My birthday party

My birthday was last Thursday. Jay, Hannah and I met some family members for dinner at Applebees. We had a good time visiting together. I had the best birthday in years this year. Here are some of the pictures I caught. Mom has a really good one on her camera I want to snag soon. It's a hoot. All of these pictures were edited in Photoshop CS2 and I used two- three Pioneer Woman Actions, "Boost" from pack one, "warmer" and "seventies" from pack two.

The cheese girl. The girl LOVES cheese. But she's picky. She used to only eat processed American cheese food products. Then I broke the news that it wasn't real cheese. Good thing she's not a die hard Santa player. The cheese thing was hard enough! So she started exploring. We also eat real American cheese now. She likes to be patriotic like that. She loves Monterey Jack cheese in and on everything if she had the choice.

In the last six months, she has grown a love of fried Mozzarella now. Praise God.

You know ... I cannot remember the last time we took a picture this good. Seriously. Not even our wedding pictures were this good. He was smiling, too! Yes, that's a Jay smile for pictures. He usually doesn't smile. That's why you don't see a whole lot of "posed" pictures of us. This was his gift to me.

"Mommy what made you fall in love with daddy?" Hannah has asked. Well here ya go.

This picture also answers the question to how I can have such brown eyes and my children do not. Note: no additional eye filters were done to this picture. Yes, those are real! :)

You can see the rest of the birthday pictures on the Facebook page. Enjoy!

End of an era

A new chapter is beginning at our house. God is so good. I spoke about it a couple of weeks ago in a Gratituesday post. Four - five months ago, Jays boss of five years was "thrown under the bus" so to speak and let go from the company as regional manager. This is the same person who got Jay's position approved, regional warehouse manager. Jay loved his job. He enjoyed it immensely. Stressful at times, and a big commitment, but he was good at it and he knew it. Less than two months of that boss being gone, they demoted Jay, doing away with his position. He was again a local warehouse manager. Cold unhappy winds through this house did blow. God is good though, they did not mess with his salary, though we lost a large chunk of change from his traveling expenses / benefits. That chunk of change is what we were budgeting the kids being back in private school again, on.

I've been sitting here for a few months now wondering how we are going to manage keeping the kids back in private school this coming year. Book fees have been due, wondering how we'll have first months tuition ready, all sorts of things. We were sitting here one night eating dinner and Jay's phone rang. It was his old boss. After dinner he went outside to call him back, and come back with a huge smile on his face and said "that was the call I've been waiting for...". I didn't realize they had still been talking regularly. Apparently he, his former boss ("C") left Jay's company and got a "promotion" with another company doing the exact line of work, except its local to NC, SC and VA whereas the other one is known nationwide. There was an opening, and C was calling to offer Jay the job. A promotion(!!) from where he was at. A BIG promotion! A BIG raise! No really, like a 27% pay increase, with the potential of it being 40%! They pay 50% of whatever your private insurance monthly premiums are (WOW! we get to choose our own plan!); and he gets a company vehicle AND gas card! That would add another 3% to his income, PRAISE BE TO GOD!! I cried. Yes, I did. Tears of joy, for sure. (My first thought is we can now "afford" to have more kids, LOL!)

So today marks the end of an era. He is very excited about this new job (and getting to work under C again), and I could not be prouder of him. No longer will we be in the red in our budget, as long as we continue to seek God's wisdom and not waste what He has given to us. We have the security we've never had about where the kid's tuition money would come from. That has been why for 3 years we've went without health insurance, it was that or private school and we took our chances. God is giving us so much I am soooooo excited to share with others. I already have a laundry list of things I want to do with any windfalls we have after our (small in the grand scheme of things) debt is paid off.

He called and said he was on his way home right before I started writing this. He's officially gone from the company he's been at for five years, moving on to greater things this coming Monday. To God be the glory.

Please pray for us today- important

Update: Fri night 11pm
He's still very sick and now has a headache along with it. Please continue to pray for him! (Hannah's also complaining about her head hurting, too, totally unrelated to Jay though.)

Update: (Friday, 1:35 pm)
He come home very sick to his stomach. They first done a "swallowing" test where he took a swallow of some extremely nasty drink, and they took x rays of it going down his throat. They done this in a couple positions. He is VERY sick to his stomach now, and has been for a couple of hours, ever since he got home. Poor thing. Since he is so sick, they've moved up the other test until Monday because that test requires them numbing his throat and if he's currently vomiting they cannot do that for his safety. He just finished some wonton soup I went and got him 5 minutes ago and it's already .... uh hum.

