What a Difference a Year Makes!

Lions and Monkeys and Giraffes...Oh my!

I finally got around to finishing Colin's walls with his animals. I wrapped up the monkey one afternoon while he was in his room napping. He woke up and kinda cleared his eyes then saw the monkey looking at him and said, "Oh! HEY DERE!"

He also liked to touch the sun and say "Hot! Hot!"

We hit the Birmingham Zoo's Zoolight Safari on Saturday night and froze our tails off. Luckily, we are zoo memebers so we didn't pay the $7 each to get in or I would have felt like we needed to stay longer. We made one loop around and pointed out lights then headed inside to eat dinner. After eating and warming up we headed back out in the cold and saw Santa. Colin? Not a fan! I have yet to get a picture of Colin with Santa that he isn't screaming his head off in or pulling away from Santa as quickly as possible!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Some of the things I'm thankful for...

Defying Gravity

I love the musical, Wicked. This is one of my favorite songs from it. I've played this song probably 50 times this week.


Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes and leap!

It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!

I'm through accepting limits
Because someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!

I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down

Simplify

I am beginning to overhaul our lives. We have too much. Too many things. Too many commitments.

My friend, Dotti, likes to tell me that when I stand up and introduce myself in Celebrate Recovery I need to start saying, "Hi, my name is Kristin and I am believer in Jesus Christ who is a volunteer addict. I CAN'T SAY NO." :o)

I have long ago started decluttering our closets/clothes/paper/junk. What I really need is a full entire weekend with no kids to get things taken care of. I don't see that happening anytime soon.

I am so thankful for our church and its ministries and all the ways we can serve but I also think I have taken on too much and need to clear something off my plate.

John and I lead a Home Group each Sunday afternoon.
I have nursery duty every 4th Sunday.
We have signed up to start leading a student class at 9AM each Sunday.
I am helping to lead a Step Study on Wednesday nights for Celebrate Recovery.
I organize the meals every Thursday for Celebrate Recovery for 20-30 people.
I help lead the Women's A-Z group for Celebrate Recovery every Thursday night.
I am serving as a Sponsor for 3 ladies in Celebrate Recovery and walking with them through working their 12 steps.
I help coordinate the Top Guns Wives group each week.

Add this to working a full time job, keeping up my house and trying to raise 3 boys and I'm beat.

I have already decided to let Home Group go. We made a commitment to lead for 18-24 months and we are coming up on 2 1/2 years so I need my Sunday afternoons back.

I've told the CR staff I am out for the next Step Study. They tend to last 4-6 months and I plan to do every other rotation.

Top Gun Wives will end in May and with that I'm going to let them know I cannot help facilitate next year.

My nursery commitment is only once a month so I can manage that.

I do not want to give up CR in the least but I may have to say that I can no longer really handle pulling the meals together after the first of the year.

Now comes the holiday season and with it a whole host of other commitments but my goal for 2010 is to simplify.

Picture Updates

In an instant...

My "baby" will be turning 13 in a couple weeks. It has gone by so quickly.

I can remember finding out about him and how scared I was. (I wasn't married to his father and had just turned 21 years old).

Then I remember feeling like every single person around me was unhappy and that regardless of the circumstances I was going to be a mom and I had a little person depending on me.

When I went through all the health scares with him and thought I might lose him and it was decided to deliver him early...

When he was finally born after such a long, long day and so many scares...

When they handed me a little 4 pound bundle and he was the smallest thing I had ever seen but he had these little gray eyes that were wide open...

When I knew it was just me and him on our own and that I would do anything I could to protect and keep him from hurt...

When he went around telling EVERYBODY that "My Mommy and My John and me...we're all going to get married and live together."

Telling him he was going to be a big brother for the first time. "Really? I wanted a puppy!"

Watching him look at Josh for the first time, "He's a keeper, Mom."

Telling him he was going to be a big brother for the second time. "Are you serious, Mom? A BABY? Aren't you too old for that?"

He is my firstborn, strong willed, smart as a whip, addicted to the History Channel, girl crazy, handsome, blue eyed boy that drives me up the wall some times but breaks my heart with pride at other times.

And he'll be 13 soon. And I'm not ready for that.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

No pictures uploaded yet but we had such a good time.

Flew out on Friday and Colin was a champ on the plane.

Got in around lunch time and went to check in at the Polynesian.

Was upgraded to concierge level which meant we wouldn't be spending $35--$40 a day on breakfasts. Huge plus! It was a beautiful resort with such neat extra touches. We will stay here again for sure.

Hit Disney Studios on Friday and everybody was thrilled to be back at WDW. Stayed until around 5PM then John took Colin back to the resort and I took the big boys to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. This is their favorite part of the entire trip I think.

Saturday morning we got up around 8AM and hit EPCOT. Spent the majority of the day there. I took Colin back for a nap after lunch and then John and the boys headed back a little later and spent some time at the pool.

Sunday we did Magic Kingdom all day and everybody had a great time. Colin got his first haircut at the Barber Shop on Main Street and they gave him Mickey ears with "First Haircut" embroidered on the back. SO CUTE.

Monday we hit Magic Kingdom one last time for everybody to do their favorite rides again before our flight left.

We never made it to Animal Kingdom but nobody seemed too disappointed except me. :o)

Flew back home Monday afternoon around 5PM and Colin slept all but 15 minutes of the flight.

Now John and I are considering spending a long weekend back at Disney in March/April/May sometime for our 10 year anniversary. I'm already excited about it!

So far behind...

On laundry.

On posting pictures.

On cleaning up the house.

On returning phone calls and emails.

On buying groceries and menu planning.

But...I have had so much fun with friends in the last couple weeks. Consignment sale preparations. Beach trip. CR. Lunches. Playing outside.

