Sam, I'll always be your Mommy!

Well I can not believe the number of people who have stopped me to ask if I was ever going to update my blog. It was nice to see I was missed or should I say that stories about my little ones were missed. I am going to recount for you a cute story that happened this weekend. Sorry for some of you, this will not be original since I already shared this with you.

Friday morning I shared with the children that I lost my wedding band. It just falls off when my fingers get cold, I can not get it adjusted because when my hands are hot my ring size increases an entire size. Well this just means that my ring finger is purple when my hands are warm / hot or the ring falls off when I am cold. I try to be careful but the ring falls off when I am sleeping, take out the trash, fold laundry, vacuum, etc... so I am always looking for it. On this occasion I looked all over and could not find it so I decided to mention it to the children. Sam was very affected by this and I could not understand why. He was real frantic about having to find this ring. He wanted to know exactly where I was when I noticed I did not have the ring. I explained I was in the shower, and I just noticed he goes running into the bathroom and pushes the sliding door to the shower way to hard (normally would have required discipline) but I new he was just trying to help. I heard toys shuffling on the tub floor and Sam scream, Oh, come on...I finally stop Sam and say what is wrong? He said, Mom if some one sees that you are not married they will marry you and you will not be my mom. I just looked so puzzled at him. I finally by the grace of God explained to him that my wedding band does not make him my son but that mommy and daddy are still his mommy and daddy even if we loose our rings. He seemed OK with this answer but he was wiping away tears fearing that I would no longer be his mom. It really was to precious.
That is my Sam.

Please keep the children in your prayers as they are complaining of hurting eyes, sore throats, heavy heads and are feverish. I am armed with the antibacterial cleaners and rug shampooer! This will be an eventful evening and I will be sure to keep you posted.

God Bless

Elephants and Trees

My Rebekah I say is my elephant...she does not forget a thing. We were in the car and she asked when she would be finished with 2ND grade. I do not have the exact date figured out so I told her sometime in May. She said I will be in 3rd grade then, right? Now I am wondering where she is going with this so I just wait to hear what she has to say. She informed me that the local bagel shop owner told her she could sell jewelry there when she was in 3rd grade. Here is where the dilemma comes in...she has to work in the cotton candy trailer when she was in the 3rd grade. (She imposed this on herself...and of course I am not going to let my 6 year old go out and get a job) It is just in her mind she has an agenda. Oh yes, the money she thinks she is going to earn is suppose to buy food for the shelter kids and a pair of Heleys for her.

So we were visiting my sister today who has 2 very tall trees in her front yard. Sam asked if he could go climb a tree while I was changing Emma. (I do remember that he did ask... and I do remember saying Yes.) With that being said, at the moment I did not remember any of this. So I finish changing my little one...who in my mind ought to be potty trained...but that is just me... anyway I go to look for Sam and can not find him. I am looking everywhere that I know he usually hides when we play hide and seek. I am surprised but not yet frantic that I can not find my little guy. I continue to call him...looking in closets, hope chests, basement, attic, laundry baskets, etc...about 5 minutes which now feels like a half hour, I remember that he was talking to me while changing Emma. So I go outside and start calling Sam, Sammmmm....I hear ever so faint here mom. Oh my goodness! I yell, stay calm Sam, stay there, no come down slowly I say. Sam was hire than the electric wires that were crossing over the trees...thank God he was on the opposite side of the tree. I was so near a heart attack I am so sure of this. I am trying to tell him where to place each foot as he makes his way down. He says he has to come down in time that he has to get branches for a nest. He is being so methodical about this when I just want to see his feet on the ground so I could go and peacefully have the heart attack my mind is telling me I should be having. Well now that all the girls are outside watching Sammy about 30 feet up the tree, his cousin, Lauren, pretends to pass out and falls in the mud. Now here is a little girl full of mud and not happy about it and there is a 5 year old way up in the tree, happy about it, but the momma isn't. I said Sam when I come out from getting Lauren changed you need to be out of the tree. I go in and help my niece get undressed and here comes Sam running in the room. I saw him run so I quickly assessed that he did not fall out of the tree, but he was so excited that he got down so fast. Wasn't that fast he says proudly. I say enough of that tree! I was so happy to get my little chicks to bed safely tonight. Thank you Lord for watching over Sam today and keeping him safe. I am so amazed at God's mercy.

Go to the airport...

