My Fabulous Andrew

Lizzy has another ear infection. Monday her tubes were clogged so we started giving her drops. By Friday, she was tugging on her ear & not sleeping well. Now, she won't let us touch her ear. Needless to say, she doesn't take too well with us giving her drops or cleaning her newly pierced ears.

Tonight, Andrew calmly came to my rescue when I was trying to care for her ears. He stabilized her head so I could do both the drops and the alcohol wipe while Elizabeth was screaming bloody murder.

I stopped and immediately praised Jesus out loud for my son. Andrew stood there beaming. He was so proud of himself - and rightfully so. I couldn't do life without him!

Chocolate and Such...

We got a great deal on Dove chocolate. We decided to put it in a pretty candy dish and allow those who come check out our house that's for sale to eat it - we certainly don't need 100 calories per tiny piece of chocolate! Yesterday morning the kids spotted it. Both of them begged for chocolate for breakfast. It was especially funny when Elizabeth threw down screaming kawket! After all, she is a girl, and she knows what's good!

The kids have thoroughly been enjoying the nearly empty house. Andrew loves to play golf with a hockey stick and a small nerf ball. The game went south quickly as you can imagine when Elizabeth tried to pick up the ball at the same time Andrew was swinging his club. Fortunately, there wasn't too much pain involved.

Elizabeth learned a new trick yesterday. She's full of them now learning new things each moment and talking up a storm! She can now proudly tell everyone that she's one years old by holding up her finger. And this morning she was pointing to a doggie on her Pj's. I said look at the doggie, and she said "there's two" immediately showing me the other one. I'm a little shocked at how quickly this 2nd child is learning. I need to get on my A game and start working with her a little more!

Have I mentioned how much I love my life?!

A New Title

Mat got his title today: Manager of Broadcast Engineering and Operations at the WWOS. He's flying high and low today. The whirlwind of emotions has come crashing down on both of us this week. I've had some of my worst arguments ever, lots of tears, some excitement and well, it's been a roller coaster ride!

I have lived here nearly my entire life. I'm one of the few people every FROM Atlanta. This is my home, where my family is, but my heart is about to be somewhere else. It's a strange feeling, but I'm ready for the adventures Christ has planned for our family. It's been SO amazing to see how he has planned and prepared our steps. It's so clear that his is the direction that he wants us to go. I could tell stories upon stories of Christ's provision, and I will with you in person if you ask.

In the meantime, it's my friends that I'm going to miss most. There are so many people here who have touched my heart in very different ways. We always said we would live life to the fullest knowing that God had bigger/different plans for us wherever we were. Right now, we are here. And here is where we have lived life to the fullest. I have made new friends at church, at my job, and in my community that I hope will last a lifetime. My friends are some of the most precious people in the entire world. I'm hoping that I might be able to woo a few of my friends down by enticing them with Disney perks.

To all of you who are reading this, know that I appreciate our friendship. I'm going to miss you, and if you ever come to the land of the mouse and don't call me, I'm going to be greatly offended!

What a Week!

I don't know if it's possible for us to have fit any more into this week.

Monday - took Lizzy to the doc to get a check up. Found out her ear tube is clogged and there is a ton of fluid sitting on her ear. Got her ears pierced anyway. Went home. Put the house on the market. Got the tummy bug. Thought I was gonna die.

Tuesday - woke up (if you can call it that since I didn't really every sleep) at 7am to find Andrew laying flat on his back staring at the ceiling beneath the great white porcelain god. He said, "I totally thought I was gonna puke." He snuggled with me as I could barely get out of bed in the first place by I was suffering with the same bug. Mat stayed home for a while to help with Lizzy - praise Jesus! Lots more happened, but when you have the tummy bug nothing else matters.

Wednesday - no time to be sick on this day. Got up. Suffered through the pain to take Lizzy for her 18mos wellness visit. Found out that she had to have a sick visit instead AND that her eye tube is clogged and she will have to have surgery AGAIN on that. Found out that someone was actually gonna look at my house. Had to do a marathon cleaning while about to die from tummy pain. The house looked perfect. Left to do errands b/c here is no time to be sick and relocate to a different state. Went to church. Went home. Andrew got "bit" by the tummy bug - not pretty. Had to work on the computer for relocation purposes but I couldn't think. Started feeling better - hallelujah!

Thursday - painted and cleaned baseboards ALL day long. Andrew was sick, but he seems to be doing tons better.

The kids are gonna be in a wedding this weekend so we are going to enjoy wedding festivities, Andrew's 1st t-ball game, and a HUGE honkin celebration for Mat who is leaving for Orlando very soon!

