The Tate's

Well it's Official...

2011-07-29T10:25:00.002-05:00

We're Floridians!!!

Did I mention that this is our 5th state to live in (Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee (east, west, and middle), Texas, and now Florida, but hey who's counting :) Things here are going good. We are still in the process of getting everything unpacked and put somewhere, but we make a little more progress everyday. Things here in Florida are not a whole lot different from other places we have lived. As always in the south, it is HOT and HUMID!!! We have gotten quite a bit of rain lately, which they were in need of, so that is a good thing. The kids have adjusted well, as they always seem to do. They start school here the 22nd, and Carley is more than ready. She is my social bug, and needs more interaction than just me and her brother every day. Now onto what we have been up to. Other than the obvious of unpacking and getting the house set up, things are busy as usual. Carley turned 8 back on July 3. It is so hard to believe that my last baby was born 8 years ago. That really kinda makes me feel old. We found out that Jacob will have to have some oral surgery on Monday. He has an extra tooth under the gum above his front teeth, so that has to be cut out. We also learned that 2 of his baby molars need to come out. The ligaments that allow your baby teeth to grow and let the permanent teeth push through, have calcified to the bone, stopping the growth of those 2 teeth. I know, if it's something strange, it's my child. Anyway, since they will be putting him completely asleep to take out the extra tooth, they are going to go ahead and remove the molars at the same time. After all that heals, they will come back and put spacers where the molars were to allow room for the permanent ones to come in. I really feel bad for him. I hate having teeth removed. I have been fortunate enough to only have had my wisdom teeth removed, but I will admit I sat in the floor and cried because I didn't want it done, and yes I was 16! Anyhow, I know he will do just fine because he's my trooper, now Carley on the other hand may need to be sedated for a week :) Next weekend we are having some super special guest coming to stay with us, but that's all I will say on that for now. You will just have to check back in to see who it is :)

Time to Move On

2011-06-15T14:47:00.002-05:00

Well, God has once again provided for us the way he always has...We have a new job! We will be working with the congregation in Marianna, FL. We will be making the move the first week of July. We are very excited to start a new chapter in our lives, and did I mention it is only 1 hour from Panama City. As most of you know, we LOVE the beach!!! It will be hard leaving the great friends that we have here, but I guess that is just the life of a preacher. As Brad always says, "We do not say good-bye, but see ya later." I will try to update everyone after we get moved and settled. It will definitely be a busy next few weeks with Father's Day, Brad's birthday, Carley's birthday, and of course moving (whew that wears me out just saying it!) Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

Way to go Jacob Bradley!

2011-06-08T15:35:00.002-05:00

I just had to let everyone know that...JACOB IS SWIMMING!!!! I know most of you are thinking, "so what, big deal???" but it is a very big deal for my chicken of a child. We are talking about a kid who would not even get his face wet in the shower, and is now swimming (with his face under the water and all). Carley is also swimming, but she never lets Jacob get one over on her. I am one proud Mama! Hopefully one day I will get some pics up to show you, because if your like me, you can't believe it!

So Sorry to Leave You Hanging...

2011-05-26T15:16:00.002-05:00

I know after my previous post, some of you have been wondering, "What in the World Happened?" Sorry to leave you guys hanging in suspense like that, but things were crazy and I just wasn't ready to talk about it. Things are still a little crazy, or maybe a lot, but at least now I can feel you in on a few details. Before I go into that here are some verses that I have been going over A LOT lately...

"For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." 1 Thess. 3:8

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7

"...that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel." Phil. 1:27

"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness." Eph. 6:13-14

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Gal. 6:9

It has been there verses, along with several others, that have helped me to press on and know without a shadow of a doubt that we are doing the right thing. Without going into a lot a details, let's just say our work with the congregation at Fairview took a turn for the worst. Me and Brad decided that we would stand for what God has said NO MATTER WHAT, and needless to say, others did not see it that way. We strongly believe that every one is responsible for their own salvation ("...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Phil. 2:12). Because of this, we have stood for the truth and lost our job. That may not sound too fair, but it is a sacrifice we are willing to make. We had much rather suffer here on this earth, than to burn for eternity because we went along with what some man told us to do. We are making it just fine, due to the providence of God. Brad has been able to find work until we can decide on a preaching job, and we have already had a couple of tryouts with more prospects to come. We hope to be able to start our new work by July 1 and until then will stay with the awesome friends we are with and just make it day by day. Please continue to pray for us, for we know God has a plan. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

A "FYI" Update

2011-05-17T11:21:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are no longer working with the congregation in Fairview. We are however, doing fine thanks to many wonderful friends and family. Brad has been extended several preaching opportunities, and when we decide when and where we are going we will let you all know. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we go through yet another transition in life. I know that God has a plan for us and he will use us to the best of our abilities.

