Birthday Party

Here are a few pictures from Rileys 1st birthday party. It was a lot of fun. We were able to have many family members here. The kids great grandmas from Matts side were here and my Aunt, Uncle and cousin were also able to be here. She was showered with lots of love and gifts! Let me tell you too. My baby girl can EAT! She was diving into the cake before I even got the top snapped on. I don't think there were enough crumbs left to make a cookie! :)
Here are her stats:
18 1/2 lbs (9th %ile)
27 in long (11%ile)

She is still tiny and will probably continue to be. At least she will have 2 strapping brothers to watch out for her!

It's Official- She's One!!

It's happened...our baby girl is one. Doesn't seem that long ago that I was a mom of two. I remember my joy when Dr. Hubach told me she was really a girl AND she was small! At this exact moment a year ago I was sitting in a hospital bed holding her and marveling at her perfect fingers and toes, the way she smiled while she slept, how God created such a beautiful little baby. What a beautiful and exciting little lady she has become. Happy Birthday Riley- you are a sweet addition to our family! We love you

Mccord Family

The Mccord family is in need of your prayers right now. I did not know Keith and Stephanie while I was at HU but some of you might have. Keith is fighting cancer, and has recieved bad news in the last week. If you get the chance drop by their site and let them know they are in your thoughts and prayers- I am sure they would appreciate all the prayers they could get: http://mccordfamilytx.blogspot.com/

Realization

Wow. What a moment I have just had. In reading different sections of scripture and a few friends blogs, something has hit me. I know that my prayer life has been somewhat suffering lately and honestly through out my life has had it's up's and down's. But here is what I have come to realize: My God wants me to hash it out with him. He wants me to wrestle with him, to complain to him, to tell him of my anger and pain, to cry to him, to GIVE it to him. There are times I have done just that, but not to often. I know that prayer is our communication with God, and he yearns for us to talk to Him. But I think subconsciously, I have always tried to block those things from God, like he really didn't need to hear them or he had so many more important things to handle than my concerns. How untrue are those thoughts! My God does not have an answering machine for prayer requests. He doesnt leave me on hold, or tell me that I have to take a number and wait my turn. He hears my prayers right then and there- He knows them and has answered them before the words leave my mouth. He has given me comfort before my words of anger and pain leave my lips- If only I would tell him! How great is the faithfulness of our Father! If only I can keep my faith in Him strong and truly believe Him. To get my complacent self up and get to the grind for God. Only with His help can I change the things I need to change, and get my life on track (consistently) with His will for my life. Seasons of growth- all necessary, but sometimes quite painful.

I have a special request for everyone. Here lately I have been on the emotional side. I am not sure why but I am sure that my kids and hubby are hoping that it will end soon. I am usually not the emotional kind of person, but in the last few days I have been hurt by stupid things. I cried pretty much all day yesterday, because some college age girls were walking by the apartment and I heard them say some pretty negative things about me. I didn't know them and I usually would have just rolled my eyes and not thought a minute more about it. Please pray that I can get my sate of mind back and if this is a learning experience from God, that I will learn the lesson quickly. Thanks for your prayers!

Updates Galore

Well...I have several posts all at once. I finally was able to get the pictures to load! So hope you enjoyed the Halloween pictures. There is so much going on right now. I am in the process of starting to pack up our apartment since we are scheduled to close on our house on the 28th of November. I figured this way I have given myself plenty of time to get everything done before the Thanksgiving holidays. I'm getting pretty excited about the house. Espically since we have some friends staying with us on the way up north and possibly on the way back home. And hopefully it will work out that the Noels can stay with us on their way to or from KY. It will be nice to be able to really decorate for Christmas too.


Riley is now walking! She has taken several steps and has walked across the room to Daddy and her passy. I am pretty excited. She gets a little to excited in the middle and topples over. Caleb loves to cheer for her and have her walk to him. I think he has really been one of the biggest factors in getting her to walk. He would take her hands and help guide her to a certain spot and then would turn her around and bring her back. It was pretty neat to watch them have that fun time. I am sure by the time her birthday comes around (in 9 days she will be 1!) she will be walking like a pro. Now I just have to get a baby gate for the stairs... :)


They boys are doing real well. Caleb is Mommys little helper and Ian is Caleb's little helper. We have a lot of fun cooking and cleaning. We got a new game that the kids love. It is called Don't Spill the Beans. They have fun learning to take turns and tipping it over on the other persond tray. I am hoping to get more games for them so when the weather is bad we all don't go stir crazy!


I am considering looking for a few kids to watch once we get moved into our place. Aparently in Wilson county there are plenty of people needing childcare and not enough places. I haven't made up my mind. I think if I did I would only take kids that were Caleb and Ian's age. I wouldn't mind babies but the boys would enjoy that so much better. We shall see. I want to get in and settled before I even look at it!

Halloween Fun

Right before we went Trick or Treating at the Bellevue Mall, my parents came up to spend some time with the kids. My mom made them bat masks, which they had a ball with. They also got goodie bags with finger puppets, Scooby suckers and healthy snacks in them. (Riley got teddy grahms and animal cookies) We got the kids ready and took some pictures of them in their costumes with Grandma and Papa. Then we headed out to the mall. I wasn't sure how it worked but we went around to the stores and those that we doing the event handed out candy or toys. In the middle of the mall there is a play place and it was pretty neat to see all the costumed kids running around. It was pretty fun but we are excited to have a neighborhood to go out in next year.