I don't know how everything got done this week, but it did (well, except that I didn't work). I guess that God knew what kind of week it was going to be and gave me the extra strength I needed to survive it. Tomorrow the fun begins!!!

Blah-Blah

Elizabeth is a mess. Her new favorite toy is a pretend cell phone. She talks on it all the time now, and she must have it with her at all times. The funniest part of it all is that she calls the cell phone her blah-blah. She often yells Millie into the phone, but she also talks to Mommy, brodder, Dada, and Mimi. She is a girl through and through! I know that Andrew is a social little boy, but woah, Lizzy is the elite socialite. Scary!

Sweet Times with the Grandparents

Today, I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with my grandfather, Nani Boy. I love my grandparents. They've been going through quite a rough patch lately (& for the past few years really). Recently, my grandmother, Nana, was put in a nursing home or assisted living home. My grandparents have been married 68 years, & the separate living arrangements have been very difficult for both of them.

Yesterday, Andrew called Nani to see if we could take him joy-riding. Anywho, it was a bittersweet day with my grandfather. We went out on the town (rare for him), & then we visited my grandmother in the nursing home. I witnessed the sweetest kiss (or 2 not that I was counting but I wish I had my camera!), & enjoyed "yelling" at my deaf grandma all the while trying not to cry. The kids were quite the hit at the nursing home too :) I think we made their day, & Nani certainly made Andrew's day!

Andrew hasn't stopped talking about his amazing grandfather. It was certainly sweet to see them hanging out together. Andrew loved asking Nani all about his life. I got to just sit there and listen to him rehash old memories. I even learned some things that I, as an adult, never got to ask.

Precious times that I won't have too often now that a move to Orlando is in our near future.

A New Chapter

We have known for a while that Atlanta would not always be our home. 5 years ago this was just a dream we had, but now we are facing the beginning of a new chapter in our life.

Mat took a job with Disney on Friday evening. In a few short weeks, our family will be moving to Orlando, Florida. Mat will be the "Engineer in Charge" at ESPN's Wide World of Sports. It's an amazing opportunity - an opportunity of a lifetime, in fact. It's not every day that you're offered 'nearly' an executive level job at Disney at the young age of 32!!! I know Mat's a genius, but I never dreamed this would happen so soon.

We are all in a state of shock right now. It's becoming more real with every passing moment. There are lots of questions right now like:

Will we be able to sell our house in the horrible economy? (which it's a wonderful little 4 bedroom/2.5 bath house situated quaintly at the back of a neighborhood on a little cul-du-sac lot in THE BEST school district (Mulberry Elem) around!...and we have pretty wonderful neighbors too!
Where will Andrew go to kindergarten?
Which area should we live in? Where do we even begin to look?

One thing I'm most convinced of is that God orchestrated this entire thing. He flung the doors open wide for this opportunity, and he will provide for us...including a place to live & a school for my precious son.

I'd love to hear feedback from any of you familiar with the Orlando area. We are relying on our friends to help us "learn" about Orlando - and especially to help us answer some of the questions we have about where to live. We will likely rent until our house in Dacula sells.

In the meantime, please keep our little family in your prayers. It's easy to say, we understand God is in control of the situation, but it's a little more difficult to FEEL it in our hearts!

Just Another Monday Followed by Tuesday...

Monday was beautiful.

So, about an hour after I gave up on putting the soccer net together yesterday, I decided to try again. It took time putting it together, but I did it...with the help (& encouragement) from my 5 year old who was desperate for me to finish. Maybe I'm a rocket scientist after all! The net is way bigger than either of us expected. My $7 Christmas present find turned out to be very worth it. It's a super nice net!

We were enjoying playing ball, and my son did really well aiming for the square target on the net. My daughter enjoyed playing outside too, but instead of throwing a ball, she decided to pick up doggie poo and throw it. So disgusting on so many levels...don't worry, Mom, I yelled for her to stop (when I finally noticed her playing with the um..dog chips) and I raced to wash her hands. She giggled and giggled. She's way more like her brother than I thought.

While Monday was beautiful, Tuesday has shaped up to be PERFECT! I even took a walk at the park with a sweet friend I haven't seen in a while. My son was very mischievious. He did the forbidden and threw a large rock, but then he did the unpardonable and he BIT his sister. Boy did that upset me!!! He had a consequence. After the tears and drama was over, I tucked him into bed. While I was leaving, he actually "thanked" me for the consequence. Hmmm...not sure what to think about that. Maybe he needs a bigger consequence next time.