It's a Hard-Knock Life...Preacher's Life That Is

2011-02-17T16:27:00.002-06:00

To say that being a preaching family is hard might be the biggest understatement ever made. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my church family, and I love the work that we are doing for the Lord here in Fairview. This is really an appreciation for all that our dear friends go through every day trying to work for the Lord. I guess when I went through the preaching school and listened to all that the instructors told us about how it would really be, I guess deep, down inside I never really truly believed that it would be that way. There are so many days when you feel like you work your fingers (and heart) to the bone and no one really cares. Not only do they not care, they say horrible, hurtful things that makes all your work seem to have been done in vain. Not to mention those doing the talking are 99% of the time doing none of the work. But that's o.k. I know that if I continue to pray to God, he will fix it. He will open my eyes and make me realize that regardless of what people do, think, or say, he is proud that we (meaning preaching families) have decided to dedicate our lives to bring souls to Him. To all my friends, I pray for your work everyday, as I know you pray for ours. Just remember what Brad always says, "Our retirement is out of this world!" It is such a sobering thought to think that one day all of this hard work will pay off when we hear those words "Well done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant" Matt. 25:21. Hang in There Guys...We Love You All!

13 Years Ago Today...

2011-02-04T08:51:00.001-06:00

I married my Best Friend!!!

Love you Brad!

2010 in Review and a Look Into 2011...

2011-01-04T08:33:00.003-06:00

Well let me start off by saying Happy New Year to You and Your Family! It is so hard for me to believe that it is the year 2011. It seems like the older I get the faster time goes (oh, that's what my parents were always saying :) As always this year has been a year of change in our family. We started our new work here at Fairview, and so far (keep your fingers crossed) things have went great. We have met and been accepted by a wonderful Christian family here. They are very active (as compared to most congregations) and we keep very busy. The kids are very involved with Lads to Leaders and I have watched them grow so much spiritually this year. To watch my shy little man lead singing at the devos makes me want to cry, it's amazing! The church also started a pre-school program this year, which I am director. I love it! We are going to expand the program into this summer and I am very excited about the possibilities it holds. This summer me and Brad got to renew our vows at Tybee Island. It was wonderful to get to have that experience and renew my love with Brad. This fall I had to have my hysterectomy. It was a long recovery (due to my unique condition), but was soooooo worth it. I am feeling great right now. All my pain is gone and no periods...WHOO! WHOO!!! As far as the new year is concerned, I have lots of goals (as always :) My number 1 goal is to lose some of the weight that I gained during my recovery. Some great friends at church are helping with that. There are several of us couples at church who are competing in a "Biggest Loser" competition. Since I am super competitive and HATE to lose that should keep me on track! We shall see :)

A Parent Must-Have!

2010-12-22T13:39:00.002-06:00

For all of you parents of small children, this "Elf on the Shelf" is something you must get. I will admit that I have never heard of this little guy until some friends here at Fairview introduced us. He comes with a story book that tells all about him. How he works is once your child gives him a name he comes to "life". He shows up sometime before Christmas at your house. He hides out everyday in a new place and observes what is going on. At night, he goes back to the North Pole and reports to Santa, then returns to your house in a different location the next day. Christmas Eve night, he gets to go back to the North Pole with Santa until the next holiday season. Jacob and Carley have had so much looking for "Samson" (our elf) every morning., plus it works as a good threat :) Here in Nashville you can find him at most Hallmark's and Gift Shops, but he is also available online.

Snow Days...

2010-12-18T08:18:00.002-06:00

Well it's official, Nashville has had there first snow day of the season. We measured somewhere between 4 and 5 inches. We were out of school Monday, late start Tuesday, and early release Wednesday. Talk about a crazy week.