One of my closest friends lost her father this past week. He was only 60 and far too young to die. He lived a hard life here in the end and made some choices that sealed his fate and I wish it could have been different. He was a good man that was caught up in his illness but he loved his family the best way he knew how. I keep telling her to cling to that.

I also have had a couple ladies drop out of CR due to relapse or their codependency and their partner relapsing. It is very frustrating and makes me sad but you can't force someone to get better. They have to want it. It's like we keep saying in group....maybe they just need a little more pain.

This weekend is dinner with friends, visiting inlaws and getting Direct TV installed. Why I'm not exactly sure since we don't really watch television. Kind of interesting but we want DVR capability to record the few things we are ever interested in seeing. The kids watch their cartoons but John and I...not so much.

8 more days until Walt Disney World. Cannot wait!

Hoping Josh is on the mend. Fever today was only 99.

Colin woke up on Saturday from a nap with a 102.3 fever but by Saturday night it was completely gone and he acted fine. Did fine all day Sunday and no fever today. Weird.

I'm just trying to keep everybody else well and get through this week so I can head to the beach on Friday and not be leaving behind any sick kiddos.

When it rains, it pours...

Josh woke up this morning telling me his throat hurt. I took him temp and it was 101. We made plans for him to stay home from school and I called the doctor for an appointment.

He got to the doctor at 11AM and even after a dose of Tylenol at 6:30 his fever was 103.1.

Strep throat AND swine flu.

We have him isolated at my parent's house to try and minimize exposure here, especially with Colin.

I've been running back and forth checking in on him and taking him things from home.

I'm guessing he's going to be down and out for a few days but hopefully by Monday he will start to show some improvement.

The doctor said the possibility of pneumonia worried her more than anything else. She said if he starts complaining with his chest hurting to bring him back ASAP and more than likely he would be hospitalized. We are praying it doesn't get to this and his coughing doesn't get any worse.

No fun at all!

I've been Cloroxing everything in sight. I know we have all already been exposed and the doctor said if we are going to get it it would be in the next 24-48 hours so we'll have to sit back and see what happens.

I jinxed us! I was just telling someone at work yesterday that we had never taken a flu shot and never gotten the flu!

So far behind in updating and posting pictures.

The boys got a new swingset so they have been outside every afternoon. Colin loves to swing in his new swing.

I'm only in the office 2 days this week. I have to attend an update class which basically means I have to physically sit in the class for 20 hours but I can bring a book to read or whatever so I'll be catching up on all my reading Wed-Fri. I'm done at noon on Friday so I have the rest of the afternoon to myself...at least until 3PM!

11 more days till I leave for the beach and I'm ready!

We brought out all our Fall decorations this weekend so our house smells like pumpkin and fall wreaths are everywhere.

We had company Saturday night then Sunday afternoon so I'm beat even after having a weekend break.

Colin was running a fever Saturday morning, which caused me to miss a good friend's wedding, but I had to stay home with him. He seems to be doing fine now.

I've started taking advantage of the Y being 5 minutes from my office so I'm back to running each day. I have MISSED that.

A little of this...a little of that

I had some time at the bookstore yesterday and I really am going to have plenty to read over the next few weeks:

He Chose the Nails--Max Lucado
No Wonder They Call Him the Savior--Max Lucado
Come Thirsty--Max Lucado
The Space Between Us--Thrity Umrigar
What is the What--Dave Eggers
Nineteen Minutes--Jodi Picoult
Psalm 91--Prayer of Protection--Peggy Joyce Ruth
Cast of Characters--Max Lucado
Going Public with Your Faith--William Carr Peel/Walt Larimore

So excited to get started! And it looks like I'm hitting the beach September 24--27 with some friends so I should have lots of time to spend on reading and soaking up some sun while making plans for the upcoming semester of Celebrate Recovery.

The boys had great first days of school. They both are excited this year and I think working with them during the summer helped keep them prepared and ready for the new year. They are making so many new friends lately and I'm so thankful God has placed them where He has and brought the people into their lives that He has as well.

I'm ready to start the new job. It is full of potential for me to share about CR, things going on at Westwood, what God has been doing in our lives. Some people look at work as a negative but I know God has me where He wants me and is giving me opportunity after opportunity to share my faith. Too many things fell into place with this job that I haven't shared that lets me know I'm where I need to be for now.

John starts his new job on the 31st and he is very excited as well.

And we have a surprise for the boys in October...heading back to Disney for a few days. They have a mini break from school and we have some extra time ourselves so this will be a great time for us to make some more memories with them. I'm also thankful we have the option to do things like this with them while they are still young enough to enjoy them and still want to take family trips.

It is shaping up to be an exciting late summer/early fall for the Pucketts. :o)

Standing in the way of the cross

I had an opportunity this past Tuesday night to have a Bible study with 2 really cool ladies that live on my street. We are working through an awesome book and I'm learning a lot.

One of them shared a story with me that was so powerful of an image and I know how much we all love images (LINDSEY) so I wanted to pass it on. I am not sure where she originally got this from so I can't credit the author.

It seems a lady was on the beach watching her young son and his father play in the surf. The waves were crashing in and she watched him play and his whole face light up with happiness.

But then the waves took a turn and they seemed to be getting stronger. She saw him get knocked down a couple times and her heart clenched. Should she run to him? Should she step in and scoop him up out of harm's way? She readied herself to run down to her child.

Then she realized he was still laughing and playing and that his father was right by his side, making sure he was safe. He would reach up to his father from time to time and let him lift him above the chaos. She realized that had she stepped in and taken over the situation her child would have missed an experience he was enjoying. He didn't want her at that moment. He wanted his father.

It then struck her how often she does that in situations in her life. Step in and take control because she thinks she knows best. Her way is the right way. She is in control.

And it also struck her...how many times has my doing that blocked someone from the cross? Kept them from their Father when that was what they really wanted and needed.

