Post Holiday Meltdown Time

Well, Christmas is finally over for us. We had our last Christmas get-together last night and we are full swing into the meltdown mode now. The girls have been sooo absolutely horrid for the past few days. (Not totally their fault- staying up late with no naps is mostly to blame.) The weather has been terrible with torrential rainfall and having to go out in that to all kinds of places. But, we had a very nice Christmas. Annelise loves the Real Loving Baby she got and she has been mothering it for days now. Emmaline loved her see-saw and her pet shop and she is also obsessed with a set of Widgets she got from my parents. We did have some excitement Christmas Eve with her. We put them to bed at about 8:45 and told them they had to go to sleep for Santa to come. Well, at about 10 p.m. we figured we were safe and we started to drag out stuff and putting stuff together. We started with Emmaline's things and we drug out the see saw and put it in the den and started assembling the Littlest Pet Shop. Well, all of a sudden, I saw something out of the corner of my eye and it was Emmaline! She just stood there and I yelled at Brian to take her upstairs. I went to listen outside of Annelise's room to see what she was saying and she was telling Annelise "I really did see all of my stuff, it's all down there!" Well, I paced the hall and thought of what in the world I was going to tell her. I finally told her that Santa had to drop off her see-saw early because it was big and he would not fit all the other toys into the sleigh with it in there. I also told her that I told him to go ahead and drop off her Pet Shop and I would put it together for him since it had so many parts. I told her he was very disappointed in her for getting out of bed and being disobedient. She took it, thank goodness. Annelise was just worried that he would come take it back and not leave her toys because Emmaline was disobedient. So, when they woke up Christmas morning they were both very pleasantly surprised that Santa had been so gracious to leave Emmaline's things and also bring Annelise's to them. Crisis averted. They met a man at one of Aunt Libby's bluegrass get-togethers last week who told them he was Santa Claus. (He had the beard and everything.) Well, that poor man didn't know who he was telling that to, because Annelise and Emmaline started giving him the 3rd degree and trying to make him prove it. "How do you make the reindeer fly?" "Why aren't you at the North Pole?" etc., etc.. Aunt Libby said he got very nervous and finally told the girls he had to go outside and make a phone call to get away from the interrogation. Hah. They take after their mommy for sure. We took them to see the movie "Enchanted" the other day and it was sooo good. It was hilarious. Brian even liked it. So, for anyone who has not seen it, you will enjoy it as much as the kids! I have already started Christmas shopping for next year. We went to Commerce to the outlets on the 27th and we got a few things. I am going to go ahead and wrap them since the paper is out and get them recorded in the computer and put them away! I hope that next year we may be in our new house for Christmas. We will see! Well, I have to go make a mac and cheese to take to Chris and Megan's tonight for the bowl game. I really hope Clemson can end the year on a good note!!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

I always feel like a little kid when I say that. But, it is what the season is all about. Actually LIFE itself is all about Jesus- it bothers me when people only choose to focus on Him one or two days a year. All these people saying "You shouldn't take Christ out of Christmas!" Well, we allowed Him to be taken out of everything else a long time ago- but it seems people don't think about that. Anyway- I won't get on that soapbox right now. I know this is going to sound silly- but every year on Christmas Eve, I give a "present" to Jesus. I know what you are asking- "What do you give the man that has everything?" All kidding aside, I always thought it was funny that we are celebrating Jesus' birth, but we give everyone else presents. I would be pretty upset if it were my birthday and I was the only one not getting presents. So a few years ago, I decided that I would "give" Him something every Christmas Eve. Usually it is a private thing between me and Him, but this year I thought I would share what I came up with. I decided that this year I would give Him the gift of time with my children spent talking about Him. I bought a children's devotional book and I have made a promise to do one with them every night they are home. The devotions are very short and very applicable to their lives. I know it is something I should be doing anyway, but this way, when I give it as a gift to Jesus, it kind of holds me to it and keeps me doing it even if I don't feel like it. I think He will like that gift. I spend a lot of time coming up with things and I always want it to be something realistic that I can actually stick to. So, that is what He is getting from me for Christmas. I usually ask Him for one thing that is above and beyond my usual prayer requests. This year that thing is for us to find the right piece of land to build our house on. Brian has found a neighborhood he likes, but I am not sold on it, yet. I am frustrated and want to make sure we choose the right place, so it stresses me out a bit. We really want to start building in February, but I want it to be the right place, so I am trying very hard not to get desperate and just settle for something. For now, we are going to focus on Christmas and all we have to be so grateful for. We are very blessed and we know that. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and that the New Year brings many great things for all my family and friends!!

Busy As Bees

Well, Brian had his snippety snip done. There was a small twinge of sadness knowing that I will never have another sweet baby of my own to snuggle, but that went away about as quickly as it came. I know we do not have the patience or the time to have another child. Brian has had a terrible time with such a minor surgery. He had to leave work early yesterday and at first after the surgery he kept passing out in the bathroom. (Yes, I did laugh at him, but I still felt bad for him...) I am not regretting it like I thought I would, though. We have been more consumed lately with finding a lot. We fell in love with a lot out near my parents house. It was in a beautiful neighborhood where all the lots are 3-8 acres. It was a dream come true until we saw how far it would be to work and school. About 35-40 minutes to school and about 30-35 minutes to work- and that was driving about 70 miles per hour the whole way. Between me driving to school and Brian driving to work we figured that gas would end up costing us about $35-$40 per day. That put it in perspective for us that it was just unrealistic and also very impractical and so we had to give up that dream. We did love the neighborhood, though. Of course, there are no more neighborhoods like that out there, but there are a few that are about 5 miles from the girls school. So, we have decided we will look all over and see what has the best potential for us. We have begun to feel like we will be forced to choose between the church we like near my parents house and the school that the girls go to. We definitely cannot change their school. So, we will see what God has in store for us. We know it will be great. He will open the doors He wants to open for us. Brian and I were really depressed about that neighborhood being so far away, but we also trust that things will end up like they are supposed to. If nothing else, we have definitely refueled spiritually speaking at my parents church and we feel like it has been really good for us to go there for the past few months. But I miss being a real part of a church and I miss being there on Wednesday and Sunday nights and being in the choir. So, we have a lot to think about! Annelise's teacher told me today that she prayed for us during her quiet time yesterday, and she asked God to give us guidance and peace. She is so great. One of the many reasons we just could never change schools! I know it will all work out. We are just sooo excited about building this house. One of my best friends is designing it and she is so talented. I know it will be awesome when she gets done. I am already looking forward to seeing the finished product! (Just don't know where it will be at, yet!!)

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things...

For some reason, Christmas time always makes me think of that song. I'm not sure if it is considered to be a Christmas song or not, but it pops in my mind come December. So, I thought I would share some of my favorite things. I listed my top 25. I didn't include things that are obvious, like religious things or things to do with loving my children or my husband (although there are a few in there that have something to do with them....) I wonder what my friends and family would list. It is hard to just pick 25. But, here they are:
1)- Chocolate and ice cream (same category as far as I am concerned.), 2)- Anything sparkly or shimmery (no, I am not blonde.), 3)- Hot scented bubble baths with a good magazine in hand. 4)- A good book (especially a suspense novel) 5)- Homemade soup with cornbread (hmm, food seems to be a theme in my favorite list) 6)-Playing games with friends (specifically Mexican Train Dominoes!) 7)- Really funny movies 8)- Ridiculously good bargains (love some outlet sales...) 9)- Dark Chocolate Peppermint Frappuchinos (highly addictive) 10)-Football season (college only- I am already going through withdrawal) 11)- The smell of my daughters hair (not to mention how soft and silky it is, too) 12)- Family movie night (although I can't wait until they start watching something we all like!) 13)- The lake (can't list all the things I love about being there.) 14)- Bluebirds (always loved them, even when I was little.) 15)- Snowflakes (I have a collection- it has something to do with loving shimmery things...) 16)- Snuggling with my cats (always makes me feel better.) 17)- Old houses/ antiques in general. 18)- Charleston! 19)- Cruising ( just about anywhere is fine with me) 20)- Trying new recipes and they turn out good (cooking in general) 21)- Compliments from my husband (I know he loves me, but it is always good to hear it.) 22)- White lights in trees (back to the sparkly things- I wish they would leave them up year-round!) 23)- Sleep- good deep sleep. 24)- Springtime (except for the pollen) 25)- A real fire in the fireplace. I think that about sums it up. There are so many more things I love. But these are my ultimate favorites. Anyway- on another note- we have a couple of prospects on land. They are both a little further out than we had planned, but they are both around 20 acres- which would be cool. We could sell some or keep some for the girls. And our house we want to build would look spectacular on a big estate piece. The land we are looking at is beautiful. We will have to pray about it and see what the Big Man Upstairs says. Hope you all get to enjoy some of your favorite things this season and year-round!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Springtime

