Overflowing with the Greatness of God

On our last day of devotions in Mexico, Bro. Terry likened our relationship with God to our marriage relationship with our spouse. Some days are okay, nothing special happens - you are just going through the day; some days are bad, you don't talk much and things in your relationship don't seem to be going so good; some days are incredible and you share such special intimacy with your spouse and you are just overwhelmed at how in love you are. The same is true of our relationship with God - some days it seems that it is all you can do to get your Bible open and you hear nothing; some days you just walk with God - just steadiness; and then there are days when you are so full of God that it just oozes from every pore of your body. Wow. That is where I am right now. I am oozing! I begged God last night not to take it away or maybe I should say that I wouldn't let it go away; that I would continue to pursue Him every day, all day; that I would cultivate our relationship; that I would be sensitive to the leading and prodding of the Holy Spirit. Once you truly taste the greatness of God, I'm convinced that you don't ever want anything less.

Last week was so powerful and incredible and God's spirit was just thick every day, every where. Then we came home to our church's 25th anniversary yesterday. What a service! I will be buying DVD's and mailing them to some of you because it was just too good not to share. Some people may say it was showy - oh dear Lord, may it not be. Every person that sang or spoke did so out of an awesome love for their Savior. I cried like a baby at the greatness of God. We had cardboard testimonies. I don't know if you know about these or not, but, basically, a person takes a large piece of cardboard and on one side writes what used to hold them in bondage and on the other side they write how God has set them free. Wow. These people never speak a word, but their face and their cardboard says it all. They have been set free by the power of God. What humility to let people see their scars. I'm convinced that we, as Christian people, are seldom as real as this. We put up our fronts and our happy faces so that people some how get the impression that we are the happiest people ever, in love with Jesus, with no problems. How sad. If only everyone could know that their are so many people who long to help others carry their burdens, to pray for them, to stand in the gap; and most of all, God wants us to lay them down so that He can bring freedom. Thank You Lord!

Last night our choir recorded a live CD. It was just more icing on top of an already very rich cake. I could have stood on my feet with both hands held high the entire service because I have witnessed the greatness of God over and over this week. One of the guys that went to Mexico with us sang last night. He sang, "I'm Amazed". What passion he sang with - you could tell that he really was "amazed" by God. We have such a small faith don't we? How many times are we amazed at God? We pray and ask and then are so surprised when God answers. That is so funny to me. I think part of it is just the simple fact that we are human, but I wonder how much of it is just that we don't have the faith that we should have.

There are things that I have been praying about for months that God answered this week. Things that I have been almost ill over asking God "why". I know why now. I have also been praying that God would renew my joy over the crucifixion. I think some how over the years I have become used to it. I cringe as I even type those words and I wonder how can that be. How can I be "used to" the cross where Jesus gave His life for me? Thank You God for restoring the joy of my salvation this week. It took Bro. Terry talking about what Jesus gave up to drive it home to me. Can you imagine - Jesus walked and talked with His Father every day on the golden streets of Heaven. He left the joy and fellowship of that to come to a dark and dying world that we might be saved. Wow. Let that sink in. I also prayed that God would not let me come home from Mexico the same as I was before I left. You know what the theme of our week was in devotions? "I will never be the same again". Guess what song they sang yesterday morning as the cardboard testimonies were being done? "I will never be the same again". When God does something in my life I see it every where I turn. I love that. It is confirmation that it is from God. The greatness of God.

I'm Home

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am home, especially to all of my extended family in NY - thanks for praying this week! I'm not going to post much right yet because I am still in the overwhelmed stage and I am exhausted, but I will tell you one thing. I am hooked on missions, be it foreign or local. I can't wait to go back. To see that the same God you serve everyday is the same God that is served in a foreign country is overwhelmingly sweet. I cried in their Sunday sermon as they sang a praise chorus that we sing here and you could hear the blending of languages lifting praise to the same mighty God. I think we all know that there are people all over the world that serve the same God as we do, but I'm telling you, when you witness it in person, it is undescribable. We saw over 1400 people make a profession of faith this week. I actually got to listen as people prayed to accept Jesus as their own personal Savior in Spanish - that will make you weep. I journaled 3-4 pages every day that I was there and took almost 400 pictures/videos. I can't wait to share some of it with you along with how God worked in my own life this week. I will try to post over the next week about it, but it will probably come in spurts. We got up at 1a.m. yesterday to leave the hotel by 3 a.m., so it was a long day after a busy week and I'm no where near caught up, but watch out when I do get caught up because I have some awesome things to share with you. Thank you all again for praying for me and our whole team while we were gone - we felt every prayer.

