonable goal. Papa made it here today for a brief visit. He'll spend a couple nights with us then head back to Fayetteville. I'll love each moment while it lasts. GG is coming over on Thursday to get her grandkid fix. She can't stand to not see them at least every 2 weeks. She leaves on Monday for a Alaskian cruise. Sounds just terrible, huh? I better get more than a Tshirt off this trip. I'm thinking more like a sweat shirt is in order! Gotta get in the bed. It's after midnight and I swore after staying up until 3 am last night unpacking the last few boxes that I'd be in bed early tonight. Oh well!
August 25, 2008 Today was Jackson's first day of Preschool. He was so excited this morning. On the way to school he said, "Momma, I'm so sad about going to Preschool I could cry my head off!" He giggled about his comment because he was mimicking me saying I wanted to ball my eyes out! Sissy started to cry at that moment because she was afraid SHE had to go to preschool, too. All the parents were walking their kids into school on the first day. Mom, Dad, little brother/sister, grandma and cameras were all in hand... except for one Mom, ME! Jackson wanted to walk in all by himself. I offered for all of us to go in and help him to his class but he'd hear nothing of it. He told us he loved us, gave me a kiss and hug and off he went. While he was at school I did get a lot done. Gabrielle and Connor played well for the most part. Brady and Cooper took their morning nap during that time. I mopped the floors, dusted, cleaned the kitchen and did some laundry. All in all it was pretty productive. When we picked Jackson up from school he said, "I had sooo much fun, Momma. I loooooove preschool." I was happy to hear it. When I asked if he was good he said, "yeah, but I have to tell you something. I'll tell it later when I can wisper." I said that would be fine. Later this afternoon he wispered to me "I wanted to kiss a girl today." I was shocked. I didn't know what to say. I said, "Did you?" He said no and that he just blew her kisses. When I asked what she did in return he said, "She didn't see me do it, she was eating lunch." With a big sigh of relief I told him that kissing is for adults and he has no business talking about kissing girls. I made sure he understood that I meant what I said. Papa is visiting tomorrow. I promised to make him a meatloaf dinner in my new kitchen. So far all I've done is scramble a few eggs and fry sausage. I still need to read the books on how my appliances work. Right now, it's just hit and miss. I'm not sure about this convection thing yet.
August 22, 2008 Busy Busy Busy... that was our day! Jamie and I started the day running in full gear. I took care of making breakfast and she fed and diapered babies. I made her a special pancake breakfast, her request, with sausage. I settled for a scrambled egg and canadian bacon. We had contractors, installers and movers here from morning until late afternoon. First was Brad's newest baby... Panasonic. It's a huge television that I don't know or care to know all the details of but it does look good. We had to have some people come out to install it over our fireplace on the rock. That took quite a while and made quite a mess, too. Next, it was time for the satellite tv installers. They ended up not making it for some messed up reason. So we settled for tomorrow morning on satellite. Lastly, was George and Armondo from the furniture store. They are the sweetest guys. They delivered our 2nd shift of furniture... kitchen tabe and chairs, 2 barstools, cocktail and 2 end tables and my armoire for the master bedroom. It took me forever to clean up all the mess from all the workers. But in the end, it looks amazing. I love it and just want to sit in the room forever. The only furniture that is missing at this point is a Lane stationary recliner, 1 barstool and my oversized chair/ottoman. Then we will have our first phase of the house furnished. Phase 2 will not take place for at least 1 year from now. That phase will include dining and formal living room. Phase 3 will have to wait another 2 years. That phase will the the most fun... the basement!!!! GREAT NEWS! Memaw has a friend, Cynthia, who is going to help me with my curtains and other window treatments. I have some really cute ideas using ordinary panel curtains and making them "custom." Actually, GG gets the credit on this one. So anyway, with some simple sewing (from Cynthia) I think we'll be able to make ordinary window panels into extraordinary custom treatments. I'll take before and after shots! I still have so many pictures to post. I have to re-run kodak software on the computer first and I can't find the disk. Soon as it shows it's face I'll start posting. Tonight was our first night on the town into Canton. We celebrated Uncle Ernie's 30th birthday dinner at a place known as DK or Downtown Kitchen. It came highly reccomended by several people. Our party consisted of Grandpa, Memaw, Aaron, Jamie, Brad, all 5 kids, and myself. The kids were superb. Even the patrons around the place were making comments about how well behaved they were. I was very proud of how my little angels performed. We came back to the house after dinner for Bruster's Ice Cream Cake. What a sweet ending! Happy Birthday Aaron! I love you and am soooo proud to call you Brother-in-Law.