Okay, I know that a lot of people really don't like this unusually warm weather we are having right now, but I am a big fan. I have always said that I would love for it to be Spring and Fall all year round- so I am thoroughly enjoying every bit of this 75 degree weather we are having right now. The girls have been able to play outside and I have had the screens open on the sunporch and the smell of the fresh air mingles nicely with my Christmas tree scent. It is wonderful. For all those who wish it were freezing cold out there, well, I am sorry for you- but you are out of luck. I know the cold is coming, but I am going to enjoy this while it lasts.
On a funny note, Emmaline's teacher pulled me aside the other morning to tell me something. (Usually not a good thing, but in this case it was.) She has allowed the children to bring in an ornament for the classroom tree if they wanted and a little boy brought in a "Cocky" ornament (the mascot for the Carolina Gamecocks for those of you who don't know.) He got to talk about it and show it to everyone. The teacher said that Emmaline turned her head to the side and crossed her arms and just looked disgusted. She asked her what was wrong and Emmaline replied "I just can't even look at that it is so ugly." The teacher, being a Clemson grad and fan, thought that was hilarious and had to tell me. I thought it was too funny. At least she didn't tell the boy he wasn't smart, because that is what Brian tells the girls when they ask why people like Gamecocks. Oh, well- she is brutally honest, just like her mama. They started basketball practice this week and it was good. I was as proud as a peacock watching both of my girls learn the sport I grew up loving. Annelise is surprisingly good, and Emmaline will be when she gets a little bigger. She is very frustrated because she expected to go out there and be Michael Jordan. Thank goodness we taught her how to do a granny shot or she wouldn't be able to get the ball to the basket at all. The scrimage was very comical, since only one or two kids even had a mild clue what they were doing. It should be an interesting season. Oh, well- I think I will go outside now and enjoy wandering around in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans while I can!

Never Say Never!

The older I get the more I find that all those things I said I would "never" do, I am doing. It started when I was young and mad at my parents. I remember crying in my room after getting in trouble for something and saying to myself, "When I am a mom I will never spank my kids!" Or "When I have kids I am never going to make them go to bed early or eat anything they don't like!" Then as I got older, there were other empty promises to myself, like "I will never date a doctor, much less marry one!" And the others: "I will never move back to Powdersville." Or, "I would never live in a tri-level house, they are sooo ugly." And let's not forget "I will never drive a minivan!" Yet, here I sit, a child spankin', former minivan drivin', doctor's wife who lives in nothing short of a Brady Bunch special tri-level home and who is currently looking at land in Powdersville and sounding more like her mother every day.... I do believe that God certainly has a great sense of humor. It is like He is saying ' You have no idea what you are and are not going to do, so quit saying stuff like that, it makes you look ridiculous.' And yet, I still say it, and I am usually eating those words within a short amount of time. My favorite one is from when I was a teenager and I used to say "I don't know why women dye their hair and go through all the trouble to look young- I would never do that, I am going to age gracefully and naturally." Let's hope that the graceful part will be true at least!!!

Christmas Spirit

Coming in my front door today with the last few gifts I had to buy in tow, I noticed that the first smell I can sense when entering the house is now the Christmas tree in the living room. Man, that tree smells soooo good. We got a particularly fresh one this year and you can tell. I love all of the traditional cozy smells of Christmas. Baking cookies and fires in the fireplaces and trees, etc, etc. But as I was thinking about things I like about Christmas, I also realized there are things I dislike about this season. Really only 2 things if you narrow it down to the ones that really bother me. One is the fact that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are so hectic for most people, including us. It used to be worse. A couple years ago my sister and I decided to be brave and tell my grandmother that we wanted to get together some other time than Christmas Eve. It was not pretty, but the whole family got over it and the date has been forever changed to the night before Christmas Eve. It is so much better- we are not rushed, we have nowhere else to be and we can spend as much time with everyone there as we like. However, my husband's lovely family still has this "get-together" on Christmas Eve that involves about 40 people in his family and they all come to a gathering hall at a church and we eat cold food and sit with the people we see all the time and everyone races out of there because almost everyone has somewhere else to be. Now, I ask you, what exactly is the point in that? We don't see these people any other time in the year. Know why? I do. So, why would I want to spend precious Christmas Eve time with these people when all I think about is wanting to go home and be with my kids and watch Christmas movies and drink hot chocolate? I know, makes no sense. And the older people in the family say it is because "we need to see our family and spend time with them on Christmas." What kind of time do you spend when everyone sits with their immediate families and then high-tails it out of there? Mark my words, that will change at some point. It is a mission of mine. I don't think Christmas should be so hectic and stressful- there are already enough things taking away from the meaning of the season, we don't need that, too. Anyway- the second thing that I can't stand about this time of year is the fact that there are always one or two toys that get sold out and people will end up paying hundreds of dollars for something as ridiculous as a Tickle Me Elmo. There are so many better things to do with your money. I know people who will spend whatever it takes to get their kids whatever their little hearts desire. It just makes me want to puke. If it were my child, I would use that time to have the "you don't always get what you want" talk and have a life lesson learned. In fact, we have had to have that talk before and the girls have not gotten plenty of things they wanted and they are just fine and lived to tell about it. I am so bad that Annelise thinks she can't even ask for something at Target unless it has "one of those little red stickers" on it. Hey- they will thank me later. Even with these things that rake my nerves this time of year, I still love it. I am looking forward to the girls getting out of school and making our annual Christmas cookies for neighbors and family with them. I look forward to talking about the birth of Christ before they go to bed Christmas Eve. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see what Santa brought on Christmas morning. The good certainly outweighs the bad.

Late Pictures!!

These are sooo late, but better late than never, right? Most of them are from Emmaline's ballet birthday party back in September, and the other 2 are of Annelise (AKA "Moonbeam") on hippie day at school. This week has been pretty quiet so far. I got some cleaning done today and we went to see the proofs of the Santa pictures, which were great. The girls are actually behaving right now, which is not the norm for this week. They have been very trying this week for some reason. I know lack of sleep is part of it, but as for the other part I am not sure. I also have had sleep issues for the past few nights, so I am so tired I forget to play the "Santa is watching you" card. That one really worked well last year, so I am going to try to remember it when I can! Emmaline has been extraordinarily bad this past week. It is like she is on speed or something. I think the tree in her room keeps her awake later at night, so we are going to turn it off when we lay her down tonight and see if she falls asleep sooner. She has never had problems before, so we will see. On the way to church this past Sunday, she and Annelise were watching the DVD player in the car and she took her headphones off. I asked her what she wanted and she replied, "Daddy, I hope that you get killed first." Of course, I started laughing and Brian was horrified and he said "What do you mean by that??!!" She said " Well, all of us are going to die one day and I hope you go first." I laughed and laughed. Brian asked why she was hoping that, but she never would explain. I don't know why things pop into her mind like they do............ Anyway- I told her if he "gets killed first" that we would take a cruise- just me and her and Annelise (to help with the grief process of course....) She liked that idea. Oh, well - hopefully we won't have to worry about that for a long time! Enjoy the pictures!

Getting Ready For Santa!