Mexico update - from Craig

Just wanted to put in a quick post to update everyone on Lisa's trip. They left the church at 8:00 AM on Saturday on the church bus, 41 people and lots of luggage. They made it to Atlanta with no problems, got all checked in, and departed on time for Houston TX. Lisa called me from Houston and said the flight was a little bumpy but good. They Departed pretty much on time for mexico. Everone mad it through Customs OK and then onto another bus for a 1-2 hour ride. She finaly called at 12:30 AM and they were in their room. I talked to her again Sunday morning, they are up early for a church service and then a clinic at the church for the church members. She is doing great, although a little tired.

Thanks to everyone who prayed yesturday.

I'm Ready

I'm officially all packed! My two big suitcases are ready to go to the church tonight. Craig weighed them the other night and one was 48lbs and the other was 49lbs. Let's hope our scales are accurate or at the very least, heavy!

Prayer Requests for the trip:

1. Safety
2. That the hearts of the Mexican people will be already tender and open to the teaching of God's Word
3. Flexibility for our team to roll with whatever comes about
4. Pray for the three of us that I know that this is our first trip and all three of us are leaving our children and our husbands behind. Pray that the kids(and us) will handle the seperation well
5. That no one would be affected by the altitude.
6. For me specifically I would ask that you all pray for me and the pediatrician that I am going to be working with - that I will be able to anticipate exactly what he needs and that we will work well together from day one. Also, please pray that I don't pass out if I have to look at blood or anything like that. Stop laughing - I'm being completely serious. I have laughed about this so much since God called me to this trip and it just reinforces God's sense of humor to me. That He would call me, Lisa, who hates needles, blood, pain, etc. to go on a medical mission trip. BUT, as Shannon reminded me just yesterday, He has called and now He will equip. Thank you Lord.

I can't wait to tell all of you about this when I get back. Know that I will be journaling so I don't miss a detail. If I get a chance to get online over there I will update. Thank you to each one of you who is praying!

The First Leg

Well, we did it. We took the kids to Ruth and Ron. My house is so quiet this morning that it is almost deafening. How long has it been since I have had the whole house to myself for an entire day? It is weird. Anyway, yesterday went okay, I guess. I bawled like a baby. Poor R&R - they probably didn't know what to think - sorry guys! Kayla was upset, of course, and Tyler just didn't have a clue what was going on. But, I spoke with Ruth last night and they were already having a great time and enjoying themselves! I'm not sure that Craig and I did as well. I had told myself not to cry until we were on our way down the road and I totally flubbed that one. Even once I got calmed down, the ride home was very quiet. I told Craig that we should be enjoying our time together, but I don't think either one of us was in the mood to be jovial!

So today is a new day and even though my house is way too quiet and I miss my kids like crazy, I'm going to get done what I need to do and try to enjoy the day. I have to get my toiletries packed today and a few last odd and end things tucked into my carry-ons. I have to go to work for an hour or two. Craig and I are going out to dinner tonight, then dropping my bags off at the church, and then we have a surprise party for a friend that we are going to. And then I hope that I will sleep at least a little bit tonight. This week has been rough in the sleep department. I have been trying to read for a little while until I get sleepy, but even after that I lay in bed and my mind is just all over the place wondering what to expect for this next week.

I guess that's that. I've got to get moving because things will not get done with me sitting here blogging!

Today is the Day

Well, in my mind the first leg of my journey to Mexico begins today. Only instead of Mexico, it will be a trip to Dalton to meet my in-laws and drop my children off. I have such mixed feelings about all of this. We have never been seperated in so many different directions like this so that is definitely weird. I'm going to miss them like crazy, but at the same time I think it will be good for us. I am a firm believer in absence makes the heart grow fonder. I hate like everything to be seperated from them or Craig, but the reunion is always sweet. Also, I never had the opportunity to go and spend a week with my Grandparents during the summer because you can't really put a kid on a plane in Japan and say, "have a safe trip, hope you make it to New York in one piece". Well, I guess you could, but my parents were not those kind of parents! So, I think the kids are going to have a blast even though they are already telling me how much they are going to miss me. My sweet Kayla told me last night that she would be praying for me. Wow! It is one thing to pray for your kids, but when they turn around and tell you that they are going to be praying for YOU, that is some kind of feeling!

