Day 9

Day 9- Two Songs

1) It's About the Cross- The Ball Brother version. Oh my goodness. I weep every time I hear it. Such a powerful message. Absolutely love it :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYSJj-EHAAk

2) Love Is Not A Fight By Warren Barfield. It's a wonderful reminder to Brent and I. We had it sung at our wedding and it will always be so special to me. My prayer for our marriage is within the song, "And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door". Yes, I cry on this one too. Every. Time. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUykqETc0XQ

Day 8

Day 8- Three Films

1) Fireproof. Without a doubt, this movie played a huge part in bringing me and Brent back together. For those that do not know the story, here is the short (minus all the juicy details) version. Brent and I met and knew each other a very short time before I became pregnant. By short time, I mean 1 month. Yes. That is embarrassing and humiliating to admit. We were both living a life full of sin and neither one of us was living for God. Obviously. We took the pregnancy to "get to know one another" and by the time Dane was born, we both hated each other (even though I just read this to Brent and he says he still hates me. We all know that is impossible!!! Sweet little ole me???!?!?!?!?! LOL. Truth be told, we fall more in love each day). We went our separate ways and the Lord began working and changing BOTH of us. In our minds, we were over. For good. When it came to us getting back together God worked on Brent before me. While he was chasing me (LOL. I give him a hard time), I was ready to be done with him forever. I was now living for the Lord and I never thought Brent could be my dream guy. God was working on Brent too and making him into just that.... my dream guy. My parents wanted me to give him another chance (WHAT??????). Mom recommended that we watch Fireproof. UGH! Neither one of us had ever seen it, and although I wanted to watch it, I did not want to watch it with Brent however, I agreed. It was like watching us on a movie screen (minus the married part). By the end of the movie, God had convicted me of working on our family. I knew what I needed to do. Love this movie!!!! But get your Kleenex ready if you've never seen it!

2) Dumb and Dumber. Don't judge. This movie makes me laugh till I almost pee on myself. No matter how many times I watch it.

3) The Shawshank Redemption. Great movie!!!! I absolutely love the thrill behind this.

Sorry for the late post. We went to my in-law's for my birthday celebration yesterday and spent the night. I was showered with love and Coca-Cola Cake!!!!! YUMMY!!!! I would have taken a picture of the slice(s) I had but that would be a tad embarrassing to post!

My mother-in-law forgot to buy candles so she printed off these lovely ones and cut them out. Blowing them out was quite difficult. LOL.

Today, we met my mother-in-law's BFF at a local park. She has 2 grandsons the same age as my boys. They are good buddies and they had a great time playing. Here are some of the pics of them having a good ole time.

Love my sweet, Dane!

Dane jumping, rolling, smashing, and slinging the dirt. Brooks watching and wondering, "What is your deal, kid?"

 

Dane, Webb, and Will in the slide. 

Sweet Webb wanted nothing more than to climb up and down the slide.

After we left the park, we went to the grave site where my husband's grandmother is buried. It is my mother-in-law's mom. We took flowers to put by her grave and let the boys talk about maw-maw and how she was in Heaven with Jesus. I never had the pleasure of meeting maw-maw, but I really look forward to meeting her in Heaven. I have no doubt she was a very special lady and would love my boys to pieces!!! Knowing they have a part of her in them makes me smile.

Love you, maw-maw! See you one day.

We stayed for dinner before heading home. Both boys were dying to get in the small plastic pool on the deck. We decided to add their bubbles and let them bathe on the back porch. LOL. They loved it :D

It was a fun 2 days :D Tomorrow, will be a much earlier post and will be my 2 favorite songs! I already know what they are too!!! G'night.

Day 7

Good morning! Dontcha just hate those mornings that you wake up late? I do! I was supposed to be up at 5am. My alarm went off, I was "awake" but Webb needed to nurse. I guess I turned off the alarm. Next thing I know, I was waking up and looking at my phone that said, 6:30am. Oh well, life will go on.

Yesterday, was Sunday and at church we had something ironic taught. In the am sermon, our preacher preached on Isaiah 6:1-8 about how Isaiah came to experience revival in his life. It was a powerful message, one I needed to hear. He said that in order for a church, a family, a nation to experience revival, an individual must first have revival in their own heart and life. Among many things I learned from the message, I realized I have some "kings" in my life that need to die in order for me to experience revival in my own heart and life. "Kings" such as jealously, pride, bitterness, etc. I know I need to see myself the way God sees me. I have such a tendency to point out everyone else's sin (it's just so easy to see rather than my own) and not notice my own or acknowledge my own. But we learned how we must see ourselves, examine ourselves, and see ourselves for who we are. I'm telling you, it was a great message. That night, we had a traveling preacher stop in, Brother Luke Bishop. He is great and really holds your attention with humorous stories along the way. He asked us to open up our Bible's and turn to Isaiah. I immediately remembered what we had learned that am. Then he said, "Turn with me to Isaiah 6:1-8". He then preached a message on how the Lord is looking for someone to "go", someone to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Apparently, the Lord wanted me to hear and understand Isaiah 6:1-8. I am planning on reviewing through it this week as well. I find it so ironic that on the same Sunday, 2 different preachers preached somewhat different but overall, the same message from the same scripture. Cool if you ask me!

Day 7- Four Books

1) I love every single book by Karen Kingsbury. My favorite would be her Redemption Series. It may have 20 books or more. You will find yourself laughing, crying, and relating to each character in the book. God used those books to show me that everyone makes mistakes and he is waiting with open arms to forgive and welcome the sinner back.

2) The Strong-Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson. Right now, this is my "right hand man". Dane is strong-willed and Webb is so much more strong-willed. This book is written by a Christian doctor and is soooooo wonderful when it comes to understanding our children, their behavior, their motivation behind their behavior and what God expects from me as a parent. It is such a useful tool and I highly recommend it to any parent out there struggling with a strong-willed child.

3) The Power of a Praying Wife and The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartin. Both of these books are PHENOMENAL!!! The books are so easy to use as a devotional or along with your daily devotional. The chapters are small and very easy to read. There are so many topics for prayer that I would have never thought my husband and kids needed prayer about. I would highly highly recommend these books to anyone!! One thing I can say is, I talked about my fears on day 2 I think. I admitted my fears of something bad happening to one of my children. One thing I learned from these books is the minute I have a fear about my children or my husband, immediately take that exact fear and pray about it to the Lord. Ask Him to protect your children (or husband) from ever experiencing that exact thing and beg Him to put a hedge of protection around your family. Love these books and I cannot say enough good things about them!