Trunk-Or-Treat

We took the kids to church for trunk-or-treat on the 29th. They had a great time and even played with some new friends at the meal. Ian got a little freaked out twice. The first time a kid with the scream mask tapped him on the shoulder and Ian jumped when he saw him. Then there was a family that had a remote controlled rat on the pavement that scared Ian when it came at him. Luckily he was fine after the guy let him play with it. Riley got a bag full of candy (curtousy of Caleb) and just rode in style. And just in case you are wondering...Riley is a spider!

Halloween preview...

TURTLE POWER!! (as the boys would say)


Intoducing.....Leonardo (Ian) and Michelanglo (Caleb)- the Toddler and Preschool Ninja Turtles!!

We have Trunk-or-Treat tomorrow at Otter Creek, so I will put up more pictures after that. I will try to put up some of the Halloween Trick-or-Treating experience in what will be our new neighborhood.

Do You Think I Am Beautiful?

Now I realize that the title of this post sounds like I am fishing for a compliment, but I'm not. I had the neatest opportunity to hear Angela Thomas speak on the above title. She was filming a DVD study based on her book "Do You Think I Am Beautiful?" here in Nashville. Somehow my mother in law was a very lucky duck, and received an invitation to the event and got them to let me come too! It was an amazing 3 nights that I will not soon forget. If you have never heard her speak I would suggest trying to attend one of her engagements if there is one in your area. Basically the book and study talk about the longing of every woman to feel beautiful. One example she used was with the story Cinderella. Do you place yourself in Cinderella's place (the belle of the ball) or in that of a maid of the town (the wall flower hoping to catch the prince's eye). To this day I still tend place my self in a maids position. I don't think I will ever be the "Cinderella" of the ball, and that is OK with me. I know I am not stunningly beautiful and have usually been "one of the guys" instead of the most wanted girl for dating, But my God thinks I am the most beautiful woman- inside and out. He created me to be just as I am- his beautiful child. He made me unique as he did every one of us. If we were in a crowded room standing against the wall (being a wallflower), just waiting for someone to ask us to dance, our God would be yelling across the room "HEY....Are you ready to dance the dance of you life in my arms?" And you feel like the most wanted woman in the room...because you are. We are wanted by our God, who loves us unconditionally. He cares about our inner appearance- the only one that truly matters. Before each session (2 each night), Bethany Dillon led us in worship. It was an amazing time with 75+ women, none of which I knew. We all were worshiping our amazing Lord, offering our best to Him. Bethany Dillon has a song entitled "Beautiful" that is based off of the book. It brought tears to my eyes as it spoke the truth of my teenage years. I wish each one of you my girl friends could have experienced this with me...



****I feel I should add a little note here. After re-reading this, it may seem that no one makes me feel beautiful. That is beside the truth. I have a loving husband, who thinks I am absolutly beautiful (and lets me know it) no matter how i look after 3 children and hectic days. I have 3 wonderful children who never fail to show their love for me. In the above post, I am stating in general the feelings that I have about myself at times. There are days I feel like a super mom and others where I do not. So to my hubby if you read this- Thanks for making me feel like a million bucks even when I don't see it myself and for loving me unconditionally with all your heart!*****

Chances Are...

If you are leaving for a trip at night and your child has not taken an after noon nap- chances are that she will sleep on the way. Then if you stop at a hotel to get some sleep half way, chances are she will not want to wake up, so you put her back to bed. Now after you fall into a deep sleep, chances are that she will wake up at 2 am (since she has been asleep since 6pm) and will be ready to go whether you are or not. Even though you try to get her to go back to sleep till 4:30 am- she refuses, so you check out of the hotel and start driving the rest of your trip. Chances are she will fall fast asleep the moment you hit the hwy.

Big Man- Little Lady

Ok...so Garrett is a very healthy baby boy! He and Riley are about the same size. ( But I think he is really a little bigger. ) The age difference you ask? Garrett is 7 months and Riley is 11 months. She thought he was the coolest toy there. She talked to him and patted him on the head ever so gently ;)
and just loved on him as much as he would let her. We got to play at Marti's house on Friday before we left and it was so nice. The kids wandered around while we caught up and just chilled.

Race For The Cure in Texarkana

This weekend Riley and I headed to Little Rock, AR to meet Marti, Emma and Garrett Welch and Kellie and Isaac Rine so we could head to Texarkana, AR to walk with Marti's mom, Cheryl. This was a special time since I have not seen my friends since our move in May. The car ride was a blast as we were all cramed into the van. When we got to Granny and Big Daddys house it was a get your energy off time before bed. Saturday morning we got up to walk in the race. We had the crew from LR plus LuLu (aka: Laura) and Tanya (Marti's sisters) and Laurie, LuLu's friend. Cheryl was the lead off walker for the non-competetive part of the race. We had a lot of fun. Garrett slept through half of it and Riley was waving like a beauty queen. Isaac and Emma rode in style, while Kellie and I worked our muscles out. :) After the race we watched as they did the closing ceremonies. I have never stayed that long at the LR race so it was neat to watch. Cheryl got to go up on stage and draw the winner for a pair of New Balance tennis shoes. She said she tried to pick one of us, but somehow none of us got them!

