thankful thursday::the return

it's been a while...

i bought this book. i'm excited to get started. i hope you'll leave me a comment on what you are reading or working on in your quiet time.

i have healthy kids who are extremely intelligent. and my middle man has started telling me "i love you momma" out of the blue multiple times a day. i need that from them. cause sometimes i wonder.

i have a man who takes care of us. he works hard and comes home and works harder. i hope he loves us a lot, cause i'll never upgrade. how do you go up from that?

spring is in the air. it's cold today, but i can see it coming. you can't hide forever.

we have a couple who seem really interested in our house. hopefully something good will come next week. that would be perfection.

i have clean laundry. unfortunately it still needs a maid to come put it up. wait...i am the maid.

i have an outlet (blogging.) it could probably stand to be something more beneficial like walking. but these days, i prefer mental health.

even though nap time is apparently not coming today, at least quiet time is mandatory at my house. semi-sanity...i'll take it.

i have some friends about to have babies in the next few weeks (and i owe you baby gifts for REAL!!) please bare (bear...) with me. in the mean time, i'm thankful that you and your little ones are healthy.

i have family, friends, and a God who forgives. is there anything better? i already know that answer.

slow it down sister...

Happy 9 months little bits!! you are growing way too fast and your momma wants more than anything to slow it down. maybe even rewind.
**EDIT** (kellie, turn you boys head.) lil sis weighs...26 lbs and 11 oz and is 29.25 inches. she is at the tippy top for length and sooooo off the charts in weight. she's a tucker all right. her brothers did the same thing...only they were mobile so not quite as chunky monkey!
in the last month, you have...
gotten even more beautiful (which i didn't know was possible!)

have decided that you can get yourself around a little bit, even if it is mainly by rolling and going in "reverse"

developed even more personality (which again, didn't know was possible)

you have shown us that like most girls, you LOVE a good bath, even if it is with stinky boys (which so far has only been this once. we get enough talk about teeters and hineys. i don't feel like talking about boobies and cha-chas right now, even though they are aware.)

you can drink out of a sippy cup, even when trying to play

and the cutest of all, you finally sprouted some curls!! luke could NOT be more tickled! and momma and daddy think they are pretty cute too!

i just love you dang near to death little girl. and i didn't get the picture today, but you now own your very own pair of size 3 pink crocks and they are too precious for words.

on a side note, my test for thursday and friday has to be postponed b/c i have to be off of my thyroid medication for 6 weeks prior to having it done. so when it gets rescheduled, i'll be sure to let yall know!! just keep my up and down hormones in your thoughts (and the people around me who have to deal with them!!) will give yall some 9 month stats tomorrow after the appointment for lil sis.

when momma's away...

while "aunt" monica was here this weekend, she let me use one of my free babysitting coupons so micah and i could go on a date to outback (which was also basically free. it was paid for on a gift card we had from pop from christmas.) while we were eating waaaaay too much, monica was at home making "mini cupcakes"--which were really muffins, but luke doesn't like "muffins", hence, the name switcheroo. and this is what happened while momma was gone. sis is now ruined, but a true woman in that she got her first taste of chocolate (and don't freak out, it's the mix that you just add milk to, not raw egg.) but seriously...forget the mix. don't you wanna sop her up?
thanks, hun, for another good time. much needed!!! and we are always ready for you to come back!!

never say bored...

we are typically the family that sticks close to home and doesn't have much going on. typically. but the last few weeks (or the last month really) we have been busier than a one armed paper hanger. and when you aren't used to it, it just wears on you. i'm not complaining (well, trying not to). i mean, we have our health (for the most part...you know, minus that whole RSV--which is all better and we even own our own nebulizer machine now--and that whole thyroid thing.) on the menu this week is a 9 month check up for my angel girl and my thyroid scan. my mother in law will be coming to help in the day from 9-4 on thursday and friday. hopefully sister won't be too much for her (have i mentioned she is slightly attached to me?) the boys will have school thursday and they'll all be here friday (good Lord bless her.)

in other news, i went to an overnight ladies retreat this friday night and saturday with a friend of mine and her church. we had a great time and time away was something i needed (although it doesn't seem to agree with little miss right now. she likes to go on nap strike, especially since she can sit herself up and holler. good thing i have a strong mommy muscle when it comes to listening to that. well, that and she doesn't say "mama" yet. just "dada"--and she is sooooo close to crawling!) i have really felt like the Lord has been trying His hardest to impress some things on my heart. i've been thinking a lot about being a better overall steward of time and money for starters. we live on a budget, and i'll admit, we aren't always great at it. but we try really hard. i used to struggle with being a stay at home mom. and i don't know why. i mean, it is my absolute dream to be here. but i guess it's just that as a nurse, i KNOW i was good at my job. here, there are no rewards and plenty of heartaches. but recently, and over the weekend, i realized that it is exactly what i have made of it. now, don't get me wrong. i don't have bad kids and i love being here. sometimes just multiple bad days just really get to me and i wonder if i made the right decision for them and for me to stay at home. and i know that in the end, that answer is always YES YES YES...and YES again. God has been calling me to commit to Him. and i have said i was, but don't know how much of a servant i have been, you know? have i really been serving Him, my husband and my kids with all of my heart? and if i'm honest...no. and i'm not a person who signs up to do a job half way. and this is no exception. so what if i'm never a nurse again? God has created many talented people to hold that job. He created only one of me to be their mom (and for a short while will they be little and in my care!) and to be micah's wife. and those are my 2 most important day to day jobs. can i get an amen? (sorry to get all deep on you. i told you i've had a lot on my heart these days and who am i if not transparent. most people know me as your friend who will just tell you how things really are!)