I wish that I could tell all of you how much this mission trip means to me and how huge it is in my life. I know some of you know that I have suffered from horrible panic attacks since I was in high school. Honestly up until a couple of years ago I would not have ventured anywhere without Craig. He was my security. He knew all about the anxiety and how to help calm me down when I was in the midst of an attack. My thoughts were always, "I don't want to do that because it is different or out of the box and what happens if I have a panic attack while I'm there, and on and on." I realize that this probably sounds very trivial to a lot of people, but I am telling you that I was living in a stronghold of fear. Praise God that He has delivered me from this. I wish that I could talk to everybody out there that struggles with stuff like this because it is only something that can be understood by someone who has been there. It is awful. Gradually over the last two to three years God has been teaching me who I am in Him, the worth that I have because He made me, the confidence that I can have in Him. This trip to Mexico is like my last little step on the journey to complete and total freedom in Christ. People keep asking me if Craig is going with me, and, oh, how I wish he was, but, honestly, this one I need to go just with God. He IS my security. It is actually very funny how all of this came up. I knew God was calling me and when I finally said, "okay, God, I will go", I didn't know anybody else that was going, and I was okay with that. I knew that I would get to know the other people that were going as we were on our way. Well, several weeks later I was talking to my friend, Sadonna about it. I hadn't really told anybody and I'm not sure why I told her, but I did. She was stunned. God had been calling her too and she was running. So now God has given me a friend that I know well to go with me. We are roomies! On top of that, just a few weeks before everything had to be finalized for this trip, Jim and Janna were asked to go. I feel like God rewarded me for my obedience - what an incredibly humbling thought. I think He just wanted to see if I would be willing to follow all by myself.

I know this is getting to be a lengthy entry, but, hey, it's my blog, right?:-) I have to write about this one last thing. My relationship with God has been somewhat stagnant over the last several months. I felt like I am just kind of like a hooked fish - you keep flopping around, but you get nowhere - can I get an amen? As I have prepared for this trip I can feel myself getting closer to the Lord and have just felt Him preparing me in many different ways. Well, while I have been running around this week, I have heard that song, "I can only imagine", like three times or something. I thought it was kind of strange because that song has been out for so long that they don't play it a ton anymore - at least I don't hear it that often. So last night on my way home from my last appointment it's on the radio again. I started singing along, of course, and then just really got to where I was listening to the words and how they apply right now. Go with me for a minute, I'm not a seminary student and my analogy is probably horribly screwed up, BUT, you gotta go with what God puts on your heart. Obviously that song is about being in the presence of Almighty God and wondering what your response/reaction will be. Well, I have always only associated that song with Heaven, but last night I got to thinking about it in respect of this trip to Mexico. I couldn't help but wonder - what will my response be when I see God show up in Mexico, when I see His face shining through on the faces of these little Mexican children that I'm going to be ministering to. Wow. Will I be able to stand and lift a hand in praise and worship to Him, or will I only be able to fall on my knees in awe of the great God that I serve? Will I want to dance and sing? Or will I only be able to weep at His greatness?

I'll let you know...

I Need More Room

Help!!! I need more room in my suitcases! Can you say, "Ain't no way Lisa is going to come in under the weight limit on these bags"? Please pray that my suitcases are not going to be over 50lbs.! I have just finished packing. I will have to add my makeup and toiletries on Friday/Saturday, but all of my clothes, mission stuff, is all loaded. My backpack that I'm carrying on the plane with me is bulging - why do I think that is NOT going to fit under my seat? I finished my errands today and bought the last few things that I needed. I think I am set as long as the bags are within the weight limits! Our actual checked suitcases have to be at the church by 6:30 Friday night for weighing and final instructions and then my carryons will go with me Saturday morning.

The kids are just about packed also. The last load of laundry is in the dryer and once that is out then I will finish packing for them and we will be ready to go tomorrow!

Thank You Lord!

We just got a huge praise tonight. I won't call it an answer to prayer because I'm not sure I prayed about it. It was one of those little things that I just thought it was the way it was, but God knew differently. I think I mentioned in an early post that to call from my cell phone in Mexico back here to the states was going to cost $.99/minute. Well, duh, I never stopped to consider that Craig could call me from here. Somehow that came up in conversation tonight and I called and sure enough, he can call me for only $0.15/minute. How awesome is that? I will still have to pay $.99/minute to talk to the kids since they are in TN and my inlaws don't carry a long distance provider, but it will still save us loads of money and I will feel like I can talk to him more often for that price. Yea! Thank You Lord!

My Next Purchase

I have decided that I am going to buy a drum set. That's right, a drum set. I am going to strap it to my waist so I can entertain myself while I am skidding around town! Yea, the Energizer Bunny has been heavy on my mind this week! I figure that little guy is pretty annoying the way that he just keeps going and going and going and...ok, got the picture. However, even though he is definitely annoying, just think of how productive he has got to be. I mean he goes forever, and he has his music so he is well entertained on the way! Oh, speaking of music and entertainment, our van has been acting a little strange, and on my way home from work tonight the radio would not work. You who know me well, know that that is just about the worst thing that can happen to me. I love my music, I love to sing, all the time, about anything, anywhere, all the time. I kid you not, I just sang all by myself on the way home. I was one of those people that you see going down the road just having a big 'ol time all by themselves.