August 21, 2008 Great day today! My friend, Jamie, came to visit from Indiana. I picked her up from the airport at 1:15pm and we've been catching up ever since. Jamie is the very first friend I made in Indy. She's done a ton of babysitting for us and has rushed to my aid on many occasions. I also feel like a bit of a mother hen around her, too. She's in her early 20's and I'm in my early 30's. But it's a beautiful friendship. Tonight was the big night. We had open house for Preschool. Jackson was very excited to meet new friends. He has been saying, "nobody will come to my power ranger birthday party" (which by the way isn't until Feb.) "I thought you said I would make new friends." So tonight was proof that new friends were on their way. He's excited to start and I only cried once. I feel a bit like I'm sending him off into the world. Dramatic I know... but isn't that just who I am?
August 20, 2008 I think I almost gave my husband a coronary yesterday. A "friend" recommended to me an interior designer who doesn't really do residential design anymore but would be happy to "help me out" with some inexpensive window treatment ideas. I had previously called at least 5 designers in the area to familiarize myself with prices and services. They were all comparable with a $55 consultation. So I felt like I had a good idea of what to expect. I only needed help with some tricky windows in the house and needed immediate privacy in others. I let her know right off that I was on a very very tight budget. She came out yesterday and stayed for almost 2 hours. I showed her the house and pictures/fabrics/inspiration ideas for the rooms. I gained her "approval" on most everything. When it was all said and done, we were to meet a week later to look at fabric samples. I asked her how her services worked and she said very matter of factly "I am $150 an hour." I thought I was going to choke! I've never hurried someone out of my house so quickly in all my life. Needless to say, I'll take my $150 worth of ideas and do it myself. Live and Learn!
August 19, 2008 Twice in one day??? Ya'll won't know what to think! I just had to post about our outting today. After the babies got up from their morning nap I loaded up the yea-who's and we headed out to run errands. They were all starving so we went to Chick Fil A. We pulled up to the building and I just couldn't make myself go inside. It felt so foreign to me. Indy girls, ya'll know how I am about my Chick Fil A being like a part of my family. I stared at the building and told the kids, "I'm just not ready yet, it's too soon." They looked at each other like, "Mommy has gone off the deep end this time." We settled for the drive thru and a pick nic in the car. I had a grilled chicken sandwich without the bread. The kids wanted to know why I was eating my sandwich like pizza? I explained to them that "the doctor" said not to eat bread anymore because it puts too much fat on my body. They were satisfied with that answer and we moved on. Next stop was Wal-Mart... family member #2. We walked into the building and got all the usual stares and questions. Nothing really out of the ordinary except the occasional redneck making their redneck joke like, "Don't ya'll know what 'causes them 'der youngins'!" Ha Ha very funny, let's move on. We made it through the first half of the store just fine. It was somewhere about the time Jackson busted both my achilles tendons with the buggy and me breaking into a pouring sweat that I started making a bee-line for the checkout counter. I let the kids pick out a few treats (pb crackers, honey buns and pop tarts). When we finally got in the car and headed home I opened a diet pepsi and started to guzzel it down like I was on some commercial. Jackson said, "Can I have some?" I told him he had to wait until we got home and I'd give him a little bit. He said, "But Moooooom, "the doctor" says YOU shouldn't drink so much coke but I can have all the coffee and coke I want... it's good for me!"