4) Ten Keys that Cure-Bible Truths for Better Health Today by Dr. Don VerHulst M.D. This is an amazing health book. It talks about the food that God intended for us to eat and the exercise God intended for us to get. It reminds us how being healthy, eating whole natural food, and not starving ourselves, or over-eating is God's plan for us. Great and easy to read book!!!

Tomorrow is 3 films!! :D

Day 6

Last night, we loaded up the boys and headed to the Battlefield. I love nights like that with my little family. We had lots of fun together. Here are a few pictures from our outing.

Me and my sweetie. I believe with all my heart that God created us for each other.

Daddy and Dane acting like soldiers. Dane is fascinated with the Battlefield and what took place there. He found this stick to "shoot" or "stab" the oncoming army.

My precious Webb. I cannot believe he turns 1 on Thursday.

Day 6- Five Foods (Without naming any desserts because I think I've made that clear.)

This one was hard because I love any and all foods. Having to decide what some of my favorites are was not easy.


1) I love my breakfast. Yes, I eat the same thing every morning. If for some reason I only have a protein shake, then I eat this for lunch.

   *1-2 eggs, with chopped onions and green bell peppers in them. I put them on a      whole wheat wrap, with some blueberry, simply fruit, jelly. DIVINE!!!!!!

2) Salad. I love trying different kinds of salads too. My favorite thing to put on a salad is fruit and pecans or almonds. I also love to put boiled eggs and feta cheese on it. My favorite dressings, Raspberry Vinaigrette or Annie's Shiitake Sesame Dressing.

3) I love my homemade tacos. I take a pound of lean ground turkey and add refried beans to it. I make my own taco seasoning because I cannot justify giving my family all  that really bad stuff- like MSGs and tons of sodium! It tastes just like the taco seasoning you buy, only BETTER! I add that to the turkey mixture. Then, I cook black beans and mexican corn. We love lettuce wraps for our tacos! Sometimes though, we do taco salad, tacos in a whole wheat wrap, or taco salad. We add tomatoes, sour cream (or plain greek yogurt),  cheese, avocado, and spicy sauce- along with the black beans and mexican corn. Actually, it is what's for lunch today.

*How do I make my homemade taco seasoning?

1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup ground cumin
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon sea salt
Put all ingredients into a jar and shake!

4) I love blueberries. Yummy! I love any kind of fruit, but especially blueberries.

5) I love okra. Cook it any way and I'll gobble it up, but I especially love it sauteed in a bit of olive oil. Ahhhahahahahaha! I can eat the entire skillet and generally, (DON'T TELL MY FAMILY!!!) I do eat around half of what I'm cooking while I'm cooking it. LOL.

Tomorrow is 4 books. Now time to get us all ready for Sunday School!

Day 5--- Which also happens to be a pretty special day of the year :D

Yesterday, me and the boys went to the Battlefield to walk and picnic. It was a spur of the moment decision for me- when I was doing my blog yesterday morning. They were still sleeping, so I quickly packed lunches and got everyone's clothes ready. When they woke up, we left. It was so much fun!!! I love spending time with them. This is something we will definitely be doing more often. Dane was fascinated by the statues and the fact the men had guns and swords (2 of his favorite topics and toys!). He was interested in the cannons and cannon balls. He loved the "castle" and wanted to know why men were out there fighting and where they were now. All VERY good questions for his daddy. LOL. Brent and I were going to go back today and walk around with the boys, but I think we will save that for another afternoon.

While we were eating our picnic, Dane declares, "Mommy!!! I need to poop!!!" Oh no. We were at least 2 miles from the potties and when Dane says he has to go, he means right now. So, I quickly picked up all of our stuff, took the food out of our walmart bag, and found the baby wipes I had brought along to clean up the boys after lunch. Then, I strolled up a path that led to woods the whole time praying, "Lord, please let us be the only ones here." Once there, I excitedly told Dane, "You get to poop in the woods today!" I didn't know how he would react or how he would do. Thankfully, he pulled his pants down and squatted like a pro. I kept an eye on him and the road and stood where I was blocking him. I held my phone up like I stopped to respond to a text. When he finished, I grabbed the baby wipes, wiped him, and disposed of them in my walmart bag. Dressed him back up and set back on the trial. I was surprised how good he was at it. Then, I reinforced how that is only something we do with mommy or daddy and when they say it's ok. I can just see him now... dropping his drawers and pooping in the middle of someone's yard while playing with friends!

This morning, I got up and ran my 8 miles I was supposed to do today. It was sooooooo hard to get up this morning. The room was cold, but I was so warm in the covers. Webb was snuggled close making me even cozier. I was planning on getting up at 6:30am and leaving at 6:35. The night before, I had laid out my clothes, filled up my water bottle, and put my protein shake in the fridge. I knew I could be out the door in 5 min after getting up. But, Webb was nursing at 6:30, so I didn't get up until 6:50 and was out of the neighborhood by 7:00. I cannot emphasize enough how beautiful the Battlefield is. Especially in the morning. I was alone this morning because the girls I ran with last week couldn't run today and they went yesterday morning. I couldn't go then because I wouldn't have had anyone to keep the boys. I did good until about mile 6. Then I started thinking, "Oh goodness.... I don't know how much longer I can go."  My knee was hurting and my little toe was hurting, it kept rubbing the inside of my shoe a funny way. But I remember thinking that same thought somewhere toward the end of labor with both boys. I just felt like I had no more to give. That's how I knew I could keep going, it's all in the mind. I kept telling myself, "You can do this." By mile 7, I must have had some major endorphins pumping. All the sudden, I got this burst of energy. My mile per minute got faster by 15 sec (which is a lot when you've been running for an hour). My knee was no longer hurting, my toe was still hurting a little. I felt like I could run another 7 miles with no problem. I finished my 8 miles in 1 hour and 21 minutes. I have no clue if that is "good" or not, but I was proud of that for me. I kept an average pace of 10 minutes and 30 sec for the whole run until the last mile. Last Saturday I did 6 miles in 1 hour and 13 minutes so I did lots better from then. It's so funny what running does. When I finished, I felt great. I wasn't breathing hard but I was sweating profusely. I rung my shirt out before I got in my car. GAG! My run started my *birthday* off great (See.... I told you it was a special day of the year!). I feel so energized after doing that. Not to mention, I burned almost 1000 calories which means I can enjoy some guilt free birthday cake!!!