So keep the prayers coming, now that this mixture runs a quick course and doesn't ruin his weekend!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jay is leaving shortly to have more tests done from his appointment with the dr yesterday. They believe it is a hiatal hernia that has grown to the point it is pressing down on two arties of his heart, and his lung. Apparently the sharp pains he's been having is the same pain one feels when they're having a heartattack :o(

If the tests turn out like his dr believes it will, they're going to do SURGERY- THIS MORNING!

Please pray for him, the drs, and everyone involved in this that things turn out well. Thanks!

Family Update- April 24th

It's about time for an update, isn't it?
I'm doing ok. It seems if it's not one thing it's another going on (with me). If I'm not hit with a migraine I'm just overall feeling ... "uhg". I'm sure a lot of it has to do with my weight, so I am going to be focusing a lot of attention on that in coming weeks. I really do need a lot, a LOT of prayer regarding my motivation and will power as it pertains to eating habits and exercise. The problem with exercise is hip pain due to arthritis and now my right knee has been hurting significantly. I know it has much to do with the pressure my weight is putting on it. I'm still working on habits and routines, we're better than we were, but have a long way to go ;o) I did apply to Gymboree, but never heard anything back, so I'm going to assume it was not the Lord's will for us right now. Thing is, I have no peace about anything else, other than keeping children at home during the summer.

Jay's traveling a lot more with his job. We're so thankful we have not been affected job-wise because of the recession. The thing is, with his line of work, they are always hiring (not for what he does, but ...)- but you have to be physically fit to qualify. Oh~ and drug free :p Please do not apply for a job and waste yours and the company's time if there's a remote possibility you're not going to be able to pass a drug test! And do not think companys don't do random drug testing, because people are getting fired there for that, too! (Hence additional openings.) Very shocking news the other day was his boss as fired, which is bad because he really liked him and respected him. If you think about it please keep that situation in prayer- that his replacement won't be a royal jerk (it's true, right?) and that his new boss won't have a problem moving on to bigger and better things.
We got to take a mini vacation over Spring break in Virginia Beach and .... another town (lol) where a friend of Jay's lives. It was very nice. More pics to come, but you can see quite a few here.

We're looking forward to getting a garden planned soon (we're late!) and having a HUGE yard sale. We have SO much stuff we can get rid of, we're going to have to have a few yard sales just to get rid of it all. There's just too much to be able to get everything out at one time.

The kids are both playing soccer, and enjoying it a lot. Last week was their first game, they've been practicing about a month now. There are only three teams in Jackson's age group, so every other week he will be playing two games back to back. He has been deemed the primary goalie for the team though he's going to have opportunities to play in every position throughout the season. As active as he is I find it funny he'd choose goalie as a preferred position ;o) Hannah's just excited to be there, which makes me glad.

Some may have been wondering the stories behind my Wordless Wednesday post this week, I'm gonna share that separately. One hint- nothing to do with soccer ;o)
Hannah is still dealing with some degree of bullying (previous post), but what's being reported now is more regular mean-self-centered kid-type bullying. Jackson is determined he is going to make straight A's this quarter, after bringing home his best grades this year for 3rd quarter- two As and 3 Cs. That sounds good but for a child that has made all As his whole life ... not very hot- and he knows it.

I've always said that I would never pay or reward my kids for their grades, because they should get good grades anyway. Considering how rough this year has been, knowing he needs more motivation than fear of failing 4th grade (no danger at all, but apparently his teacher has brought it up enough generally speaking to the class it's been a fear of his...). We've told him he would get $20 for every A he makes for 4th quarter. He wants a new, "good" skateboard so he has a goal in sight. So we'll see how that goes. I know it's excessive, but I wanted to do something that would not only "get" his attention, but KEEP it for ten weeks. Please continue to pray about them getting back in their old school for next school year, that the Lord will give Jay wisdom to make the right decisions for our family concerning the many factors that plays into their return. We'd greatly appreciate it!