August 19, 2008 Well, it feels like home for sure now. Waking up, feeding babies, fixing breakfast, cleaning up spills, wiping noses, cleaning bottoms... ya know? All the things that make a house a home. I'm slowly but surely getting things put away. My first goal is to have all the boxes empty. Then I can really organize and decorate. It's very overwhelming. Brady and Cooper both have colds. Brady, who is my laid back easy going baby, is very fussy and just can't be satisfied. Cooper, my needy baby, is still needy. The older kids think it's Christmas. I had packed up all their toys when we left Indy. They played with the toys that Memaw and Grandpa had while we were at their house. Now that they are seeing all their toys again, they can't decide what to play with first. For those of you who are curious but to sissy to ask (wink wink) my diet is going very well. I've been keeping with it and suffering through the cravings. I'm happy with my progress! Off to clean up and unpack!
August 15, 2008 It's 2:00am and I can't sleep. To be honest, I have not slept in 5 days now. I guess it's all the excitment of the move. I'm holding up okay now, but I know it's going to catch up with me soon. Anyway, the move was yesterday and it went great. It was so smooth and we were able to do it in record time. We had lots of help. Uncle Aaron helped along with his friends Roger (aka That Hulk) and Brett (our friends with the twin girls). Jack and Kate came from Rome, GA and then there was Brad, Grandpa, Jackson and myself. Kate helped me get all the inside packing done while the men loaded the truck with furniture. It was a lifesaver having her around. We got the truck loaded, moved into the house and unloaded by 11:30pm on Friday. The reason I wrote "That Hulk" for Roger is all due to Jackson. You see Roger is a very very muscular man. Ya'll know that Jackson loves his superheros, right? Well, Uncle Aaron told Jackson that Roger was "The Hulk." Jackson was smitten from that moment forward. "Mommy, where's THAT Hulk boy at?" Roger gave him lots of attention wrestling and chasing him. It was right up Jackson's alley! It was so incredible to have so many people come help us move. Brad and I couldn't get over how much FUN we had moving. Everyone had a great attitude and we made the best of it all. Thank you so much for your prayers. I know many of you lifted us up to the Lord during this week and God truly answered by giving us a smooth move. Gabrielle and Connor had a great time at GG's house this week. She took them to Stone Mountain park 2 days in a row. They rode the train one day and then today they rode the skylift to the top of the mountain. They came home with plenty of new toys and new stories to share. Mom found a box of momentos from my childhood full of little knick knacks and clothes from when I was a little girl. In that box were several sweet dresses, shoes and keepsakes. Two of those items were my ballet leotard and cowgirl boots. When Sissy saw those she just had to wear them. She wore them all week. It's the sweetest sight you've every seen. She walked in today with the burgandy leotard, teal shorts, burgandy scuffed boots, a pink plastic dangly bracelet and necklace, hair in a lop sided pony tail and popping gum between her teeth. I could have cried when I saw her. It was so cute I couldn't stand it. I can't find my camera in this mess but Mom said she took pictures. I'll post them soon. Talk about a full circle moment???? That was it. Connor was so excited to be in the house. He ran from one end to the other for about an hour. He would say, "Oook Mom, Ooook" (ooook is Look) as he would make himself slide on the floor or show me some new dance move. He would walk through each room and say, "I ike it, Mommy." It melted our hearts. Papa headed home around 7pm last night. He was exhausted. I think this trip just about did him in. Like me, he has a hard time sleeping as well. He was ready to get home and try to get rested. The furniture was delivered today. We got most of it but there are still many pieces that have not arrived as of yet. Hopefully by Thursday we'll have the rest. Also, our fridge and washer came today. We got all the beds put together and half of the kitchen stuff, too. Everything else is waiting to be delt with. GG is coming back tomorrow to help me do some more unpacking and arranging. I guess I better go try again to get to sleep. It's hard for me to shut my eyes and not stare at the room. I feel so very blessed to call this place home.