Okay, I'm regressing. Back to the Energizer Bunny. By the way, I keep calling it a "he", but it was, in fact, pink, so it must be a "she". I like to think that "she" was a mom and she is a cool mom because she has her own drum set, which means she cannot hear her children squabbling with one another while she is skidding around town. Anyway, my point to all of this is that I just thought that with all of the running that I have done this week that I should at least be able to entertain myself and drown out the kids' fussing. And, I mean if I am skidding and swinging those drum sticks, aren't I bound to skid off a few pounds along the way too. See? I'm thinking this could be a very wise investment for me. Okay, okay, enough of the talk about pink bunnies!

And really my kids have been doing pretty well with another about getting along. Every since I started letting them just duke it out, Tyler doesn't seem nearly as anxious to beat up on Kayla when he now knows that she is allowed to hit her back. I am justifying my warped parenting by telling myself that they are forming excellent problem solving skills when I tell them to work it out! Seriously, they have been really good this week. We are still battling the potty training issue, which I am beginning to realize is just something that I am probably going to have to battle FOREVER, because I'm not sure Tyler is ever going to get it!!! Don't even get me started on that whole topic.

This morning I took Kayla and McZ to see "Everyone's Hero". I wasn't sure they would like it because it was a baseball movie but they actually really enjoyed it. After that it was a blur of lunch, errands, hair cuts, and work. However, today is my last day of running. Tomorrow I am going to get the kids packed and ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house. They will be starting out their week in TN with a few days of camping - they are looking forward to sleeping in G&G's trailer! I can't believe that I am this close to leaving for Mexico! Ahhh! So, tomorrow is packing and doing laundry. Thursday we will meet R&R part way between here and there and drop the kids off. Friday is packing for me, and then Saturday, I'm off! More about the mission trip to come in the next couple of days...

Cooking Fun

Today has been one of those very rare, very productive days. Busy, but productive. The kids and I got up this morning and started cleaning. I am learning that my children are capable of much more than I give them credit for. Kayla vaccuumed today and did a great job. She is also a fabulous duster! Tyler is becoming awesome at doing laundry. He hauls the clothes from the bedroom to the laundry room, loads the baskets, and is even putting his own clothes away. They were a big help today and it felt great to get the house cleaned! This afternoon I spent at work. Left there and came home and got the kids and then we went to pick up Kayla's friend, McZ. They were cooking dinner tonight and then McZ is spending the night and we are going on a girls fun day tomorrow. Tonight they cooked and boy did we all have fun. I think I should have waited until tomorrow to clean the house! Seriously, I had to keep mentally saying to myself. It is okay, it can be cleaned again, and again, and again...:-) Okay, for the menu...are you ready for this:

Appetizers: Cinnamon-Apple Nacho
Main Dish: Mini Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta and Watermelon Sodas to drink. The sodas were just as disgusting as they sound. Dad, I wish you could have been here for the watermelon - I know it is your fave. However, Kayla and McZ loved them; I guess that is really all that matters!
Dessert: Cookie and ice cream fill your handwiches! Cute name, huh? You gotta love Rachel Ray and her corny recipes.

The results - everything was good, um, except for the sodas. Yuck! Oh, oh, on top of that we dunked the tops of our glasses into corn syrup and then into colored decorator's sugar. Ugh!!! So you know, your lips kind of stuck to the rim of the glass when you took the first drink, and then you're puckered up with all of this nasty syrup and sugar stuck to your lips. Gives me the heebie geebies just thinkin' about it! Anyway, it was fun - the girls had a blast and I guess that is all that matters! Here are some pics from our fun meal...

Another Day

Saturday is just about over and it has been a very relaxing day. Kayla and I went to Bath and Body Works this morning to get a birthday present and also some stuff for me. They were having great sales by the way! Then we were back home to get ready for the birthday party. I drove Kayla to the horse riding stables and didn't even get lost! I left there and went to do some shopping because Craig got my shelf done and the microwave up - Yeah! So, I went looking for some stuff for the shelf and mostly struck out. Everything I bought didn't fit, so all I ended up with was a new napkin holder and some artichoke votives for my windowsill. The rest of the afternoon I have been mostly worthless. My ribs are killing me from the chiropractor yesterday. Ouch.

Craig tried so hard to be lazy and just relax this afternoon, but he just couldn't do it. Before I knew it he was up and putting primer on the walls. Now I have to tell you that he got the primer tinted with some red so that he could see the spots that would need putty very well. So, I have pink walls in my kitchen right now. When he gets a full coat on, I will post some pictures. I thought Kayla was going to cry when she got home and saw that the walls were pink. She thought it was the paint we had actually chosen! The look on her face was priceless!

That's about it for today. I have to go clean up my dishes from supper and get my lunch stuff ready for tomorrow. My husband has requested homemade chicken fajitas for Father's Day lunch, so I need to go and get my chicken marinating!