After the race we headed to the mall to let the kids burn some energy on the play place there. Then it was home for a nap (for all of us). Riley had so much fun playing at Grannys house. She thought she was cool stuff. Then on Sunday we went to church and then to Tanya's Bridal Shower. Let me tell you- Texarkana knows how to throw a shower! During the time we were there for every gift she opened there were 2 more brought in. It was a great time and Tan got some really neat stuff.

After dropping off the kiddos and their mommies in LR, Riley and I headed home to Nashville. It is actually only about a 5 hour drive-not 6. I am use to heading off the interstate to get to mom and dads so that adds an extra hour. Riley was way happy to see her Daddy, and Caleb was pretty supprised to see Mommy in the bed at 4 this morning!

Blurr of a Weekend

Wow....so much has happened just over the weekend. Friday evening Matt's parents came down to watch the kids for us on Saturday while we went house hunting (thanks Lee and Linda!) We saw around 6 houses in the Mt. Juliet area, and found one that we absolutely wanted. When we walked in we felt like this was home. It had an open floor plan, room for improvements, and had plenty of room for our family of 5. So we prayed about it and considered placing an offer on it. Well, on Sunday we made an offer around 1 pm. It was accepted by 9:30 pm! So we will be home owners around the end of November. We close on our house in Maumelle today (well she closes and then we get the paperwork faxed, ect..) We were so surprised. The house is in a great family neighborhood and has a TON of updates so we figured someone else would offer more and with there being an open house on Sunday, a bidding war. So when we got it , after the shock wore off we praised God because we feel this is where he wants us. It is about the same distance for our families to drive as it is for them to get to the apartment. Mt. Juliet is on the east side of Nashville, near Hermitage (I believe). At the bottom of the post is the web page that has some photos of it. Please understand that she has it decorated SO nicely, We love the decorations and furniture...if only they could leave it! :)


Also this weekend...we had a laundry mishap. If you are going to let your older children help you load clothing into the dryer- please make sure they do not stick anything into the dryers among the clothing. 95% of Riley's winter clothing now have lovely black spots all over them (only about 8 things salvageable). While Ian was being a wonderful helper he placed an ink pad, still in the plastic wrapper, into the dryer while loading the clothes. As frustrating as it was, I am thankful for his help and now Riley gets new clothes! That is one thing the boys love to do- help me. From making dinner to cleaning and doing the laundry, they want to do it to. And I am more than happy to accommodate them! So check your dryers before adding clothing (or better yet check your kids!)

Matt's grandma and cousins are coming down for the day tomorrow. We haven't seen them in long time. We have been up to IN plenty but have not made it over to the KY family at all. We will have to do better about getting over there since L&L don't live there anymore. We are excited to get to spend a little time with them

Please pray for safe travels as Riley and I are heading to AR this weekend for the Race for the Cure in Texarkana. We are meeting up with Marti, Emma, Garrett and Kellie and Isaac Rhine to go walk with Marti's family for Cheryl. Matt is taking the boys to the family camping trip in east TN for the weekend. They should have a ton of fun and I am looking forward to spending time with friends.


http://listings.realtracs.com/MediaDisplay.aspx?ListingID=948201

House Hunting

Well this weekend we are going house hunting. We have so far been blessed that everything has gone smoothly on our home in AR. We are set to close on October 23! Yea!! So we have met with a realtor here and looked through countless pages of homes and picked out several in Mt. Juliet and in Spring Hill. So here begins the quest for a place for us to plant roots in TN. We are pretty excited. Please pray that we are able to find a house that suites our needs but also is a good price. I have had to get use to the fact that houses that would have been under 200k in AR are closer to 300k here in Nashville. Talk about sticker shock!!


I have recently made an effort to read more. It is something that I enjoy immensley but have found that since having kids real close together, is not something I get to do often. I bought some "raising Godly boys" books and have been looking at some "raising Godly girls" books as well. I also have gotten several books as far as helping me find "my purpose" outside of just being a wife and mommy and some about men and women of the Bible. I am going to try and read a Liz Curtis Higgs book, which I have been told are very good. Now it is just a matter of arranging my time to actually read them. If anyone has good ones to read (any genre is good for me) leave a comment. I'm always looking for some good ones.

We are heading to Ar on the 19 of October for the Race for the Cure in Texarkana and to see our friends. So hopefuly we can get to see all the new babies born since our move and everyone else in our short time there. And remember anyone is welcome to stay with us when they pass through Nashville!

Poor Ian

Weird title for a post, but that is because I am feeling overly guilty right now! We had a great time at the art show in Louisville and the kids had a blast with Pawpaw. On our last day there Caleb was complaining that his ear hurt. I figured he had another ear infection so decided to take him to the dr on Monday. Now Caleb had tubes placed in his ears when he was 11 months old and they have just recently fallen out (March 06). Well his ears started draining on Sunday which basically told me that he had a double ear infection. On monday we went to Bible study and about half way through they came and got me. He was crying and pretty upset. So I called and got an earlier apt and we headed to Vandy. The dr there told us that he had perfereated both eardrums and we started the strongest antibiotic and ear drops. Now I was already feeling bad because I just assumed that the holes were not quite healed from the tubes falling out. But to find out that I didn't notice that he had an ear infection till a few days ago made me feel terrible. Then Ian came down with a fever. That was the only symptom he had for 2 days. Then he started complaining about his ear and throat hurting. So off to the dr we go (again). Ian also has an ear infection and if he didn't have a perferated eardrum also. So now I feel like I am a terrible mom. I probably should have had them check Riley too, Although she seems to be fine. So as they are healing I am trying to cope with dropping the ball on my kids health. I can't think of a time I have not noticed little things that would indicate there was an issue. So if we suddenly become kidless, it is only because I have handed my kids over to the state since my mommy skills have gone down the drain!! ;)