Today is day 5 of my "blog challenge". I am supposed to list 5 places. I don't really know what 5 places I'm supposed to list, so I'm listing 5 places I'd like to visit and I'm praying Brent reads this one :D

1) Hawaii (seriously, who doesn't want to visit Hawaii)

2) Australia

3) After seeing the pictures from the The Ball Brother's trip, I'd love to go to Northern Ireland.

4) After reading my friend Jessica's blog, I want to go to Big Canoe, GA.

5) I want to go out West. I'm thinking Oregon. I have a friend that is from there and her pictures are breathtaking!!!!Ahhhhhahahahahaha!

Tomorrow, I will be listing 5 foods... ummmm, that should be easy peasy! I'm all about food!

Day 4

Last night, the girls from our church went out to dinner for a Girl's Night. This time, we didn't have 18 kids :D I debated going because I always hate having to ask mom and dad to keep my kids. I feel guilty on both ends! Leaving my kids and having my parents keep them. I ended up going though and I'm so glad I did. We had such a great time of fellowship! I am so thankful my parents are willing to keep my kids from time to time and let me have a night of good, clean fun! As much as I hate leaving my babies behind, I come home after a night of laughter and fun, feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.

Day 4, Seven Wants:

If you remember from yesterday, I said one of my biggest fears was driving my car off an embankment and being trapped under water in my car, with my sweet babies stuck in their car seats. It is seriously something I am so terrified of. I have been wanting one of those keychain things that shatters your passenger window and allows you to bust out. I can't tell you how many times I've said that. Well, yesterday my hubby comes in the door and is singing "Happy Birthday to you....". I started laughing because my birthday isn't until Saturday and I already got my present (the half marathon I'm running in). I didn't really think anything about it and then he tells me he has me a present and sets this box on the table.

Eeeeeeek! I was soooooooo excited!!! It's a Houdini  that I've been wanting. He couldn't have surprised me with anything better if he had tried to. It meant so much to me. You're the BEST sweetie (since I know he reads this religiously!! LOL). He said, "I would have waited until Saturday to give it to you, but with my luck, you'd drive into a lake tomorrow." LOL. Ok folks. Get ready to want one of these yourself. When you take it out of the box, it looks like this.

You connect it to your keychain. You pull at the bottom of it while it is attached to your keys and it comes apart, like this.

The black circle thing on top is what you take and press against the window and it will shatter it (see the box it came in... that is what it does to your window.)

The metal thing, that is there when you take it apart (don't you love my technical terms!!), is a seatbelt cutter so no one is trapped in a seatbelt that you can't get undone. There is also a whistle so if you get out of the car, you can blow in it and be heard. It is soooo loud too.

Also, there is a LED light on it as well. Isn't my hubby good!!! I am still so excited about it :D That would have been #1 on my "wants" today, but not anymore!!!

1) I want a moderate sized white house, with black shutters, and a red front door (that is has a big window on it). Moderate for me would be: 4 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms, a full basement, and lots of storage space. I would also want my house to have lots of windows for natural light, a big front porch with a porch swing, a screened in back porch, a big yard, a barn, chickens out back, possibly a dairy cow, a big tree house for my kids, a pretty front yard with flowers, and a busy and loud house with lots of kids (4 or so) running and laughing inside.------ Now is that really too much to ask for???!!!! LOL.

2) I want to be successful as a mom. To me, that means I want to be a Godly mom that trains my kids up in a way that pleases the Lord. I want to guide them to an understanding of who Jesus is, what He did for us, and what He wants from us. I want them to see me live out my Christianity on a day to day basis. I want them to see Jesus in me and in my actions. I want them to see me let "bad" things make me better and not bitter. I want them to see me be kind to others. I want them to see me read my Bible, be at church, and be active within our church. I want them to see me be generous and selfless. I want them to see their mommy and daddy hug and kiss and love one another. I want them to see patience and what it's like to practice it. I want them to see love, kindness, laughter, and happiness in me and my life. I want my kids to look back and remember me being a mom, first and foremost but also a friend (the friend part will obviously come later as right now, they need a mom, not a friend!). More than anything in the world, I want to be successful as a MOM!

3) Right now, I want a massage!

4) I want my student loan paid off.

5) I want a date night with my husband.

6) I want to become a doula.... so bad I can taste it!!!!!

7) I want to take my boys to the Battlefield and let them play in the grass, run along the paths, and enjoy the sunshine and each other. In fact, I think I just made our plans for the day! 

Stay tuned... tomorrow I will be listing my 6 places (even though I'm feeling like #7 could fall under that as well). Hope everyone has a blessed day!

Day 3

Today I am supposed to list my 8 fears. Of course I have fears, but trying to come up with 8 for this was really hard. So here is what I fear:

1) Something bad happening to my kids. It started the minute I had Dane. I literally had nightmares about him when he was one day old. I remember asking my mom if that meant something was wrong with me. It made me feel like a bad mom to dream and fear the things I was. I remember vividly dreaming, when he couldn't have been more than 2 days old, that I was carrying him up steps and for some reason, I dropped him. I woke up in a frenzy, shaking and crying. I was so scared/upset that I had let something bad happen to him. And I would lay awake at night and think up crazy possibilities of what could happen to him one day. I finally had to learn that I needed to give my son over to the Lord and trust Him with Dane (and now with Webb). That does not mean that I don't think about it from time to time. They are my world. I am their mommy and they are my responsibility and so from time to time (especially when I hear horror stories of other things happening to kids) I fear what could happen to my precious babies. I honestly don't know what I would do if something horrible happened to one of them. I guess that is why it is #1 on my fears.

