Everybody is doing it...

Everybody is doing it...You should try it...You'll love it!!! I want to be there when you do!!!

What on earth am I talking about? The latest craze in fitness of course, ZUMBA!
Now, I have been going to the gym for about a year now. Worked out with a personal trainer for 3 months. For the last 2 months I attended a "Boot Camp" workout, which is like having a personal trainer, but sharing him with 5 other people and it's cheaper. So naturally, when I get bored I look for something new.

All my 'young' friends have been talking about zumba non stop. They love it. They keep encouraging me to go. And always say, "now when you go for the first time, let
me know, I want to be there". That should have been my clue. :)

I went to my first class tonight. I felt like I was Baby from Dirty Dancing, the night she carried 'a watermelon', except Baby only made a fool of herself in front of maybe 20 people...I had the honor of humiliating myself in front of 200!!
There were people of every age, color and kind together. For one solid hour we all danced like tribal people during mating season.
I did break a sweat but nothing like "boot camp", but I never once looked to see how much time was left in the class.

I came home tonight and showed my husband a 3 second show of what class was like. By the look on his face, my fears of making a fool of myself were confirmed. Maybe next time I'll just carry a watermelon.

Welcome Home Curtis, welcome home

I wrote a blog about our family getting "Curtis" the dog from my mom. It's been almost 3 months since he came to live with us.
Last week my sister and I met at the half way point and I picked up my mom so she could come and stay with us for a week.
I think that one of the main reasons she really came to visit was to see if Curtis was happy here. I imagined that the grandkids was another major reason. :)
I was a little nervous about him seeing her for the first time...was he going to like her better than he did me? Was he going to decide to be her buddy & follow her around this week?
My fears were put to rest when he saw her for the first time.
All through the week he remained true to me. This was important to me because my mom was convinced that Curtis' misbehaving was due to the fact that he missed HER and wanted to go home.
Now fast forward to the end of the week when it's time to take her back to the half way point. (and remember my previous blog on just how many times she has given him away and taken him back)
As I'm loading up, Curtis comes out the front door and typical for him he jumps in the car. I tell him that he is not going this time. I can't possibly drive 4 hours with him today. You see, Curtis chases cars, trucks, cows, motorcycles, 18 wheelers...INSIDE the car! It's the most insane thing you have ever saw.
I ask my mom to help me get him out of the car and take him back inside. She takes him inside and I'm finished loading the car waiting. She gets in the car and I look over at her as I put the car in reverse...and it happens. She is crying.
I can't bare it. I put the car in park and announce that I'm just going to go back inside and get him.
She had been asking me all week, "you want me to take Curtis back home with me?". She even asked the kids before we left that morning. Each time we told her no, that he was happy here and that we wanted him to stay.
But I think she really wanted him back. She missed his company.
So, now I'm in the house packing his stuff up to go back. I do it quietly so the kids don't know whats happening.
Now, I'm crying. But I couldn't let her know.
We met both my sisters for breakfast at the half way point. Boy were they surprised. Curtis has yet again been moved like a piece of furniture.
Saying goodbye was very emotional for me. I was offically attached to "Stacy's dog".
After returning home the kids took the news hard. Graham was especially brokenhearted.
The next day we had church service. Afterwards we had a huge pool party and shrimp boil. The day finally ended with us returning home at 8 p.m.
As we all piled out of the car moving slowly from the events of the day, Graham says, "I hear barking". I figured Tess was mad with us after being gone all day. Then Mac says, "but that sounds like a Curtis bark!".
By this time we are all running up the porch rushing to get Stacy to open the door. We bust in and there he is! He has returned!!! "But how?", asks Mac.

My sister & mom had driven the whole way on Sunday to return him. She said that he was "sad, & dragging around", even said he wouldn't sleep with her.

It's offical. Curtis has found his home forever!! Never to be moved again!!

So in the words of Ty Pennington from Extreme Home Makeover, "Welcome Home Curtis, Welcome Home!".