Jackson and I went to the local TEA party on tax day 4-15. We had a good time and enjoyed the experience. I was so proud to be an American that day. I had never attended a protest before, but it was so peaceful, and respectful. For us to be a group of extremists, we sure were nice! I thought it was hilarious when I saw on TV the next day some guy from Vanity Fair was saying "oh they weren't mad at all, they just seemed a little miffed more than anything" (paraphrase). Apparently, the liberal left thinks that you have to scream, holler, vandalize, interrupt speeches, and otherwise act like 5 year olds having a hissy fit for it to be a "real" valid protest. Apparently peaceful protesters just don't know what they're doing. Hmmm ... I'd be willing to disagree and call them to the floor on that!


Our local reps are planning more TEA parties in the future, and definitely one on Independence Day. It meant a lot for me as a parent to take part in it, and include Jackson in it. A long time ago our old Pastor said (paraphrase) "...one day when this country has went completely downhill, my grandkids are going to ask me what I done to stop it- and I want to be able to tell them I done everything I could...". I'll never forget that, and hold the same opinion. When Jackson is an adult, after conservatism reclaims this country through conservatives getting involved and finding their voices, and using them- he will be able to say "My mom and I were there when it all started ...". Some people think it's a moot point to talk politics with their children, but for me, that's HISTORY. I know nothing of the Regan years from first hand experience, and I was the same age then Jackson is now. Hannah is too young to appreciate what's going on, but Jackson is genuinely interested. Saturday we're going to the first meeting of our local 912 project. It's more of a meet and greet than anything I believe, but it's going to be fun. We're meeting at a local park and having potluck, etc ...

Hannah had her first field trip for the year. I know! They had one planned earlier in the year but it was cancelled. It was to this Health Center that was SO neat! I wish I could testify to how informational it was, but the models of internal organs freaked Hannah's little friend out, and we had to stay in the break room the WHOLE time we were there (2 1/2 hrs!). We had a nice time together though, it wasn't boring or anything. Time went by fast. Since her friend got NOTHING out of the field trip its self, I took the girls by the Krispy Kreme we passed on the way in (we were out of town). We had two of her buddies riding with us, and one her never been there before, so that was really exciting, especially since they were making the doughnuts when we got there!



Church is going great as always. I've been going out on Monday night visitation for a few weeks now, and it has been a great blessing. I've been wanting to start going for a good while now. I hope our family routine allows me to continue to do that :o) Jackson went out with some guys this week and he really enjoyed that. I learned Hannah has the option of staying at the church while I go out if needed, so that was a relief. Some weeks she's ok, others she's fickle about it. So we'll see.

Hope you all are doing well, and please link me to your own family updates by commenting! Don't forget about the giveaway!

Family Update- (long and possibly upsetting)

I thought it might be time for another family update and let y'all know what's new with us :) You might have read last week that Jay was able to get a new truck. This has been a tremendous blessing and burden off of him. For him to be able to leave out for work in the mornings and not have to worry about whether something pops up like a kid getting sick at school, if something comes up at work and he is not able to get home in time to pick up the kids (thus having to depend on my parents to jump in in an hour's notice some days ..). With having his own vehicle, he is able to do his job better, and that actually, for us, brings in more income for us- which is a HUGE bonus!

Speaking of income, I am currently pondering my resume and plan on applying to Gymboree for a part time job while the kids are still in school. I'd appreciate prayers concerning that, if you think about it. That is where I love getting Hannah's clothes and the emplyees always pick around when I'm in there cause I squeeze our dollars so tight and get such good deals there, lol If employed, I'll be able to get a 40% discount off regular price, which is awesome considering there have been a number of outfits I've really liked, but missed getting because they sold out before the discount was good enough for me. I really believe this will be something I will enjoy doing a lot. I already have dealt with the staff quite a bit and they are all really friendly, especially the asst manager. The store manager assured me she was able to work with my availability, and no weekends if I was not available- which is huge for me.

My mistake the last time I "went back to work"- it was a good opportunity, a wonderful job, but more than our family really needed to take on. I wanted part time and they were only willing to offer full time. The pay was higher (by dollars) than what I would be making with Gymboree I'm sure, but I believe when you're honoring God with your money, He will honor you, too.

Our goal with the extra money is going to be getting the kids back into private Christian school. Until this school year, they had only been there, then this school year the Lord led us to take a break to regroup not only our finances but our family. It has been an interesting school year, and I have no doubt we're in the Lord's will right now with the kids in the charter school, but it's one of those situations you think sometimes "why me? why do I have to do this?", but there have been many things revealed, many blessings, and our family has come much closer as a result of this change.