2) I'm always afraid that I'm going to upset someone, or someone won't like me. Yes, I know, not everyone is going to like me and I may do something or say something from time to time that someone gets upset about. However, that doesn't mean I want to, or like when it happens. I always weight how people will react to what I do or say. (Silly fear, I know!!!)

3) I am petrified of cock roaches. It started when I was living in Kennesaw in my own apartment. I was alone there one night and there was this MASSIVE cock roach on my blinds right next to my bed. I literally flipped out!!!! I called my dad screaming and crying. I was so hysterical that my mom, sister, and sister's boyfriend who were sitting in the same room as him, heard me and thought I had been raped or something awful. I could not calm down. The thing flew (it was a palmetto) and was so huge and disgusting. After a battle in which pictures fell off the wall, picture frames got knocked down, and I fell off my computer chair and the thing went sliding across the room and busted into the wall, I am happy to announce that I killed the dadgum thing! With hairspray and a broom no-less! I put a cup over it and the next day, my daddy drove an hour to come pick it up and get rid of it (Yes! He is the GREATEST!!!)! I still couldn't sleep that night with that nasty dead body in my room! Here is what one of those horrible things look like. They literally invaded my apartment!!!!

3) I am afraid of heights.

4) I am scared to be at home (without Brent but sometimes even with him home) at night and have the curtains open. I know. I know. The likelihood of someone sitting outside my house and waiting to "watch" me is ridiculously slim, but I'm still too scared to leave them open!

5) I am scared to death of snakes. Those slithery, nasty things freak me out even from behind glass at the aquarium.

6) This may fall under the first one I have, but to me, it's a fear of it's own. I am so very scared of wrecking my car into a body of water and my kids being trapped in their car seats. I saw an episode on The Dr's one day and it was about this very topic. It showed scenarios and I almost had a panic attack watching it. The pressure from being underwater makes breaking through the glass or opening the car door near impossible. I've begged Brent ever since watching that to buy me this keychain thing that you put against your window and with one tap, it breaks your windshield so you can bust out. I just envision my boys scared to death in the back seat and me swimming like a mad woman to unbuckle both car seats and bust out of the car with both boys. WHY?????????? I don't know! But I'm scared just typing this.

8) I am so afraid that one day I might become "unhealthy". I'm scared I might get lazy or in a rut or burnt out on exercising and eating good, whole, healthy food. I think that's why I've worked so hard to make it my lifestyle. So many people are truly unhealthy- those that are skinny and overweight. Junk tastes so good but NOTHING good comes from it. Being lazy and not working out sometimes sounds better than getting up from my cozy bed and hitting the gym, but NOTHING good comes from it. I want to be healthy until the day that I die.

Tomorrow is 7...... hmmmm.... I can't remember, but 7 something :D

Day 2

 9 Things I Love: (without stating any obvious answers)

1) I LOVE to be sore! Seriously. I workout hard, generally 5-6 days a week. There is nothing I love more than to be so sore it's hard to get up out of bed let alone to walk. Sure, I complain and moan and groan. But truth be told, I love love love to be sore from my head down to my toes. It shows me I worked hard and I am proud of that.

2) I love the feel of the sun on my back. When the weather is just perfect where it is not too hot or too cold and the sun feels glorious! It hits my back and warms me to the core and is so very relaxing. Ahhhhhh :D

3) I love desserts!!!!! Yes, I eat my chocolate everyday but I don't just love chocolate. I LOVE every kind of dessert. Yummy!

4) I love laughter. I love to have people make me laugh. Belly laughter just feels so good! I love to make people laugh. I also love the laughter that comes from my boys. It always brings a smile to my face.

5) I love music. Music speaks directly to my soul and pretty much any song, I can find a way to relate it to my life. It's amazing to me how the Lord uses music to touch me. I'm not picky when it comes to music but I prefer to listen to christian music. It uplifts my spirit, keeps my thoughts and mind where they need to be, and helps me stay focused on what is important. I love to hear the choir at our church sing. They bring tears to my eyes each Sunday with the message their song has.


6) I LOVE looking through old photos and home videos and reminiscing. Sure, it makes me cry and sometimes long for days that have gone by, but I truly love to go back and remember those times.

7) I LOVE (I cannot stress the LOVE right here enough) cruises!!!!! Ahhhhh. There is something incredibly relaxing about being out a sea for a week and having your every need catered to. Electronics are left in the bag, cares are left on the shore, and worries are no more (except what will I wear to dinner, and what should I eat for lunch, and how long should I lay out in the sun today?) Not to mention, you can eat enough for a horse and still have more food to choose from (and really yummy desserts!!). Yes, I do love cruises and would easily leave my family and friends behind and take Brent and the boys to live on one forever and ever :D

8) I love flavored creamers. Yes, that also means I love coffee. But more than the coffee, I love creamers. I usually have 2-3 flavors in my fridge at one time and love to change it day to day or even mix 2 together. I'm all about experimenting with new flavors and flavors of the "season". Like peppermint mocha at Christmas time.

9) I love giving birth. I do not like being pregnant. Ugh. But I love to give birth naturally and at home. There is something so empowering with the experience when your realize that you birthed a baby the way God intended you to-- with no pain meds, in your home-- your safe place, and provided the safest way for your innocent, sweet child to enter the world. The immediate bond that you are able to create and share is indescribable. Your husband catches the baby and places him on your chest. Your baby is "allowed" to breastfeed immediately and YOU and you alone hold your precious newborn baby on your breast, mesmerized by what you and your husband created. You can hold your baby until the cord stops pumping and you are ready to pass him or her to your husband. You can have your loved ones surrounding you and be in a loving, safe, and serene environment. You feel peaceful and "at home". The midwife checks vitals, does foot print, and cleans baby up when you, the mother, are ready for that. After giving birth at home, as a woman, you realize there is nothing you cannot do, nothing you cannot overcome, and nothing you cannot handle. You are strong. You are able. It is the most wonderful experience I have ever got to have. I long to birth at least one more baby, but I'd love to birth 2 more.

The 9 things I love :D I could have gone on and on. Tomorrow I will have my 8 fears. Hmmmm.... I need to start thinking tonight.

I'm Taking the Challenge

Last night, Dane and I enjoyed some time to ourselves after supper. Mom and dad let Webb stay inside with them (Brent wasn't home) and we went outside for some quality time. Please excuse my nastiness.... I hadn't showered from working out. Yuck!