Every year around this time we have to take about 50 pictures of the girls and then we narrow them down and select the final one for the Christmas picture. It is a lot more difficult than it sounds, because one of them usually is looking away or one of them puts their hand in their face at the last minute, etc, etc.... Last year we had a really cool one of when they had their faces painted at Disney World- we knew we weren't going to be that creative this time. But- I thought I would post the "finalist" pictures and let everyone see them. We chose the one on the far right- with them standing in front of the tree. I liked the one in the ballet dresses, too. The two others were taken right before we took them to have their pictures made with Santa. That was so cute. It was a very realistic Santa and he was so awesome with them. He had a real beard and rosy cheeks and a bellowing "Ho-Ho-Ho." Annelise's mouth hung open and she kept saying "Wow it's really him!" Emmaline did well. She was a little wary, but it was much better than in years past when she would scream bloody murder and cry her eyes out. Annelise asked for a "Real Loving Baby" by Fisher Price and Emmaline asked for a see-saw. We also talked her into asking for a Littlest Pet Shop. Santa told them they were way up on the nice list and that he was sure the things they asked for were in his shop with their names on them. (He even told them what shelf he thought they were on.) I dread the days when their eyes don't light up anymore when they see Santa and the magic is not there like it is now. Tommorrow I am going to post the pictures from Emmaline's ballet birthday party and also the pics of Annelise dressed like a hippie for school spirit week. (Late, I know....) I have about 2 more gifts to buy- then we will be done and ready for Christmas. Hopefully Santa will bring us some options on land! We are trying not to get frustrated right now, but that is difficult when we want to start building in a few months. I know it will happen, just wish I knew where and when! This week-end the Christmas parties start, and so the craziness begins. I hope that amidst the parties and gifts and food that we can still have our focus on why we celebrate the season- which is the biggest gift of all!

Oopsie

So, after I picked up the girls from school yesterday, we met Brian for lunch at one of our favorite "greasy-spoon" places. While we were there, the topic of Brian's upcoming snip-snip came up. Annelise (who is always listening to our conversation) said "What! Daddy is having surgery?? What is he having surgery for?!?" Well, I told her not to worry about it because it was just something minor and it was not serious. She would not give up. So I got frustrated and calmly said : "He is going to have surgery to keep him from being able to have any more babies." Annelise: "But , Mommy, Daddy can't have babies, so what are you talking about?" Open mouth and insert shoe store. I just stared at her and wished for time to go backwards a few minutes. It didn't. She just went on and on "I don't understand, Daddies don't have babies, so why would he need that surgery? That doesn't make sense, yadda yadda yadda." I told her I would explain it to her later. She was ok with that because the chicken fingers came and that was enough to distract her for the moment. So far, she has not asked about it again, thank goodness, because I still have not figured out what I am going to say! I can tell I have not had much sleep lately. Any suggestions would be great as to how to explain this to her! As if that was not bad enough, Emmaline has started with a million questions about Santa Claus. "Mommy, how can Santa deliver presents to everybody in the world? How can he watch all of the kids to see if they are bad or not? Etc., etc....." So I got the wide-eyed deer in the headlights stare at her until I came up with "Well, Santa actually has 2 nights to deliver presents, because when it is night here, it is daytime on the other side of the world. And he knows when you are bad because he is magic." Emmaline : "He is not magic, Mommy, I have seen him on TV and he doesn't look magic to me." Me: "Well, all the Mommies and Daddies have his phone number and we can call and tell him when you are bad or good." E.: " I want to call him. I want his phone number." Me: " It is against the law to have Santa's number when you are a kid. You don't get it until you grow up and have babies." So, that was enough for her. But I can still see the wheels turning in both of their heads and I know that both of them are going to revisit these topics soon. I hope I am gone out and Brian has to deal with them next time. At least Christmas is coming and all of the decorations and presents and activities will be enough to buy me some time for now!

Lesson Learned

Well, Thanksgiving was great, as always. We had a great time with family and the Beaufort Stew was awesome. (Although I ate so much of Brian's artichoke and cheese dip that I was almost too full for dinner!) I made cherry cheesecake puffs and Brian made a banana pudding for the desserts- they were both great, too. I was so full I felt sick after leaving. Anyway- the girls spent the night with my parents that night, so I got a wonderful idea (or so I thought) about how to spend the rest of the evening. Everybody had been taunting me with the fact that the outlet centers were all opening at midnight that night and said they couldn't believe I wasn't going-especially since I didn't have the girls the next morning. I never got into that "after Thanksgiving shopping" mayhem, because it is physically impossible for me to get up at such a ridiculous hour- and I hate the crowds, and I am usually done Christmas shopping by then. But- being the daring night owl that I am, I decided to live on the edge and go to the midnight opening that night at the outlets. My friends C and M called me that evening and they decided they would be wild and go to. (When you are our age with children, that is about as daring and exciting as it can get....) We decided that the crowds should not be that bad, because most people are bound to the "tradition" of getting up early and going in the morning. So, I loaded up on Frappuchinos and went to C's house and we got on the road. The outlet center is only about 30 mins away- usually. It took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Why- you may ask- did it take that long? Well, I believe with all my heart and soul that everyone in South Carolina (except for the people we know) was at the outlet center that night. We saw the tailights backed up for miles off the exit and decided that there must be a wreck. Well, there wasn't. Then, all these people were pulling up beside people in the front of the line and trying to get them to let them in. I swear I was about ready to pull Betty (my 38 special) out of my purse and shoot their tires out, and also shoot out the tires of anyone who let them in. We were irate when we finally got to the centers. Never have I seen so many cars in one outlet center in my life. The radio estimated that there were over 7500 people there when it opened- I think there were about 14,000. That is what it seemed like, anyway. We only got to go in a few stores, because most of them had check-out lines going out the door and across the sidewalk. Some stores were only letting so many people in at a time, because of fire code I guess. I did get a mirror I had been wanting from Bombay, and I got my mom some coffee from Harry and David's that she wanted. That was it. I will never, ever do that again. I went to sleep at 4 am, and Brian woke me up at 7:30 trying to find just the right shirt to wear to the shooting range. He is very lucky that Betty was downstairs at the time. Once I wake up, I am up. So- I am still not caught up on sleep and have nothing to show for it. We are going to C and M's tonight to watch the Clemson/ Carolina game- so I am looking forward to that. Hopefully, Clemson will absolutely romp over the Chickens. C and C are coming to pick us up in their van, which I am sure will have tacky Carolina flags all over it. Little do they know that I will have my tiger paw car magnet in my purse and I will stick it on the car door when I get in.... Hah. Anyway- our Christmas tree is up and the decorations are 95% done, so I am happy with that. Hope this week is a little slower than the others have been. Now if anyone reading this goes to the outlets next Thanksgiving, don't say I didn't warn you!

I've Had Better

Weekends, that is. Wow what a stinker this last one was. But you know, with all the stress I have had lately, the one thing I get comfort from the most is remembering to praise God for everything through the good and the bad. He never changes and He is always there. I just hand over everything to Him and He handles it. I don't have to do anything but follow His lead. This time of year it is so important to really look at and see the abundant gifts that have been given to us. God is good all the time. I was fortunate enough to be born in the USA. I have a wonderful family and the greatest friends anyone could ask for. I have been given so many opportunities to do something good for God and that is a blessing. I have a nice home with heat and air and nice decorations. My yard is full of beautiful trees and birds and a calming creek. I have 3 great kitties who always know when I need that extra love from them and they make me laugh. I have a husband and 2 little girls who all love me and are healthy. We never want for anything- food, warmth, clothing. I could list on and on for days and not count everything. We truly have it all. So, no matter what else happens, for these things and more I am thankful. On a lighter note, Emmaline had her Thanksgiving program today and it was really cute. She had on a turkey hat and an Indian vest and a big necklace made of dry pasta and beads. The class sang silly songs about Turkeys and Thanksgiving and it was adorable. Of course, getting her to eat at their Thanksgiving dinner for the class was a challenge as always. It takes her an hour to eat one bite of anything. Annelise's program is tommorrow, but I know I won't have a problem getting her to eat.... I just hope they have enough for the rest of the kids there! She has been the sweetest thing, lately. Telling me how she will love me forever and how she doesn't ever want to live without me. She has been really good for the past few days. (Just one more thing I have to be grateful for.) Many wishes to everybody for a happy Thanksgiving. I hope everyone else sees the gifts in their lives as well.