18 years & still in love

I just had the privilege of celebrating 18 years of marriage to my best friend in the whole world.
Things that I have pondered...
I have had the best time of my life.
I have been married 1/2 of my life now. WOW!
I have been married longer than my parents were.
I have been married longer than my in laws.
I have been married so long that I really can't remember life before marriage.
I'm only 7 years away from my 25th wedding anniversary and I want a HUGE party.
18 years ago - I didn't have a clue about planning a wedding.
18 years ago - Everyone in my life was still living.
18 years ago - people thought I was either crazy or pregnant. :) I was crazy in LOVE!
18 years ago - I never wanted kids. Now I have 3 of the most precious gifts EVER! I would have had more if I thougtht we could afford them :)
I wouldn't trade anything in the world for where I am now.

These are the BEST years of my life!

~A

I always said that Curtis would come live with me, BUT

I didn't mean the DOG!
Curtis was my down syndrome uncle. I wrote about him before. It was always our plan that he would come to live with us when something happened to my grandmother. He died before that ever happened.
Soon after he died my niece had a litter of Shih Tzu puppies. After checking them all out, we agreed there was this one little guy that looked like Curtis. He had narrow eyes that were farther apart than the rest and he was the sweetest thing.
Needless to say, once they named him Curtis... he was in the family. When it came time to sell the puppies they couldn't bring themselves to sell "CURTIS". So my mom agreed to take him.
Now you have to understand my mom & animals. We had animals growing up, but they were ours. She had nothing to do with them. She has tried to have a couple of dogs but only to give them away after a few weeks because of their lack of obeying her & her lack of patience. Guess that's why she never re-married either.
Long story short, she had Curtis for longer than she ever kept any other dog, but then decided that she was going to sell him to a neighbor's friend who loved to play with him & wanted him.
He went home with her but then soon came back...She bought him back. Couldn't stand it. Then she gave him away to a family friend TWICE...She took him back TWICE.
After visiting our family a few weeks ago, she made the comment that "Curtis needed to be with kids"...and Stacy fell for it. He liked Curtis because he was a big burly dog, not like our dainty Tess who he says is full of drama!
I told him this was going to be his dog. I was not bathing him, feeding him or taking him to potty. He had to do it. "Yes, yes, I will", he replied.
So like I always said Curtis has now come to live with us. Not like I expected though.
He wakes up at 5 a.m. every morning barking, to which I elbow (very hard) my husband and say, "He's YOUR dog!"
I wish I could say it was working out like I planned but I have to go now and take Curtis out to potty & then give him a bath!

Granny's - everyones got one

But I think mine is hilarious!
I been thinking about her so much lately. Remembering all the times we (my siblings) spent at her house...
* making world famous mud pies dried only by the solar heat.
* playing in the "play house". Which was basically a pit in the back yard that we would swing down into.
* sewing little patches together with her. That's my only sewing experience.
* her chasing us for spankings & the older kids climbed trees and the younger hid.
* rolling her own cigarettes. Prince Albert in a can, baby!!
* sleeping with her & having to be rubbed down in Vicks Menthol Salve, regardless if you were sick or not. Nose, throat, chest & back.
* ironing leaves between sheets of wax paper. I'm gonna do this with my kids for old times sake.
* the black rotary phone. I used to sneak in her bedroom to play with it.
* crackers & mustard. Still a great snack today.

Granny was one that whenever you visited her she would talk, talk, & talk. Then when it was time to go, she walked you to your car and talked some more. But now that she's older she doesn't walk you out anymore, but boy can she still talk. The difference now when you call her is she talks then announces, "well, I've said all I know to say, Good-bye". And that's that. So funny.
And though she might be getting up there in the years, don't let that fool you. She can spout out dates of years past like it was yesterday. I've always wondered how she does that. I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, much less the events of 1967.

Just to give you a picture of what my Granny is like... She reminds me SO SO much of The Fruitcake Lady. If you've never heard any of her stuff just google it. You'll be in for a treat.

Granny don't beat around the bush and she don't pull no punches, she just tells it like it is. I love her.
I always enjoy our talks and think that one day, I'm gonna be just like her.

The one thing I NEVER wanted to happen...