Look at my handsome husband (all for that ugly hat...hehe!)

Here's my little angel all bundled up. It was a balmy 6 degrees!

Here is my rough and tumble ALL boy. His favorite thing to do is throw snow at people.

But pay backs can be dangerous!

The best part of a snow day...Hot Chocolate!

Finally Made It...

2010-11-08T12:19:00.002-06:00

Over the hump that is. I finally got to live a somewhat normal life yesterday after 5 weeks. I was able to go to church yesterday morning, out to eat with my hubby, by the grocery store with Brad to get a few things, and back to church for singing last night. I will tell you by the time church was over last night I was in a lot of pain, but the good news is I made it. I did come home and lay on the couch and take a pain pill, but overall am feeling pretty good. I am just glad the worst is behind me and hopefully all this will soon be a distant memory. Hopefully I can start getting ready for the holidays. The cold weather this weekend made me want to Christmas shop :)

A Little Better

2010-11-05T15:29:00.002-05:00

Well it has now been a little over 4 weeks and I am still getting a little better everyday. This week I have actually managed to get out quite a bit. Brad took me to get my hair done, which was sooooooo overdue. I cannot even begin to explain how bad my color looked. I also got out to vote, went to see Jamie play ball, and went to Target today (oh how I've missed thee). Jamie actually got to play basketball last night at Vandy. It was so neat to get to see her playing at a big SEC school. They lost, but at least they were there. I still move really slow and am sore, but am trying to get my body back to moving again. I am hoping to go to church Sunday for the first time since my surgery. I have missed being in worship so much! The only set back I am worried about is being able to sit on the pews for a whole hour. Sitting is still really uncomfortable, so we will keep our fingers crossed that I'll make it.

BORED, BORED, BORED...

2010-10-25T10:26:00.002-05:00

To say that I am bored would be a major understatement! On a happy note I do feel better most days. I do have good days and bad, which is what the doctor said would happen. The problem is I still can't get up and do anything. I can walk for maybe 5 minutes at a time, then have to sit down and hurt for about 30 min...NOT FUN!!! Tomorrow marks 3 weeks, which means half way there. I am trying to find things to keep me busy, but I HATE to be still. I always feel the need to be up and doing something. Plus my emotions are all over the place (good thing they didn't take my ovaries or I might be suicidal). I think it is just because I am just sitting. I really couldn't wrap my mind around actually being down for this long. I thought it would be more like when you have a baby and they tell you it takes 6 weeks to recover, but you feel pretty good after about a week. Well so not the case with this. It has been 3 weeks and I have not held a blow dryer or put my contacts in, which may seem small, but to me is a big deal. Sorry to vent, but I just need to let off some of that steam! Hope all is well with my blog friends and I will keep everyone posted on my recovery.

On the Road to Recovery

2010-10-13T14:01:00.002-05:00

Well so far all is well at the Tate household. My surgery went as planned (left both ovaries) and I feel a little better everyday. The hardest part right now is having to stay down for 2 weeks. Everyone thinks they would love to stay in bed for 2 weeks, but trust me it gets old real fast! After my 2 weeks are up (next Tues.) I can start walking around the house some, but NO lifting until the doc clears me. He said don't pick up milk, my purse, big shampoo bottles...NOTHING! I go back Nov. 15, so life is going to be super boring until then. On a good note, Brad has been awesome! My mom and MawMaw and PawPaw have rotated so far to help out, but Brad has managed to run the house and take care of Jacob and Carley with minimal complaining :) I am so very blessed to have him! It is times like these you find out how much someone really cares!

Getting Scared!

2010-09-26T18:48:00.002-05:00

I had my dr appt and pre-op on Friday. The dr just wanted to go over the details of my surgery and answer any questions we had. After all of that it became reality! He explained that the surgery would be about 2 1/2 hours long and that I would be on a morphine pump through the night. I didn't have c-sections so that is new to me. The next day we would see if I could eat and get up and if so I can go home late Wed afternoon. Once home, NOTHING for 2 weeks. Then 6-8 week for recovery. (What happened to 4-6 weeks?) He said I would have so many internal stitches (from taken my cervix), that it will be a long recovery. He said stay off my feet as much as possible and NO lifting for the 6-8 weeks. Needless to say I didn't sleep Friday night and only slept last night due to pain meds. I am super nervous, scared whatever you want to call it. Although today I have been in lots of pain (I guess God telling me this IS what I need). I know things will be fine, but it is for sure going to be a long week!