Art Show

The kids and I will be leaving for Indiana tomorrow. We are heading up to my in-laws for a few days so I can experience the St. James Art Show. I have always wanted to go but couldn't justify it when we lived in AR. But now that we are only 3-4 hours away I can spend some time with Heather and Linda (Sis-in-law and mom-in-law) while Paw paw gets to watch the kids! Matt is staying here, but going to the Louisville vs. MTSU game on Friday evening with a friend. I am sure he will have a blast there and having a few nights to himself. While we are in IN we are going to head to Hubers Farm so the kids can expend some energy and enjoy the petting zoo and hayrides that they offer. It will be a lot of fun is some wonderful fall weather. I will post some pictures when we get home on Saturday. Hope everyone have wonderful weather to enjoy and a beautiful weekend!

Prayers Please

We would appreciate it if you would keep Matts mom and my mom in your prayers. Linda has come down with Strep Throat and my mom has Shingles. They are both feeling pretty down and out of sorts. Also please continue to pray that we will close soon. We found out that we do not need to make any repairs to the house so we have cleared that hurdle. We appreciate all the friends and prayer warriors we have out there. Have a wonderful day!

Gotta Love it!

One bottle Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo: $2.98
One pink butterfly hooded towel: $6.99
One beautiful girl with crazy hair and bright blue eyes: Priceless

Hip Hip Hooray!

I have had many people inquire about our house situation. We are pleased to say that we countered the offer we received and they have accepted it! If all goes well, we should be closing sometime in the first part of October. We are praying that everything continues to go smoothly, so we can close on her original date of October 7th. Our realtor told us that not hearing from him meant that things were fine- so I assume that things are great! We are so grateful to all of our friends that have kept this situation in their prayers.

Although I know some people (ahem-Marti) :) were praying for the house not to sell so we would come back "home", we are thankful that we can now begin to plan roots here and get plugged into a church home. This will also help with my state of mind. It has been hard not being able to see friends on a daily basis. I think I have struggled with that the most. Going through bouts of depression and feeling sorry for myself. But our God is a sustaining God, and he has blessed us with being able to re-kindle friendships from college and sending good friends here from other places. I have met many ladies from the Bible studies that he has led me to, and met several women here at our apartment that are becoming fun friendships.


Please continue praying that everything finalizes. We look forward to seeing all of our Little Rock friends in mid October- pumpkin patch anyone?? :)

Boo-Boo

Our first skateboarding accident resulted in a skinned knee. Ian was later proud of it, espically after a Spider Man bandaid!

Boys and Their Toys

Today Daddy took the boys to Toys R Us and bought them skateboards. They have been asking for one since we moved and some before that. We haven't let them go outside yet (we have to get their helmets from Mom and Dads), but they are very eager to ride them. They were doing some tricks in the living room and I got them to hold still long enough to take their pictures. Here begins the era of boy life: skinned knees, elbows, chins and many other bruises, cuts and scrapes. At least I stocked up on Spider Man and Bat Man bandaids! ;)

Praise God!!

We have wonderful news- We recieved an offer on our house today!! We are very happy and are considering it very carefully. We may take it as is or we may counter in some areas. Thanks to all who have been praying for this. God is so good, and he has truly blessed us with wonderful friends and family. Please continue praying that if we choose this offer that it will go through till the end so we can begin planting roots here.

Ahh.. The memories

Recently a good friend had a post on her blog about getting a pink phone. The response was over whelming from all the ChiO gals out there. I think we all have a rather fond place for pink in our hearts. Then in another friends blog (who I am so happy to have found after so many years) asked about a favorite memory from Chi Omega Pi. I have a ton. Sadly, many involve people I have not seen in years, and some that are of friends that I still chat with.


One of my favorite songs has been Be Still and Know, but listening to 75+ ladies singing it brought a whole new dimension to it. I still love singing it and can sometime hear the whole club singing in the back of my mind.

I remember looking at several clubs and trying to figure out where I fit in. The moment I stepped into that mixer, I felt comfortable. Everyone was friendly and really cared about you. One of the first ChiOs that I met (aside from Jen who I already knew) was Leslie. She was so nice and took the time to get to know me in the few short minutes we had. Then on the ride home from induction night, Molly and Sherry had the radio on, we were singing and laughing all the way to the parking lot where they introduced me to the Seminole Stomp. Every-time I hear Sugar Rays "I just wanna Fly" , I think of that time. Seeing Molly and Sherry standing on the car , moving their hips under 2 inches, makes me smile.

I have a pictures of Dee and I in our Reggae shirts and braided hair. I have several of my induction class and many more of our whole club. Photos from functions, retreats and just hanging out. Working at the Sunshine school was one of my favorite things. I think Lisa and I spent the most time together there. We really loved that place. When we distributed presents to the kids, it was a highlight every time. Seeing their shining faces and beautiful smiles was a great experience.