Dane would pick up dirt and throw it and exclaim, "I'm throwing fire mom" (because of the dust it would make).

He then noticed Hank relaxing without a care in the world....

So, he decided it would be fun to "throw fire on Hank".

Yeah, Hank wasn't too thrilled :D  Then we watched the birds. It's one of Dane's favorite things. We lay on the driveway and look up at the sky and look for birds.

We then headed on a walk... just the 2 of us. Dane said, "I want to hold your hand, mom."

Awwww.... Have I told you lately how much I love this boy??!! Time when it is just me and him are few and far between. I try to cherish each and every second I have with him. He is growing up too fast!

Anyways, there are a couple of "blog challenges" going on right now. One is a 10 day challenge where everyday I answer 10 questions about myself you are all probably dying to know! Another is a week challenge where for a week, I write what happens in our house each day. I've enjoyed reading my fellow blogger's doing these challenges and so I thought, what the heck... Maybe this will help me blog more regularly. I am going to start with the 10 day challenge just because I think it will be more difficult and I'm all about finishing the hard stuff first.

10 Secrets:

1) I eat a very healthy diet on a regular basis. One thing I have NO will power on though is CHOCOLATE!!!! Yummy!!!! I seriously eat chocolate every single day. I cannot go without it. And I feel guilty when people talk about how "healthy" I am because I know my deep dark secret.

2) I suffer from sibling jealously. "WHAT is that", you may ask. I do not have close relationships with my brother or my sister. They however, have are very close and live together out in Texas. When I hear about siblings hanging out or see how close other siblings are, I get jealous. Growing up (I'm the middle child), my brother and I were like most brothers and sisters who are 4 years apart. We got along but didn't "play" together. I loved my brother sooooo much. I wanted to please him and I wanted him to love me as much as I loved him. I really don't think that ever happened. LOL. My sister and I are 21 months apart though and she was my built in best friend. Friends would move away or maybe we would grow distant, but my sister was ALWAYS there. We played everyday. We played all day. I miss her. I miss those days of no worries and playing from sun up till sun down. But most of all, I miss my brother and sister.

3) I would rather be busy than not. I find that I always accomplish more when my schedule is full. I don't know how or why, but it's true. They busier I am, the more productive I am.

4) I am not artsy or creative at all. I so wish I was too! My grandmother is so creative and can paint and do amazing things. I did not inherit that from her though. Errrrr.... It is so frustrating :D

5) One thing I've always wanted to change about myself is my eye color. I'd love to have bright blue eyes.

6) I can't stand to be in a bad mood. Sure it happens... who hasn't experienced a bad mood? But it's so annoying to be in a funk. I think I drive myself more crazy than I drive other people when I'm having a day. I will try my hardest to get out of my mood first thing in the morning. One way is by looking for the good, even when it's hard. It's so easy to notice the bad or negative sometimes but I always try to look for the positive. Nothing drives me more crazy than negativism (I hope I didn't just make that word up). And more than that is when people try to rub there negativism off on others. Come on people! Chose to be happy and to have a good day and if not, then don't rain on my parade. 

7) I am always worried about upsetting someone. I don't like to hurt people's feelings and often, that keeps me from standing up for myself. It's one of the things I dislike about myself the most. Even though I know I shouldn't let someone treat me a certain way, I'm probably not going to do anything about it.

8) I'm OCD. Disorganization makes me crazy. I feel a bad mood coming on when things are cluttered or not in the right place. It's so bad, even the clothes in my closet are arranged by colors.... of the rainbow. Dang, that's embarrassing.

9) I'm a prankster by nature. I love to catch people by surprise. My hubby is the complete opposite. He hates jokes, surprises, and pranks (especially when they're on him!!!). Even though I know he will get livid just a little mad, sometimes I just can't help myself and I have to do something-- Like pour ice cold water over the shower while he is in there. His short-lived anger is worth the amusement it brings me. Hey, my daddy warned him, "Life with Abby will be many things and 'boring' is not one of them".

10) At night, I get REALLY silly. I can't tell you how many times I've laid in bed and thought of something and started giggling. I try to be quiet and that makes the bed shake which makes me laugh harder because I know Brent is about to get mad. The more I tell myself to stop, the funnier it seems. Then I start crying and snorting. Even though Brent is frustrated, he usually can't help but ask, "What?????" I'm always embarrassed to say what it is because it's usually so dumb, I can't believe I'm laughing so hard. That will make me laugh even harder which frustrates him even more. It's just a vicious cycle. It actually happened last night!

So, there you go. My 10 secrets you all wondered about. Tomorrow, I will post 9 things I love :D That should be easy!!!

Summer Fun

Well, my break from school is officially over. The Fall semester starts today. I'm not too upset though. 16 weeks should be a breeze after my 5 week quarter and I will graduate in December! Whoo hoo. We have sure enjoyed ourselves for the break though. I was able to have playdates, pool time, Cartersville time, reading time, resting time, and more.

Dane and I went on a date a few weeks back and painted pottery. It was so nice to spend time one on one with Dane. It used to just be me and him. He was my whole world (and still is, he just shares the spotlight now) and I know he feels the effects of having to share me. I am trying to make more time for just Dane, with no Webb. It's so hard. I feel pulled from him, Webb, and my hubby. I picked up the pottery on Friday- I've been so busy that it has sat there for 2 weeks waiting to be picked up. I was so pleased with the outcome. He was a little young for the painting part. He would glob it on and I was trying my hardest to spread it out and remind him to go slow. He mixed all the colors and wanted to paint each side every single color as well. He had a great time though and so did I. This bowl will be something I cherish forever. I hope to make lots more with him and Webb. I'm thinking Christmas presents.... :D Now to find the time and the way to get it done. Hmmmmm.

My last post was on how strong-willed Dane is. He has been improving soooo much. I am so proud of him. He has such a desire to please and I really feel like he is going to be such a good kid. Now as for Webb, he is extremely strong-willed, demanding, and hot-tempered (hence the passing out daily because we say, "no" or I change his diaper). I have a very strong suspicion that he is going to be our true strong-willed child. He is going to push us and every single boundary we put up. He is such a little booger. It's a good thing he is so dang cute! This past week, my mom was painting her dining room. The ladder was still up and Webb climbed up, all.by.himself!!!! He is not 1 yet, folks. Then he got ticked when we took him down. Here is the little dare devil.