Yeah, I'm a pastor's wife, church planter, mom, blah, blah, blah...BUT I can also fight. And boy did I want to knock somebodies lights out!
You gotta understand that some mom's pray very specific prayers over their babies while they are in the womb. Like for health & proper development, which I did. For this baby to grow up and be a world changer, which I did. For them to always have a close relationship with their siblings, which I did. And who could forget to pray for good teeth? Not me! I prayed for that, seriously. Stop laughing, I did.
I was the only one in my family to not have braces. Had good teeth till I had children. But I also knew all about having to get teeth FIXED. And I didn't want that for my kids. I also knew how much dental procedures cost and insurance was never even close to covering it so I thought, "why not just pray for perfect teeth now?".
So, now you know a little bit about why I obsess over teeth, (it's the first thing I notice about people)...
It's my birthday & I'm headed to watch the boys play baseball with my mom & sister. They have to be there a hour early & since my mom & sister didn't know where to go, I sent Stacy & the boys on & told him we would be following shortly.
We are about 4 minutes away and my phone rings. It was Stacy, but all I could hear was crying and him saying something like "hold this on there". He finally says those dreaded words that I never ever ever wanted to hear..."Honey, Graham just got his front 2 teeth knocked out!".
My stomach has just sunk into my feet, I have a huge knot in my throat immediately and all I can say is, "are you serious?". Of course my mom & sister are now asking, "what, what???".
I can hear Graham crying over the phone. My heart just breaks. He's worried about how he looks. He's bleeding from his mouth being busted up. His lip and gum's are bleeding and Stacy is loading him up to take him to the emergency room. He instructs me to hurry and find Miles when I get there to calm him down.
I met Stacy & Graham in the parking lot and gave Graham a big hug and tried to comfort him the best I could and offer my words to him that,"it's not really that bad son", all the while the last mile I have beaten my steering wheel till I bruised my hand.
I park and find Miles who immediately breaks down when I get to him. Brothers can beat EACH other up, but when somebody ELSE does something to one of them...you are in trouble. He was ready to fight. He is just like me. When he gets really mad & upset he cries. Once I got him calmed down, all he wanted to do was "be with Graham". It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen.
So what happened?
Graham & another boy was warming up before the game. The coach had announced for them to gather their things because they were moving to a different field. Graham reached down to get his stuff and when he raised back up, the kid had thrown the ball and it hit him square in the mouth.
Stacy said he came running to him crying, blood gushing out of his mouth, holding his 2 front teeth in his hand.
I have emotions. I'm pretty ticked off. I'm trying to think in my mind, "ok Amy, you gotta hold it together for the sake of the children" and then I'm asking Miles, "which kid hit him?", "where's his parents?", "what happened?". I think I probably would have been better if somebody in the guilty party would have offered their apologies or asked how Graham was, but no, they were too busy eating their big fat hot dog. All I can see is this processed mystery meat being shoved up their nose till parts of it are oozing out of their eyeballs. Then I'm brought back to reality by thinking as bad as this seems...I guess it could have been worse. 'sigh'
Thankfully, God placed the nicest family in our church, who the man happens to be in the dental profession. When Stacy was on the way to the hospital he called him and told him what had happened. He met Graham & Stacy at the ER and said that he thought that he could fix G's lip & gum's and he would go ahead and seal the pulp that was exposed on the teeth. He also worked on him Saturday morning to glue his old teeth back on to get him through Easter weekend & protect the pulp.
Now we are waiting to see if the roots are going to make it from the trauma, so far so good.
I guess Graham & I will have more things in common now. We'll get our teeth bonded together.
As the days have passed it has gotten easier, but I still think about what is to come with a young boy & 2 front teeth that are bonded. How many times will we end up having to fix them? Will he ever be able to bite into an apple or eat corn on the cob? Things that most people take for granted that I can't do.
I just keep telling myself, "their just TEETH".
I'm learning that I don't understand & can't control everything that happens...and when it does I have to say - Tis gar plen - "so what".
Miles says the kid owes us 2 teeth.

Gym Update - week 4 (evaluation)

I talked my trainer into evaluating me a couple of days early. My evaluation was scheduled for Sunday but who goes to the gym on Sundays? And today is my birthday and the kids are out of school for Good Friday so we did it on Thursday. Although he made me promise to still come to the gym on my birthday and do cardio. Yeah, I'm really starting to not like him! :)
I've lost a total of 8 pounds.
1-1/2 inches in my waist.
1 inch every where else (legs, arms)
And I've lost 4% of my body fat. So it's official now... I'm not obese anymore :)
So all in all it was a good month. I felt like I worked my tail off. I've eaten only what was on my list. I've been faithful to the gym. I haven't killed anyone in my cravings. I've given up my sleep for torture.
Killer Mike gave me an "A-" on my evaluation. I won't tell you what I gave him.