I guess I should use her married name now, but she will always be Hutch to me. Jen and I were able to "re-bond" if you will while in ChiOs. We had known each other since the 4th grade. I broke my arm in her garage, had crazy hairstyles with her, went through many fashion fads (that I don't care to revisit), and went through some trying times and personal growth with her. We had some rough patches in our teen years but became friends again in college. She was a big influence on my spiritual life. She still gives good advise!

Dee and I shared some crazy times through out our years there, but she was my cohort while living in the apartment. We had some good laughs there. She and I could get to laughing about anything and it would be so hard to stop. Who knows why we started laughing the first place. :) And for those of you who don't know- she makes great cal zones! Always a great friend.

And Laura, the lady who really challenged me to be the person God had planned. She was a shoulder to cry on when an engagement went down hill, and a friend to celebrate with when the marriage finally took place. She got me into christian music, and into a consistent prayer life.

I have so many memories with many other wonderful ladies..Christina, Andrea, Kate, Tracy, Kasie, Anna, Heidi, Kate M. and many more. There are too many to blog about here. I wish I could, but I am afraid my hands would fall off! :)

I may try to post more later, but it was such a fun-filled time in my life. I am a better person because of those ladies. I am a better child of God because of their friendships.

If you remember the tune:

I love Chi Omega Pi
There's no other place where I can feel such unity, bonded and yet free
I love Chi Omega Pi
We are true to God and true to self
We are one in Christ.
We know that where every we may go, we are friends for life.
I love Chi Omega Pi
There's no other place where I can feel such unity, bonded and yet free
Faithful I will ever be to you, Chi Omega Pi

Have a wonderful day!!

Correction

Well in the previous post I stated that Riley had one tooth coming in. Well I was mistaken. Her 2 front teeth are coming in at the same time. :( So here soon I will take a picture of the 4 teeth that she now has. She has also started crusing a little. She is way more cautious than the boys ever were. Quite interesting to see the difference between the boys and our little girl.

A new tooth

For sometime now Riley has been a little fussy and just plain old uncomfortable. I thought she was comming down with an ear infection since she has fluid on her ear at the last Drs visit. But last night while were at the play place I realized that an upper tooth is comming through. As soon as she will let me get a picture of it I will show you her now 3 tooth smile!

More to read

Well....it has been a while since I have gotten to post pictures so I thought I would load them all up on here. Along with the following posts, I thought I would give you an update on all of us.

Matt and I are doing well. He is enjoying work and the people he works with. This month is Vanderbilt Employee Appreciation Month so he is getting showered with free food and fun things to do. I am having fun at home with the kids. I am finishing up the Patriarchs study and have started a new bible study entitled Daniel. It is with a group of women at Harpeth Hills c of c. So far it is fun. The kids get to play with other kids their age and they have a blast there.


The kids are doing great. Riley is 9 months old now and she is close to walking. She pulls up on everything and even stands alone for a few seconds. Caleb and Ian are growing so fast and learning so quickly. Caleb thinks he is the big boss around here. Ian just follows his orders unless he is in a daring mood, then we have an uproar around here. They have a wonderful relationship that I am very thankful for.

We are still waiting for our house to sell, but we are praying fervantly that soon we will be house free. Apartment living is not as bad as we thought it would be. There are pros and cons to it, but we are very thankful to have found a place that is safe, clean and near things for the kids.

Hope everyone is safe and happy. Our love and prayers to all..

Learning to....

I have been working with the boys on their fine motor skills (can you tell I'm a teacher!!) and on their letters. We have been practicing our cutting skills and how to write our letters. Caleb is doing well. He knows how to write A, a, B and b. Ian can trace what I have written but we are still working on it (he's 2 so I am not pushing him- it will be a while). But they have fun doing school. Caleb is excited about starting school next year. I haven't been able to find a pre-k program that is not full so far, so I have started looking at the Mothers Day out programs. Hopefully I can find something soon. Untill then we are having fun working at home. I know that boys fine motor skills typically develop later that girls so I am having to try and remember not to push him hard and to be patient for his skills to develop on their own. Anyway, they are having fun which is the most important to me.

Trip to Indiana

This past weekend we went to Indiana to vist with Matts family and for Kaitlyns church dedication. While we were there we hit the Louisville Zoo and a water playground by the river. The kids enjoyed both places. I didn't take too many pictures at the zoo but they loved it. They got to see pigmy hippos and a Komodo dragon. Rileys favorite was the stone statue of a turtle. She enjoyed talking to the animals. The boys loved all the animals as always. The water playground was a blast. The kids were able to run around and play in the water and Riley even joined in on the fun. She was done with in 10 min. but the boys went strong for an hour or so. Kaitlyn slept through it all, but I did get a cute picture of her grumpy face!

Our new pet

From my previous post you know that my dad found a small turtle for the kids. He is at home with us and we are in the process of trying to figure out a name for him. Right now he is just turtle (i know- we are great at coming up with names here!) since the boys haven't decided on one yet.

The indoor playground

There is an indoor playground at the Bellevue Mall that the kids love to go to. I remembered to take the camera to catch them playing. They love to go there and so do Matt and I. We are able to sit and talk while the kids run around and play. Since it is an enclosed area we don't have to worry about them running off, or the possibility of someone taking them. It is great for rainy days too. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Remembering...

