24 weeks

Well I am almost 24 weeks and QUICKLY growing...and so is my appetite some days.  I go to the doctor early next week and am worried what my doctor will say about my weight gain.  I have probably gained 10 lbs. this month!!!  But I did that one month in both of my other pregnancies too.  Let's just hope it doesn't continue for the next couple of months!

I am feeling great overall.  Each pregnancy has its quirks and each one has been different.  I am feeling the baby move ALL THE TIME and it seems to be very active especially right before bed.  The kids have been very sweet with this baby and Brayden continually asks me when it is coming out.  Few more months bud.  Karis loves on my belly daily and is quick to tell me, "Mom your belly is getting BIG!"  She even said the other day, "Mom with your belly like that you look like a box!"  Don't know where that one came from but not so much a compliment.  "Thanks sweetie!" :)

Probably no more than 15 weeks...maybe even less until we meet sweet baby #3!

Snow Day!!!

Well my morning began at 5:30 when I got up to start my day and immediately turned on the news to see if Desoto County Schools were out because today is one of my work days.  I saw that Shelby County and Memphis City were open and it didn't even mention Desoto so I turned the tv off and went to get in the shower.  I did my quiet time and completely got ready (lipstick and heels on, hair curled) and then walked in the den around 7:00 to start breakfast when I noticed the beautiful white trees outside.  I decided to turn the tv back on and noticed that Shelby County, Memphis City and Desoto County were all out.  I couldn't believe my eyes!!!  SO about that time Karis woke up and we marveled at all the snow.  She immediately wanted to go play in it.  We ate breakfast and then quickly got dressed and headed out to play!

Karis eating the snow...that is all she wanted to do after she threw her 3 snowballs!

Waiting on the family...the pics got out of order here.

She wanted to make a snow angel so bad!

We headed down to the lake to see the snow.  Doesn't this cross look beautiful?

Watch out for those icy streets!  :)

Our attempt at a picture of ourselves...

Eating snow again...

Thanks to my UGGs, my feet stayed cozy and warm the whole time!

Eating snow AGAIN...

Me and my boy...

Me and my girl...

My sweeties....

Once we came in, the kids had a cup of hot chocolate and Jay and I had our coffee.

Snow days are so much fun...especially since they only come about once a year and we get out of school for it!  

One of my pleasures in life

Ok call me crazy, quirky, type "A", neat freak, obsessive compulsive or whatever else you want to call me because you are probably right on ALL of them.  

I am experiencing one of my smallest (or largest) pleasures in life as we speak.  I have worked till my little back is about to give out and have cleaned to my little hearts content.  Tuesdays are my only day to be home all day (except gymnastics) and my "to do" list for my house is never ending and it is always a challenge to see if I can get it all crossed off. Today I have cleaned bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed, washed 4 clothes loads, washed all rugs, washed and changed everyone's sheets, squeaky clean kids, dinners planned, fridge stacked, ironed for 2 hours and straightened about 42 times.  One of my favorite things to do when I have a clean house is to light the candles in the house and to sit and enjoy a cup (or two) of coffee.  Somehow, it allows me to enjoy the rest of my week and to not be so stressed.  This feeling only lasts about 20 minutes so let me enjoy it while I can....

I know it is so strange but AAAAHHHHHH...you should try it sometime.  It is worth the work!

Now soon it will be bedtime and I can sit and enjoy the Biggest Loser with my incredibly handsome husband.  I am one lucky gal.

The Lord provides meat

WARNING:  For those that have a queezy stomach, skip this post.

Jay went hunting yesterday and killed his first deer of the season.  As I have mentioned before, he goes hunting each season for at least one deer because we use that meat all year long.  One deer will keep me from buying ground beef for a whole year!!!  Just a few weeks ago, we ran out of ground deer and I had to buy beef for the first time since 2007.  So...thank you Lord for providing once again.