She made it a point to then start praying that God show her times she was blocking the cross from someone in her life. That maybe her role was to walk beside them but not to step in front of them and keep them from what they truly wanted and needed.

Father, please help me to understand that I can't always step in and "save" my children from the things of this world. They are yours, Father. You control their destiny and no matter how much I desire to protect them, sometimes all they really need and want is you and the cross. Help me not to stand in the way. Help me to daily turn them over to you.

6 Little Girls

I had Extended Teaching Care this morning at 11AM. I volunteer once a month and I just love it!

This morning I had 6 little girls and can I just say, being the mother of 3 little boys, I'm not used to little girls. First, they are so QUIET. They were calm and played together nicely. Nobody tried to build things just to knock them down as loud as possible.

Nobody picked up crayons and turned them into guns or swords or lightsabers.

It was an eye opening experience for me. I wouldn't trade my 3 boys for anything but it was a whole other world.

Tonight our Small Group will meet and try to wrap up the Lucado book, "Cure for the Common Life." I have really enjoyed this one.

I have to leave group early to do a Celebrate Recovery Presentation at the church for another Small Group. I love telling people about CR. Ever since Cardboard Testimonies there is a energy about CR and people wanting to know more about it. I find myself running into people in the grocery store who come up to me and say how cool that Sunday was and how much they felt God's presence. People I knew only well enough to nod to in the hallways are now are asking me how to get involved. Thank you, Father! It was my prayer from Day One that you take the stories on the cardboard and use them all for your glory and you did just that!

I start the new job August 17th and Colin goes back to daycare tomorrow. I have been blessed to spend the last few months home with him and although at the time I thought losing my job was the worst possible thing, it wasn't. God has humbled me to realize how much I was letting fly by me while I was tied up with my career. This new position is a pay cut and also not as many responsibilities and I am so glad.

Now I hear John and Colin heading in from the store so I'm off to make snacks for Small Group and to gather my thoughts for the presentation later tonight.

Nevermind...John apparently forgot his wallet...bless his heart...and he is having to head back to the store to pay for the items he had already put in his cart. He is so good natured to laugh at himself when he does something like that. I would be furious and let it cloud the rest of my afternoon. I'm blessed to have him as my husband and so thankful for all of the winding paths our lives took to get to this place.

The Beach

We are heading out first thing in the morning for a last minute beach trip.

Can't wait since my last trip got so messed up!

Now watch it rain the entire time we're there!

The video is up!

www.ewestwood.org/CR I had to let it play through once to get it fully loaded but the second time it played smoothly for me.

I'm SO proud of my Celebrate Recovery group and all those who participated.

I know the courage that it took for some of those people to be out on that stage in front of hundreds of people.

It was simply amazing. Words aren't adequate.

Cardboard Testimonies

Our Cardboard Testimonies went off yesterday in all 3 services without a hitch. I should have a link to the video of them sometime soon.

I am exhausted but they turned out amazing! I ended up with 24 participants and we closed the services during the invitation with the presentation.

We have already been swamped with comments, emails and phone calls from people saying it was the most powerful thing they have ever seen done.

People were openly weeping and flocking to the altars as we were standing on the stage, holding up our signs. I tried really hard not to look at people, but to look out at the words on the screens or I knew I would never make it through.

It was simply amazing and God was so present.

I can't wait to get the code to post the link so I can share it with you.

I think it was even more special to me because a lot of these ladies are in my CR group and I know what it took for them to stand on a stage in front of hundreds of people and share their secrets.

Now I can put that project behind me and get busy on the next one.

Also, I have accepted a job that I will start on August 17th. It is a pay cut and I hate that part but I did ask for several things and got them, including a 35 hour work week from 7AM--3PM each day. That will help me out with the boys and school.

John has his final interview with the CEO of this new company tomorrow at 2PM.

If we can get this nailed down then we both will have a new job to celebrate!

On the Go

Seems like whenever I sit down to update 100 other things pop up.

I'm busy working on Cardboard Testimonies for our Celebrate Recovery group and others to do in all 3 services at our church this weekend. This has been a huge endeavor but God has been so faithful to send me the people I needed to participate and helped me word their stories for this presentation. I can't wait for Sunday!

I'm also helping to coordinate a women's group to coincide with our Men's Top Gun group that starts in August and helping flesh out the devotionals for that.

Add that to my regular routine of housework and playing with Colin and I feel like the days are flying by.

He is slowly waking up from a morning nap right now then off to Costco we go to stock up on groceries.

Patrick and Josh are at YMCA camp this week so I get a little bit of a break. This is their last week of camp, however, and school doesn't start until August 13th so I am going to have my hands full with all three boys until then.

I interviewed for a job that would be 7-3 so if we can work out the scheduling/salary that might be a great fit. And at least it wouldn't be driving back and forth to Montgomery every day. It is a $15K pay cut for me but if this other job works out for John then we can make that work.

We have birthday parties and numerous church things going on this weekend then hopefully next week a little down time!

The S-E-X talk with my baby

It finally was at a point I couldn't avoid it any longer. Patrick will be 13 in November. He's going into 7th grade. I'm sure I'm actually late on talking to him but that's my baby! He isn't ready for the sex talk. He should still be climbing trees and playing with race cars and thinking girls are icky and gross.

Yeah, not so much.

I broached the subject gently to see how he would respond and he was so mature about it I could have cried. I anticipated some giggles and a red, embarrassed face but that isn't really what happened. At one point he smiled at me and said, "Well...this is awkward" but that was it.

We started with puberty and changes to your body. Boys vs. girls. We talked about boys viewing sex as more visual while girls view it more mentally and why this is very important as he approaches a healthy, ADULT sexual relationship.

And we talked about abstinence and protection. I know some will disagree with that but I thought long and hard on my stance with my boys and I decided to tell him the following:

God designed sex as a gift for 2 married people. It is a beautiful thing and there is nothing dirty or ugly about it until people take it and use it not as God intended and it becomes something He didn't plan.