Birthdays & Loss

Birthdays - you either love 'em or hate 'em. Age seems to be the deciding factor. I always say, "your only as old as you act", which explains a lot in my case. I still act like I'm in my twenties. Now, I didn't say I FELT like I was in my twenties, but I still act like a crazy kid sometimes.
But these last couple of birthdays have been extremely hard for me. Up until now, I didn't really talk about it. But my birthday reminds me of a great loss. It's funny because usually you don't remember the loss of a loved one on your own birthday, you usually remember them on theirs. But this one is different.
My Uncle Curtis was special. Not because he had down syndrome. Not because he insisted on kissing you EVERY time he saw you. Not because he never met a stranger (and yes, kissed them too).
He always loved unconditionally. We said he was "the glue that held the family together".
Birthdays were HIS thing. It was the funniest thing. He didn't have any kind of "smarts", like books, reading or writing BUT if he came over to your house and you had a calendar...He would mark every single 19th of each month on the calendar with a big "X". His birthday was the 19th of May but he marked every month anyway.
If it was ever anybody else birthday in the family and we got together he was furious. No one was allowed a birthday but him. Oh, and try singing the birthday song to someone other than him, and you were definitely not getting anymore kisses from him for awhile.
Once I rented the entire Skate Castle for Miles' birthday. I had decorated the entire snack area with dinosaurs and such on every table, had the place looking great. While we were all off skating Curtis came and threw every single decoration in the trash because we were celebrating someone else birthday.
He came to stay with us for awhile several years ago and we were having a big Youth Party. It was in December & we had planned a bonfire, hayride, "the works". He told all the youth it was his birthday and they believed him. So we turned the entire night into his birthday party. The same for 4th of July, Memorial Day, etc. You couldn't have a get together without Curtis thinking it was "my birthday".
He probably knew the whole time exactly when "his birthday" was, but he just loved all the attention and just thought, "if these crazy people are going to get together might as well be for me". :)
So, now I find myself having a hard time celebrating "my birthday". I love the days leading up to it, but just the day itself seems so hard. I told myself I was going to do better this year. I guess it just takes time. I really do miss him. My family talks about him all the time. We talk about the funny things he used to do and say.
This year the kids are out of school so maybe we'll have a day filled with things that Curtis loved...changing the trash, wrestling, one dollar bills, the beach, eating, singing, church, and kissing everyone we meet while we tell them, "it's been a looong time."

Gym Update - week 3

I think this week should really be week 2 since I took last week off to go to the beach. And I gained 2 pounds.
This week was probably the hardest so far.
I've really had to step up my cardio workout & that's been huge for me. I think that I officially could qualify for a handicap sticker in my car now.
Thursday we worked legs. Afterward, I tried to do my cardi on the treadmill. NOT good. My legs were like spaghetti. I thought maybe if I ran instead of walked really fast my legs wouldn't be so wobbly. WRONG! I could have won $10,000 if someone had a video camera. I looked like a drunk woman running DOWN Mt. Rushmore. Someone actually asked me if I was o.k.
I quit. Called it a day. Ran extra on Friday to make up for it. WRONG again. Can't walk, sit, squat, climb, basically anything that deals with my legs bending. I never realized how short our toilets were until now! Good Lord!!
I have lost the 2 pounds from last weeks vacation, plus 1 :) But I've also peed in the floor twice!!! JK!!!

Gym update - week 2 (not good)

Vacation and workout's, relaxing and dieting. Nope, they don't go together. I weighed after coming back from vacation. A vacation that I turned DOWN Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream!! and the results were... +2 pounds.
I promise I stayed true to the diet/detox. I even went to the gym that ONE day. :)
But oh, well. I guess it could have been worse.
Honestly, I think what it really was...I can't go to the bathroom when I'm away from home. There's just something about not being in my own bathroom that causes my small & large intestine to shut down. I know some of you are laughing, but you know it's true! Add to the fact that we were camping and I had to walk to the bath house to go to the potty...oh yeah for sure shutting the whole system down.