Thursday night the guys from our church got together to do their football draft. While they did that, us girls (and all our kids) met at another house. That might not sound like much but there was 9 girls and a grand total of 18 kids. LOL. (I feel like Michelle Duggar on 19 Kids and Counting when I typed that). It was so much fun! The Lord has blessed us with an awesome church and church family. Us girls get along so well and so do all our husbands. Our kids are all right around the same age and they love playing together. It was a wild but FUN night.  Before long there will be 20 kids in that bunch as 2 of the girls are expecting again! Yippee! The kids wore their PJs and we caught a picture of all (minus 2, almost 2 year olds- they were caught playing knee deep in one of the pottys and were in the bathtub). You can tell they are a fun group. The youth group will be crazy when they all reach that age :D

Friday night was rough for Webb. He tossed and turned/wanted to nurse all night. Even though he sleeps with us, there is something about having someone attached to you all night long that makes deep sleep impossible. I knew before we went to bed it would be a long night. We always record Big Brother and watch it whenever we get the chance as we are going to bed. He was asleep but moved all over the bed the whole time. He even hit his head on the head board twice. He eventually flopped over on his back, onto my stomach, and slept peacefully for the remainder of our show. I wonder what he was dreaming right here...

On Saturday morning, I got up and met some friends (the ones I am running the  1/2 with) at the Battlefield to run. It was a BEAUTIFUL morning. I was in love with the weather, the scenery, and the company! We completed 6 miles and have 7 this upcoming Saturday to run. I am hopeful that Webb will sleep this Friday night and hopefully I won't be so groggy for my 7 miles! It amazing how enjoyable it is to run with someone other than yourself :D Here is the tower we met at that morning. So cool.

After our 6 mile run, I came back home to relieve Brent. He then headed to they gym while I got ready to go to a "back" to school fair at a local chiropractor's office in Ringgold. Dane went ahead with my parents while I fed Webb, and showered. By the time I got there, he had already ingested 2 snow cones, 1 cotton candy, and a bag of popcorn! Geez!!!! That's more color than he gets in a month!!! He jumped in some blow up jumpy things, got his face painted, and had a great time. We managed to get a family photo (minus Brent) before we left.

After the fair, we loaded up and headed to C'ville for a birthday party that night and another party after church on Sunday. It's safe to say Dane had lots more junk before the weekend was over. Not to mention, mommy and daddy did too! We've been going back and forth to Cartersville a lot lately. One reason is because we are living with my parents right now so it is a nice break for us all. Another reason is I want our kids to have close relationships with both sets of grandparents regardless of what town we live in. I don't want Brent's family to feel  the distance. I want for them to see the boys enough that they haven't changed a ton by the time they do. While on my break, we have enjoyed the pool in C'ville too! That is the one thing I knew I would want to do while I had 2 weeks off. Dane met a little girl there, Molly. She was there almost every time we went and they had so much fun together. He is such a people person and NEVER meets a stranger. I love that about him :D Molly and Dane would run back and forth from the kiddy pool to the big one. They love that!

Webb has become Mr. Independent in the pool. He literally climbs out of his float and refuses to be held. It is a complete and utter battle to hold him in the pool. That is one of the reason's we love going to C'ville to swim. At the neighborhood pool, there is a spot of concrete with 8 spouts of water that come out. Webb is perfectly content to sit there, independently, and play. I just pull a lawn chair over and enjoy not fighting and relaxing a bit in the spraying water.

The boys also love taking baths at Nana's house- really anywhere they are! Here they are in Nana's "big huge tub" playing together. I love to just sit and watch them. They are my sweet, sweet babies!

When we got home from Cartersville Sunday night, Webb's present I ordered was waiting on me. YAY! I am so pleased. It was a quite a pricey little dude too! The shipping was $10 for it but it did arrive the 2 days later. Oh well, it will match perfectly with their bedroom theme and since we will hopefully be moving in a month, I am glad to have it.

Yes, I know it is more for me :D but, the kid does NOT need toys and family will get him clothes I am sure. We always ask for the 1st and 2nd birthday to please not bring presents to the party. Grandparents can't resist the urge to buy him something (they are just not given to him at his party) though and neither can good 'ole mom! One reason we ask for no presents is because I don't ever want someone's finances to hinder them from celebrating the life of my child. I know that with multiple kids and lots of invitations to parties, it can get really expensive. At age 1 and 2, they are too young to know they are supposed to get presents and I want a big crowd at parties. Plus, I honestly cannot think of one thing Webb (or Dane) needs... other than this plaque! LOL.

For lunch I had some greek yogurt with honey and flax seed.

Yummy and filling if you're wondering! It's starting to wear off and I need a snack. Off to find something to munch on.

Motherhood

A word I longed to experience my whole life. If I got asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wanted to be a mommy. I didn't want a "job", I wanted kids. I am a mother at heart. My sister-in-law and I were talking about it last night. I have the desire to nurture and "mother" within me. It is part of who I am. Being a mother brings me so much joy and happiness. Motherhood isn't all fun and games though. It is hard work. It can be exhausting work. It can leave you feeling like a failure after a night of arguing and pleading and fighting and screaming from a THREE year old. It can make you question things you thought you knew the answers to. It is an intense job, one you never get a break from. BUT, for all of you who don't have kids yet.... I promise you, that good totally and completely wins over the bad. We have been having some trials with Dane these days. I find it amazing however, that the happiness, laughter, pride, love, joy, fun, excitement, etc. outweighs the trials. Dane..... he is our first born. Our little angel who came to this earth and helped redirect me and Brent. He is absolutely amazing and adorable. I can't believe how much unconditional love I have for him. When he was born, I questioned the fact that he could ever do wrong. I would never need to spank him. Maybe give him time-out, but not spank. He was so precious. So tiny. So innocent and perfect. My sweet, little, angel baby (I still call him this too). How could people feel frustration with their children??? I had no idea. Then.... Dane started growing up. He started developing his own little personality and will, a strong one at that. Don't get me wrong, there are days and times when I still think the things I thought when he was first born. I guess parts of me will always feel that way about my children. Through the years, Dane has got into his fair share of trouble. He has gotten time-outs, spankings, and warnings. He has pleaded with us to not spank, screaming, "yes mam" or "yes sir" at the top of his lungs.