That God and his parents want him to wait until he finds the woman he wants to spend his life with to make the decision to give his gift to her and only her...BUT that might not be the choice he makes. While that would disappoint both God and his parents that will be a choice he has to make one day and if he does choose to get involved in a sexual relationship before he is married that he needs to make sure he is protected from not only an unwanted pregnancy but also a whole host of diseases out there.

We talked about how hard a baby is...he sees that daily with Colin...and how that would change his entire life and any plans he has for the future. We talked about having to be on medications for the rest of your life or possibly losing your life because you have an STD due to unprotected sex.

And we talked about wanting to be able to come to your wife one day and tell her that you made the choice to wait for her. About respecting the person you are in a relationship with.

And we wrapped it up about talking a tiny bit about sexual violence and being in control of those raging hormones. About locker room talk and the desire boys sometimes have to brag and make things up that aren't true and how that can damage a girl more than they know.

All in all I think it was a good talk but I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that my baby is at a point I needed to have a talk with him.

Patrick did tell me he's never even kissed a girl but that will all change soon I'm sure.

Oh to go back to the days of climbing trees and playing with race cars. :o)

Colin goes in for the kiss

Colin's 1st Birthday--Monkey Theme

Family Shot

Mommy and Colin

Monkey and Palm Tree Cupcakes

Gift bags

Busy, busy, busy

Things in my corner of the world are very busy. I think even when I had a full time job outside of home I wasn't this busy.

We had our monthly neighborhood dinner on Tuesday night and it was our turn to host. I decided to hit the Farmer's Market and make a really nice fresh vegetable meal. We ended up with:

Fried chicken
Sauteed corn
Fried okra
Fresh red tomatoes
Greek Squash and Zucchini
Hot Cornbread
Red New Potatoes
Salad

One neighbor even brought a red, white and blue cake her daughter made so we had a fun dessert to top it all off.

Colin's first birthday party is Saturday so yesterday I worked on making gift bags. I wanted something to go along with his palm trees/monkeys and couldn't find anything so I bought plain brown bags and a palm tree stamp and made my own.

I also am making these adorable monkey cupcakes so I'll have to get a picture if they turn out okay.

The two older boys go to camp at the YMCA every other week and I am very thankful for it. Having all 3 of them home full time does not go well some days. But having them in camp means getting bags ready each night with 2 snacks, packing a lunch, putting 4 Gatorades and 2 water bottles in the freezer overnight, getting swim suits and towels, goggles and sunscreen packed and making sure they have their camp shirt on Field Trip days and money on lunch days when they can purchase something.

It gets a little complicated when their schedules are totally different. Patrick may have a Field Trip on Tuesday and Josh may have his on Thursday. They may have lunch days at different times too. Good thing I keep all this straight on the calendar!

This week they are at camp so Colin and I have the same basic routine. We eat breakfast then go for a walk around the lake and feed the ducks. He has started making a "Duh" sound for "Duck, Daddy and Dog".

After our walk we come in and crawl around on the floor. He has invented this game where he chases me as I crawl around couches and chairs and when he finds me he giggles his head off. My knees are not loving this game.

Around 9AM we watch 2-3 songs of a Praise Baby video (he LOVES these) and he takes his bottle.

Then I carry him upstairs and he lays down for a morning nap...usually an hour to an hour and a half. I lay him down awake and he settles right in. Worst case he may fuss for 2-4 minutes but by the time I'm back down the stairs he's good.

While he's napping I shower or do housework, return phone calls and emails and make a list of any errands we need to run.

After he wakes up we head out to do anything on our list and either grab lunch out or come back and eat depending on how many things we have to get done.

After we get home we play with toys and look at books. He normally repeats the Praise Baby and bottle deal sometime between 1:30 PM and 2PM then takes an afternoon nap for another 1-1 1/2 hours.

While he's down for the afternoon I work on dinner and every so often get to take a quick nap myself.

Today he will stay with my parents as I have a job interview in Montgomery. We'll just see how that goes.

The Scales of a Dragon

My friend, Lindsey is also a leader in our Celebrate Recovery Group. She is awesome and I love her spirit and her heart. She sent the ladies we are working with in CR the best letter and I asked her if I could share it on my blog...it is such a powerful image.


Ladies:

For those of you who were there last night thank you so much for sharing and for those of you who were not we missed you badly and need your voice in our group. I receive so much healing by listening to others stories. I just wanted to share a little something this morning too. Several years ago I read C.S. Lewis's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader... its one of the Narnia Series. We mentioned The Screwtape Letters last night... C.S. Lewis is one smart guy. Anyway, There is a passage that has been on my heart from that book for the last couple of days, so many of the images from that book speak to me at various times. Anyway, let me give you the back ground in case you have not read it because I want to share with you an excerpt... it's so beautiful and relevant to our work @ CR.

The character's name is Eustace and he is a brat. He is a cousin to the crew of kids from the movies ( cause this one is later in the series) and he is whiny and annoying and ....you can get that image in your head no problem. They land on this island to explore and he finds a dragon. He watches it a first. Goes back again to watch it a little closer. Sneaks into it's lair, plays with it's stuff, puts on his bracelet, and slowly begins to realize he is growing scales. He continues to visit the dragon, never associating his scale growth with the dragon and long story short over a period of time grows more and more scales... isolates himself from the group because the whole scale thing is a little hard to explain and, well, embarrassing and eventually just disappears and becomes a dragon. In the story you hear all of this from his own mouth.. as a testimony, and only after he is found by Edmund one morning sitting by the fire. Edmund asks how he became un-dragoned and here is the story.... He keeps trying to "wash off the scales" one night he is so fed up and tired and looks at himself and does not recognize who he is. He hits bottom. He tries to remove the scales three times himself. Each time he does it it comes off and then right back on. He is frustrated. Finally, Aslan who is waiting patiently on the bank thru this process says.... I have to do it. Isn't that beautiful? Aslan is the God figure in the book, just FYI. Here is the passage.

"Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off -- just as I thought I'd done it myself the other three times, only they hadn't hurt -- and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been. And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. There he caught hold of me -- I didn't like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I'd no skin on -- and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I'd turned into a boy again. You'd think me simply phony if I told you how I felt about my own arms. I know they're no muscle and are pretty mouldy compared with Caspian's, but I was so glad to see them.
"After a bit the lion took me out and dressed me . . . in new clothes -- the same I've got on now, as a matter of fact. And then suddenly I was back here." [116-117]

Oh man I love that picture. I have prayed it lately. God, please peel this mess off. Forgive me for playing with that dragon. Remove my scales and chunk me in the water... naked and pink with new baby skin and all.... and let me swim until the pain is gone. You can do this for me. I'm tired of pulling off my own scales only to watch them re-appear. It's a waste of time. You do it. You are the only one who can.

Well that was a long intro and a whole lot of words but I just wanted to share with you that picture and invite you all back to CR next week, baby skin and all. Maybe that picture will help you think thru the week about your dragon and remind you that God is the only one who can peel those scales off.

Cute little guys! Pictures galore.

Picture Day!

Today was a much needed picture day with the boys. We loaded up and had a fuss-free picture session then hit Johnny Rockets for lunch.

Now I am trying to upload pictures while chasing Colin around the playroom. So...it looks like posting actual pictures will have to wait for a couple hours until Daddy gets home.

Speaking of...John came home from work early and took Patrick and Josh to see a movie. He doesn't know it yet but I got a picture made of me and all 3 boys for one of his Father's Day presents so SHHHHH!!!!

Tonight I am cooking fish for dinner. I hate seafood but I am making an effort to cook it at least twice a month. We'll see how it goes.

Pictures very soon...

Nine Years Ago

Nine years ago today I married a man I was very much in love with.

And we've gone through many trials and bumps in those nine years.

He drives me crazy at times and some days I wonder if we are going to make it but those days are very much few and far between since God restored our marriage and we learned how to really communicate.

I came in from running this morning and he had a dozen roses and a card sitting on the kitchen counter for me. Then when I walked into our bathroom to take a shower he had left another card for me on the bathroom counter. When I got into the van to go to VBS today he had left another card for me in the driver's seat of the van.

And nine years later I can tell you I'm married to my best friend. He isn't perfect and neither am I (FOR CERTAIN) but I love him and I love our family and our life together.

Little Sponges

Today, our church kicked off our Vacation Bible School. As of last count, we had 700 kids registered! How awesome is that!

I am teaching 2-3 year olds and I love my little group. They are just precious and had a great first day at VBS. I love to see them soak up everything. I had one little guy tell me today that I needed to push him so high on the swing "that I could touch Jesus."

Patrick is volunteering all week with various classes and so far so good. His baptism is scheduled for this Sunday and I am so excited to watch him take this next step. He has his moments and tries my patience, daily (much as I'm sure I do God on a daily basis as well) but overall he is a great kid and I am proud of him.

Josh seemed to really enjoy his first day of VBS too. Last year he went 2 days then told me he didn't want to go back. I'm not sure if he was too shy or something happened to hurt his feelings or what but I'm glad to see him enjoying it.

Colin did well at Teacher Kids Care so that was a relief. I was worried that since he has been out of daycare for a few weeks that he would have a hard time of it but he seemed to be happy as he could be when I picked him up.

In running news, today marked the first day I ran a complete mile without stopping to walk at all. I've upped my total distance to almost 2 miles and I'm running at least 6 days a week. I tend to take either Saturday or Sunday off to get up with Colin and let John sleep in a bit since he gets up with him every other day.

Anger

I'm much better than I use to be but I still have moments where I completely blow my top. Lately I'm running into so many people that share with me they have problems being in control of their tempers.

I ran across a verse that I'm memorizing to help keep me in check when I feel myself start to explode.

James 1:19-22

19 My dear brothers and sisters, pay attention to what I say. Everyone should be quick to listen. But they should be slow to speak. They should be slow to get angry. 20 A man's anger doesn't produce the kind of life God wants.
21 So get rid of everything that is dirty and sinful. Get rid of the evil that is all around us. Don't be too proud to accept the word that is planted in you. It can save you.
22 Don't just listen to the word. You fool yourselves if you do that. You must do what it says.

When did I ever find the time?

I swear it seems like I had more time to get things done when I worked full time!

Colin keeps me on my toes. Our first adventure this week consisted of him getting into the pantry, finding a can of root beer and somehow puncturing it just enough for a fine spray to come out. By the time I got to him he had it up to his mouth, slurping up the root beer with a huge grin on his face. Had it not been also spraying onto my pantry door and the floor I HAD JUST MOPPED I would have grabbed the camera to capture that sweet face.

Mr. Man has also started climbing stairs so I purchased 2 baby gates yesterday to block off access to our upstairs and downstairs.

He just laid down for a quick morning nap so I have about an hour to get things done before we head out for our errands for the day.

The older two boys are in YMCA camp this week. Patrick is doing Waterpark Camp and hits a different water park every day. He is wiped out by the end. Josh is doing Wacky Science at the McWane Center everyday so he comes home with experiments galore.

Next week is VBS at church and I have 2 year olds so that should be a long but fun week.

Things to do in the next few weeks include getting the dogs bathed and groomed, getting new pictures of the boys, updating said pictures on my blog and working on summer reading lists with both older boys.

All in all just enjoying the first few days of summer with my boys.

Broken

Back from the beach. It was a nice, then stressful, then nice again trip. I won't bore you with all the details but it consisted of me having to buy a new cellphone, the hot water heater in our unit catching on fire and me coming home 2 days early with Colin, who had canker sores in his mouth and all down his throat.