Ahh, New Week

It is not often that I say this, but thank goodness the week-end is over. It had it's good moments, like the Tigers whoopin' on Wake and the Chickens getting fried by the Gators. And, church was great. But the girls were sooo bad. They continued their behavior from last week and it was awful. Annelise's surgery went well. She was eating a happy meal within an hour afterwards and was rollerblading by the next day. I am glad that is over. Poor Emmaline had to go with us to the surgery and she was terrible. I think she was worried about Annelise, but boy was she acting out in the waiting room. She cried when they took Annelise back to surgery and she stomped around the waiting room and refused to play with anything I had brought for her. She said it was all "trap". (Her word for crap.) We are trying to make her stop saying that, but it is hard to look serious when we laugh everytime she says it. If she doesn't like what we give her for supper, she crosses her arms and wrinkles her eyebrows and says "That's trap!" Of course, anything that is not a chicken nugget is "trap" in her book. Anyway- this morning went much smoother and they were really good for me. Hopefully that will continue through this week. I got them both signed up to play basketball at a local church, so that is one thing marked off my to-do list. Brian is having a bit of a rough day, though. He had to leave the house by 6 a.m. today to make rounds and he got to work only to find that someone had stolen the airconditioning unit at the office. Then he went to 2 different stores during his lunch break to find security cameras and found that one of the stores doesn't carry them anymore and the other one is only selling them online, now. So- he has a headache and will probably be whiney. But, I can deal with that. I am getting ready to book Annelise's birthday party at a modeling school. They give each girl a manicure and they get their hair and make-up done and they get to walk down the runway and get their picture taken. That just has her name written all over it. For now, I need to get back to the Mommy calls for the office. All about cough and/or vomiting this week. But, at least the girls are behaving today! I'll take that!

Getting Worse!

To look at the bright side, my brother-in-law did come and get my neice yesterday afternoon (after I took her to the office and she was diagnosed with bilateral ear infections and wheezing...) She was sweet and I love her, but boy do I have a lot to get done! Tommorrow is Annelise's surgery, so I cleaned like a crazy woman today. I did get a lot done, so I feel better about that. While I was cleaning, my friend Erika called and told me that her daughter woke up with a fever and sore throat. You may be asking, "So what?" Well, she was supposed to take Emmaline to school and pick her up for me tommorrow during Annelise's surgery. (Her daughter and Emmaline are in the same class.) She is at the office right now getting seen and diagnosed. But, the surgery center called and said that the surgery was scheduled for 10:15, and we don't have to be there until 9:15, so we will be able to take Emmaline to school at least. How we are going to pick her up we have not figured out yet. Where there's a will there's a way, right? We will see. Needless to say, I am looking forward to spending a few mindless hours on the couch watching football on Saturday. Hopefully Clemson will easily beat Wake Forest, and I also hope to see the SC chickens get eaten by the gators. My mom got Annelise a movie for her "surgery prize", so I will let them watch it while the Clemson game is on. (They will go to bed when the Carolina game is starting.) To say the least, it has been a pretty stressful week. Oh, and let's not forget the Aqua Dot recall- of which my children have about 10,000. I better not have a problem getting my money back for them. Some of it I am just going to have to cut my losses. The small kits with the different templates are all over the playroom. So, I have probably lost about $30.00- but it could be worse!! Our neighbors came to get the contract for the pasture sale last night. They should be signing it and bringing it back today. I look forward to closing on that in January. I am just trying to get done with this week for now. Usually when we have a yucky week, a good one follows. I hope that is the case here!

Pretty Sure I'm Losin' It

It's been a while since a post... but I was in Charleston all week-end, which was great, and I have been going 100 miles an hour since I got back. Starting with Charleston- it was wonderful, as always. Friday we got there around 3:15, checked in to the hotel and went out to find something to do. None of us had ever taken a carriage ride and the guy selling the tickets explained that there was a discount after 5 pm ( note- should have been our first clue)- it was 5:15. We decided "Sure, why not?" and bought the tickets. We got on the carriage and there were only 3 other people (older people from up North) on the carriage with us. In fact, there was a whole row of seats empty (Note- second clue). But, we got on there, happy and oblivious and started on our way. The tour guide was nice and seemed cheerful. However, as we trotted along, I noticed that the animals pulling the carriage were not horses, but in fact, were donkeys. Didn't think much of it at the time. But early on in the tour, it became very obvious why they discount tours after 5 pm. Apparantly, donkeys don't like to be out late, so when the sun starts to go down, they are ready to high-tail it back to their barn. They allowed the tour guide to stop for about, oh, a millisecond at each place he tried to talk about and then they would shoot forward into a full-fledged sprint (in front of cars or people or whatever.) I was in fear for my life and my limbs as they hung out a few times when I am pretty sure we got onto 2 wheels in a turn. And some guy just about lost his side mirror on his car- I still don't know how we didn't take it right off. My favorite part is when we got onto a rather deserted street and the tour guide said- "I'm just going to let them run right now, since there is no-one on the street and they are wanting to go fast." Richard Petty didn't have nothin' on these donkeys. Our tour was over in about 15 minutes and we didn't learn a thing- except not to take a tour when they offer a discount, and not to allow donkeys to pull you. Anyway- after that harrowing experience, we went to A.W. Shucks (yum) and I had a filet with crabmeat and shrimp on it. It was very good. Then we went on our ghost tour- which was awesome. They took us into the cemetary of the Circular Church at night, which I expected to be creepy- but was really quite peaceful. I heard a lot of stories that I had not heard before and the tour guide was the best I have seen. So sad, though- to see all of the children that died back then from all of the diseases that are so easily prevented now. So many children buried there. Anyway- we went to bed and on Sat. we went to Starbucks for breakfast and roamed around the battery and Waterfront Park. We looked at the cool houses and the architecture. We also toured the Calhoun Mansion- a 24,000 square foot home built right after the Civil War. It was absolutely beautiful. Makes the house I want to build look like a trailor. We ate lunch at Bubba Gumps, went through the Market where C got a gorgeous picture for her house. I got Benny Wafers and some marionettes for the girls. We visited Market Street Sweets on more than one occassion (M was addicted to the pralines, as was I , and C loved their bear claw turtles.) Sat. night we went to T-Bonz to eat because we knew they would have the football games on- which were such good games that we stayed about 2 and a half hours watching them there. Ordered dessert from the neighboring restaurant, Kaminsky's. (Always divine.)Then we went to get last minute sweets to take home and went back to the hotel. Sun morning, we went to Sweetwater Cafe for breakfast- good, even though every one of our orders was wrong- we ate it anyway and it was yummy. We went to the bookstore to grab a few last minute items we had wanted and headed home. C's driving seemed much less scary on the way back- probably because of the donkey experience. Ever since then it has been crazy at my house. I have had my 12-month old neice for 2 days now. She won't let me put her down for anything. I even have to go potty with her on my lap. Brian let the girls make messes all over the house while I was in Charleston- still have to clean all that up. And Annelise is having outpatient surgery on Friday- so I am trying to get stuff done before then. I could scream. At least I had Charleston for a few days.......

Everybody's Workin' For the Weekend!

Oh, I am so ready to go to Charleston.... But I have sooo much to do before then. I have to lay out all the girls clothes for the week-end, so that Brian doesn't have them looking like hobos. I have to pack my things. I need to clean the bathrooms and clean up the house in general. I have to make a "reminder" list for Brian so he will remember to feed the cats, give them water and check on the lizard. I don't know what would happen if I died. He would be engaged by the funeral. Anyway- I am really excited to go to Charleston. I just want to relax and shop and see the sights. Back in the day I might be tempted to party a bit, but I just don't have the desire to do that stuff anymore. The pastor on the discipleship DVD study we are doing at church said something that hit home the other day when it comes to that. He said, "If people don't see God through us, where else are they going to see Him?" He also pointed out that it is easy to have an explanation about God and who He is , but what people need to see is a demonstration. Sometimes I forget that I have a responsibility there. It goes back to that "walk the walk if you're going to talk the talk" thing. When we get saved, it is not just to get us a free pass into Heaven, it is to tell others about how to get there, too. The most effective way to do that is to live like we are supposed to- showing Christ in our words and actions. Anyway- I am glad that I no longer feel the need to sow any "wild oats" or stuff like that. I know that God is giving me this trip to Charleston with my friends to relax and enjoy one of the most beautiful places He created. I can't wait! Last night we went trick-or-treating with friends and that was really fun. We got a late start because Brian had to sew up a kid's forehead at the last minute at work and didn't get home until almost 7. Emmaline was Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Annelise was a pink Power Ranger. They looked adorable. We have enough candy to last until next Halloween. I hope they eat most of it while I am gone this week-end! Still looking for land, too. We have had some good prospects- but none of them felt right. I am glad we aren't just jumping at the first property we see that would work. We are really being picky. Oh, well- off to pack for the trip! Hope everyone else has a good week-end, too!