Gym Update - 1 week

I'm a little late posting because I went on a Spring Break vacation to the beach! But here are the results from my first week of training with "Killer Mike".
7 days = 5 lbs! I've lost 5 lbs since I started. Remember now, I've been going to the gym for 5 months with no results. And now in 7 days I've lost 5 whole pounds!
So what did I do? I went to the beach to celebrate!! I did stay on my diet while I was there and GET THIS...I actually found a Golds Gym while I was there and went one day and did my cardio & abs.

Results - Day 4

I weighed today.
Had an appointment with my trainer again this morning. Today we worked legs after warming up. Does this man REALLY think that this is a freakin'warm up?? I'm dieing! We should definitely take my heart rate because I know it's like 360.
Legs not happy. Buttocks not happy. Lost 3 pounds...I'm HAPPY!!!
Coming soon...more results.

Amy's secret for the last 5 months

5 months. That's how long I've been going to the gym now. I'm not happy about going. But my husband ever so kindly encourages me to go. He lays this "just like you take care of your spiritual body, so should you take care of your physical body" crap on me. So, I make myself go. I need to go. I'm going to stick with something for once in my life. I need to lose these baby pounds. They say as you get older it gets harder, so I'm determined to get healthy.
I didn't tell people because I think I felt guilty for taking time for myself. When I would miss calls early in the morning I would usually just say I was out running errands. Which I was running. On a treadmill.
For 11 years I've stayed home and taken care of my family and loved every single second. And now, my life allows me the time to do something for me.
Now you may say, "oh Amy, you don't need to lose weight, you look good, blah, blah, blah". That's why I haven't told anyone that I've been going to the gym for 5 long dying months. I don't need to hear that.
I need to hear, "bout time you finally decided to get your butt back in shape, you've looked like crap since '01".
Now after all this time, I've hit a wall. Not physically, mentally. Physically, I wish I could say I had hit a wall, that would mean I had lost something. Maybe even an earring. But no. Not even 1 pound.
Mentally, I've come to the point of quitting. I've worked my tail off and haven't lost a single ounce. SO why keep going. And don't give me the bull of "muscle weighs more than fat". Ain't gonna work for this chick.
So, I got the help of a trainer. When people need help in their life spiritually they go to their pastor, right? So,I figure I need help physically, I go to a trainer. Friday was my first day. I hate him already. And no, he doesn't wear spandex.
He began by warming me up. WHAT? That was the warm up? I'm going to die. I know it.
I didn't want to appear weak, so I pushed myself. Worked with a pulled muscle. Only hit him once. And I had forgot to eat before I went.
Last thing I remember we were working abs. Lower abs. I must have turned white as a sheet because he said, "you alright?" to which I said, "yeah, just need to keep breathing". All the while I'm picturing the players on Biggest Loser and their last chance workout, telling myself, "can't fall below the yellow line". Then things just kinda start to go fuzzy.
Then I hurled the 15lb weight at him & sprinted to the bathroom puking my guts up.
Yeah, I really hate him.
He's working me again on Monday...