A First

So today I found myself at Wally World searching for head lice shampoo. NOT BECAUSE I HAVE HEAD LICE!!!! It was one of the things that was on my list to buy for Mexico as a precautionary measure. Most of ya'll know how I am about my hair - head lice is, like, my worst nightmare, so I am pretty sure I am going to get it while in Mexico and I want to be armed and dangerous. I swear, I felt like I was buying alcohol or something. I had it face down in the cart and covered up with stuff. I was mortified!!!

I think I have everything bought for my trip except a fan and a roll of duct tape. Craig and I got to do a little shopping tonight and I found a comfortable pair of shoes to wear and the rest of the stuff I picked up today. This time next week I will be packed and ready!

The Day is Done

Shew. It has been a busy day. I did get to sit down and relax for about an hour this afternoon and that was nice. Oh, and Craig and I also got about an hour together tonight while the kids were at VBS, and that was great. Bible schools are over for this year - Kayla had a great week. Tyler only went twice but he had fun too.

My husband was cracking me up tonight. You know when the kids go through these periods of ugliness like they are in now we have to laugh with each other lest we lose our sanity. When we got home from VBS tonight they were in an especially rare form of sassyness and misbehavin' and Craig said, "just give me a very sharp stick, and I am slowly going to insert it into my left eye because I think that might be more fun than this." He keeps me laughing even when times are tough. I was just telling my mom that we are going through this very weird season in our lives right now. I have to admit that Craig and I have always had it pretty easy in the big scheme of things, God has always made things pretty clear to us and has blessed us greatly. But for some reason we seem to be just wallerin' in a pit of confusion and turmoil right now! I keep praying and I keep hearing, "wait". Dear God, I'm not sure how much longer I can last in this season!!! AAGGGHHH - just give me the sharp stick! Okay, I'm kidding. Seriously, we have to keep laughing or else we would both end up committed somewhere!

On a very stinky note, Tyler is testing every limit of potty training right now. Shannon told me today that he is playing us big time - it's so nice to have friends who don't beat around the bush(love ya Shannabannon!). I'm being serious too, because sometimes you don't see it yourself. So, Craig and I have firmly planted our feet on this plan and we ain't backin' down! If this doesn't work, I'm thinking of hypnosis!

The Calm Before the Storm

This past week or two has been relatively calm, even with VBS going on this week and Kayla being so busy, I have not been that busy. I think that I am going to be thankful for that starting today. From today until I leave for Mexico things get crazy. I was just thinking about my calendar and everything that is on it and I am beginning to wonder if I am insane. I was trying to make a chiropractor appointment(more on that in a minute) and a hair appointment and I wasn't sure it was going to happen. What happened to my life all of a sudden???

Let's see - today is grocery shopping this morning. I was just reading on another friend's blog about the price of gas and groceries and how ridiculous things have gotten. It is insane - I dread it! My gas budget for the next two weeks is more than what I have allotted myself for groceries! Hello? What is up with that? I have reminded myself continually over the past few weeks that God will provide - what a comfort! So, Kayla has her last day of Bible school with her friend and our church, so while she is doing that this morning, Tyler and I will be running errands and buying groceries. This afternoon I have a chiropractor appointment that makes me feel a little nauseous every time I think about it. I have this problem with my ribs and it is just from sleeping funny and lifting Tyler, but the muscle in between my ribs pops out in between the bone and the chiropractor is kind enough to put it back into place for me. It hurts worse than child birth, but not quite as long as child birth, and then I have these really cool bruises for the next week or so. In defense of my chiropractor though I think it hurts him just as much. He told me one time that it just kind of made his stomach upset to think about the pain he was fixing to cause me - nice guy, huh? Anyway, the rest of the night, I will be mostly useless. We have parent's night at our VBS, and in between doing the records and the time that parent's night starts I am going to go out and try to do a little shopping for a couple of things that I still need for Mexico. This time next week I will be all by myself in my house for the whole day. What am I going to do with myself? We are taking the kids to R&R on Thursday. I am going to miss them like crazy. I have never been away from them for more than 3 or 4 days at a time and usually it is just 2 or 3, so this is going to be rough. Plus I just realized that it is going to cost me $1 a minute to call here from Mexico. Ouch! For those of my friends who know that I call home a lot when I am out of town, you know it is going to be rough, but we will all make it through and I can't wait to see what all God is going to do through this trip.

Okay, I can't even think past today now that I have put all of that down on "paper", so I am going to get off of here now and go and start my day!

Success

For those of you who prayed for me today - thanks! I stayed strong, and we have had a very successful potty training day. There has been NO dirty pants! I'm not telling all of my secrets, but let me just tell you that Tyler does NOT like baby food! He would rather poop in the potty than eat baby food. Hhhmmmm... that's all I am going to say about that!