What A Week-End!

Wow- I am still tired from all the activities this week-end. It was fun, but exhausting. Friday night we took the girls to my parents to spend the night. Then we went out with some friends we had not seen in a while and we ended up talking for about 3 hours at the restaurant. Then we went and loaded up all the remaining yard sale stuff and took it to the Diva's house. Stuff ended up flying out of the back of our truck and I made Brian get out and get it- on a very busy road in the pitch dark. I was afraid it would cause damage on someone's car if they hit it. (It was a large item....) That was funny watching him do that. Anyway- we ended up staying at the Diva's until about 11:45 and we went home and went to bed at about 1 a.m.. We got up at 6 a.m. Sat. morning, and went to the yard sale. It was dark and foggy and misting. Eventually it lightened up and we got some traffic through there, but not much. It was disappointing, but I had fun. I made $150.00, so that should take care of some goodies in Charleston this week-end. After that, I packed up the stuff I wanted to keep for the kids consignment sale that I do twice a year and Brian and C went to Goodwill with the rest. We got home, took showers and packed up everything for my parents house- where we spent the rest of the week-end. Of course, being rushed and sleep-deprived, I forgot about half of the stuff, but- too bad. We watched the first half of the Clemson game at my parents and then took the girls to my friend J's for a Halloween party, which was great. They carved pumpkins and we ate and they played some games. I was able to go inside every now and then to see what the Clemson score was- and it was always good! Then we went back to my parents and put the girls to bed and watched the Carolina game with my Gamecock fan parents. Hah! That was the highlight of my night. Great game that was. We went to bed and I called the bed with Annelise because Emmaline usually kicks and flops around all night and throws her leg over you. However, she was actually very good in the bed with Brian, and Annelise was like sleeping with a donkey helicopter. I got about 3 or 4 hours of sleep. Sunday morning, we got up and went to church and went out to lunch. We put the girls down for naps and Brian and I went riding around and then we went back to church for the Trunk or Treat, which was great. Finally we arrived home and collapsed in bed and started a new week today. Needless to say, I have not unpacked any of the yard sale stuff I brought home, nor have I unpacked any of the stuff I took to my parents house. I did an emergency load of laundry last night and today I had to go on a field trip with Emmaline and then work this afternoon. I have not been to the grocery store in almost 2 weeks and my house is a disaster! But I am going to have to get to it , because I am leaving for Charleston on Friday and it has to be done before then! I took this Thursday afternoon off to allow myself some extra time to get things ready. I am really going to need to get away after all of this...... But, it was a good week-end and we did have a lot of fun.

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

Well, Brian got that tooth out last night when he got home from work. I made them go upstairs and do it, so I didn't see or hear anything. She came down the stairs with bloody gauze in her mouth and had her tooth in her hand, holding it up in the air like a trophy. She was so excited. Brian got out the camera and took pictures of her snaggletooth smile, and I interviewed her on video camera. I asked her what happened and she said "My tooth came out!" Then I said "Well, how do you feel about that?" And she got a little quiet and said "Bad." Then she started mumbling something and she started swaying and swooning and Brian went down to the floor to break her fall. She fainted away right there at the bottom of the stairs. She was so pasty- there was no color even to her lips. I was laughing at the sight of the two of them in the floor, Brian trying to get her to come to and her just laying there, eyes all aflutter. He carried her to her bed and I got her a cold washcloth and some juice. (Also the trashcan because she thought she was going to throw up...) When she started feeling a little better, she smiled and said "I take after Mommy!" Yep- she is going to have a tough time with all the teeth she has left to lose! She is already dreading the next one. She did perk up a bit this morning when she found that the Tooth Fairy had left her $5.00, a pack of gum and also a hand-written letter thanking her for her tooth. She loved that the letter was written in pink metallic pen and had fancy script. Looks like she did get something from me after all- but I wish it were something better than my ability to faint easily. (I could have been a wonderful Scarlett O'Hara.) Poor Emmaline never had a clue what was going on when Annelise went down. She was dancing around her and Brian yelling "Look at me! Look at me!" I am not so sure that she wants to lose any teeth after seeing all that last night. She screamed when Brian pulled Annelise's tooth. Glad that is going to be his job. Oh, well- at least that is over for now. We had a good prospect on land the other day, but it is not going to work out. I am not upset- that just means that particular property was not meant for us. I know the right one will come along. Until then - we will keep praying and looking. For now I hope tonight is less eventful at this house than last night.

Loose Tooth

Even though I am a nurse, there are still things that really gross me out. Fractures are one of them, stitches are another. Then the other big thing that makes me feel weak just thinking about it is loose teeth. Annelise has her first loose tooth. She is absolutely obsessed with it. She knows that it makes me want to faint and puke, so she shows it to me every chance she gets. I think it goes back to my own experiences with loose teeth as a child. I never could stand the sight of my own blood and as you know, when a tooth is pulled, it bleeds quite a bit. But I think the worst thing was the sound it made to have a tooth pulled. I remember my mom pulling my teeth when they were loose and she always grabbed it with a paper towel- well that in itself made the noise of the paper towel on my tooth, like a squeaking noise. Then when the tooth came out it made a ripping noise and I am about to throw up just typing about it. One time, when my parents were having a party in the kitchen, I hid under an end table in the den and pulled my own tooth to avoid the dreaded paper towel. I ended up fainting under the end table, (which had a tablecloth on it) and I have no idea how long I was out before I came to again. Even when I was in high school and became an assistant at a dental practice, I fainted every time a patient had a tooth pulled. I would be standing there with the suction wand in their mouth at one moment, and the next I was in the floor, seeing stars and blackness. Needless to say, I didn't last very long at that job. I can handle just about everything else. I have been pooped on , vomited on, suctioned snot out of throats and tracheas, pulled blood clots out of gun shot wounds in someone's leg, packed gauze into a leg wound with smelly decaying flesh all in it. But please don't ask me to be present for a tooth pulling. Of course, I know it is going to be any day that Annelise's tooth comes out. I told her she has to wait until her Daddy is home to do it. I don't care if it is hanging on by a thread. Otherwise my children will be here unsupervised while I am in the floor unconscious. I know I need to get used to it- because my future holds many more teeth to come out with 2 kids! If anyone knows a good therapist for this, let me know!

Things To Look Forward To

So many things coming up to look forward to.... I feel bad because none of them involve my children, but I always look forward to quality time with them, too. One is- we booked our cruise for next Summer! It was not on the Princess line, which we went on last time and loved, but we will see. It is going to be on the new Carnival Liberty ship. I am excited. I didn't even know where we were going until a couple of days ago because I told my husband I really didn't care- I just wanted to go! We are going to a couple of places we went on the last cruise- but I am okay staying on the ship if I don't want to go there again. We are going to the Turks/Caicos also, and I have never been there, so I will be getting off the boat to see that. I just look forward to the down time. I hope we will have begun building by then, so we will probably need to get away from that, too for a few days. Brian tends to become obsessed when we build a house and I know it will do him good to not be involved for a week. Our builder will probably appreciate it, too! Also, in 10 days, I am going to Charleston with 2 of my very good friends for the week-end. I am soo excited about that. Charleston always feels like my "home away from home." I can't wait to be there and just be able to do whatever I want! I have always wanted to walk through some of the old cemetaries and read the headstones and such. (I know, most people aren't interested in that.) I also just finished a book about one of the homes there- The Miles-Brewton House. I want to tour it since I have read a lot about the people who lived there and how they lived and what happened in the house. I am so enamoured with that era- the Southern Belles and the way they dressed and how they lived. I love the customs from back then- the "courting" , the manners that were demanded , the dinner parties and all of that. I am always so content when I am in Charleston- so I am really looking forward to it. We are also going on a new ghost tour there that takes you through a cemetary at night. I have done the other ghost tours like 100 times, so maybe I will hear some new stories on this one. Even if you aren't interested in ghost stuff, you learn a lot of history about the city on those tours. My friend "the Diva" wants to go somewhere and sing karaoke one night. My other friend and I will have a lot of fun watching her do that. I won't do it anymore since the time I did it on the last cruise. (Another story for another time...) Anyway- I figure it will be a good time to think about things and clear my mind a little, too. We may just go sit on the beach one day and watch the sun set or something. It should be a relaxing time. We won the trip in a game of Mexican Train Dominoes- so all of our husbands are pouting about us being gone, but that is too bad! (They won a fishing trip in another game , so I am sure they will redeem that soon.) Anyway- I hope everyone else has something great to look forward to in the next few months. (I know that 2 of you do!) It's something that will get me through the "rough days".