We are all back together again now and Colin is on the mend.

But...that isn't what this post is going to be about.

On Tuesday Josh and I were walking along the beach collecting sea shells. I would run grab one then throw it back because it was broken. You see...I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I don't want my shells to have cracks in them. I want to find them intact. I've done this for as long as I can remember. I've gone to this exact beach every year since I was 6 years old and each trip I look for shells.

I noticed Josh running up ahead in the surf, picking up shells and putting them into his bucket. I caught up with him and asked to see the ones he had found. All broken. Pieces of shells but none of them intact.

I told him he didn't want those and we needed to throw them back but then he looked up at me and said, "But, I like them this way. I think they are beautiful."

I asked him why he thought that and after a minute he said that these shells had gone a long way through the ocean to get to the shore and had been bumped and cracked and broken and it was hard but they made it.

I let him run ahead to find more broken shells and it struck me what a great lesson he had given me.

We have all gone a long way through the ocean to get to the shore and we've been bumped and cracked and broken and it has been hard but we made it and God thinks we're beautiful the way we are.

So we came home from the beach with a bucket full of broken shells.

And I think they are beautiful.

Disconnecting

In a mere 7 hours Josh and I will be on our way to the beach until Saturday. John, Patrick & Colin will be coming down to join us on Wednesday afternoon and I miss them already.

I've decided to disconnect on this trip. No laptop. No checking my emails. No reading blogs each morning. It will be a nice change.

Sand. Sun. Ocean waves. Good books. And my Josh. We don't really get to spend that much time alone together so this is a great plan. Other than the missing my other guys part.

Running

I never thought I would be a runner. It has never really held any draw for me and I thought people who did it were a little kooky. I mean why go out early in the morning to do something that leaves you gasping for air and sweating like a pig? Or am I the only one who is gasping and pig-like after a run?

But...I am getting into it. I can see the distance I go increasing week by week. I started out being able to run for about a minute before I had to stop and walk. Now, I'm up to running almost 3/4 of a mile before I have to stop.

My total distance has increase from a mile to a mile and a half. My time is improving as well.

Now my feet don't hit the floor in the morning just dying to go run but once I get out there I'm ready to go and feel a great sense of accomplishment once I cross that point where I know I'm done for the day.

When God Gets Personal...With My Character

Mark 1:9

Lost Words in our Society: Humility

Humility is not a natural thing...it is a supernatural expression through Jesus Christ.

Phil. 2:3-7

Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness.

To practice humility means I'll put the well-being of others before my own personal fame or glory.

www.Iamsecond.com

Matthew 23:11-12
1 Peter 5:6

Humility is often expressed in non-obvious ways.

Pride is the #1 quality of Satan.

Humility doesn't lead to insignificance. It results in honor and value in God's eyes.

John 3:30
Matthew 18:1-4

Growing Pains

12 1/2 is a difficult age. I was just telling a friend that I love Patrick always but there are definitely days I don't like him very much and I'm sure he feels the same way about me.

I learned a while back that I can't control things no matter how much I think I can. Sometimes God has a different idea in mind than I do.

If you aren't at the 12 year mark let me warn you IT IS COMING. :o)

It is like he woke up and his brain leaked out of his ears and he can't remember his homework or assignments or supplies. He blows off tests and thinks he can just slide by. He says we are too strict and he might be right in some areas...we are evaluating that.

We asked him what he wanted to be if he could be anything in the world and you know what his answer was? "Normal."

I had to break it to him that he will never be normal. He's smart. He's attractive. He's funny. He isn't average. He is above average and I don't get why he would want to settle for just being average.

If I saw him doing his very best then I would know he got it. But the way he approaches school and his attitude about the future confuses me.

He has the opportunity to take some honors classes soon and he doesn't want to do it. "Only geeks take those classes." Hey, kid? Your MOM was one of those geeks!

He has indicated he wants to go ahead with his baptism soon and we are very happy about that.

I just want him to live up to his potential.

I KNOW I can't force him to do it...there is that control issue again...but I know he always seems to choose to do things the hard way and it is going to cause him to have a hard road ahead.

I know a large portion of it is his exposure to his biological dad but there is little I can do to combat that other than talk him through it.

Just pray I have wisdom in raising this little person who is exactly like me.

While I'm Waiting...

Several of you have asked how the job search is going. First, I appreciate so much all of your prayers. For now, the job search is going very slowly. I've been looking since February and there just aren't any positions in my field right now.

I'm accepting that it might be Fall before something opens up. John and I pray nightly that God intervene in our situation but first and foremost, we are praying that overall His will be done in this and He get glory in the outcome. Now before I sound too grounded in this...this is a very hard prayer to pray. I definitely have days where I am frustrated and sad and yes, even angry at God. But, how thankful I am that He can take all of my feelings and He wants me to give them to Him.

For the last few weeks after I take the boys to the bus stop I've been jogging around the lake in our subdivision.

This serves 2 purposes: 1) Maybe I can finally drop those last 10 baby weight pounds and 2) I spend some quality time talking and listening to God. Normally no one else is out and I can close my eyes and hear birds. I can walk around and watch the Mama Duck with her new babies and how she nurtures them. There are 2 spots on the track that when the wind is blowing just right you can smell honeysuckle. I walk around in awe of our beautiful world but more importantly, our Creator that made all this for us and provides for us daily.

Some days I have my iPod with me and this morning the song, While I'm Waiting (by John Waller) was playing. If you are not familiar with this song, go download it right now. I'm sure the neighbors around the lake (if they are looking out their windows at 7:15 AM) wonder who this crazy lady is jogging around, singing and lifting up her hands in the air.

Anyway, some of the lyrics...I've posted them before but I just love them.


I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

Pretty appropriate at this season in my life, don't you think?