I'm not moving this weekend, bummer

Ok, some people might find this a little upsetting so let me warn you now before you read any further. If you have a weak stomach or have a heart the size of Texas for ANY kind of animal you might not want to read my blog today. And for those that just can't believe that I'm actually telling people this story...well, it happens.
LAST Thursday while my husband was at worship practice the kids & I are enjoying a show on Nick. Graham starts cutting the cheese. Of course we holler and threaten him but end up laughing. Then later it happens again, but this time he doesn't admit that it's him. And the smell just lingers. It will not go away. It gets so bad that I have to get up and leave the room. Miles & Mac have gotten up and left. Mac comes back with the Febreeze. Now we have a Febreeze smelling fart. Not good.
The smell just seems to get worse and worse. Then Mac announces that the smell is coming from the vent in the floor. OH NO!
To describe the smell at this point, I would say "raw sewage".
So Stacy comes home and walks in the door and the first thing he says is "What did you cook?" Now at this point I have had the windows and doors open already and the smell is still that bad so I'm not sure what THAT meant.
I told him he had to go see what was wrong. He suits up and goes under the house and finds nothing!!
Friday he makes a few calls and then the "sucker upper" people come. They put tubes in the air vents to suck out whatever is in them. At this point we know that one of those cute little tiny mice have come to haunt us for catching one of their buddies from the woods out back. Then they do some ozone treatment to the air so we can breathe again.
I've been gone all day Friday. I come home and immediately say, "it still stinks". But my merciful husband says,"just give it some time to clear out it will get better."
Well, long story short, today is Tuesday and I broke down this morning. I had enough. It's getting hotter outside. We can not keep leaving the windows and doors open. We need some AC. I can not stand it any longer. The smells have changed. I have changed!
So, once again THE HUSBAND goes under the house with only these instructions..."Do not come back in this house until you find what ever it is OR I'm moving!!!"
I was looking forward to moving to a house with some land, but I guess we'll have to stay here a little while longer.
The only thing we can figure is this...
He put on a new door that leads under the house in the fall. Well, apparently in the process something got inside and when the door was closed and locked... he was trapped. Our first clue should have been our dog Tess because where he was living was the EXACT spot that she would just go to and bark at for no reason. It was a bare corner in the bathroom. She would go there and bark and just sit and stare in the corner for hours. She would jump off the bed in the middle of the night and go bark at the corner.
Anyways, he lived in our insulation all winter. What he ate, I have no idea. But he ain't eating anymore. That may be why he died. He ate everything there was to eat. I'm wondering how the pest control guys didn't find him...they go under the house. Obviously not good enough tho'.
So, Stacy is going through the insulation and I'm yelling from inside the house, "the smell is over to the right!!!" (while I'm gagging, but hey I wanted to do my part)
He said the insulation looked like a tyrannosaurus had ripped through it. Then he turns and sees fur. Immediately he thinks squirrel. He's holding a bag under it and then it drops into the bag with such force that it scares even him.
He takes it out back to bury it but the suspense is killing him. He has to know. Is this the mother of all squirrels?
No, it's a...
Possum. EEEEEEEEEECCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Husband vs. Food

Today was one of 'those' kind of Mondays.
I was cut off 3 times while trying to call our local newspaper to let them know that our church ad which has already been paid for, was not being put in the paper. They have missed it 3 times now. Not including the 3 whole weeks that they messed it up. The same newspaper that for the last month can not find our drive way if it was Hollywood Boulevard and continue to leave our paper at our neighbors house down the street.
I went to quickly buy stamps at the local office supply which turned out to be a never ending ordeal. First, I just want a book of stamps. "ok, that will be $ 8.40" Paid for it, done deal. She opens the drawer..."I'm sorry we only have rolls, do you want one of those?" - WELL, I guess if that's all you got! 42 freakin' dollars later!! the register crashes in the middle of the 3rd transaction, because you see she had to exchange my book for a roll and then, blah, blah, blah.
THEN by this time, I'm hungry. Now, you have to understand how things get when I'm hungry. There is no love. There is no patience. There is no reasoning. Only wrath. The wrath of Amy.
My husband has asked me to call him when I'm ready to eat so he can meet me. But now I find that the church office number is down. Called it like 300 times. BUSY. Hate that sound. Problem with the local phone company.
So, I have to chose - FOOD or HUSBAND. Atlanta Bread was really good, it hit the spot.
Hope your Monday was better than mine :0)

It's that time of year again...

Take me out to the ball game...
The boys started their season today with a double header. What a gorgeous day to play. This is one of those years that the boys get to play together (which I LOVE) and it's now "kid pitch". So things are very interesting. Bases get stolen, kids get hit (which is not a good thing when your son is pitching). But for a mom, it's a perfect Saturday.
I love to watch them. There are good days and bad days, but we always try and find the key to build character in whatever the turn out is. I believe in team sports. I believe it builds qualities & provides times for us to reinforce character building foundations for later in life. They meet nice kids, hard to deal with kids, learn to listen, follow directions, etc. All kinds of things that can be applied to life.
I remember Dr. Rutland always said, "keep them busy & they'll stay out of trouble". If that's true then ours should be saints. :)
So when you call our house and don't get an answer chances are we are hanging out together at the ballfield... enjoying the best years of our lives! Turney5

Organizers unite...