Two weeks from now...

2010-09-21T19:34:00.002-05:00

All my problem should be gone! Well not all my problems, but at least all the health issues I've been having. My procedure has been scheduled for Oct 5 at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. The doc decided he is going to do a LAVH- laproscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy. The details of the actual surgery are a little graphic for blog, so if you're curious google it. He also said he needs to take my cervix because he said he feels that is causing a lot of my pain. Also to quote Dr. Brown, "While I'm in there I am going to take a good look at your ovaries because they have not been behaving". Please pray that they can leave them because if I have to go through menopause at 30 I am pretty sure I will be divorced! He said the recovery will be a good 4-6 weeks because of taking the cervix. I am starting to get a little scared, but I keep looking on the bright side...no more pain, periods, or pap smears (the dreaded P's). Just keep me and my family in your prayers, it's about to get super crazy around here!

Dear Body, Don't give up on me now!

2010-09-16T20:00:00.002-05:00

Sorry I have been MIA the last couple of weeks, but I have had a rough go. For any of you who don't know, I have been having some "female issues" that the doctors have been trying to get fixed. In the middle of the other issues I had an ovarian cyst that had to be drained, in which has caused the other problems to be worst. To make a long, complicated story short, I have to have a hysterectomy. We are hoping for only taking the uterus, but may have to also take 1 ovary. Right now we are buying time with pain meds to find the "right time" like there is such a thing. Not exactly sure when I will be doing this, a lot of it depends on insurance and what they will pay when, again very complicated! Right now I am hoping to make it until Nov 4, which is the day my doc. returns from maternity leave. If I can't make it that long I have a great backup doc. We will just have to see what happens. Please keep the prayers coming, I need them!!!

I Do...Again!

2010-08-17T08:59:00.002-05:00

As you already know, me and Brad decided to renew our vows after 12 years of marriage. We never had a "real" wedding and have always wanted to do this. So while on vacation to Tybee Island we decided to "tie the knot" again!

PawPaw actually did the ceremony for us and it turned our beautiful!

This time, we prepared our own vows. After 12 years together you have a lot of different things to say :)

It was slightly windy on the beach that day!

Carley and her JoJo...so much alike, it's scary!

My lovely family. Wouldn't trade them for the world!

Me overlooking my favorite thing in the world...the ocean!

I LOVE this picture with the sunbeams coming through!

Brad's favorite thing...the lighthouse!

Again, it was a little windy that day!

I have more pictures on my facebook if you're interested in seeing them. Also my friend Amanda, who takes awesome pictures, did all the photography and is making me a disk. When I get those I'll post some of those pictures. We had a wonderful time and I am so glad we made the decision to do this. I love you Brad and am so grateful to have you in my life!

Hit the ground running...

2010-08-14T08:31:00.002-05:00

Well we did make it back from vacation to Savannah/Tybee Island. While we were there, me and Brad renewed our vows on the beach, and it was great! (one day I'll get the pics off the camera and on the computer to see) Since we have been back, it has been nonstop!!! Jacob practices football every Mon, Tues, and Thurs from 6-8, and school started Thurs...CRAZY!!! Jacob has his 1st scrimmage game tonight at 6:30 and Brad has a wedding to do at 6:30 (tell me one more time how single parents make it???) The preschool starts in a few weeks and my living room looks like a supply storehouse!!! It is driving me insane. My goal next week is to get everything ready and moved to the church and out my house. I hope hubby is prepared to help, b/c its going to be a BIG project. JoJo...aka baby sister...left for school yesterday. She is transferring from Wallace to Delta State in Mississippi. She is 6 hours from home and won't be home again until Christmas. Her first basketball game is Nov. 4 at Vanderbilt, how exciting!!! We will definitely have to make plans to attend that. My sister playing against the SEC!!! Anyhow, hope all is great with everyone and hopefully in the near future I will have some pics to show everyone!!!

Bithday Celebration

2010-07-26T08:38:00.002-05:00

Due to the fact that both of my children have summer birthdays a month apart, we decided to do one big party. We had a "Splash Party", where the kiddos have kiddie pools, slippin' slides, sprinklers, bubbles, water guns, and all that messy, fun stuff. It was a blast! We served cupcakes and ice pops and let the kids have a ball.