The change has not been without challenges. The main one, is Jackson. He is struggling with school in a big way. Now that we're in third quarter, the pressure is really on him, and he is showing it. It's become apparent he has lost a lot of respect for his teacher, and it hurts to see. He's not a disrespectful child, there are reasons behind his thoughts, that I do not doubt. From some things he has said, I can see it through his perspective. My conclusion is the school''s educational philosophy is not conducive for him.

You cannot take a child that has made straight A's the first four years of his life, effortlessly; going into the 4th grade with a 7th grade reading level; having attended a school whose test scores were GRADE LEVELS above the national average (his class was two grades above); and watch his grades plummet into Bs, Cs and Ds, and say it is the child. You cannot just claim "irresponsbility" against the child, when there's TOO MUCH for said child to have to keep up with! I agree a child needs to learn to be responsible, but there is such a thing as "too much". WE have a hard time keeping up with his work and what hes expected to do! Why is there just as much emphasis put on whether worksheets are turned in, as there is tests? Don't the tests prove whether the child is learning?

I just disagree with the way things are done. He used to enjoy school, and enjoy learning. That has been completely sucked out of him. So, I'm trying to encourage him to do his best. I am not going to tell him they are going back to their old school because right now, I still do not know 100%. I just know, that is what we want, and are praying for.

Speaking of praying, this has been such a big a hit to him- the other day I said something about praying for something to happen and his response was "what good does it do to pray? nothing ever happens!". Oh that broke my heart. But that showed me he's at a point in his life where his relationship with the Lord is his own, and he's going to have to work that out hisself. I do know, that if he does get back to the old school for next school year- he's going to be a completely different child. That I have no doubt. He will never forget this experience. His burden for the lost is much stronger, but his personal relationship is weaker, if that even makes sense. I found a kid devotional website yesterday, and plan on implementing that in our days. We talk about spiritual things and the bible every day, but I'm thinking this might put more of a narrow focus for them.

Hannah is facing her own challenges now, and I'm watching her carefully. About two-three weeks ago, she spoke up and said the kids were mean on the playground. Now, anyone that knows my Hannah, knows that she is a heart a thousand miles wide, and will give anyone the shirt off her back if she saw they needed it. She shares everything. She is friends with everyone. She meets NO strangers. She was recognized at the end of second quarter she was recognized for forgiveness! So to hear people were mean to her? That grabbed my attention.

I asked her how people were mean to her, what happens, etc ... She said "The African American kids tell me every day they don't want me on their team because I'm white." :-O I asked if the teacher was watching the teams getting picked and she informed me it was free play type of teams. So you have these first graders (!!!) on the playground, deciding to play a game, dividing into teams- all healthy, normal as far as social development ... and yet, somehow, racial bias has already been taught either by word or action in the lives of these children. and it's not the white kids!

So Hannah is coming home each day for Lord only knows how many weeks this had been going on before she decided to tell me (she just says they "always" do it, no telling with a first grader, kwim?) wondering why kids don't want to play with her because she is white. It just bewilders me, how parents can ... NOT know, their kids say these types of things. Then I think about the comment our new Attorney General said last week about us essentially being a "nation of cowards" when it comes to race.

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot,
in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many
ways, essentially a nation of cowards," Holder said.
Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, but "we, as
average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about
race."

Well I have the answer to ALL of the hoopla- if you teach your children that God created us ALL to live up to our God given potential in life, that he died for the WORLD, that God sees NO COLOR~ then we won't really have racial issues in this country now will we!!?? When are people going to GET OVER THIERSELVES!!?? Seriously! I think we talk TOOOOO much about race!

My kids don't care what color the skin is of another child, they look at the content of the heart. and even then- they forgive! Case in point, the racial comments come home over a week ago. Day before yesterday, we're sititng at the table eating and she said "B got on RED today.". Red is the worse offense you can get, it calls for a trip to the principal's office, and a call to the parents. Usually, "M" is the one that gets in that much trouble, and Hannah has been praying for M quite often this school year. But this boy, I don't really recall hearing much of.

I do know, that there's only one white boy in her class and his name is A. As she's sitting there eating her mashed potatoes I ask why B got put on red ... "He hit me on the playground." :::deep breath::: I ask her to share what happened. "We were on the playground and I told him the chicken joke. He said he didn't like it and he punched me in my head and ran off. It hurt, too." Her teacher promptly handled it and done exactly what I would expect a teacher to do, except B refuses to apologize to Hannah (but I don't believe in forced apologies either), and I was informed by Hannah, and not a note from school. I know it's elementary school, but I still believe it would be appropriate for teachers to have that kind of communication with parents. I realize she did not have a black eye, or a bruise, or a bloody lip, but, she was still hurt.