Now, if that darn paint would DRY ALREADY! Oh...and by the way, the dinner my daughter picked out (sortof) was AMAZING. I'm craving the leftovers I saved for supper tomorrow!

My Vampire

It's official. My daughter is a vampire. There was another finger casualty on Sunday - don't worry just bite marks and a tiny bit of blood. I fear one of these days she might just bite off an entire finger.

My son went through this same phase. To her credit, she is cutting a new tooth, but that doesn't make it any easier. Nor does it make ME any more friends. Face it people, mom's hate moms of children who offend their children in any way. Today at work, I had to keep her contained for 3 hours so she wouldn't be able to find any of those tasty fingers. She played in the high chair, the walker, and even the pac-n-play. Where are those baby muzzles when ya need 'em?

I hope this is a short phase. And I also hope there are no further casualties. I don't think my "stress" (wherever that is) can handle it. It's way more difficult to be the parent of the biter than the bitten.

What's for Supper?

This morning my daughter brought a cook book to me, opened it to a divine stroganoff recipe, started licking the picture of the meal, and said "YUM!" I couldn't resist. I went to my freezer, got out some steak, and prepped the meal in my crock pot.

I told my son the story on the way home from school. When he walked in the door at home, the fragrance of the meal overwhelmed us, and he complimented his sister on her excellent choice for dinner. I can't wait to see if it's as good as it smells.

As an aside, my sweet friend invited me over for last minute lunch plans. It made me feel so special, AND she welcomed both of my children into her freshly cleaned house with open arms. Friends like that are rare and priceless! Thank you sweet friend!

When we got home, my boy wanted to "practice" throwing his baseball into his new net. Thinking it would be excellent practice on this gorgeous day, I headed outside to set up the net for him only to find that you have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to set it up. So t-ball practice turned out to be a "wait for Daddy" project with a little boy very upset that his mommy isn't a rocket scientist. Nothing a few gummy bears and teddy grahams couldn't help thought.

Finally, have you ever had to wait for something that you wanted REALLY bad? It's kinda like watching paint dry. I'm simply dying here in anticipation. Maybe I should go to the mall...but I'm pretty sure my husband wouldn't like that.

A Learning Experience

We had the wonderful privilege of accompanying my husband on a business trip to Nashville where we stayed at the luxurious Gaylord Opryland Hotel. We were able to get discounts on the eateries while we stayed there with my husband's convention pass. While enjoying a burger, we overlooked a beautiful waterfall. My daughter enjoyed more katchsup that burger, and after eating, she was covered in the red stuff. My son, who had been carrying around a pooh backpack with all the baby necessities, happily got a baby wipe out so I could clean up the baby. What I didn't know was that he proceeded to throw another baby wipe over the railing far out of reach from anyone.

First, I was irritated that he though it was funny that he had "wasted" a baby wipe. Those who know me know that I'm so frugal that the though of wasting just about anything drives me bonkers. Then I was irritated that he had littered AND he thought that was funny.

I decided on the spot that he was gonna have to find a manager type person, describe what he had done, and apologize. He looked scared at the prospect, and I was hoping that it was scare some since into him.

We searched EVERYWHERE for a manager and then after that ANYONE who he could talk to. Finally, we came across this little black man with a sever gimp arm. The man looked very sad & for lack of a better way to describe it, just plain retarded. I'm really not trying to be mean here, but you need to understand what he looked like to understand the story. I marched Andrew up to the man, and with the power only a momma on a mission has, I told him that I needed to teach my son a lesson and that my son needed to tell him something.

That black man went white as a ghost right there on the spot. I realized quickly that he'd probably been quite abused b/c of his retarded appearance. Oh well...I'd already started so I told my son to continue with his explanation. With a thick voice, my little boy told that man he threw the baby wipe over the rail and littered. Then my son apologized.

You would have thought he gave the man the biggest compliment in the world. That sad little black man smiled so big, and he looked at my son and said "ok." For a moment there, I thought he was going to tell my son it was alright - which would have made my "teaching experience" mute. But he said OK. Then he skipped off with a cheerful demeanor and that goofy smile still covering his face.

I got to thinking about it later, and I almost cried. I bet that sweet little injured man had been so badly made fun of in his lifetime by kids like my son or even adults like myself, that he felt honored that I would send my son to apologize to him and to respect him like no one had ever done before.

The day after all this went down, we ate lunch in the same location. The guy sought us out to come over and say hello. He had that goofy grin on his face, and it made me feel good to know that we had clearly not only made his day...quite possibly his week too :)

So my learning experience for my son ended up being a learning experience for me. I guess we should really treat others how we want to be treated - but even more, go out of our way to make others "feel" the love of Christ.