What is it about Organization that just makes me SO happy? My world is complete. My life is easier. My cares are less. My burdens are lighter.
So, why is it so hard to find the time. Is the task so great? Is is because it's somebody else's mess I'm organizing?
I believe in taking baby steps. Start on one project and stay on it till it's done. Then move on to the next. Then the next. By the time you finish everything, it will be time to start organizing the first thing again. :)

Launch Month

WOW! What a month February was!!
Once again, I fell off the blog wagon...but it was for good reason :)
Church at The Crossing is now officially official.
We have had 4 incredible weeks of launching the church. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that it would be like this. After the first Sunday service Stacy and I were talking that night and we both said, "just think, we get to do this again next week!". And it's been like that every week.
I LOVE the people that come. I LOVE the people that we work with. We have an awesome Dream Team of volunteers.
Now that I'm getting back into a routine, hopefully I will be faithfully once again.
I LOVE MY LIFE!!!
~A

9 wonderful years with Graham... Happy Birthday Son

We had a great birthday celebration w/ Graham today. I can't believe it's been 9 years ago. It was also 9 years ago that it snowed here and today it was 72! Funny that I remember that.
Stacy and I surprised him today and brought birthday snack to school. We had dinner together, which turned into a giggle fest. I look back over the last 9 years and can't believe how fast it's gone by. I can only imagine what the next 9 are going to be like.
Happy Birthday Graham. I'm so glad that God gave you to our family. You bring life, love & laughter to us all.

Mac's pageant pic

There is she...Miss. America

Success... or not

The pageant was a success. Mom made it through without any mind altering medication. :) McKinley had a great time. She looked beautiful. Surprisingly she was as cool as a cucumber all day. She never got nervous or anything. I thought maybe she might since it was her first one. We arrived early so we could get pictures and not be rushed. When it finally started she was ready.
The funniest thing about the whole day was at the end they brought all 65 contestants on the stage to announce the winners. We could not find Mac because she was several rows back. Then all of a sudden this little tiny hand pops up above everyone's head and begins the "princess wave" better known as the "screwing in a light bulb wave"...YES, it was my child. We all just died laughing. Then they began announcing the class beauties. They called her name out as the First Grade Class Beauty, so she's standing up front along w/ the other beauties and then she begins the "light bulb wave" again. TOO CUTE!!
So the day was a success. She had a great time, but then my friend Lisa asked her is she wanted to do it again, to which Mac replied, "YES!!!"... poor me:(

Just news

Big weekend. Mac's pageant is today & Graham's birthday party is tomorrow after church. We tried to talk him into waiting till next weekend so we could have more time to plan it and invite his friends but to a kid - to wait one more weekend is eternity! So let's just get it all done.
I'm excited today because my sister in law is coming to see Mac in her pageant. But she's more than just a sister in law, she's my sister. I mean, come on, we talk way more than she and Stacy do! She's my friend... and if you know me, I only have a few. So that's why it's so special.

Add 1 more thing to the plate

So my daughter decided she wanted to be in the school pageant... ON SATURDAY!! :)
I was going to try and discourage her from being in it just because I believe in inner beauty. Then yesterday someone at lunch talked to me about letting her do this for her. SO, I've been running myself the last two days trying to get everything she needs.
She is super excited... we'll see what happens.