There were lots of presents...

Some messy faces...

Some bubble fun...

A few water gun fights...

And Mr. Brad even got in on the action...

Overall the kids had a great party.

Now onto a full week of stress. We are leaving for Savannah/Tybee Island Friday to which I have not even begun to pack for. We are also renewing our vows, to which I have not written. What has happened to me. The planner who does everything months in advance. Also Jacob starts football tonight. He will practice every Mon., Tues., and Thurs. with games on Sat., so that means life as I know it is over until Nov. Oh well, we will make it, we always do!

Carley Brooke Turns 7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-07-05T08:29:00.002-05:00

That really doesn't even seem possible. Can it really be that I gave birth to my last baby 7 years ago??? Where in the world has time gone??? It seems like ago a short time ago she was my chubby little baby girl that I would hold and cuddle and rock to sleep... Now here she is turning into a young women riding a 2 wheeled bike, tying her shoes, and "Miss Independent"

I really do wish I could slow things down a little and really take in how fast my kiddos are growing up. It's hard to believe in a few short years they'll be entering high school, graduating, going to college, the list goes on and on!!! Happy Birthday to my Big Girl, I Love You!!!

STRESSED!!!!

2010-06-08T13:59:00.002-05:00

I wish I could even tell you how unbelievably stressed I have been this week. As you know from my last post we were planning a trip to Gulf Shores to renew our vows in Aug. Well needless to say those plans have had to change. I have been worried about the oil ever since it happened and have checked on the beaches daily. When the oil finally started washing onto the beach I told Brad he was going to have to help me come up with a solution. Me being the OCD planner that I am, Brad just usually lets me do it all, but I told him it was time for input because I was going insane. He made the suggestion that we go to Tybee Island/Savannah since that is somewhere we have both LOVED ever since we went nearly 7 years ago. See why I need him, that never crossed my mind. We went for business the first time, but fell in love with the city of Savannah and all the lighthouses and ocean liners that are at Tybee Island. It all of a sudden seemed so simple! I started looking for condos Sunday and then the stressed kicked into high gear! Our requirements were a pool, oceanfront, and sleeps 10. That was nearly impossible to find. I finally found one and emailed the lady. She said she had just had a cancellation and it was 1st come 1st serve basis. I emailed her back and told her I would take it! She emailed me and told me she had went to town and when she got back she had 6 request for that condo with mine being first. Thank Goodness! Now onto the planning of switching the wedding stuff over from Gulf Shores to Tybee Island, but I am just grateful we found something.

Planning, Planning, Planning...

2010-06-01T15:23:00.004-05:00

It seems my summer is going to be spent planning!!! Planning what you may ask, well birthdays, wedding, vacation, and preschool. The church here at Fairview has decided to start a preschool in the fall, of which I will be the director. I am so glad we are starting this work because there is a huge need for it in the community. I need to finish getting everything organized and ready to go for it to start in the fall. (As a matter of fact I started out working on curriculum and somehow ended up on here, oh well!) Then as most of you know birthdays run full circle for the Tate's in the summer. Brad is June 29, Carley is July 3, and Jacob is Aug. 8. I am the oddball with a Jan. birthday stuck in the middle of winter. Anyhow, I really need to plan something for the kiddos, but right now have no idea! Then on to the best part of the summer....the BEACH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Need I say I LOVE the beach. It is my all time favorite place ever! We are going to Gulf Shores (if the stupid oil will stay away) July 31- Aug.7. I am so excited. It has been a few years since we went to the beach since we splurged on Disney last year. I am ready for a relaxing vacation of sitting on the beach and eating fresh seafood! Now on to the final planning of the summer...the wedding! Me and Brad decided that we are going to renew our vows while we are in Gulf Shores. We got married at the courthouse and never had a real wedding. We have always wanted to renew our vows on the beach, but always said we would go to the carribean on our anniversary in Feb. and do that. Well 2 kids and 50 (well not really, but feels like it) moves later, we are just going to do it. My family is going with us to Gulf Shores, so that makes it perfect since everyone will already be there. What started out as simple vow renewal has kinda expanded a little. I guess since I never had my dream wedding, I am kinda making up for it. I will definitely keep everyone posted and let you know how it all turns out.