3 months Before and After

As some of you may remember from THIS POST, at the end of October my mom decided to be a part of a study using a gastric balloon to help her lose weight.  Well now 3 months later, she is doing great and is halfway through the balloon part.  She has lost about 25 lbs. and several sizes.  In fact she mentioned to me yesterday that she bought a size she hasn't bought in years.  In 3 more months, she will get the balloon removed and then will continue her diet/exercise she has been doing for 6 more months for the remainder of the study.  Below are some before and after pictures:

BEFORE

NOW:

You are doing great mom!  Keep it up!

Man how time flies!

I was looking back at the beginning of our blog in 2006 and it was right after Brayden was born.  He and Karis have grown up so much over the past few years and I am realizing quickly how time flies!  I can't believe in just 4 months we will have a newborn again!  WOW!

Click here to see that first post in 2006.

For those of you who are interested in seeing Amber's grave, this is it.  The verse on it reads, "The Lord is my portion.  The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him." 

June 25, 1979-January 22, 2008

A year ago today continued...

I went about my day as usual and had an Israel mission trip meeting later that night. During the meeting I had a call from a friend but I silenced it and decided I would call her back after the meeting.  On my way home I called that friend back and she was crying.  Through the tears, she proceeded to tell me that Amber had had a car accident a few hours prior to that and she didn't make it.  She was hit by a lady that ran a red light and the car flipped several times and she was killed instantly.  Both of her children were in the car but were not even injured.  God had his hands on those little ones.  I was completely in shock and I will never forget where I was on the road and the first few minutes of shock, confusion, desperation, questioning etc. that I went through at that very moment.  It was a long few days after that but God was so gracious to me. In my time in the WORD the next day, God gave me the verse Psalms 116:15, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."  I immediately began to replay everything in my mind of our previous day together and all the memories that we had shared and began rejoicing that Amber was indeed one of those precious saints.  She not only was a saint of the King, but she was a true example/reflection of what I wanted my relationship with the Lord to be like.  She truly boasted only in the Cross and was so diligent and purposeful in all of her words and actions.  She was a very Godly wife and mother and a true Biblical representation of a pure, Godly, obedient, submissive woman.  

Over the past year God has been so gracious to me to allow me to remember all of the good times we shared and laugh about old memories.  I am so thankful to the Lord for putting Amber in my life.  I only hope to have half the impact on someone else that she has had in my life.  I have truly celebrated who she was and what she represented and KNOW that she is sitting at the feet of Jesus (probably with some Ethiopian coffee in her hand) and praising the one and only King.  And I guarantee that she wouldn't have it any other way.  If Amber were here today she would tell you that it would all be worth it if this whole situation brought someone to know the Lord, especially her father.  Please continue to pray for him that the Lord would break his heart and allow him to see the Father with spiritual eyes.  I pray that the Lord is as gracious to him as He has been to me.

Honestly, I do miss Amber terribly.  There are days when I can think of the memories and laugh at old times...then there are days when I just want to sob until there are no more tears.  Everything seems to remind me of her.  I do understand that it is ok to grieve and miss someone so I don't feel guilty but I do know that truly I want to celebrate her life because the work God did in Amber...because well it is worth celebrating.  As I sat at the foot of her grave today I recognized and claimed that she is no longer there but with the Father...and there is no better place for her to be.  I have accepted the fact that I do not have to say "goodbye" to her, instead... "Until we meet again...."  I love you my friend.

A year ago today....