Now I am not one to drudge up past experiences or anything. I hate reliving past events that hurt me, but this being the 5th anniversary of September 11 had me reliving a lot of memories.
I didn't get to watch any of the news coverage till this afternoon since we took Riley to the Dr this morning. I was not prepared for my reaction. I sat and cried like a baby. It was several minutes before I could compose myself and clear my head. Caleb and Ian had no clue what to do and Riley just looked at me with a puzzled look on her sweet face. 5 years ago I was student teaching at Crystal Hill Magnet under Stacey Hodge. We had students, but could tell something was wrong, so I was sent to investigate. After seeing the news and relating it to Ms. Hodge, we continued on with our day like it was any other so the students wouldn't know what was happening. After work, I headed back to the apartment, and really needed gas but there was no way I was going to wait in line for 3 hours. I waited for Matt to get home and we watched the news. Neither of us talked. Neil came over and watched for a while. We ate dinner in silence. I cried but could not tear myself away. I felt anguish and grief for the families and for the first responders who were working fervently to find people trapped in the wreckage. I felt angry and ready to exact revenge. I prayed so hard....so hard.
That is a moment that is implanted in my mind. Will I ever forget-at least I hope not. I hope I continue to live to the best of my ability. I pray that I am able to spread the word of God before my time comes to an end and that I live my life like it was my last day on earth. I won't forget- I hope I will always hold a small hole in my heart for those who were lost. I hope I never watch a memorial for 9/11 and not cry. I hope that we as a nation never forget the moment that the whole country, if only for a moment, hit their knees in prayer and cried out to our God who wrapped His arms around us and reassured us that all will be fine.

Constant Prayers Needed

Please forgive me for not getting this on our blog sooner:


http://julian-family.blogspot.com/



This is a family from Little Rock, AR (many of you there may already know of the Julian family). I knew Kelly from our Special Education classes at Harding, and I can only imagine their daily struggles. Please keep them in your prayers and ask any prayer groups and bible studies that you attend to keep them in your prayers. Pass the website to anyone that you know that way as many prayers as possible can be lifted up for Max, Kelly and John. Our God is an awsome God and I know that He will do wonders in Maxs' life.

The Turtle Hunter

As many of you know there is a Crocodile Hunter (may God grant his family peace in their time of loss), but our family has someone new- The Turtle Hunter. Apparently my dads land is actually a turtle sanctuary. We have found over 10 turtles just in the last 3 months.( In the picture to the left is the second turtle that we found, Mr. Turtle. ) And yesterday was no different. My dad, with his keen turtle senses, sensed the fear of the small tyke, who I am sure thought he would be shot with the rather large arrows that he saw sticking out of the bows quiver. The Turtle Hunter rescued the tyke from most certain doom and gave him to the grandchildren he loved so much.

It is no bigger than the palm of Rileys' hand. And boy is he active. Of course he had a rough start to his Clement family introduction as my parents cat, KC, decided that he would make a great bouncing toy and rolling game. He hid for a while after that traumatic experience. The boys love him though. We are going to get a tank to put him in tonight. He does not have a name yet and I haven't taken any pictures of him and the kids to post so I will get those up later!

A Weekend with no kids

This past weekend Matt and I got to spend a little time alone together. My parents picked up the kids Saturday morning and we were alone for the first time in a while. We actually didn't go too crazy, but relaxed and did some things. We spent a grand total of almost 6 hours in Bass Pro (yes...I love my husband that much!) while Matt got his bow and materials for hunting season. We wandered around deciding on what we still needed and decided to wait so we could eat. We then ate a late dinner after picking up Riley some clothing. On Sunday we slept in (I know- we are heathens- but it really was an accident- HONEST!!) Then we went back to Opry Mills to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2. I liked it but it definitely leaves it open for the third. The special effects were great and there were some funny scenes. Then we headed back to Bass Pro to pick up a target for Monday. Then Monday we went to my parents house for dinner and to pick up the kids. Matt and Dad did some target practice. The kids had a blast and I was glad to have had the time away but very glad to have them back. Next weekend we are heading up to Indiana to spend some time with Matt's folks and attend Kaitlyn's church dedication. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Quote

I have been reading a book entitled "Praying God's Word" by Beth Moore. If you ever get the chance. it is a good read. It goes through different strongholds and gives you scriptures that you can pray to release those strongholds. The scripture reference is listed and above it is a praphrase of the scripture (or complete scripture) written in a prayer. There are several quotes throughout and I found this one and loved it!



The giant step in the walk of faith is the one we take when we
decide God no longer is a part of our lives. He is our life.

Visiting

Well we have started visiting another church. We have spent the last week at Western Hills and are really happy. Now I am definitely not saying that we have found a home yet, but we have felt the most welcome here. We still want to visit a few more to narrow our decision down but I think that we might really like this one. I will keep you all updated.


I am going to try and get my TN license started this week. I want to get my certificate this year so that I can start submitting resumes to area private and public schools. There is a private school right here in Bellevue called Nashville Christian that has a Life Program (basically special ed in a private school). I have been thinking about applying there and a few others. Matt and I still have not decided what to do as far as the kids schooling. A lot depends on where we will be living in the fall. I actually have to think about it now since Caleb will be starting pre-k next year!!! ( Crazy huh. My first born will be in school.) We are going to try and get Ian into a 2-3 day a week program too. If we decide to send the kids to private then I have to get a job at that school. So a lot depends on that.

Anyway...not a lot of updates here. I am going to try and get some pictures posted soon. I tried a little bit ago but the blogger photo sight was down and we were having some difficulties. I will try to get them up soon.