So she's told by the black kids at school that they don't want to play with her because she's white. She used to be buddies with one of the black girls, but they're not close any more because her friend is playing with the other black girls. Hannah was, at the beginning of the year, one of two white girls in the class, since the beginning there's been another white girl put in that class. She's being isolated because of her color, and now, a black BOY hits her. There's another GIRL, the same one, that is apparently telling Hannah she has fat legs (she doesn't, she's not a string bean, but shes not heavy by a mile!)
This is after a number of days of her coming home "tired" and ready to go to bed early most nights. and she's "tired" when she wakes up. I mean she plays at home, but overall, she's complaining quite a bit about being tired. She sleeps ten hours a night, too.

Is Hannah becoming depressed? Fatigue is a symptom of depression, and frankly, racial tension for a first grader is a bit too much. I'm not sure when it's time to speak up and say something. I know kids will be kids, but if the situation were opposite, I can't help but to wonder if something would have been done by now :o(

So. That's what's going on with us. pray as you see fit!

Life

Categories pertaining to the "Life of CalvaryGirl"

Update on us

It's been a bit crazy here since Christmas, really. You might remember my waking the day after with a sore throat resulting in a doctor's visit that Saturday for them to say, strep throat. That took its toll. I thought I was doing better for the pain to come back horribly the next weekend, along with a migraine.
The next week Hannah started getting sick, but we thought she'd be ok. Days after, she started a cough, and I started feeling bad again. We went to the Dr later that week, for her to have an upper respiratory infection, and me to have both ears "this close" to being infected, and a sinus infection.
A couple days later, Jay started feeling bad, resulting in a very sore throat and fever. That was last week- Jackson started feeling crummy Saturday, running a low grade fever Sunday, and 102o fever Monday (yesterday). Hannah was home today with a belly ache and chesty coughing.

We've been a little busy ;o)

As a result, my blogging has suffered. For that, I apologize. This week I hope to do better. Not only my blogging, but I have been unable to spend time on the forum I host, Frugal Kitchen. If this is a topic that interests you, please come by and chat a little with us. It's been somewhat quiet lately! You'll need to register with iVillage, but it's free and they don't bite *g*
Not only has my online stuff lagged, but the house looks horrible (again!) Just as I was getting things straightened again, I'm in bed for a weekend and it looks like a tornado ran through it. Does this happen to anyone else? Or is it the fact the house isn't organized enough as it is that it only takes the slightest negelect for all the blocks to come falling down?

Jay's busy as ever working up a storm. He was home for two days last week (or was it three with the holiday?) so he's been playing catchup there. It can take a lot out of him too bless his heart. I can only imagine coming back to my inbox to find 400 emails, and know I couldn't go through and delete half of them right off the bat! :-O We've been discussing health insurance and I did not realize just how cheap his company is, but they really are!
We cannot afford to be insured through their carrier, so I'm going to have to look for a private family policy that is within our price range- that would actually cover maternity as well. We could probably afford private insurance without maternity, but who really wants to get into that kind of bind knowing your births cost $30k+? Then again, what are we doing now?

Jackson is doing better ... sort of. His perspective is getting better. He's had a lot of trouble adjusting to their new school. (They started a charter school after attending a private Christian school every year beforehand.) His grades have went from straight A's to Bs and Cs on average :( It's not the material, it's obvious he knows it because he aces all of his tests. His "NWEA" testing is high as well.
{NWEA's is the tests his school has to give students at the beginning of the year to measure where the student are academically, then they test mid year and end of year to prove they're actually teaching the students and accomplishing academic goals. If they cannot prove this, they lose funding and the school is closed, basically.}

It seems like he has a large workload, at home. So our challenge has been trying to find out the balance, and keeping him motivated to do his work at home. His health is showing his stress over this, in that his attendance has suffered due to him getting sick more often than usual. We've had some problems with him having hours worth of work at home, and he's been spent on the topic of homework. I've been spent at the idea of him being at school all day and coming home to have to work for two hours on homework! But after watching him more closely, he's not using his time wisely at home so that's our focus right now- keeping him focused.