August 14, 2008 Guess where I am standing right now? In MY office at MY house! Can you tell I'm a little excited? We will start moving in all our things tomorrow but I wanted to make sure we had the most important things in first... such as my computer. Literally it's the only thing I've moved into the house. Papa finally came to see the house today. He just thought it was the best thing ever. He loves it as much as we do. I broke down into tears when I opened the door with the key. It's a very weird and at the same time comforting feeling to know this is our home. Jackson walked in the house today and said, "Mom, where do these stairs go?" I said, "Oh, that's how you get down to the basement." To which he exclaimed, "Woooo Whoooo, WE HAVE A BASEMENT!!!! This house is awesome." My thoughts exactly.
August 13, 2008 It's official, WE ARE HOMEOWNERS and I have keys in hand! My dream house is actually MINE. The closing went so smoothly. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for those of you who lifted us up to the Lord today in prayer. After closing we went and took care of some furniture details for delivery then to dinner. Brad and I had a very good date together and were able to talk and share our souls with one another. It's a big day today... one we will never forget. Papa and Memaw watched the kids today while we were gone. Tomorrow I'm taking Gabrielle and Connor to GG's for the weekend. I decided that would be the best way to help us move. We will start moving our things in on Friday and hopefully our first night will be Saturday. It's after 11pm and I'm mentally and physically exhausted. PS - I've gone 48 hours with diet success! I think that thing has finally clicked that gets you motivated to be real and just do it.
August 12, 2008 Before I go any further, I hereby promise not to change my webiste style again for a long long long time. Please check out this website. www.x31art.com My brother in law, Aaron, has 4 of his pieces on the site. He also gives a brief commentary on those pieces. My favorite is Prevailing Multitude. It's on the front page of my site. Today has been a trying day. I'm all kinds of different emotions all balled up into one. First and foremost... I'm hungry! I started a diet today and I've had no sugar or bread or any of the other white foods I love so much. I'm made it 13 hours and a bit irritable. So every once in a while ASK ME HOW MY DIET IS GOING! That way I'll have some accountability besides my husband. We all know it's dangerous for them to keep us accountable of anything. Secondly, I'm nervous. We close on our home tomorrow. Susan has done a fabulous job with all the details. She and Brad have worked hard and it's all come together. It's at 4pm and I'm a big ball of nerves until we leave the attorney's office. Lastly, I'm tired. I could not sleep a wink last night. Just tossing and turning and really not at ease. There is a lot going on right now in our lives and we've been quite unsettled. Knowing now that we are about to "dig in" to a new town and new friends and new church and new grocery store and new doctors and new roads and everything else NEW I can think of is a little scarry. Please pray for us! Aaron and I finished all the furniture. In true WOMAN form I changed my mind about what I wanted for that room. After we finished the beds I decided that we should really paint the dresser and chest, too. Aaron said okay let's do it. He helped me get it all done. We painted those 2 pieces black. The room is going to look amazing. Thank you Aaron! I owe you 227 meatloafs... :) We worked for 12 hours straight. He never complained once! Ladies... he's going to make some beautiful woman a great husband. And just think... you get me as a sister in law to boot! I'm taking applications. Apply within!