Tomorrow I am taking the kids to a movie in the morning. The afternoon will be filled with paying bills and making a grocery list. And then back to VBS tomorrow night. I skipped out of VBS tonight after everyone arrived and I got the count done and went and had coffee with Holly. It was a fun time. Now there is lightning off in the distance and my children are freaking out and do not want to go to bed. So, I am off to try to get them calmed down and back into bed!

Uh-Oh!

So, Tyler woke up throwing up this morning - yea! Therefore, our plans for the day have changed. We were going to have Kendall come and spend the afternoon, but now we are putting up the "Enter at Your Own Risk" signs outside the house! Who knows what this is about, but I am so thankful that it is happening this week and not next week. I'm also thankful that he was not at our VBS last night or else I would be worrying about who he might have exchanged germs with! Hopefully we can just keep this limited to him!

So, for today I am going to stay at home and take care of him and sweep and mop my kitchen floor. Craig finished sanding last night, at least for several days, so I am free to mop without fear of it just getting another layer of dry wall dust on it tonight! When this project is done, I'm going to have a major spring cleaning project on my hands, but it will be worth it!

Potty training prayer request... I know I joke about this whole thing a lot, and that is just solely for the benefit of my own sanity, but in all seriousness, please pray for us this week. We have found something that is working, but it is killing me. Craig encouraged me last night to stay strong, so I am asking ya'll to pray for me that I WILL stay strong and not cave in. It is so humiliating to have a 4+ year old that does not do his business in the toilet, but I have to comfort myself with the fact that I have tried everything in the book. I guess this is his strong willed moment or something. Seriously, with everything coming up in the next couple of weeks and vacations we have planned over the next couple of months, plus the continuning expense of pullups and wipes, I am so ready to be done with this, so please pray. Pray hard!!!

Not Much to Tell

There is not a whole lot going on this week, even though it seems like it has been a busy couple of days. I opted for major straightening yesterday instead of cleaning, ran an errand, and then went to VBS. Our registration went great for the first night and we ended up with over 300 kids registered. It was one of the smoothest registrations that I have seen and our directors have done an awesome job on everything! I finally got to see and talk to my husband at about 9:00 last night. He finished the shelf that will be up above my microwave. I will have to post some pictures when it is all installed. Last night he got the boards finished and stained, tonight is putting on the varnish and, hopefully, tomorrow night I will have a new microwave! That means a whole extra countertop for everyday use. I am very excited about that!
I went to work for a few hours this morning while Kayla went with her friend to VBS and Tyler went to MDO. Picked Tyler up and ran a couple of errands, picked Kayla and her friend, McZ, up, and now Tyler is "resting" and the girls are playing. We will be heading back out to VBS in a couple of hours. So, for the time being, I am bored. Not because I don't have things I could be doing, but because I don't want to do any of the things that I need to do - did that make sense. Basically, I am being l-a-z-y.
I'm not going to update on potty training today, but let's just say that we have found something that Tyler hates and we are using that to our advantage. I'll keep you posted!

To Clean or Not To Clean?

That is the question of the day! When there is drywall dust all over your house along with tools and ladders scattering the kitchen do you really feel like cleaning? Oh, and just so you know, there is more sanding to come tonight or tomorrow night so why sweep, mop, and dust when there will just be more tomorrow? Do you think the Fly Lady would approve of that mentality? The fact of the matter is is that it is driving me nuts. I am wearing flip flops in my kitchen because I cannot stand the feel of the dust and grime on my bare feet, yea, TMI, I know. However, it's not like it is like this all the time! Decisions, decisions. I'm probably going to end up sweeping, mopping, and dusting, and then I will just have to do it again in a few days, but I just cannot take the mess any more! Craig is working so hard on all of this, but it is so time consuming!

Okay, on to a more uplifting(?) topic... I'm trying yet another potty training technique. I'm not telling you about it yet though because I want to see if it is going to work. Basically I have two weeks to get Tyler trained before he goes to stay with Grandpa and Grandma for a week. Craig and I have again hit the point of just being royally ticked off with this little guy because he is playing us like a fiddle. He can poop on demand if he thinks he is going to get to do something fun. So now it is just all out war, a battle if the wills, if you will! MAYBE there will be more to come on that later!

This week is going to be a busy one. Kayla just left to go to VBS with a friend; she will be doing that all week. Tonight begins VBS at our own church so we will be gone every night. Our church is expecting a huge turnout so pray with us that we will have lots of unchurched kids who will come and hear the gospel of Christ. I am heading up registration so since I'm working in it, Tyler will be able to participate as well. That will give Craig every night this week to work on the kitchen without his little helper! Yesterday Tyler came into the living room swinging a hammer - a real hammer. Scary.