Dr. Appointment

2010-05-26T15:53:00.002-05:00

Today was the day for Carley's allergy testing. I am so proud of my big girl! She sat there like a champ while she had 25 needle pricks in her back, and never shed 1 tear (I am not sure I could have been that strong!). The test showed that she is highly allergic to pecan, oak, and elm trees. Luckily that was all. The doctor is pretty sure we can maintain this just by keeping her on allergy medicine from Feb.14-July of every year. I really hope it will be that simple!

2010-05-20T14:47:00.003-05:00

Today we had our appointment with the allergist. She seems to think Carley's reaction is due to a plant of some sort. She scheduled her for allergy testing next Wednesday, so please pray that goes well.

Summer officially starts around here tomorrow at 12:05! That probably also needs a prayer. Pray that momma doesn't end up in the crazy house!!!

2010-05-18T14:03:00.002-05:00

Just to give everyone a quick update on Carley. Yesterday I started the day calling around to pediatric allergist trying to get an appointment. Most could not see me until August, I mean come on...Really??? So I ended up getting the name of a pediatrician in Franklin that came highly recommended (I haven't pick the kids doctor since we moved). I called and they were able to see us yesterday afternoon. She was GREAT!!! She is so nice and actually took the time to talk to Carley, which a lot of doctors won't do. She told me it could be a number of things and we may never know what actually caused the reaction. She said a lot of times allergic reactions that severe build on one another. Example- she is a little allergic to dogs and gets around a dog and that irritates her system a little, then she eats seafood which aggravates her a little more, then she smells a flower with a lot of pollen and that sends her system over the edge. She was able to get me an appointment with an allergist this Thursday. She told me not to have high hopes that we will ever find out what caused this, but she said even if we can eliminate some of the little allergens that would help. She said if this was to happen again we might consider keeping a diary of what Carley eats and is exposed to...Fun!!! I sure hopes it doesn't come down to that. Can you imagine trying to keep track of everything your 6 year old does. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Panic Mode

2010-05-15T13:28:00.002-05:00

Let me 1st start out by saying that I am not usually a mother who freaks out about every little cut or scrap. Both of my children have had stitches and Carley has broken her collar bone and I managed to remain quite calm through all of that. But all of that being said, yesterday put my parenting to a whole new test. It all started Thursday afternoon when I picked Carley up from school. Her teacher walked her to the car and told me Carley had a small rash breaking out on her face and had sent her to the nurse several times for itching. I really wasn't that alarmed since this is my child with super sensitive skin, everything and anything will break her out. I went ahead and took her to the clinic in Franklin just to make sure it wasn't poison ivy or something like that. At the time she had a small red rash just around her mouth. After examining her they said it was some sort of skin reaction and gave her benadryl and cream and told me just to watch it. They gave me a liquid steroid, but said they didn't feel it was necessary at the time.

So fast forward to Friday morning...

I got up and got Jacob ready for school as usual. Brad was gone to Memphis. I let Carley sleep in since I decided not to send her to school since she was still broken out. About 7:50 Carley gets out of bed and comes to the living room with her robe over her head. I told her to come here and let me see her face. I removed the robe and nearly passed out. Her face was blood red all over and swollen to the point her eyes were swollen shut. It was so bad I don't know if I would have recognized her. I immediately called my friend Amanda who works at Vanderbilt and told her I had to take Carley to the ER. I was in a panic, crying and all. I rushed Jacob to get ready and dropped him off at school on the way. I finally got her to the hospital. Amanda met me there, and it was a good thing because I was a wreck. I had no idea what was wrong with my child. As soon as we got there, they gave her steroids and benedryl which did nothing. After an assessment they gave her atarax, it's like benedryl only stronger. Luckily that worked. She is still broken out and swollen, but not that bad. We still have no idea what caused the reaction. I have to make an appointment with a pediatric allergist on Monday and hopefully we can see what is going on with her little body. Keep her in your prayers and pray we find out what is causing this and we can fix it!

Rain Rain........