This past weekend we were at my in-laws. It was time to get ready to head home and Dane decided to he needed to see who was boss. It was literally one of the worst experiences I've ever had as a mother. It's no secret that Dane has an attitude. Anyone who has seen his "Soap Sally" face knows that much. He can be mean and nasty. He wants to win everything. Every battle. Every argument. Even every suggestion. I don't even remember what started it now, but it turned into an all out war. He was screaming at me and Brent. Not a high pitched scream, but a deep one. His face would turn blood red and he would ball his fists up on either side and poke his head out as far as he could to make sure and get his point across. In his mind, he was the boss and we were not about to tell him what to do. He would be telling us what to do. I was so shocked by his outburst. Brent immediately took him to the bedroom to spank him. The whole way there, Dane screamed, "DON'T SPANK ME!!!! YES SIR! YES SIR!!! YES SIR!!!!!!!". That always breaks my heart. Brent talked to him and spanked him. You would think he would come out humble and ready to obey. Right??! WRONG. He came out guns blazing. When he came around the corner and saw us, he went at us again. Screaming at us. Face blood red, fists balled up. Then, when Brent said to get back into the bedroom, he ran from Brent. Seriously??! I was shocked. Brent took him back to the bedroom and spanked him again. This happened 4 times. By the 4th time, I looked at my in-laws and wanted to weep. I felt exhaustion to my very tips. I also felt like a failure. Where have we gone wrong? Why was he acting like this? If this is how he is acting at 3, how in the world will we make it through adolescents? So many thoughts were running through my mind. I have no doubts that this would have continued for round 5, 6, who knows, maybe 7. But my mother-in-law went in and talked to Dane. Even that didn't work. He was still screaming and still had an attitude. While she was in there, I began to pray. Pray for us as parents and for our children. It was such a long and hard night. I made up my mind to pull out my book, "The Strong-Willed Child" the next morning and start reading it.

I got up early on Sunday morning and did just that. I sat in the recliner with my coffee and my highlighter and started reading. The first chapter I knew without a doubt that we were indeed dealing with a "strong-willed" child. Like I really had any doubt. The book said, "Why do some children, particularly those who are strong-willed, have such a pugnacious temperament? One of the simplistic answers is that it reflects the admiration boys and girls have for strength and courage." Ok, what is pugnacious? I decided to google it and the definition alone should have had Dane's picture. It said, 1) Combative in nature 2) Belligerent 3) Eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight. 4) Having the appearance of a willing fighter. Seriously, that is Dane in a nutshell. If you know Dane well, you know this too. The book also says that with a strong-willed child's attitude, they are saying, "I don't think you are tough enough to make me obey".  Strong-willed children care deeply about "who's toughest". Another thing I found interesting was when it said, "... there is something deep within his soul that longs for control". That is so Dane. I love this book. It talks about how having a strong-willed child doesn't make you a "bad" parent and having a compliant child doesn't make you a better parent. The book said that parents of strong-willed children feel "great guilt and self-condemnation" and "they blame themselves for the tension that arises". Also that, "parents of compliant children don't understand their friends with defiant youngsters." Another great point in here, "I must make it clear that the compliant child is not necessarily wimpy or spineless. That fact is very important to our understanding of his nature and how he differs from his strong-willed sibling. The distinction between them is not a matter of confidence, willingness to take risks, sparkling personalities, or other desirable characteristics. Rather, the issue under consideration here is focused on the strength of the will."

So, as I'm sure you can tell. I need this book. This book already has helped me understand Dane a little better. It has also scared me a bit because I'm pretty sure that Webb has a stronger will than Dane does. Oh boy! I am so grateful for resources such as this and the Bible to help us parent the way Christ wants us to. That is my ultimate goal. I want Dane (and Webb) to use his strong-will to bring honor and glory to the Lord. I want it to be a positive attribute in his life, not a negative one. We can only do it with the Lord's help. When each of our boys were born, we went before the church and dedicated them to the Lord. It was a way of saying, "Lord, I know and understand that this child is yours and you have lent him to me to raise." The Lord has entrusted us with these precious boys and it is our responsibility to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The biggest thing I took from the book so far is a prayer I plan on praying from this day forward for my boys and that is, "Lord, please allow Your Holy Spirit to conquer his strong will while not destroying his spirit, because that is what makes Dane (and Webb) who he is."

I'm Free

I'M FREE, PRAISE THE LO-RD,
I'M FREE
NO LONGER BOUND,
NO MORE CHAINS HOLDING ME
MY SOUL IS RESTING
IT'S SUCH A BLESSING
PRAISE THE LORD
HALELUJAH, I'M FREE!

Ok.... so maybe the gospel song is talking about something different than I am, but it's what I sang the whole way home this morning. Praise the Lord! I am free! I am finished with my 5 week summer course. I was wondering these last few days how I was going to manage it though. I had not only stayed on schedule these 5 weeks but I worked ahead, planning ahead with the intent of being finished with my school on Saturday so that I could study until Wednesday (which was also the day I was taking my final). The way the quarter was lined up, I wouldn't be finished with my assignments until Tuesday and would be taking the final the next morning. So, I was very proud of myself for staying ahead. Now I am just thanking God I had that plan.