On another Tyler note, last night we had a band at our church, Eleventh Hour - they rock, by the way! I was very impressed. So was Tyler. I think he will be soon trading his Tonka trucks and tools for an electric guitar and a microphone. In the middle of the concert, he looked over at me, and said, "Mama, you know what I want to be when I grow up?", "One of those", he said, pointing at the band, "I want to be a band!". After the concert, he kept saying, "Mama, that was awesome, that was awesome." He was cracking us up.

Alright, people, I have blogged long enough. I have to dust! Have a great day!

It is Hot!!!

Summer has officially hit here in Georgia. It is HOT!!! It was a long day inside today, because it was really even too hot for the kids to go outside - Tyler wasn't happy with that.

I set off this morning to the beauty salon to get my "hair did", as my friend Vickie Mack would say! So now I have stinky hair b/c I got a perm. Made a stop at the post office to mail some ebay stuff. My mother is getting into ebay, I think! She cleaned out a bunch of books while I was home and I listed them on ebay for her and she did great with them! Yea Mom! Anyway then it was home to a mess, although Craig had vaccuumed up all of the drywall dust and done the dishes, but the whole rest of the kitchen was on the table. So I was trying to get some of that stuff put up. The microwave is going where the cabinet was that held all of my cookbooks so I had to find a place for all of those. I spent the afternoon alternating between reading and cooking. We had the blessing of being able to take a meal to some friends tonight. Wow, what a time we had visiting with them tonight. They have been having a rough time and yet they are able to praise God that it has not been any worse than what it has been. I guess when you, literally, stare death in the face, and God brings you back it puts things into perspective for you. Again, what a blessing!

Craig is now working on my microwave, yes, still. Who knew what a big project this was. My stuff is back out in the middle of the kitchen and we are working around a mess. You got to love home improvement. Next step for me is to pick out the backsplash that I want and to pick paint. For Craig, prime the walls, sand the closet, mount the microwave, build shelf above the microwave. I guess we know who has the harder job, huh - it is hard to pick a paint color!:-)LOL

My Social Butterfly

Oh my goodness Lord, am I ready for these years to come? I don't know.

It seems every year that Kayla's social life gets a little bit more interesting. Today she has had a very sociable day! One of her friend's mom called this morning and wanted to know if Kayla could come and swim with them. So she spent most of the day swimming with McKenzie. She got home at about 4:15, we went and ran a quick errand and by about 5:15 she had Erica coming over asking if she could go to a movie. So she just got home from the movies and I think she will sleep very good tonight. It is so weird having a child old enough to go and do things like this. But, at the same time, I feel like we have been blessed with families inside and outside of our church that are good, godly people that Kayla can be friends with at school and such. I pray that it continues!

New Career Move for Lisa???

Yea, I don't think so! We are back at remodeling the kitchen. It has been on hold for a few weeks as other things have taken priority. Last night Craig "mudded" the closet. Tonight, he is tearing apart the cabinet over my stove. He stopped and got our new microwave on his way home and that will go over the stove. Yea! That means a whole extra counter for me to work on! I will NOT miss my counter sitting microwave. Anyway, while he was doing that, I really wanted to help so he let me sand the kitchen walls where the dry wall came up with the wall paper. In case ya'll don't know this about me - I am a girl, in every sense of the word. I don't like to get dirty, hate to sweat, yadadada... Well, I have my hair clipped up in the back and on both sides, sweat everywhere, and I am covered in dry wall dirt, and I am having so much fun!!! Seriously, I will enjoy every minute of my shower later, but for now it is a lot of fun to be able to help Craig, even just a little bit. Okay, have to get back to it. I will NOT be posting any pictures of me in my new job!

'tis the season....

...for lizards! I found this little guy in my garden this morning and couldn't resist snapping a picture of him. If I wasn't so worried about them coming in my house, I might be tempted to even call him "cute". Okay, no.

Fun With Papa

My kids love to wrestle and the bigger the giant, the "funner" the fight!

More Fun Family Pics

Family Pictures

Back in April, Shannon did some family pictures for us. I haven't posted them before now because they were Mother's Day presents for the Moms and I didn't want them to see them. Anyway, Shannon did a great job - the mom's loved them!

The Great Hail Storm

I have been meaning to post some pictures from our hail storm a couple of weeks back. It was fascinating up to the end and then it just got plain scary. It hailed longer than I have ever seen it hail and they were pretty big. We are still trying to decide if we need to contact the insurance company about our roof!

Sibling Rivalry - This is War!