Soccer Season is Done (For Now)

Well, Soccer is over- thank goodness. I enjoyed going and watching Annelise play and she had such a good time and learned a lot, but I will be glad to have my Tuesday nights back and be able to eat dinner as a family again on those nights. Her team had their pizza party last night and she got her trophy- you would have thought it was made of real gold as excited as she was about it. We are going to let her play in the Spring and Fall next year. Now we have to find somewhere for Emmaline to play basketball. That will be a challenge since she is only 4. But she is really wanting to play. I think that is going to make for some interesting entertainment, considering her temper. I pity the fool who succeeds in taking the ball away from her. This week-end was great, I must say. I went shopping on Saturday and then came home (to an empty house!) and watched football all alone until one in the morning. Aunt Libby had the girls all day and night on Saturday, and Brian was at the BMW plant, racing all kinds of BMWs around the track as fast as he wanted. I talked to him a few times and he sounded like he was on crack he was so excited. He came home after dinner and didn't feel well, so he went to bed and I stayed on the couch and watched football. It was a great day (it also helped that Carolina got taken down by an un-ranked team and that Clemson blew Cent. Michigan away...) I was not overly impressed with Clemson's performance Saturday (points mean nothing to me), but I'll take it. This week, I am going on a field trip to the Apple Orchard with Emmaline and then on Saturday, I am having a yard sale, and going to a halloween party for the girls that evening. (I am going to try to squeeze in watching the Clemson game at 3:30 and then catch the Carolina game at 7:45- thank goodness for TIVO!) Sunday we are going to church and then we will probably hang out at my parents or my aunt's house all day because we are going back to church Sunday night for Trunk or Treat- which is always great for the kids. So, until this week-end we are coasting with not much going on. I am sure that will change. I hope to go to the gym tonight. I guess we will see how things go with Brian and the girls before I plan that. Still no prospects on land, but it hasn't been that long since we started looking. I am not worried about that. Oh- the picture up top is of Annelise scoring a goal. I thought that would be a good tribute to her soccer season. Maybe she will be the next Mia Hamm.

What's Your But?

Now that I have your attention.... I was watching a TV show the other night and the group of friends on the show was discussing how they would describe each other for a potential date. They all had a "but". For instance, "He's really good-looking but he's afraid of commitment." I wondered what my "but" would be. I figured it would be .."but she's an ice queen." Or maybe ..."but don't make her mad because she has a terrible temper." I would have a lot of potential buts. What would your but be? (Anyone can post an answer- I'd love to hear what you all think about yourselves compared to what I would say about you!) You have to imagine that you are back on the dating scene to answer this one. I know it has been a while for some of us! I usually don't ask group questions on my blog, but I thought this one was funny. Plus it has been a pretty non-eventful 2 days and I figured this would be more interesting. All I have done today is clean and play go-fish with Emmaline. Yesterday I went to a short play that Annelise was in at school and went to Barnes and Noble afterwards to take up time before it was time to go get the girls at school. That's about it. So- I wanted to ask something fun and maybe learn some new things about some of you! What is your "but"?

Another Busy Week

This week looks like it will be another one of those "hurricane" ones where we don't know if we're coming or going. I'm not complaining- things are going great- just a lot going on right now. The discipleship study we are doing at church is really grounding for us. I have been in such a good mood for the past few weeks. My niece celebrated her first birthday this past week-end and that was fun- especially for the kids. They painted pumpkins at the party, had a hayride and we all ate caramel apples. Plus- the girls were so exhausted they were asleep by 7:15 last night! (And we had to wake them up at 7 a.m. this morning.) Besides Emmaline throwing an absolute fit this morning because she had to dress like a pirate for school it has been a great beginning to the week. I got on the scales for the first time in weeks and saw that I have lost 8 pounds so far. (Going back to the gym tonight to make sure those pounds stay gone...) Today, one of the docs in the office is out, so Brian will probably work late. Then tommorrow night we have A's soccer game. Then Wed. and Thurs. nights are - so far- without plans, but I know that will change. Friday the girls are out of school and Brian is usually off on Fridays, but this one he has to work- so I got a sitter to come because I have to go to parent-teacher conferences that day. Friday night we have the last soccer game. Sat. Brian will be at the BMW center getting to drive all kinds of cars around a race-track all day and into the night. The girls are going to spend the night with Aunt Libby one night this week-end. Then Sunday morning we will go to church and Sun. night there is a pizza party for A's soccer team to celebrate the end of the season. Then we are back to Monday! If the girls spend the night with Aunt Libby Friday night, I am going to the outlets Saturday with my aunt and possibly my sister. (Even though I really don't need anything....) Sometime this week I have to go to the office and get the rest of the yard sale stuff out of the attic there. Somehow it will all get done! Hey- at least I never have to worry about being bored!

Refreshment

This has been a pretty good week, so far. I have felt really good since we went to church last Sunday. It has been a while since I have been able to associate peace with church, but I can this week. I am starting to feel refreshed spiritually and it feels good. I even spent time in the Bible 3 times already this week and even though that is not what some would consider a lot, it is a tremendous jump for me. It is just nice to feel like I am on a good path again. We started a 6-week study on discipleship in Sunday School last week and I am getting into that and am already looking forward to Sunday morning. Still nothing on the land front. I have decided that God will just put something in front of us. We asked Him to guide us- now we are really going to let Him. I think it will just be something that falls in our lap. We need it to be obvious! We aren't even looking that much lately. I know God will work it out. That is such a load off of us. Sometimes I just forget how awesome He really is. I can't figure out for the life of me why He is so good to us. We certainly don't deserve it. As for other good things - I got a lot of stuff cleaned out and/or put up this week. The school that the girls go to got the Blue Ribbon Award this week- which is awesome. They were the only private school in the state to get it this year. The new roof is on the house and it looks really good. I can't wait to see what the house looks like when it is all done. (Then we are going to sell it! We are truly crazy.) We made an appointment to have the siding done, so they will let us know about that soon. Annelise's teacher had really great things to say about her. She thinks she will be some kind of scientist. She had to dress up in 1970's style for school today- it was adorable. I'll post a picture soon. She told everybody that her new name is "Moonbeam." Emmaline has been perfect the past few days and has allowed me to get a lot done. Overall- I definitely can't complain about anything right now. Clemson has an off week, so the week-end should go well! Goodness knows they need to rest and practice after the last couple of performances!! Oh, well- looking forward to seeing how all of this turns out.

My "Other" Babies

So these are my other babies. The calico is the youngest- her name is Annabelle Gertrude. We found her outside under a slab of stone beside our driveway when she was about 5 weeks old. Brian thought she was a tree frog because she was hoarse from meowing so much. She was dirty and starved and flea-ridden, but she was the cutest thing ever. We tried to give her away, but couldn't find a home for her. I am so glad because she is my little buddy. She sleeps right beside me every night and she waits under the shower curtain every morning for me to get out. The one on the dresser is Willard Scottish the Third- better known as Willie. He is cross-eyed. We got him and his brother (Clyde) at the humane society when they were kittens. He was so ugly. Scrawny and screamed a lot and cross-eyed. But he is the sweetest one and the one in charge. He is the one who sits by you when you're sick and worries when he can't find the other cats. He prefers me to Brian and he is Annelise's cat. The one who is sideways (can't figure out how to rotate him) is Clydeford Theodore the Third- better known as Clyde. He is the skiddish one- scared of his own shadow and likes to suck on people's fingers and lick their hair. Very sweet and likes to be loved on. He is Emmaline's cat and when we open her door to get her up in the mornings he goes right in and gets on her pillow next to her and purrs. He is definately Brian's buddy. He likes to sleep on Brian's head at night and sit in his lap when we watch TV. They are such good and tolerant cats. They go to the lake with us and Willie always screams the entire way there and back. We just love these little guys and they are a big part of our family!