I've counseled with a wise sister in Christ about this problem and she suggested incentives last week. I've never been one big on incentives with school work because my view generally is, they should do well in school because that's their job. Daddy goes to work every day for a paycheck, that's his job. Kids go to school each day, to get an education, so one day they'll be able to get a job and make money. BUT~ at this point, I'm open. So tonight, I told him if he got his homework done in an hour or less, we'd give him $3 a day. (I realize that might be excessive, but I figure after the good habit is formed, we'll work extra duties into the $3 total.) Whaddya know- he done it tonight. Score! Praise the Lord. He didn't have time to really complain, either ;)

He's made me proud, though.
He has really held up his standards at the new school and refuses to lower them. SO much, he's friends with everyone, but close with none of them. There's one girl in his class that went to the old school that was in his k4 class, and he talks to her, but since he's resolved not to really have girl-friends (as buddies), they only talk so much. He's talked to all of the boys enough to conclude NONE of them are saved, so while he talks a lot with one boy, his discernment tells him a close friendship is not possible because they don't share the same values.
This is all him- all I've done is listen to him. I give God the glory for this! Of course this is not to say when he gets older he might become close with a child that is not saved and following Christ (and be able to handle it), but his convictions right now are different.

Another area of growth I've seen in him is music.
He's gotten an interest in skateboarding, and is an avid youtube fan. Looking up youtube videos related to skateboarding, apparently some are clips put together to music. We were watching some the other night and he was looking at the titles and said "This is good but let me turn the volume down because I don't like the music" ... when the opening credits come up, the music was "TnT" by AC/DC. He was right, the video was really neat, even without the music. Same with his video games. He got a new skateboarding game, and looked up in the owners manual how to turn off the music and the talking. The speech wasn't profane, but had "filler" phrases he knows are unsuitable and he knew so.

My heart has been so blessed to see him make these decisions and guard his heart in this way. He is however ready to go back to private Christian school and has said so many, many times. The main thing he says he misses is Bible class each day (and chapel). I told him we could do something similar at home and he assures me it's not the same ;o) I pray the Lord will give us discernment and open some doors so at least he can get back there for next year- even if I have to drive to two schools each day!

Hannah auditioned last week for the school talent show. She sang the"Cuppycake song". She got a callback for a second audition. However- the note said the chosen song must be 2-3 minutes long. Cuppycake isn't! Oh no! We're trying to find a song she has sang in the past she can sing for the second audition. The only one we can think of is the song from the '06 CCS Heritage Program theme song "America, turn back to God"- but she's forgotten the words right offhand and we'd need to get the music somehow- by next Tuesday! Any Calvary friends reading this- any ideas?
Other than that, she's doing GREAT. She made all "4"s on her report card, and it comes so naturally for her. She really loves her teachers, and the assistant has said she really shines, and is an excellent example to her friends.
I was playing in Photoshop with a picture I took of her right after Christmas and it turned out really good, don't you think? I'm using that graphic as my signature on Frugal Kitchen :o)

She made me proud this weekend. She spent the weekend with my mom and dad, and they went shopping. Mom told her to pick out a Barbie video she wanted so she was choosing very carefully, looking at every one, mom said. She does this, too- she's not a child who when let loose in a toy store picks the first flashy thing that catches her eye! Mom pointed out a newer one, 'Barbie Diaries', and mom said she looked it over, and was looking at the back of the cover when she said "Maw maw, I don't want to get this one. It says it has rock music in it and I don't listen to rock music" and she handed it back! My parents had no idea of the kind of music the kids preferred, and seeing I used to constantly listen to rock - mom apparently assumed we still did. It floored her but she didn't push. (Just like when they went clothes shopping, my parents have learned- Hannah will NOT wear pants! ;)

So the Lord's showing me, that if we just pay attention, we'll know how our kids are really doing just through the little things. Praise Him!!

I must go, Jay just brought food in. Hope everyone is well!!

Memories of Birthdays

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007, 12:41 am


This week on Connect Carnival, we were challenged to think about birthdays- our own special birthdays or other ones. A few popped into my mind, and I could not choose just one, so you get to hear about three significant birthday memories, have fun!!

The first one I think of is the ONLY thing I have ever pulled over on my husband. It was his ... however old he was birthday party, about six years ago.