Well, folks, it has begun. Summer is here and my children are in a race to see who will kill each other first. Let me just say that at this point, I am taking any and all advice from everyone so please feel free to post your comments. Now, on to what I have tried. Let's see. First of all we have given the Biblical run down on what God says about treating each other with kindness and compassion, explained in great detail. Second, we have tried the Golden Rule - "Treat others as you wish to be treated", explained in great detail. Third, I have disciplined until I am blue in the face. I have spanked, timed out, sent to rooms, stood in the corner, spanked some more, etc. etc. Fourth, I have forced togetherness with the explanation that "you will play with no one else until you learn to play nice with each other. Can you say torture for the whole family? Last, but I'm sure not least, I have come up with a new one. They know what the Bible says about how to treat each other, we have disciplined REPEATEDLY to no avail, so now I am onto Churchill UFC! That's right. I have now given them permission to beat the tar out of each other as long as nobody bleeds in my house and, of course, you know, that they don't ACTUALLY kill each other. You see, Tyler has a very bad tendency to hit EVERYONE, not just Kayla, but everyone, for no reason, all the time, everyplace, everywhere, for no good reason. That ticks me off! So, he is in for a taste of his own medicine. Yes, yes, yes, I know there are probably some of you out there reading this that are giving me the "so you're going to try to teach your kid not to hit by letting somebody hit him"? Yep, that's about right. As I said, I'm totally open to more suggestions! If this doesn't work then I'm thinking about getting some rope and just tying them together! I'm kidding, don't call DFACS on me! I refuse to join the crowds of parents who are miserable all summer long because their children fight like cats and dogs. So, if they choose to be miserable that is fine. I, however, plan to beat them at their own game, so to speak! Bless Lisa Whelchel for her book on Creative Corrections! Don't know if she would approve of this, but when the going gets tough, the tough have to get some new material!

Home Sweet Home

Well, we made it home last night around 10:00. We DID stop twice on the way home and I was extremely grateful for that! Today has been busy just trying to get settled back in. I forced myself to go out on my walk this morning even though it was already hot, but I was glad I did it after I got home! Then Kayla and I tried to give some TLC to all of my flowers. Most of them weathered five days of no water pretty well, but I have one that I'm not sure is going to make it. At least all of the ones out front survived. We pulled weeds and plucked dead blooms and watered. Then I spent the majority of the rest of the morning sorting through paperwork, mail, and paying bills. The afternoon found us at the grocery store trying to restock my cupboards! Has anyone besides me noticed how the grocery prices have gone sky high? Hhhhmmmm... We got home about 4:00 and Tyler wanted to rock-a-bye. He is one tired boy after five days with the grandparents - he plays so hard! So I rocked him to sleep and even snoozed a little myself. Can I tell you that it is now 9:30 and that boy is still sleeping? He will be up at 5:00 tomorrow probably but at least he will be well rested. Tomorrow we are attacking the poopy training again. How fun.

As for the weekend with both sets of parents - it was a lot of fun! We got to enjoy my parent's pool, which the kids loved. The water was freezing the first day, but the sun was not, so I got torched(my own fault), so I wasn't too eager to get back in. Papa took Kayla in on Sunday afternoon and they had a big time. I think Kayla got the most enjoyment out of watching Papa try to get on his float; apparently, he was less than coordinated!!! Mom and I shopped until we dropped, literally! We finished decorating her living room and redecorating her master bath. I love doing that kind of shopping and it all looked so pretty when it was done. I even got to enjoy some of my mil's homemade apple pie! Yum! The guys did a great job on the bathroom renovation, although I think Craig completely wore his dad out! They finished it up enough so that R&R can finish up the dry wall and painting work. We tried to stay away from their house so as not to add to the confusion, but the kids spent Saturday morning over there helping Grandma in the garden and also making the pies, and then we enjoyed dinner with them on Saturday night. Saturday afternoon we went to one of my high school friend's weddings. That is the first time that I have seen some of my friends from school since we graduated in '94. How funny! One of my boyfriends from HS is now a youth minister!!! That cracked me up, but you have to know him to appreciate it I guess. Anyway, the wedding was suprisingly fun even though I was dreading it a little bit. You don't know what to expect after not seeing people for almost 15 years! But it turned out to be fun!

I guess that about sums up our trip and our day of catching up!

Still Here, But Heading Home Soon

We ended up spending another day here in Tennessee. The bathroom project took a little longer than expected, but it looks like it is wrapping up! Today, Craig and his dad are hanging the shower door and finishing up. So, we are planning on heading home around noon or 1:00.

We have had a nice visit. Mom and I have shopped for house stuff and got her living room just about all the way decorated. We are off this morning to one more store for some flowers for an arrangement that I am going to attempt to put together for her. It has been fun to have time to shop and go to lunch and all of the fun things that you don't get to enjoy living several hours apart! Dad and Kayla spent the afternoon in the pool yesterday - she loved that! I haven't been back in since getting burned to a crisp on Thursday!

I guess that it is for now - hope everyone had a great weekend!