Take the Good With the Bad

Well- football certainly was not what I was hoping for this week-end. Clemson didn't even really show up to play against Va Tech (I love them anyway...) and Carolina is now #7. We haven't gotten any good potential leads for land, but we have plenty of time for that, so that is okay. But- Brian and I did get the garage cleaned out and we can actually park 2 whole cars in it. (I know- those who know me will have to see it to believe it.) That was no small accomplishment. We also went to the church we want to attend. (The one that is a little far away.) It was great. The Sunday School class we are in started a 6-week video and discussion study on discipleship this Sunday and it is going to be really good. We have decided to start attending there, even though we can really only go on Sunday mornings right now- until we get moved a little closer or until school is out. They just voted last Sunday to take out a $650,000 line of credit to pay off the children's building they just completed construction on. (Total cost was $1.2 million- but they have already raised the rest of the money.) The vote passed by 99%. To some people, that may not be a big deal, but to me that is incredible. That would have never passed even by 50% at the church we used to go to. It comes down to having faith that God will provide. The preacher's sermon was awesome, too. He talked about when God challenges us to do something it is not really a challenge because He is going to take care of everything and we just have to be willing to step out on faith and do our parts. That is so true. There have been times when God has called me to do something and I have thought- 'I can't do that- there is no way.' Then I would always discover that He took care of all the tough stuff and brought me through it and all I really had to do the whole time was trust Him and be willing. The church only has about 400 active members, but they had 90 children at AWANAs this past Wednesday. They didn't even have enough workers to do everything. That is just amazing. My girls love it there, too. It has been really hard to let go of the other church we attended and to have to get over losing our "second family" that we had there. But God is opening some awesome doors for us and we are able to look forward now instead of looking back. I am so excited to see what the future holds. We met with our real estate agent and our builder (they are husband and wife) last night and they loved the house we want to build and they are keeping their eyes open for property out there for us. I know the right thing will come along at the right time. We wouldn't even be able to close on anything until January, anyway. This house will be getting a new roof next week and that will be the first step in the exterior renovation. It is going to look really good when we are done with it. It will be a great home for somebody! This time next year I hope we will be in full swing with building our next ( and hopefully final) home. I can't even imagine what that will feel like, but I am excited!

Lots to Do....

Just came back from Annelise's soccer game. She scored 2 goals and she was on cloud nine about it. She actually passed up the snack that one of the parents brought tonight because it was a "granilla" bar and she didn't want that. (You know if she passes up food it has got to be something she doesn't like!) She is really improving. Had a good day with Emmaline. She played quietly with her beloved Aqua Dots all morning while Annelise was at school and I cleaned some of their clothes out and separated and put away this and that. There is no way Emmaline will ever wear all of her winter clothes. I bought her some and then forgot how much I had saved from Annelise. It is ridiculous! Anyway- Brian is off work for the next 3 days and we have got a little "agenda" for that time. (Anyone who knows me knows that I have a plan for every day- now it hardly ever goes the way I plan, but I always have one anyway!) We are going to look at lots/land tommorrow and Friday because Emmaline will be at school those days with Annelise. We are looking in such a large area that we will never cover it all. On Thursday, we are going to start cleaning out the garage. Now, those who have seen the garage know that this is a task of monumental proportions. Notice I said start cleaning it out. It will take forever to finish it. However, I am going to be doing a yard sale with a friend in a few weeks and I want to get all of that stuff in boxes before then. I am in the mood to get rid of stuff, so I am trying to take advantage of that before it wears off! On the upside, my parents want the girls to spend the night at their new house this Friday night- so we will have a chance to have an adult only dinner. We will pick them up on Saturday and then we have a birthday party to go to. Saturday night is going to be reserved for football. Clemson plays at 6 and hopefully Carolina will begin getting their hineys whipped at 7:30. Sunday morning, we are going to the church that my parents attend (the one we really want to go to.) Then, Sunday night we are going out with our real estate agent and her husband to draw up the contract for the pasture sale. Then we will go home and get ready for Monday again!! Such is life. I really hope to get a good bit done in those few days, though. I know if I don't get rid of some things that will be more that I have to move later!

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do

A few months ago I confronted a man at the church we went to about some things he was doing. He was pretty much destroying the church and intentionally working against our pastor and my search committee. I was a direct recipient of his actions a lot of the time and I just got tired of watching him do these things with nothing being said or done to stop him. My husband and I asked some of the men in the church to speak to him about what he was doing- they said they would but never did. Well, I just got tired of it and the Bible says you need to confront people when you are offended by them. I did confront him with a letter. (This is after a couple other people called him and asked him nicely to stop doing what he was doing and he did not.) Now- I will admit that I was not "loving" in my letter. He had put me and my family through a lot and I was at the end of my rope. I wouldn't say I was hateful- more like blatantly honest. Nothing I said to him was untrue. Well, he sent copies of my letter to about 1/2 the church (mostly people who thought he could do no wrong) and said he had to leave because of me. Then half the church thought of me as the devil and since no-one in leadership decided to address this, that remains my reputation there. Even people who knew what he had been doing criticized me for not being more loving in my approach. ( Well, all kinds of those people had the chance to handle this themselves and didn't- I may not have done it right, but at least I did it.) I am over it, but the reason I felt like writing about it is because I had somewhat of a "revelation" about it all this week. I was listening to the radio and the song "The Voice of Truth" came on. It was talking about how we should all have the faith that David had to face the giant, Goliath. Well, then I thought- David didn't go to Goliath in love. He knew Goliath was a threat to him and his people and he went out there and nailed him in the forehead with a slingshot and killed him. Why was that okay? For me it told me that God doesn't always send people in love. Sometimes He just sends them to get a job done. I am sure that Goliath knew that what he was doing was wrong, just like the man I confronted. This man had already been spoken to in love- it did not phase him. So, then what? I am not saying that I shouldn't have been a little nicer, but I don't question my actions quite as much as I did before. In fact, even though this man left the church I went to, he is still to this day calling people who still go there and telling them they should leave. He is also still spreading lies about my husband and me to whomever will listen. It is a real good thing that I don't let other people determine my character. I have gotten hate mail and other stuff mailed to me, but I know that God and I are straight on things and that is all that matters. I have given forgiveness where it is due and I have asked for it where I needed it. But I can't help but think that God does not always send people in love. There comes a time when if love is not working, you just have to do what needs to be done. Not everyone will agree with this I know- these are my thoughts and I am allowed to have them. But it was just a thought that I wanted to share and maybe cause some people to look at things a little differently. I hope I never feel compelled to do something like that again. It was not something I enjoyed- but I still think it was something that needed to be done. Oh, well- other than that- we are still looking for a church. I would love to go to the church we got married at but it is a bit too far, so we are getting discouraged. I know we will know what to do in time. That patience factor, once again, is pushing me to the limit. Sometimes I wish I could see where we will be in a year-where we will live, go to church, etc. But God knows and I can take comfort in that. Until then, I will wait- I am getting good at that.

Green Acres

Well- we have started our search for land. It is always a daunting task where we live because the market has just exploded and any decent piece of land seems to be snatched up before the sign can get in the ground good. Mostly by these tract home builders, too. Since the subdivisons around here seem to be charging ridiculous amounts for their lots, we have decided to look for 3 or 4 acres so that we can sell some lots to our friends, too. Our own little neighborhood, I guess. We only personally want 1.5-2 acres at the most, so hopefully God will lead us to the right place. We are handing it over to Him, because we are so excited about building this next house that we are afraid we will just "settle" for something. We will trust Him to help us, and we know He will. We looked at a parcel of land last night and really liked it and when we called about it, we found out they had just closed on it that day. We know that means it just wasn't meant to be and we are okay with that. Again, as always, this will probably be another lesson in patience. Not our strong point! Anyway- we are getting ready for Emmaline's friend party at the ballet center tommorrow and her family party will be here at the house on Sunday. Aunt Libby mentioned that she wanted them to spend the night and I am hoping she may come get them on Sat. and bring them back on Sun. for the family party. That will give us a chance to clean, watch football (Go Tigers! Beat Ga Tech!) and maybe even go out to dinner with other actual adults. It has been almost 3 weeks since they have spent the night anywhere or since we have had a sitter- and believe me we are all getting tired of being around each other so much! We will see- if they don't go anywhere that will be okay too. Well- off to do some laundry and clean up a bit. Such is life!