--------------------------------------------- -------

Jay and I had been together a few years. I love birthdays. Birthdays are my "thing", I do not believe that birthday's should ever be overlooked. So, for a couple of years I tried to surprise Jay for his birthday doing this or that, and he always figured it out ahead of time. It would have been the birthday of 1999. Jackson was just a baby then (born 1-2-99). I knew of one person Jay called 'friend", we're both selective in a way about who we call friends vs acquaintances, if that makes sense. It was a guy that was a groomsman in our wedding, and I overheard Jay mention him working at a retail store in town. So I set out for "THE Party". I went and asked his friend to help, because I had heard of two other friends they all used to hang out together, so the groomsman friend agreed to get their end of the party together.
It wasn't a "party party" (that was two years before that), but I arranged for the WHOLE family to be there (like, MY whole family, lotta people), plus his friends. but here's where it got sticky.

I had made the reservation at Sagebrush for the party. I had a custom coca cola cake made for him (had the emblem sprayed on it with the exact font/text, etc ..) ... Jay is a HUGE Coke fan/collector. All the plans were made. It was going to happen. Planned far in advance, I was doing GOOOD. Until we learned we needed to move. When did we move? The day/night before the party. Guess what else happened? I got sick. Like, FEVER sick. Deathly sick- I don't handle fevers well AT ALL. MIL kept insisting that I needed to cancel, but I had NO way of calling his friends, because I always met the one at his pt job to chat about the details! It HAD to happen, whether I was running a 103 fever or NOT!

So I had mom and dad come get Jackson, saying they were in the area and thought they'd give us a small break to have a chance to breathe. Then I mentioned getting something to eat (fevers make me delusional, like I cold eat then ...)

It was crunch time. Now or never. He was so happy to have some downtime he didn't hesitate to question why my parents were in the area, LOL! We ad moved 20 minutes above the city out in "the country". So I pull myself together, and we head out. He asks where would I want to go. I say "Why don;t we go to Sagebrush?- I've never been there ..." (I hadn't, besides planning the party lol) ... he said okay and off we went.

I don't know if it was the moving the day/night beforehand, but boy oh boy would I love to have a picture of the look on his face when he saw everyone there ... plus his friends. He was so surprised, so elated, and had such a good time. I was so happy it worked out well. "The" friend was only able to get in touch with one of their but the one that come, Jay was closer to and had not seen in YEARS.

Little did we know ... that was the last time Jay saw him because six months later he died ... of cancer. Tat is a birthday that will ever remain in my mind, because for one, Jay didn't figure ot out, but two, it showed just how fleeting life really is. *

--------------------------------------------- ------ The second one, was my 21st birthday.
Nothing outstandingly "special" except it was my only birthday party that BOTH sides, mom and dad's side, attended. It was really nice. Like true redneck style we had cases on cases of beer, I think we had a game of something going on ... and we roasted a deer shoulder on a sphit in the yard LOL!! But WOW was it good!! I was drunk for most of the afternoon, into the evening. The cookout was at lunchtime, and was over by 6.

So we chilled out a little bit, Jay took me to dinner (Rock-ola) where I got to order my first "Sex on the Beach" legally, lol Then after dinner we done the traditional "go-into-the-convenience-store-so-you-can-get -carded" trip ... and the guy didn't card me!!!

A little bit of history here. Jay and I met at work ... at a convenience store. he was my "new boss" that got transferred to the store I was at. We then helped my uncle start his own store, and it had not been too long before my birthday that Jay had got hit with the alcohol people (another post for another day) and had to do community service. So I knew all about the "consequences of not carding".

Needless to say, I gave the guy a (howbeit cute) lecture on how he should be glad it was the day it was or .... (blah blah blah), and made him card me in keeping with "tradition", LOL!!!

As Forest would say "That's all I'm gonna talk about right now" (or something like that, right?)

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The third one, was my 15th birthday (sorry, earlier it said 14, it was 15).
My parents never really instigated a social life for me. I never had birthday parties as a kid, aside from the 7th grade dinner we had ... at Rock-Ola (LOL) with three or four friends. Then at the ripe ol age of 14, my parents done the .... unbelievable for a 14 year old girl, but, they allowed me to have my first "real boyfriend", real as in, he had a car and drove it places-real, a whole two years older than me. ::deep dreamy sigh::: ;O) We had started dating in March, and my birthday is July 30th. It was your average day, I had antipcipated a GREAT night out with my honey and nothing else mattered. We decided to go to an early movie ... so we went to see Point Break. (Whatever happened to Patrick Swayze??)