Speakin up on the roadside

Kudos to the city of Decatur for renewing my faith in people. Not that it had been lost completely, but it was just somehow buried in the mountain of negative media reports of a dismal economy, worst approval ratings, unhappy Americans, etc.
We had the honor of traveling to Decatur to pay tribute to a young man who was in our youth ministry for several years. SSGT Josh Rath was killed in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber. He was serving his country & protecting my freedom. He was an incredible young man with a wonderful family. I was amazed at the strength of his mother, father & siblings.
When we arrived at the funeral home I immediately began to cry. Just pulling into the parking lot you could witness the display of American flags being held by men who wore the stories of years of service and patriotism on their faces. They held those flags outside in the freezing temperatures the entire time Josh was there. Inside, leading into the viewing room were more flags being held by JROTC members from Josh's high school. The hundereds & hundereds that had come to pay honor & support the family for the weekend was unsermountable.
The funeral service showed the Army & church working together to pay honor to such a great young man. A 2 star General of the Army & several other high dignitaries were there to present medals & awards to Josh's family. They talked of how rare it was for someone to move up the ranks in the Army for only the 4-1/2 years that he served. Several members from his unit were there to pay honor. One even spoke of how Josh saved his life in 2006. You could still see the shrapnel that was embedded in his face. His brothers, sisters & fianacee shared stories of what a great brother, hero & friend he was.
As we exited the church & got into our cars to begin the procession to the graveside, nothing could have prepared me.
The weather was freezing. The wind was blowing so hard it would take your breath away.
But all along the road for 15 miles was common men, women & even children braving the elements to stand on the roadside to hold a flag or sign or salute. I even saw one woman looking at every car & mouthing the words, "thank you". The firetruck on the overpass had the ladder fully extended with the American flag blowing on the end. The firemen dressed in their full uniform and stood at attention for the thousands to pass. A children's daycare, the UPS man, the ChickFilA cow, the little boy that held the sign, "Josh is a Hero", hundreds & hundreds of people that some only could knod their head as you passed as a sign of thanks.
I cried the entire trip. I had a time to reflect where our country is & where it has been. That the people, if given the chance to speak will show the backbone of America. I was previleged to share with my son the impact and sacrafice that each one of those Americans were doing by standing on the roadside to show what they could- support.
Thank you for speaking up along a roadside where you didn't have to say anything at all.

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free, and I won't forget the men who died and gave that right to me...

on the 7th day even GOD rested

I know today's not the 7th day, but it was my 7th day. And it may not be considered a day of rest when you factor in a field trip, horsey time, a movie and the bookstore but it was my much needed day away from the house and away from the phone & the emails.
The field trip was a success despite the cold. Mac and I dressed in layers & did great until asked to sit "Indian style", we had so many layers our legs wouldn't go together. :) She & I had a great time together.
After school we went straight over to see Twister. We took him to the big pasture to run, which is always so fun. There is a field of rye planted behind the house of a friend where we take him to sometimes get fresh green grass. When he sees that big field of fresh green blades, there is no stopping him. Mac calls it "horse heaven". She stuffs her pockets full to take back to his pasture. Even the boys got involved today. Well, at least Miles did. He took the lead rope and ran with him. G is still a little "shy" around him. We stayed till dark just playing and visiting.
Today was report card day and all 3 made "A Honor Roll" so we celebrated by going to the movies. They chose "Tales of Despereaux" which was a great story of forgiveness, but I think I'm just so sleep deprived that I have to admit to dosing off a few times. :0
And what better way to finish the night...BooksAMillion. Everyone got to pick out a book, and I got to look at house plan books. Don't get any ideas, I have looked at them for 6 years, it's just a hobby. I think that ONE day I'll open one and see my dream house, yeah right. It was relaxing, I just couldn't get my legs to cross.
So, mentally it was a rest day for me.
p.s. I'm so proud of my honor roll students! It's been a big year for them & they've done so well.

Church Planting + Blogging = Failure :)

I promise I have every intention of getting back on the box...next week :)
We are so, so close to launch Sunday and I have no words to describe how I feel some nights when I go to bed.
I'm actually sitting here now just waiting for the washing machine to stop so I can put the clothes in the dryer. Then I'm going straight to bed. It will be the earliest I've been to bed in weeks.
I refuse to get online and look for anything tonight. I don't want to shop for the best price tonight. I don't want to look for the best idea. I don't want to edit a website, a billboard, a banner, a mailer...nothing. I just want sleep. And lots of it. Did I mention that I have a field trip w/ hundreds of 1st graders tomorrow? :)
I tried to get everything done today so that I could enjoy my day tomorrow w/ my daughter. But it didn't happen. I still have 7 banners to design, a logo to design for shirts, a better price on a truss system, blah, blah, blah.
I spent days scouring over the web for tables & counters and then today my sweet, loving husband just goes to Sam's and buys 6ft. tables and says to cover them w/ a table cloth. He's still peeling himself up off the dirty kitchen linoleum floor that so badly needs to be swept and mopped. BUT who has the time? :)
I keep saying "where is the manual?". There should be a church planters manual somewhere!
When you look at it tho', we're blessed.
We are on the journey of our life. It's not about the "stuff" anyways...it's what it's always been about. Connecting Him to People, and that's what I love about what we do.