A year ago today I woke up excited to go see my best friend.  We went through the morning routine, got in the car in a hurry and drove an hour to Millington so we wouldn't be late.  As I arrived, Amber and I caught up on the latest with our families, the kids, personal issues, our quiet times, finances, talked about old times and how time has changed things, their future in Ethiopia, our possible future overseas, recipes, and so much more.  I remember the moment when our kids were singing praise songs together as the kid's CD played while they colored, Ellie drinking coffee through a sippy cup and how I thought that was hilarious, Brayden getting into everything and crying as he went to sleep in the closet, Amber reading the girls a book while they cuddled up together in a bed together and their giggles as they tried to go to sleep, Amber and I eating yummy coffee cake she had made while we drank no other than Ethiopian coffee that was absolutely divine while we talked and talked some more....as the kids were napping.  Amber had made for lunch one of our favorites...tomato soup.  When we lived together one of our favorite things to eat was tomato soup and grilled cheeses and for all those memories, she had made it for us; however this time it didn't come out of a can...it was the "adult" version she called it and it was DELICIOUS!  I will never forget as she prayed over our meal she prayed and thanked God for His provisions, for His grace and mercy, for good friendships and how God had "sustained us for that day."  We enjoyed every minute of the 8 hours we spent together that day and we ended the day by stating that next time we wanted to get together with our guys, how it had been too long and how we missed seeing each other more.  We hugged several times and told each other we loved each other and said our goodbyes.

Little did I know that it would be my last.  My last to talk with my best friend face-to-face in this life.  I woke up the next day going about my business not knowing that later that day the Lord would take Amber home to spend eternity with HIM.  To be continued....

First Snow of 2009

Today we went to mom's house in Bartlett and from what I hear...it snowed ALOT more than it did in my neck of the woods.  As soon as the kids started seeing even the smallest flakes they wanted to go play in it...so we did...until we couldnt' stand it any longer which wasn't too long.  IT WAS FREEZING!  

All the "big" kids at moms trying to catch some snowflakes on their tongues

REALLY trying to catch those flakes...

Look at all these gorgeous flakes....

We decided to get the little babies up from their naps (big sacrifice) because we didn't want them to miss a Kodak moment in their first snow.  I am not sure they have any clue what is going on...don't worry they only sat here long enough for a quick pic or two.

Chase and Caroline in their first snow 

(Both of their parents are really good friends and were co-workers of mine when I taught at EPMS)

After the snow playing, we came in and tried to warm up with some hot chocolate and here they are eating marshmallows while they wait so patiently.

It was a blast!  Hopefully next time we will have our snow gear and can build a snowman or something!

Our morning cup of Joe

Especially on a cold morning (or any time of day or year), we always start our morning with the cup of joe (or two).  It is necessary to start the day off right!  

The reason for this post???  It used to be Jay and I that started off our day with coffee, but lately...you guessed it.  What is the mystery liquid in this sippy cup?  COFFEE!  Brayden and Karis have started wanting coffee and they love it.  Don't worry...not straight coffee.  It usually consists of splenda, hazlenut creamer, half coffee, half milk.  They usually beg for a second cup but I have to draw the line somewhere!

We ALL need our morning coffee around here!

Riverbend Chili Cook-off/Game night

We had our Chili cook-off/game night at church tonight to kick off a new season of small groups and it was fun as always.  Fellowship with the church family is always such a treat.  Below are some pics of the groups and the competitive people fighting to win each game....

Here Paige is trying to be funny and primping while I took the picture.  Her words to me were "Don't you put that on the blog!"  :)  I thought it was priceless!

We look forward to seeing our small groups GROW and MULTIPLY!

Some of my favorites recently...

I don't know if this is attitude or the "gangsta" look but I thought it was hilarious!  Lolli got her this coat, cheerleading outfit (that she has on under the coat), and the foot bath yesterday and somehow she ended up using them all at the same time.  And what a look she is giving me...

Brayden loves wearing this outfit because he says he is a basketball player (yes, everything revolves around a ball to him) and Karis loves to dress up like a cheerleader.  Today they happened to have them both on at the same time and Karis was cheering for him!  "GOOO Brayden!"

Today I was washing sheets, comforters and pillows and somehow they collected them all and made a pallet on my floor and said they were taking a nap.  I don't think there was much napping going on here...

This morning they got ready for church and while I was drying my hair, they went and collected backpacks and said they were going to school.  Karis even gave herself ONE pigtail on the left...yikes!

Bath/play time recently...what a sweet big sister!