I kept telling the children that we were going to the airport to pick up Grammy. She is coming in from Florida. Sam was so excited he just loves planes. We moved here from Philly area when Sam was 3 years old. We only lived 25 minutes from the airport before. A couple of times a month I would pack a lunch and take the children near the airport where we would park off the side of the road and eat lunch and watch the planes take off and land. Well today is, as Sam would call it the BEST day of his life. I asked why today is the best day of your entire life and he said because we use to eat lunch and watch the planes flying and we are going to do that today. Well I was thinking more like go out to eat after we pick up Grammy from the airport...but I guess she can enjoy a PB&J sandwich too...as the kids are preparing the lunch as I type this.

Please lift up Alivia Haughery as she prepares for a bone marrow transplant. More information about her and what she will be going through can be found at www.friendsofalivia.blogspot.com

We're Back

Rebekah picking oranges at Grammy's house in Florida!
Emma and Sam resting during a competitive game of miniature golf in Kissimee, Fl.
Emma, the pensive one, in Tampa

Well vacation is officially over as I was off and running today! (Thanks Bry for serving my family so I could accomplish all that I did.

Sam really did want daddy to wrestle an alligator but I talked him out of it. While James and I were on a date day, we found this alligator just waiting for a picture with James. ( I think somewhere on this post you'll see the photo) When Sam saw the picture he really believed his daddy got the alligator. Well I had to tell Sam the alligator was not real after I heard him tell Mr. Wenger that his daddy wrestled an alligator in Florida...Oh I was so embarrased.

The kids had a great time in Florida and just did an AWESOME job in the car. I was so proud of them. Rebekah's face was priceless as she noticed the Palm trees...she knew exactly where she was. Having the most experience at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's Florida house, she gave Emma the tour.

The weather was better than any of us had imagined and we took advantage of many outdoor activities.

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Florida Excitement

I am so excited to be heading to Florida this Saturday! However, I think Rebekah and Sam are even more excited then I am. They tell anyone visiting us or calling that we have just a few more days before we leave for Florida. I wondered if they were excited because they could sense that mommy and daddy were happy to be going on vacation or were they truly over joyed on their own merit. So I asked Rebekah why she was excited to be going to Florida. She said she wanted to feed the buffalo and swim in Mom mom and pop pops jacuzzi. The kids thought this was a small pool but last year Rebekah realized it was more than a pool when the jets and heat were on. She also said she wanted to go to Grammy and Pop Pops and go fishing on the boat. These were all the things she did last year. I sat there in awe of her memories and thought how precious that at 6 she already had impressed upon her what Florida means to her.

I then asked Sam why he was excited about going to Florida. He said to eat Alligator. "What", I said. He said what mom...dad and I are going to eat alligator. OK, where are you going to do this I asked. He gave me this look that well I knew I needed to put my serious face on for and just pay attention. He said mom dad and I are going to wrestle and alligator and then eat it. I said how are you going to do this...well to save us all time, he had plenty of ways as any 5 year old would. After listening to them all, he said mom don't worry we are going to a restaurant and ordering from the menu. Well I gave him this look and he took off running and laughing. I wish I would have taped him telling me about his alligator adventures with his daddy...he may have enjoyed listening to it some day.

Emma is so much better than the last time I posted...if she weren't I guess we would have major concerns. We are now in the mist of potty training and some days go better than others. She now says "yes mommy" when being corrected and willingly says sorry when she sins against her brother or sister. I am celebrating these accomplishments and giving God thanks for extending his mercy upon me with them.

I was recently convicted about my heart toward Emma. During a very trying time in December, I cried to 3 friends about the trials I was having with disciplining her. Simply, she was disobeying and disciplining her seemed ineffective. Consequently, I felt as though I had no authority over this 2 year old. Amazingly, I took something different from each of the conversations I had with these 3 moms and was now on course to change things. My conviction is that I did not persevere through the hardship without complaining about it. I was so focused on Emma's sinfulness that I was not at all looking at mine. Praise God for his amazing faithfulness to see us through the challenges and for the iron that sharpens iron.

Dancing with God

I thought this was cute and received it in an email. No credit was given to the author.

Dancing With God
When I meditated on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.
I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music,
and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness,
and attentiveness from one person
and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw "G: I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".
"God, "u" and "i" dance."
God, you, and I dance.
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust
that I would get guidance about my life.
Once again, I became willing to let God lead.
My prayer for you today is that God's blessings
and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday.
May you abide in God as God
abides in you.
Dance together with God, trusting God to lead
and to guide you through each season of your life.
Let us continue to pray for one another.
And I Hope You Dance