August 9, 2008 Today is the perfect summer day. It's 88 degrees and no humidity. I love it. Why can't the entire summer be this blissful? Aaron and I have been outside all morning working on Jackson and Connor's bedroom suit. My brother had given me a set of bunks about a year ago. They were nicely built but just a simple pine color. I spent most of yesterday sanding away the beds and today we've been painting. We chose a handsome khaki. Aaron and I are going to paint an accent wall that their beds will be in front of a chocolate brown. It should be very little boyish/masculine. I can't wait to send pictures of the finished rooms. After I sanded all day I headed off to get my hair cut/hilighted. This is a major step for a woman. I've had Sheri do my hair in Indiana for the past 4 years. She knows me and I know her. I have been scared to death to find someone else. Last Sunday we were at Ruby Tuesdays and I saw this girl with a cute little cut. I asked her where she went and so I made an appointment. They did a great job and I'm very very happy with the cut/color. I went a little darker but kept a few blonde hilights. It's exactly what I wanted. The only problem was it took forever! I mean like 3 hours... ugghhhhh. I hope that the next time will be much shorter since we won't have to discuss the details so much. If it's not then I'll have to find another great place. I don't have that much time to dedicate every 6 weeks to my hair. And YES I do have to go every 6 weeks. Jackson and Brady are at GG's this weekend. They are having a ball and Jackson has no desire to return home. Gabrielle, Connor and Cooper are enjoying their time with a couple less siblings as well. It seems odd only having 3. I keep thinking "we're missing someone, where are they?" Wednesday is the big day!!! This closing is making me want to have an anxiety attack about every hour. I keep saying, "God I am not going to worry about it and I'll praise you if the closing fails or sails." But then I catch myself saying, "Oh no what if it doesn't go through." It's hard to give Him full trust with no strings attached isn't it? Why should I carry the burden that my Savior so desperatley wants to take for me. He's either soverign and in control or he isn't. It's a daily struggle to let go. But I'm just going to keep trying and keep repenting.
August 6, 2008 Where have I been? Not sure why I have not updated in a while. The main reason is that the computer is in the basement and it's not convenient. I'll try to do better. We are quickly approaching our closing, August 13th. I am very excited and very ready to get the whole process over with. It's been quite stressfull. We picked out some new furniture and that was fun. We got a sofa, oversized chair w/ ottoman, accent chair, leather chair w/ ottoman, cocktail table and 2 end tables. We also got a Master Bedroom set with a king bed!!! We've been in a queen bed for 9 years and I'm so over it. Brad takes up the whole bed and I get a small 1/4. GG bought Gabrielle a new queen bed, matress/box spring and chest drawer. We also got a breakfast room table and some bar stools. I can't wait to get it all in the house and start arranging. The kids are doing fine. Gabrielle and Connor are potty trained I'm happy to say. We have occasional accidents but for the most part we are there. Now the big issue is keeping the bathrooms clean. Ugghhhh, how do those boys make such a mess? Gabrielle plays with dolls a lot now. Her favorite is a small plush "Little Mermaid." She will carry it ever so gently and then spank it for being ugly. She's starting to be very girly. She LOVES lip gloss. She carries a tube around with her at all times. Connor is beginning to talk a lot. It's still very difficult to understand most of what he says but we seem to manage. He loves to carry "stuff" around. One week it will be a tractor the next a truck. The last week it's been this little dalmation puppy and a matchbox red motorcycle that Taylor gave him in NC. We went to the grocery store last night and that puppy traveled through the entire store and Connor managed to drop him on every aisle. Puppy is filthy and tired! He gets a bath today. Jackson is just Jackson. Wild as a buck and full of action packed adventure. His imagination is running full throttle ahead at all times. He sleeps to recharge his battery then he's right back at it when he wakes. He makes up stories all the time and goes on wild adventures in the hosue hunting tigers or bad guys. He keeps me on my toes more than the others. EXCEPT Cooper! He is a Momma's boy and wants to be attached to me nonstop. It's exhausting. He is pulling up to stand and starting to cruise. He claps and smiles. Brady is still my sweet little blue eyed boy. He's still just crawling this odd scoot. (Indy girls... it's the exact same way Josiah crawled) If I put him on his knees he'll stay there and play with a small table. He just doesn't want to pull up yet. That's fine with me. I can only take one walker at a time. Brad is loving his job. He loves the staff, the marketing with dentists, the drive, the hours, the work... everything. I am so glad he's enjoying life after residency. He's back to his old self and I'm thankful to have him home more often. So that just leaves me... I guess I am doing okay. Some days better than others. Living with my inlaws has honestly been a very pleasant experience. They have been welcoming. Nancy and I get along so well. I am thankful that we don't argue and fuss like lots of daughter in law/mother in law relationships. We are truly friends. The kids see GG alot, too. This Thursday Brady and Jackson are going to spend the weekend with her and Larry. They'll have a great time. Well, I need to go get Brady and lay him down. I miss all my Indy girls!!!!