Completely oblivious to everything else around me, we finished with the movie and was headed back to my house to hang out. We pull down the road I lived on, and all sorts of cars were at my house. They had planned a surprise party and he was apparently in on it! Had a bunch of friends there, it was just great. I actually still have a picture somewhere of a group of us at the party.

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So you see my theme with memories of birthdays, surprises and loved ones, basically. But I love surprises. I love giving them and getting them. I guess the reason these birthdays all popped into my mind at once, was because they were all shared with the people I cared about most; and to know someone cares enough about you to put forth the effort to surprise you in honor of the day you were born (even though as teenagers it was "party time!!", lol); but in Jay's case, to actually get something by him ... *snicker* hehehe ... it will be a long time before that happens again ... maybe.

Or maybe not?

HUGE shocker today!!

Wednesday, March 7th, 2007, 10:42 pm


I wa sso happy to be filling out the paperwork for my employers group health insurance this morning. Jay's insurance changed and we dropped it two weeks ago because it was useless. Then my boss comes in asking me if I was SURE I wanted to cover my family, it would be $700 a month!!! OMIGoodness!! So we're in a health insurance crisis now for the kids and Jay :::uhg::: My insurance is free, praise the Lord.

Jay is leaving tomorrow on business. That should be interesting with the kids. He's been so moody lately but he doesn;t see it. I see it. I'm feeling it, but he needs to be able to recognize it, kwim? His voice is way too high, it;s unlike him. Or maybe I'm yelling LESS now because of working in childcare? kwim?

Off to bed, have a good night :)

Encouragement through loss

My friend A posted a rememberance message on her blog this morning in honor of her baby nephew that died of SIDS one year ago today. As I read through the whole entry from last year, I was encouraged by the faith of this baby's parents. Although we are not facing the loss of a child, we are facing, or having to acknowledge, the loss of what we thought our marriage was.

That post made me think about Jay's Grandma this week, burying the second of her three children at 87 years old. As our Pastor was reading Psalm 23 during the service, Grandma sat there and recited it word for word with him. It made me ponder how anyone survives a trial, without having Christ as their Savior ... and I don't know what we would do without our church, period- and we've never experienced a loss such as above, but God continually uses our church to encourage us, as they have this week.

Here is an exerpt from a post I wrote somewhere else this week:
"Our pastor done the service, and our asst pastor (our SS teacher) come with him. The service was beautiful, Pastor gave the gospel in such a pure manner, extremely tactful for the situation, but as plain as day. So loving. Man, it was such a blessing. of course, I knew it would be for us, cause this is the man who led Jay and I to the Lord. Anything he says is a blessing for us because we know he has a heart of gold.

So I asked my SIL (the one I'm close with) what she thought and she expressed the same thoughts, and said her H (who has been struggling severely with faith the past couple of years) went on and on and on about him last night [Tuesday, the night of the viewing.]. Pastor attended the viewing last night and apparently spent quite a bit of time with BIL last night. SIL said BIL said if they didn't live so far away they'd start coming to our church :)

Then Jay said his other brother and sister (ones we have not seen, well, I just met the brother for the first time sunday night and his sister a couple of times about 6 years ago); both of them expressed feelings of great appreciation for what our church has done and how impressed they were with Pastor, naming a variety of things from how well he remembered names to his concern for people he doesn't know.

My heart is so touched that our church could be such a strong witness to Jay's family. Throughout the ten years Jay and I have been together, the idea of even meeting these people was so far fetched. Even when Jay and his dad reconciled earlier this year, I would have never thought of sharing a meal with his half siblings, and acting like a "real" family. Since his dad died Sunday, every bit of that has changed. We are even making plans for Thanksgiving now."

PTL

Jay's father died

They just mended their relationship this year. We knew he was not doing well, as far as his overall health, but his death was sudden, really. He had fluid built up on his lungs, and was admitted to the hospital yesterday. When they intubated him, his heart just gave out. Three of his four arteries were hardening, so his heart was already working overtime. Based on his life testimony, he was not a saved man :( He left six children, Jay, his brother, and their four half siblings. Please pray for Jay as he deals with all of this, that we can be a witness to his family, and for Jackson. Jackson had only met Jay's dad three times in his life, but Jackson spoke very fondly of his "farmer paw-paw" (he lived on a farm, beside a popcorn field, a kid's dream). We haven't told Jackson yet. Not sure how we will, really....