As most of you know, while breast-feeding I am very prone to mastitis. Mastitis is an infection of the breast tissue. The symptoms are: breast enlargement on one side only, breast lump, breast pain, fever and flu-like symptoms including nausea and vomiting. Swelling, tenderness, redness, and warmth in the breast tissue. And tenderness or enlarged lymph nodes in the armpit of the same side. For a more detailed description of mastitis, Click here. I am a pro at knowing it is coming and I am a pro at treating it naturally. I usually catch it in time before I have it bad. Well, Saturday I felt the tenderness and my body just didn't feel normal. I rested all day and treated my infection naturally (REST, drinking lots of water, nursing on the infected breast, vitamin C, heat compresses before nursing and ice after, hot showers, and massage of the lumps). I did as much school as I could handle. I didn't have a fever yet so I thought I had caught it. Sunday I still didn't feel great, but we have missed 2 weeks at our church (because we have been at my in-laws church) and I really wanted to be at ours. I still felt very tender but that is normal the day after. I went to SS and am church service, came home and worked on school all afternoon instead of napping (which my body was demanding!) and then went to the pm service. Sunday night, I knew without a doubt I had it full fledged. From Sunday night to Tuesday afternoon I was useless. I ran a fever of 102+ and was sick as a dog. I didn't know what I would do if Wednesday rolled around and I still felt like that. I completed the rest of my assignments Tuesday morning and studied for my final Wednesday morning before heading to the campus to take my timed final. I can say that I do feel better today, I'm just not 100% back to normal. My breast is soooo tender and I still feel blah. I know from past infections and especially this one, to REST. That is the key. So, that is what I am doing today. No church tonight for us. I hate not being in God's house but I know without a doubt if I had stayed home Sunday, I would have been over it for good. I am so mad at myself for not listening to my body. Seriously, I have never had an infection last as long as this one. I can usually knock it out within 24 hours, 48 hours at the most. If you are a nursing mother and you have never experienced mastitis, consider yourself BLESSED! I develop mastitis when I am overly stressed or overly tired. With Dane, I had it nearly 35 times. With Webb, I have been so blessed and only had it 4 times, with this last time being my 4th. This infection and the one before it were both very intense and hard on my body. The one before I almost had Brent take me to the ER (which you all must know I was dying. LOL). My breast was HUGE with big, massive lumps going all the way around. I could not even get my arm down next to my body. Nursing is a key to healing and I couldn't even stand to let Webb near my breast. This time was not near as bad, just the length was hard. I mean, FOUR days of resting!!!!!! Who can handle that. Not me, that's for sure. Especially with 2 boys and the end of school weighing on me. Yesterday, Brent looked at me and said, "After these last 2 times, if I were you, I'd be weaning Webb" and I just smiled and said, "That's the difference between a mother and a father". I didn't mean that in an ugly way, but it's true. A mother's love will push us to experience pain and go the extra mile. It will keep us up all night rocking a crying baby. When I know my baby needs something or will benefit from it, I will do everything in my power to see that he gets it. Breast-feeding is in my power. I can't think of one plus to me weaning Webb (other than no more mastitis) and I can think of more +'s than would fit on one hand to the benefits to me continuing to breast-feed. And for all you well meaning folks out there who wonder just when I will be weaning???? Let's just say, I always aim to wean by kindergarten and look.... it worked with Dane :D There.... now you will all be wondering.

Now that I am finished with school, I have a couple of posts on my mind. 2 subjects that are dear to me. One will be the subject of body image. It is something I am opinionated about and so many young and old girls struggle with this. I also want to address what made me chose a natural lifestyle for me and my family--home births, no medication, no vaccination, etc. aspect.

Also, a VERY BIG thanks to all the sweet and thoughtful people who text me, private messaged me, and checked up on me! You guys rock and made me feel so loved and cared about. And especially a big thank you to my mom who took the kids Monday (my worst day!!) so I could rest and heal, and my hubby who stayed home yesterday from work so I could continue to heal and finish my school.

One Week and Counting

Whoo-hoo!!! I am in my last week of summer school!!!! 4 weeks are under my belt and this last week will be too before I know it. It has been a grueling/rough/long/exhausting/stressful summer course for me. For some strange reason, I started my blog about the same time. I'm hoping to do a better job of posting once I'm done with school. I'm also hoping to play more with my boys, lay out by the pool, plan more playdates, plan lunch dates with my girl friends, and sleep in past 5am!

Yesterday, we had a playdate planned at the local park. We met the Kaden and Libby Hackett and Gunnar Cornwell (and their mommies) to play in the refreshing heat (sarcasm). It was so much fun chatting with mommies and letting our boys get their energy out- Libby is still too little to play. I went to middle school and  high school with both mom's. How cool is it that we all have kids the same age?? I just love it. Holding our babies and talking about mommy/wife stuff all the while totally enjoying ourselves. We all left sweaty, stinky, and ready to nap! 

I overslept this morning (can't imagine why???!!!) and then decided to not skip the gym. I can really only focus on school when the boys are napping and they would be up soon anyways. I needed the workout (spin. UGH!) to get myself going. I needed it for me. I needed it because I crave working out almost in the same way I crave my mother-in-laws Coca Cola cake-- which, by the way if you are reading this Conne, my birthday is at the end of the month and nothing would make your daughter-in-law more happy ;) So, off the gym I went with my 2 little angels in tow. I spun with everything in me. It was a great workout and I'm so glad I went. As I was leaving, my BFF, Angie,text to see what I was up to. We made spur of the moment lunch plans and met at Panera. She doesn't have any kids although she is from a family of 8 (and it was her family who made me want a BIG one!!), I am always antsy when we meet up with my boys. She handles it so great and both my boys love her to death. Webb was climbing all over the table, screaming (his happy scream) at the top of his lungs, and throwing every. single. thing. I gave him in the floor. Dane was bouncing up and down on the booth, playing TalkingTom on my iPhone which he thinks he has to scream in to, and then took a piece of his cookie and hurled it over the booth and hit the people behind us! I can just see Angie's mind rolling, "Oh my word! My kids will NEVER hang out with her kids!". LOL. While eating I found out she and some other girls I grew up with are running in a half marathon this Fall. Ooooooh. I have always wanted to do a half marathon, or full, just not by myself. I pretty much invited myself and got the details from her so I could talk to Brent about it later. My biggest problem will be the training part of it. With 2 small boys I don't know when I'll do it but I'll figure all that out. It was so much fun and I always leave refreshed after being with her. We have been friends since the 6th grade and she is the type of person I can trust with anything. No matter how much time passes between our chats and hanging out, we pick right up where we left off. She is truly my best friend.

I called Brent when I left and got the "Ok" to do the half marathon. It is my birthday present this year. I'm pretty pumped! Now for the training part..... EEEEKKKK!

Well, I'm holding a sweet "little" 30 lb boy who will NOT nap so I can do school. His big brother is sure to be waking up from his nap at any minute, so I'm off to attempt the impossible again :D