August 1, 2008 Can it really be August? I will be 33 next month; Brady and Cooper will be 1 year old in two months. I just can not believe how quickly life goes by. Thursday in NC was just as great as the other two days. Dixie insisted on waking up at 6:00am in order to get up with the babies and let me sleep in. It was so precious to see the whole family with my children. They honestly love and adore them. It shows with every sweet gesture. I did sleep in and Cooper woke at 6:15 on the dot. When I woke up both babies had been fed and bathed. The older kids had been fed and were watching television or playing. Anna and I went to WalMart and to visit my cousin Lisa and her daughter Stacy. Lisa has built a new house and it's adorable. We stayed over there for 2 hours laughing and carrying on. I had such a good time. When we got back to Dixie's around 5 o'clock, Papa suggested we drive back after dark. I said that would be fine so off we went. Before heading home though we went to go visit my Daddy's side of the family. We all met at Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Mike's. We were greeted by my cousin Grant, Aunt Julia, Uncle Dane, his son Loren, and Unlce Morris. The kids had a great time and everyone enjoyed catching up. We made it back to Memaw and Grandpas around 10:45pm and we were all exhausted. However, I was wound up from the drive and did not go to sleep until 2am! Needless to say after such a week and no sleep last night I'm about to DROP. Off to take care of the kids... enjoy your family this week!!!
July 30, 2008 Hello from North Carolina! We made the drive up here just fine. Papa and I had to admit that the kids made the drive really well. I think they were really shocked that the drive was short compared to what they are used to driving from Indiana. When we arrived at Dixie and Gregg's house we were greeted by Anna, Patti and Taylor with open arms. We were so excited to see each other. It's awesome to know that we can see each other as often as we want. The kids went straight to the pool. Jackson surprised me with how well he could swim. He's like a fish in the water. It's a little scary because he has no fear of the water. Gabrielle and Connor were a little water shy at first but then they loosened up a bit. Later that evening we had a big supper with all the family... Dixie, Gregg, Anna, Patti, Taylor, Aunt Helen, Uncle Max, Aunt Linda, Uncle Ralph, Lisa, Stacy, Alexis, Amy, Papa, my kids and myself. Anna made baked lasagna, salad, garlic bread, pound cake and heath bar cake. Today we went to visit my Great Aunt Nell at the nursing home. She and all the residents were thrilled to see the children. We interupted her favorite activity...Bingo, but she was so excited to see us. After our visit we came back to Dixie's and let the older kids swim while the babies napped. I got in the pool with all the kids and we had so much fun. It was my first time in the pool this year. It has been 99 degrees all week and HOT does not even start to describe how miserable it's been. Jumping in that pool felt sooooo good. Tonight we all headed to Aunt Helen's house and she had fixed a huge supper... beef roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, fresh green beans, fresh corn, cole slaw, fried fresh squash, corn bread, rolls, fresh tomatoes, fresh cucumbers (when I saw fresh I mean garden fresh out of her own garden) pound cake, cheesecake and blueberry salad. And don't let me forget the sweet tea! Ohhhhh My goodness... it was so good. The kids were so tired when we got home they just fell in the bed. Needless to say we are having a very good time and I need to go on a crash diet when we get back. We miss Brad and can't wait to get back home. But at this point we are enjoying our time together.
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