So, on days that I feel frustrated and sad and angry, I hold on to what I have said from Day One: I set my heart to God's timing. As sure as He is, I know my circumstances will change. I trust you, Father.

BUT, in the meantime, I will serve. I will worship. And...I will wait.

When God Gets Personal...with My Grief

John 11

1) My great loss is not a measure of God's love for me.

2) God answers all prayers but He does not grant all requests.
--The request could be wrong for me so the answer will be "No."
--The request could be the wrong timing so the answer will be "Not yet."
--I might need to grow before the request will be answered.

3) In moments of grief God wants us to trust Him even when we don't understand Him.

4) To see God at work in my loss, I must remove the stone as in the above reference to the story of Lazarus.

Fingers Crossed

John has a phone interview this morning for a different job. One, that hopefully, would allow us a little more breathing room while I continue to search for something.

Please pray that it goes well and that if it is the right place for him to be that God will work it out for him to be there.

And, if not, that we accept it gracefully and know that God has a plan that we just don't see yet.

A Lesson Learned from An Atheist

So Sunday at church last week the pastor tells us he wants us to watch a quick session of "Penn Says" with Penn Gillette.

Now Penn is a self proclaimed atheist. He was talking about this guy that came up to him after a show and was very complimentary and very genuine. He said over and over that this was a good guy. The guy then gave him a Bible and had written a personal note to him on the inside.

Penn goes on to say that he doesn't believe there is a God and he disagrees with everything this guy believes but that he was a genuinely good guy and he respected him.

Here's the part that got me. I don't have the direct quote but he basically said that if you are a Christian and you don't proselytize then he has no respect for you. If you truly believe in a heaven and a hell and that people are going there if they don't have salvation and you don't tell everybody you meet then you are a hypocrite and how much do you have to hate someone not to want to tell them what you believe?

Wow.

He talked a little more about not telling people because you think they don't want to hear it or it is socially awkward and how many times he bets that happens by those who claim to be a Christian.

I found it really thought provoking and we were all challenged to consider his words. How many times do we not share our faith because we think it might be socially awkward? Or we think the person doesn't want to hear it?

If you want to see the clip you may want to scroll down and pause my music so you can hear better.

When God Gets Personal...With My Sin

I Corinthians 15:35-44; 50-57

1) Every person who has ever lived has been affected by sin.

2) God is not fair. He is just and right and good and holy but He is not fair...and we don't want him to be. If God were fair then Jesus wouldn't have had to die on the cross for my sins.

3) God has provided a way out of a world polluted by sin.

4) Our imperfection can be transformed by Jesus' perfection.

Happy Easter!

Pay no attention to the skull pajamas.

I had nothing to do with it...

One of our fish is acting weird. Swimming on his side. I figure he is dying but he has been doing this for almost 24 hours now and has yet to kick the bucket.

I took him out of the main aquarium and put him in a separate one to hopefully keep the other fish from getting anything if he's sick.

Tonight John and I were going over what possibly might be wrong...like we have any clue.

Josh was oblivious...or so I thought...playing his DS game.

Me to John: "Hmmm...do you think maybe his fin is hurt?"

John: "No...he seems to be using it fine."

Me: "Maybe he's just old and it's his time?"

John: "Maybe. It just seems weird he's lasted this long on his side though..."

John: "Do you think it could be pregnant maybe?"

Me: "Um...all the fish are males...if it is pregnant then somebody has some explaining to do."

Small little voice from the couch: "I haven't TOUCHED that fish!"

John and I then burst out in inappropriate laughter and Josh has no clue why what he said was so funny. He just heard that somebody had some explaining to do and wanted to make sure his butt was covered.

Classic.

I Don't Get It

I had a lot of free time this past weekend so I sat down and read the Twilight books. All 4 of them. My son is into them so I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. I had been told they might not be such a good thing for him to read but I didn't see anything that made me raise my eyebrows too much.

Please don't hurt me but...I don't get it.

I mean, they were decent reads and I can see why teenage girls would go nuts over them, but the main female character? I wanted the vampires to eat her because she was so indecisive and whiny.

To each his own but I just don't get it.


In other news, Josh had a good birthday. I surprised him and Patrick on Friday by checking them out of school and taking them to see Monsters vs. Aliens in 3-D. It was a big hit with them.

I also found a birthday card for Josh that sings a song from Madagascar 2...the one that Moto Moto sings? "I like em' big...I like em' chunky..."

Josh loves going around singing that but he HATES it when we catch him doing it and laugh about it.

He opened the card and cracked up.

Good times.

Trying new things

I have made it a point to try and do things I wouldn't have done in the past during this uncertain time in my life.

Getting out and building the extended patio? Not something I would normally do. Work in my yard, yes, but take on a project like that? No way. And I did it.

I looked in our dining room the other day and decided it needed a Spring flower arrangement. I went shopping and all the ones I saw were SO expensive so I decided to try and make my own. And I did it.




I have always cooked dinner for my family each night...even back when I was working. It is on the table 98% of the time when John walks through the door at 5:45. I call it my 1950's Housewife throwback but I can't help it. Even though my career has always been very important to me having that family dinner around the table with conversation and no television is more important.

Last night I made the boys a special dessert. And Josh REALLY enjoyed it. Can you tell? Yes...they are in martini glasses... Bygones.






Tomorrow my "little" boy will turn 7 years old. He wants steak for dinner and a cake with a Robot on it. I'm struggling with the robot cake deal. I haven't been able to find a bakery that can do a Robot cake so that is my mission today.

House of Prayer last night was ironic. It was all about healing. I prayed for Stellan the entire time and God was so good to reveal things to me through our pastor and the Bible about healing.

Prayers for Stellan

I know a lot of people read Jennifer's blog and already know about Stellan's heart issues.

I've been praying off and on all day today. He is on my mind because when I see pictures of him he reminds me of Colin so very much.