and our house has been showing like a mad dog. while not a bad thing, it's not an easy thing. friday night (while i was gone) a young couple came back for a 2nd look. micah left and allowed them around 30 minutes (cause it was already 6:30) and when he came back, they were still there. so he pulled into our neighbor's drive. they were still there at 7:15 so he went in, where they were all sitting at my kitchen table with a calculator and different forms and looking at utilities and micah told them "um, i have all the kids out in the car and they are starving. i just need to grab something to feed them while we wait." and then they were there another 30 minutes!!! am i wrong, or is that a little weird, to treat my kitchen like an office when they knew there were HONGRY kids waiting out in a van?? thank goodness for "big seth"--our neighbor. he invited micah and the kids in for a bit so he could feed sister and the rowdy bunch. and after they moved in for that hour and 15 minutes, we haven't heard anything. i'm getting soooooo beyond frustrated. i know it's the times we are in. i know it will happen when it is supposed to. patience isn't my strong suit. so maybe i'll work on that next.

if you have hung in and read all of this, you are just too good to me. prayer requests this week: for my scan to go well and for the kids to be fine without momma doing all the work (and for me to accept help!), and for my mom. the handicapped man she has been taking care of for umpteen years, died yesterday. it's gonna be hard on her b/c he has become family to her and my step dad. lots of change will come up for them. so i'd just appreciate a little love sent her way. (and luke has a lymph node swollen behind his left knee. should be nothing since he has absolutely no other symptom. but you know, a momma worries.)

up next, tackling this...


do yall have a spice cabinet that looks like this? i'm about to overhaul it this next weekend. they will get matching containers that will be labeled and look all pretty. see, sissy's bottles are below those shelves and i'm about to have permanent brain damage from the spices falling on my head multiple times a day!!

having this kind of week?

i realize i haven't been especially wordy lately. but hopefully, this will give you a little glimpse as to why. this momma is a little ragged these days. it started out innocently enough...

and then this happened...this morning

so between this and waiting on blogger to actually download (upload?? which is it?) pictures, i've been pretty busy. i have a ton of doctory stuff this month and i'm going on a ladies retreat this weekend. while i'm "sequestered" next thursday and friday, i'm gonna paint my bedroom b/c it is the only room that hasn't been touched. and speaking of painting, i started working on the baseboards and door trim, and i meant to grab the paint, not the primer. i had already finished the kitchen, including DOORS when i realized that i had INDEED started with the primer. so ill. but they are now SUPER WHITE and clean! and speaking of the kitchen, i was going to take my meds right before bed last night and i reached up, like i always do to turn on the light under the microwave and it popped!! first i thought the light just blew. oh no...whatever happened shorted out the WHOLE DARN MICROWAVE!!! so today, we have to buy a new one. fortunately they aren't too expensive. but it's just kind of been one thing after another this year. at least uncle sam is on the way to help!!

hope yall have a great weekend! and if yall are going to Darby's yard sale, i am SUPAH jealous.

and now...a word from our sponsor

don't you just love a good case of product endorsement? i nearly feel guilty because several of you have told me that you went straight out and bought a Ped Egg. and let me just say...I AM PROUD OF YOU AND YOUR FEET WON'T BE SORRY!! at least now when you "cold feet" your hubby, he won't get snagged on your troll feet.


moving on. since luke was a tiny baby...maybe 4 months old or so, we have listened to these cds in our car. the boy LOVES music. loves.it. he wasn't sure about the car at first. and as soon as i turned those on, it was quiet. and that my friends, is priceless. and while i would apologize to anyone who has ridden with me and my kids and been subjected to this instead of "regular radio", i'm not gonna do it because i know that subconsciously you walked away with a message. even if it was as simple as "Jesus Loves Me." at least somebody told you. all that being said...i have been listening to them for FIVE YEARS (with a little veggie tales thrown in there.) and i was needing a break. and i found these (it's a series, even though this is just volume 1, which is the one we have.)

can i just go ahead and urge you to run out to your local Christian book store (i got mine at Lifeway, but you can find them at Family or i'm sure Dove if you are in dothan...or on amazon) and buy these. these are the same praise and worship songs that we listen to, but kids are singing them. and while that is sweet, in and of itself, it just makes my heart SWELL to hear from the back row "it's all God's children singing glory, glory! hallelujah! He reigns!!" and while this isn't cedarmont, enjoy the song folks!

wordless and white...