Trip to the Zoo

Well we headed to the Nashville Zoo a few Saturdays ago. Grandma and Papa Anderson joined us for the day. The boys and Riely enjoyed it. We saw the parts that we missed last time. The Meerkats were a huge hit again and Aligator Cove was a hit as well. We skipped the elephants and giraffes this time since they were by the merry-go-round and jungle gym. The boys enjoyed the petting zoo . They brushed goats and touched camels. A lot of the animals were in the shade and sometimes hard to see, but some were real close. Rileys favorite were the zebras and Meerkats. They were so close that she kept trying to touch them. Enjoy the pictures!

Comments

Ok so I am still an idiot. Aparently it didn't save my changes or something but I really got it right this time. I clicked all the circles I was supposed to and hit submit and THEN republish. What a complicated process. Probably not but it is when you have 3 kids hanging on you cause 2 of them want to "play puter too" and the third wants you to feed them...ya know how it goes!

Little Miss. Kaitlyn

Here are some shots of our beautiful neice. We had a great weekend trip to IN (Matt's parents now live in Indiana with Heather and Scott). We got to spend time with family and meet Kaitlyn. She is a very sweet baby and really loves to sleep. It was a chore to see her eyes, but when they were open there was a lot of intensity behind them. Scott and Heather are great parents. We got to see Kaitlyns' fist church service. She pretty much slept through it all but did eat somewhere in there. She slept through class too- she must not have enjoyed the sermon or class topic. :)

Study

Now that we are in our apartment, I have begun doing a study by Beth Moore entitled "The Patriarchs:Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". Let me just tell you how amazing this is. I have learned more in the last 3 days about Abram, about the Jewish culture than I have ever known. Now maybe many of you already now a great deal from your times and classes at Harding, but now that I am older (gulp) I am finding myself thirsty for this "background" knowledge. Anyway- I was finishing up my day 3 lesson and there was a quote that Beth placed in there and it spoke to me like nothing I have read in the last 3 days. It is not a quote from the Bible but rather a quote from F.B. Meyer. We just finished reading about Abram and Sarai living in Egypt during the famine in Canaan. Abram has told pharaoh that Sarai is his sister and God inflicted pharaoh and his household with serious diseases. We were asked what might Abram have done differently. Here is his alternative plan (and what spoke to me after)

"How much better would it have been for Abraham to have thrown the responsibility back on God, and to have said, "Thou hast brought me here; and Thou must now bear the weight of providing for me and mine: here I will stay till I clearly know what Thou wilt have me do." If any should read these lines who have come into positions of extreme difficulty, through following the simple path of obedience, let them now look at God through difficulties, as we see the sun shorn of splendour through a fog; but let them look at difficulties through God. Let them put God between themselves and the disasters that threaten them. Let them cast the whole responsibility on him. Has He not thus brought you into difficulties, that He may have an opportunity of strengthening your faith, by giving some unexampled proof of his power? Wait only on the Lord, trust also on Him....He will provide."


Tell me that is not amazing. As I sit here and think of that, it brings me such peace. I have struggled with letting it all go and trusting that God has a plan in us moving out here with our house not sold and not selling. I have been very vocal that this is a growing time for us and that God has something planned and I just need to have that faith. And on today, a down day- when I think things can't possibly get worse, I find that passage. I felt that God had me find that today to uplift my heart and to reaffirm that he has a plan and it will take place if I am obedient to his stretching and pruning of my faith. I pray that He is blessing you beyond measure and is revealing His will for you daily. Peace, my friends.

Worship

I get daily devotional emails from the Purpose Driven Life website and I got this one a few days ago and thought I would share it. Sometimes I have to take a step back in my day and remember that in all my actions, thoughts and word I should be praising my God. I sometimes find my self not nessarily leaving God behind at the "builing" but I tend to forget that I am able to praise and worship my God in every breath I take. That is what I should be doing. I'm working on it hope you all do to!

Worship is a state of mind.

What do you think of when you think of worship? Stained glass? Choir robes? Praise choruses? Worship band? Hands lifted or knees bent? If you’re anything like me, it’s bound to have something to do with church or doing something religious.

Jesus once said that those who worship God must worship in Spirit and in truth. Now that doesn’t say anything about church or religious activity; in fact when Jesus said this, he was answering a question about the proper place to worship. There was a difference of opinion at the time about which mountain to worship God on. One group said on this mountain and another said on that. That’s when Jesus responded that the Father was looking for true worshipers who worship him in Spirit and truth and that neither mountain meant anything compared to this. In other words, it doesn’t matter where you worship, it matters how you worship.

I think sometimes we approach worship as if we have to have all the right elements working in proper order for something to capture our emotions and truly qualify as a worship experience. We need to hear the right songs, performed in a certain way by the right musical group, enhanced by great visual graphics, and presided over by a trusted worship leader. We go to a certain church because “we like the worship there.” All of this makes worship dependent on certain elements all adding up to create a familiar experience we can identify as worship.

But is worship something that happens to me or something that I make happen? Is worship a mood or a mindset? If, as Jesus said, worship is something that we do in Spirit and truth then it would seem to be something we can do any time, any where. This is, in fact, what true worship is.

I have worshiped at ball games and movies, schools and sock hops, workout gyms and restaurants, on the golf course and at the beach, in the car and in the air, while reading a novel and reading the newspaper, at work and at play.