I'm adding some pictures for his name gallery...Patrick thought of the diapers and Josh thought of the army men...

If you want to participate in his name gallery you can find the info at
http://knowingnorrah.blogspot.com/.

To read more about Stellan and his amazing journey in life so far you can visit www.mycharmingkids.net.

And pray, pray, pray for his healing but ultimately God's will be done.

When God Gets Personal...With My Schedule

Notes from the sermon:

Luke 10:38--42

It is easy for your spiritual gifts to get in the way of your spiritual identity.

Ask yourself:

Who am I?
What have I bought into? What am I sold out to?
Who do I belong to?

Refer to the scripture above. Who was better prepared to worship the Savior? Martha or Mary?

How do we prepare for worship? Do we just go because it is Sunday and that is what you do on Sunday or do we really prepare ourselves for worship?

Until we understand what the most important thing in our life is we will never grow.

Accountability is painful, but it is necessary.

Priorities should be predetermined and followed through with discipline.

Steps to take:

Admit you are weak and need Christ's help.
Get some accountability.
Use a journal.
Start small. Commit to having focused prayer for 5 minutes each day.
Read the same passage for 5 minutes each day for 7 days straight.
Memorize 1 scripture per week. Imagine how many verses you will know in a year!
Write down the victories that come from being disciplined.

Salvation is found at the feet of Jesus...not in the kitchen. Mary was at the feet of the Master while Martha was busy doing things that HAD to be done in her mind.

Rescue Me

Some days this is exactly how I am feeling...

Deep is the river that I have to cross
Heavy the weight on my shoulder
I have discovered how great is the cost
Of trying alone to cross over
I try and I try but the current’s too strong
It’s pulling me under and my strength is gone
Don’t leave me stranded

Rescue me, my God and my King,
The water is rising and I cannot breathe,
Wrap your arms all around me and
Carry me over
Carry me over

There is a bridge that is easy to cross
While all of our burdens are lifted
Peace is the land that is waiting for us
Lord, give me faith to believe it
Cause I’m in a storm but I’m willing to fight
I’ll overcome and I will not die with You by my side

Rescue me, my God and my King,
The waters are rising and I cannot breathe,
Wrap your arms all around me and
Carry me over
Carry me over

I will sail over the oceans and
High over the mountains and
Soar up to the Heavens
Here is my hand is my heart and my soul and my mind

Rescue me, my God and my King,
The waters are rising and I cannot breathe,
Wrap your arms all around me and
Carry me over
Rescue me, my God and my King,
You are the only one who can save me
Wrap your arms all around me and
Carry me over
Carry me over

Thank you, Father that you step in and rescue me each and every time. It may not be how I would have planned but it is your will and carried out in your timing.

A Post Full of Pictures

I am 98% finished with my back yard project so I thought I would capture it and post for all to see because I'm sure you are very, very interested in how I've spent probably 35 hours of my time recently...


What most of the areas looked like before I got started...


The new rock garden area...


New patio and rock walkway...









A couple pics I took at Callway. I was very impressed with how well my camera did...





I took my old patio furniture and cleaned it up, sanded off any rust then spray painted them and added new cushions.

I still have to pressure wash and stain my deck but that will be another few days before I can get around to it.

I completely dug up half the back yard cleaning things up, relandscaping, adding the extended patio, fixing a drainage issue area...WHEW! It makes me tired just thinking about all of it.

Today Josh and I spread Easter eggs all in the front flower beds and I made a spring wreath for the door...




Angel and Baxter...both are rescue dogs. Angel has almost lost all of her sight now.



Me and Colin...

Brief Update

I'm still around...just have been spending 6 hours a day for the last 4 days in my back yard on several projects. I am kicking myself that I didn't take any before pictures because the after ones are going to be awesome.

I absolutely love working in my yard. I get filthy dirty and I hurt all over the next day but it is such a stress reliever for me and I enjoy it so much.

Today I am having my lunch date with Josh then taking Colin to run some errands.

We leave on Monday for Callaway Gardens for a mini vacation. I found a good deal and it is Spring Break for the boys so off we go!

One of the jobs I interviewed for fell through but I still have one hanging out there. Hope to hear about it next week.

And an old associate of mine called me this morning and said he had heard of a position and had passed my name along so we will see what happens.

It is still my prayer that if it isn't where God wants me to be then I don't want it.

This is a very hard prayer to pray because we are approaching the point that I really need to find something. But, I would rather do it this way then take something and figure out later it was my selfish desire that brought me there and not God's will.

Hopefully next week I will have pictures of my completed projects as well.

What do I have to do? Draw you a picture?

I have been known to say this to my children from time to time when I feel like I have explained something in such perfect detail that there is no way they can possibly not get it.

I had an experience this last week that reminds me that God feels the same way about me many times. I have been praying so much over this job situation and that I am where God wants me to be even if it isn't necessarily where I want to be.

I got a card from a friend that had "Psalm 37:4" written on the bottom. I was in the middle of 100 things so I told myself I would go look up the verse later.

Fast forward a few days and I get another card from someone with "Psalm 37:4" written on it. Hmmm...haven't I seen that somewhere else recently? Again I make a mental note to go look it up.

Couple more days pass...I am driving and this moron pulls RIGHT OUT IN FRONT OF ME and I almost hit him. As I am contemplating how to not possibly lose my temper and say very unflattering things I see his vanity plate. PSA 37:4

Okay...this is getting spooky. I laugh and tell God that I'm listening. I pull off the side of the road and get my Bible and look it up.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give all the desires of your heart.

Thank you, Father. You did indeed have to draw me a picture.

Snow Pictures

We had what passes in Alabama for snow this past Sunday. Now, I've been in Chicago enough during winter to know this isn't REALLY snow...but we take what we get.

COLIN'S FIRST SNOW EXPERIENCE


PATRICK



JOSH



JOHN AND COLIN