Happy Birthday To Emmaline!!

My baby is 4 today! I can't believe that. Time really passes by so fast. She is growing to be such a funny and beautiful girl. She awoke this morning to balloons in her room (I have done that since their first birthdays) and wanted to know who put them there. I told her the birthday fairy did and that she does that every night before a birthday for them. She smiled and carried them all over the house until it was time for school. I sent M&M mini-cookies to school for the class (they aren't allowed to bring anything with frosting). She chose to go to "Dan Powflos" (ie: Don Pablos) for lunch and they gave her free sopapillas (very yummy) and they clapped for her and took her picture with a huge green sombrero on her head. And she gets to choose what we eat for supper, so she has decided on chicken fingers, peas and french fries. (It was cereal at first and I convinced her to change her mind.) She is getting an MP3 player from us because Annelise has one and they fight over it. Her ballerina party is going to be Saturday and the family party is Sunday. (Birthdays are a big deal in my family!) On the way to school this morning we saw the sunrise and it was sooo beautiful. I wish I had had a camera so I could have captured it. The sky was a vibrant pink and orange and the sun was a dark pinky-orange color. Emmaline decided that it was God's birthday present for her and I told her that it probably was. I thought that was very sweet. She is going to be fun to watch over the next few years. So far her interests include cooking, basketball, ballet , puzzles and anything her older sister likes. We still have to force her to eat and she is still pretty hot-headed, but she has a definate sweet side and shows it often- she has to have a "kiss-hug" every night and every morning. She still cries at the drop of a hat and she still won't take any junk off anybody- so she is going to be an interesting character to see in about 10 years. She is such a blessing to us-even though she drives us crazy sometimes. We are grateful God chose to lend her to us and we wish her a very SUPER birthday!!

Eye Candy

Just thought I would share some of my favorite eye candy with everyone today. Enjoy!! (Enrique and Josh- if something happens to Brian I am comin' after one of you!)

Attitude Counts

This week-end we watched a lot of football. We fast forwarded through most of the commercials and the time-outs and halftimes, so it really didn't take up too much time. Clemson looked really great Saturday, so that was a good moment for me. Then we watched the Carolina/LSU game- which I had been looking forward to because Carolina is my least favorite team- in fact if there was a position lower than least favorite, that is where they would be. I knew they were going to lose and I had hoped they would just get spanked. I was even more excited because we watched it with 2 Carolina fans, so I could taunt them easily. However- (I know, never good when I say that...) I was so disgusted by the way LSU behaved that I could not enjoy the game. On top of that, Carolina did much better than I thought they would (I think I just puked in my mouth a little) but the truth is the truth. That is hard for me to say, but it is what it is! I mean, LSU was pulling a facemask every chance they got, and it was intentional. That is so very dangerous- and as a football player each one of them knew that. They would tackle a SC guy and then they would shove their heads in the ground while they were getting up. The arrogance on the field was also nauseating. I could not , in good conscience, pull for them. I used to coach the high school girls basketball team and I always emphasized how important their attitudes were. How are we supposed to expect kids to behave in sports if adults can't? I used to tell the girls on my team that if they weren't good enough to play without doing things like that and acting ridiculous, then they weren't good enough to play at all. Someone needs to tell the players for LSU that. The coach needs to have a "come to Jesus" talk with the team. He didn't even look like he cared, though. That is probably part of the problem. If you have to play dirty and commit intentional personal fouls to get to number 2, then I hope my team never makes it there. Maybe I will have another chance to enjoy Carolina getting whipped- I hope it will be during the Clemson game!!

Nothing Exciting

It has been a pretty "uneventful" week this week. (I am not complaining.) The girls have been fairly good - that is important since I just started working an additional afternoon a week doing phone triage for the office. Today while Annelise was at school, Emmaline and I went to run a few errands and then met my friend Jennifer and her little girl at Chick-Fil-A to play on the playground and eat an early lunch. The girls had fun and we had a good "catch-up" session. I have some sort of sinus stuff going on and cannot breathe through my nose, so I haven't been to the gym for a few days, but I can't stand to work out when I have a cold, so that will just have to be the way it is for now. I have been in a lovely mood for the past few days and have no idea why, but hey, I will take it. I do have 2 things to be excited about this week. Just found out that the football games I wanted to watch this Saturday are all coming on at different times. That means I can watch the Clemson game at noon, then watch LSU spank SC (only watching that for a good laugh) , then we will see what Georgia and Alabama have in store for each other (I know, Roll Tide, yada yada). I am sure the games will be frequently interrupted for playtime or games with the girls, but that is what I have TIVO for. The other thing I am excited about is that Brian is thinking of purchasing a laser machine and letting me get trained to use it for hair removal. The machines are expensive, but getting the hair removal done is really expensive, and I want to get my bikini line and my underarms done (I know, TMI). By the time I do that, it will have cost a lot and I can make money doing it for other people. So, that is exciting- if he gets it, I will do my legs and everything- I will never have to shave again! Anyone who wants to go ahead and schedule an appointment can call me- I'll pencil you in!

Things Are Not Always As They Appear

We went to Annelise's soccer game last night and it was fun. Went out to eat afterwards with friends and family and got home late and in the bed even later. The girls were unexpectedly good this morning when I had to drag them out of bed, though. At the game last night Brian noticed that the other moms (most of whom take their children to him) were talking to me a lot more this time. Usually I sit there with Emmaline and they stay in their group and talk with each other- understandable because they all went to high school together and I never really made an effort to go be a part of the group. (I never had that "need to belong" issue at any time of my life that I can remember....) But last night I was in a particularly good mood and I struck up a conversation with one of them and before I knew it they were all over there talking to me and we had a few good conversations throughout the game. I really didn't notice the difference between that night and the others, but Brian did and he said "I noticed the other moms were talking to you a lot more tonight." I said "Why do you think that is?" He said , "They probably didn't talk to you before because you are a "doctor's wife" and they had already stereotyped you as snobby and not interested in people like them." Well, this is not the first time that has happened. When we first had kids, we lived in a neighborhood not far from here and the same thing occured. We never got invited to the cook-outs, I wasn't invited to play Bunco or just hang out with the other moms there. It never bothered me but I did wonder why. I finally came to the conclusion that everyone had stereotyped me and Brian for something we are not. I became friends with a mom down the street not long after that, and she admitted to me that people just assumed we did not want to hang out with them and that we were just the typical "doctor and doctor's wife." I found that to be hilarious because we are so far from that. I lived the first 7 years of life in a single wide (not even double wide) trailor. We had to move out because the toilet was starting to fall through the floor and it was beginning to get rust holes outside. We did not have much as far as finances went. I knew how to squeeze every cent out of every dollar and I have not forgotten it. My husband grew up in a tiny house in the country with goats and chickens in the yard. His dad worked at a factory and his mom was a hairdresser. We put ourselves through school- he even put himself through medical school with no help. (Which ended up in a $150,000 school loan we had to pay off when we got married-that's why it costs so much to go to the doctor, people!) My kids wear clothes from the clearance rack in Wal-Mart, and sometimes, so do I! I buy my Christmas presents in January, when all the winter stuff is on clearance- and I do kids consignment sales twice a year. I don't have a maid, I don't pay people to do things I am able to do. I am just about the furthest thing from materialistic as you could get. That is what makes the "doctor's wife" stereotype so hilarious. I have my weaknesses (furniture and jewelry) but I would never pay full price even for those things. I am also guilty of making assumptions and sterotyping people, but after my experiences, I think I will be more aware of doing those things. One of the ironic things about the moms at the soccer game is that one of the moms had a diamond ring on that almost blinded me when she moved her hand- it was about a 2-carat stone with tons of smaller diamonds all around it. I guess it is not the fact that Brian makes a decent living that causes people to think what they do, but it is the title alone. That is even more ridiculous. I am not blaming people who think that of me , that is just the way it is I guess. Same thing as when most people lock their car doors when a person of a different race or someone who looks a little rough walks by. Same as when someone sees a pregnant teen ager and automatic thoughts about her come into their heads. There are so many examples of it that I guess it is just the way it is- sad. Just because it looks like a duck doesn't mean it is!