You are worshiping right now as you read this. The fact that you signed up for these devotionals says that it’s important to you to take a few minutes to focus on God while you go over your e-mails today. But you don’t have to stop worshiping God when you click this window closed. You can just keep on going; no one’s stopping you.

You don’t need anything but your heart and soul to truly worship God. Worship is not something you go somewhere to do, it’s what you pay attention to as you do everything else.

Oops

Sorry to those of you who have been posting comments. I didn't realize when I did a certain setting that I had to go in and approve them to be on there. What can I say- I'm still learning how to do this ;). Yes.... My hubby laughed at me. I just thought no one wanted to comment! Now they are all on and I changed the setting back. So hopefully no weird people will post random things again!

Happy Birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

"You are the best daddy in the whole world. I play basketball with daddy. he play baseball with me. He play wrestle with me and him. Daddy give me,Ian and baby Riley hugs. He love Caleb. He love Ian too. Baby Riley laugh at him. "
~Caleb

"I play basketball with daddy. I play baseball with daddy. Dear God, baseball, basketball, Amen. Love you"
~Ian

"oooohhhhh. Dadadada...(laugh)...Ahhhhhhhh."
~Riley

" I love you tons and thank God for you everyday. You make us smile and laugh. You provide for us in everyway possible. Happy Birthday!"
~The wife

More updates

Well now that I have gotten some pictures up from the last couple of months I thought I would give a little update:

Riley is crawling and starting to try to pull up. She gets on her knees and hangs on to anything with in reach to try and see over it. I don't think it will be long before she is pulling up and cruising. Her brothers will make sure of it. She thinks she can do what they do and tries really had to be "one of the boys". She crawls around after them and shrieks at them if they leave her behind. She is really interested in what I do too. She will watch me fold laundry and load the dishwasher so intently. I almost think she is taking a mental note so she can try it later.


Caleb is becoming so...big. He is so ready to start school. I hope that I can find a mothers day out program or even a pre pre-k for him to do a few days a week. It will get him around other kids and he is soaking everything up right now. He wants to know about everything- what it is, how it works, what it looks like on the inside... He is really smart for his age I think. I could just be saying it casue I am his mommy, but I really think so.


Ian is doing really good. He is talking a whole lot more and is becoming very inquisitive. He is the quiet ponderer though. He will sit and think about it more than Caleb does. He is also trying to find his own I think. It gets him into trouble some. He thins he can do what ever he wants. I know Caleb is head strong and wants things his way, but Ian just sneaks around to do it. And he does it several times to see the effect. After a few punnishings he gets the idea and drops it.


All in all we are doing good. We might try to go up and see our niece this weekend. Matts parents are coming down for Matts birthday on Friday and then taking the kids home with them till we get up there on Saturday. Then my parents are coming on Sunday to celebrate his birthday. We couldn't all meet at the same time so Matt gets several birthdays this year.

Our "New Home"

Well we have offically moved into our apartment. It is interesting to say the least. It really isn't too bad except the kids are having a hard time understanting why they can't be as loud as they want. But it is temporary and we will make the best of it.

We are in a little community called Bellevue. We have enjoyed it so far. We are still pretty close to the church we have been visiting (20 min away) and there is an awsome park here that the boys love. We have started going there early in the morning while it is semi-cool to play. In the evenings, we will sometimes go after Matt gets home from work. There is pretty much all you need here (except Target) and we are still pretty close to my parents (an hour if you take the Natchez Trace)









The boys now sleep in their bunk beds. Ian is doing well with the move from the toddler bed to the bottom bunk. Caleb thinks he is big stuff now that he is on top. We have to take the ladder out while they fall asleep and then put it in so he can get down in the morning. I have to get Ian some spiderman sheet like Caleb that way he will feel like a big kid.

Riley is still sleeping in the pack-n-play since we can't find 2 metal rods to her crib. I am sure they are someplace in my parents basement but it might take a while to find. Hopefully they made the move with us and madeit off the truck.

Where we are now, Matt is able to take the bus to work and even if he drives it is only a 15 min drive. We are really blessed to be here in a family oriented community. It reminds me a little of Maumelle, only not as green.

First attempts

There were many first attempts this last month. Riley attempted crawling (of which she is now a pro) and Mommy attempted to "fix" her hair. Now having boys you pretty much buzz their hair and then brush it after a bath and you are set to go. It is totally different with Riley. Her hair is long in the front so I have to pull it back. Actually looks cute if she will let me do it. Some days are a battle to get a clip in her hair just to do it again in a couple of hours later when she pulls it out. I am getting better at it. It would really help me out though if she would just sit still :)

A few pictures

This is the turtle that Papa found outside in the yard. We caught several more after this one. The boys LOVED having "turtle" there to watch.

We got the boys an inflateable pool and they had a blast. It took them a while to actually get in because the water was pretty cold. Papa finally got in with them and then they started playing and sitting in the water. That pool was a life saver when the temps got real high and they wanted to play outside. I think Iam going to try and get them into swimming lessons next year. They seem to love the water.

Riley had a blast in her pool too. She tipped over a few times and got a face full of water but none the less had a blast. She was too cute in her two piece. Luckily for her she was in the water while her daddy was at work or I am sure she would have had a shirt on for modesty! :) She is a big time water baby- loves baths pools or anywhere she can get in the wather