2010-05-03T09:14:00.002-05:00

Well as many of you have heard, Nashville just seen the worst flooding it has seen in years! First, I want to let everyone know that we are all OK. The power finally came back on in the middle of the night, and the internet is up for now (hopefully it will stay that way until I can finish my post). Home phone is still out and cell phone is very hit or miss, mostly miss. I don't have any pictures to post, but the sights have been absolutely amazing. You should google Nashville flood just to see some of the pictures. To see water covering the tops of cars on Int. 24 is something hard to believe. The water this morning was 6 feet deep in the Opryland Hotel!

Our adventure started Saturday morning when we woke to HEAVY rain and that low rumbling thunder, my favorite weather. The entire time I was in Texas I complained about missing the rain, so I guess God was just showing me what I had missed (I didn't say I had to see it all in one weekend, but God does have a sense of humor like that sometimes!). Since the soccer game was canceled and it was going to rain all day, me and Brad decided to take the kiddos to the movies. They had been wanting to see Furry Vengeance, one of those crazy kid movies you pay to see because you love your children, if you haven't gotten there yet with your kids, you will. Anyway, movie was kinda stupid, but again the things you do for your children! We left the movie theater about 3:30 or so and set out on our 30 minute drive home. We got about 10 minutes from home and had to turn around due to the fact the Harpeth River was running over the road. At that point I didn't think much about it because we still had some other ways of getting back to Fairview. We turned around and headed for Natchez Trace to hit highway 96 and come in that way. Well we got to 96 to be turned around again due to flood water. I was now starting to get a little antsy at this point, but we still had 2 more ways, take Int.40 to Fairview and hit 96 that way or Int.40 to 840 and come in the back way to Fairview. So we headed to 40. On the way the radio says they are closing 40 at Dickson. My heart starts to race a little at that point. There goes option 3 and only one more to go. We get about 2 miles from our Fairview exit and the interstate comes to a standstill. Tractor trailers are parked all up and down the side, and traffic is crawling! Come to find out they had closed 40 at the Fairview exit and were making all the cars get off. Luckily we made it home safely at about 6:30-7:00. Remember I said 30 drive!

We got up Saturday morning to get ready for church as usual. Everything went great until 5 minutes before we walked out the door, the power went off. Remember we live in the church house, so if our power is off so is the churches. We went over to church and decided to hold service in the fellowship hall with all the doors open and candles lit. It was such an uplifting service. We had probably at least 100 people who come to worship with it raining a monsoon outside. I mean it was absolutely POURING rain and all those people still came. I will say once the singing started by the candle light I did get a tear in my eye. It was AMAZING!!! After a short service we headed back home to the dark. We played games and entertained 2 homebound, wild children until we went back to service that night. After service and still no power I set out to find the kiddos something substantial to eat. We had peanut butter crackers for lunch and that wasn't going to cut it for supper too. The entire town of Fairview was without power, so that was out of the question. I know Bellview and Franklin were both under water so that wasn't an option either. The only chance I had was to get to Dickson about 30 minutes away. We made it there and back with no problems. They did still have 40 closed, so when I got to the interstate the traffic was unimaginable. There were cars and trucks parked everywhere at the interstate, just waiting for them to open it again. While in Taco Bell with the kids, I met a man and women trying to get back to Kentucky. They were coming back from Breckenridge, TX where they had been to a funeral. What a small world. We talked a while and I wished them well trying to get home.

Our power finally came on in the middle of the night! The kids are out of school today and according to some teachers, may be out for a few days. Their school suffered quite a bit of flooding, so who knows when that will be cleaned up. Please keep praying for the people here. The rain has stopped, but the rivers are still rising due to runoff. The Cumberland River (the river that runs downtown) is suppose to rise all the way until tomorrow night. Downtown is already under about 4 feet of water and it is suppose to rise 6 more feet. It is an unreal sight. Interstate 40 is closed all the way from Old Hickory to Hickman county, about 50 miles! There are people stranded everywhere, with no clue how to get around Nashville with all the interstates closed. Just an amazing power of the God we have!

Update

2010-04-09T14:46:00.002-05:00

Well this week has been the kiddos spring break and luckily the weather has been absolutely beautiful! We started off our break last Friday by heading to the Opryland hotel for Lads to Leaders. This year was our year to observe and take it all in since we have never been before. I was amazed at the talent some of the young children had. It was very uplifting to see such good happening for the church when it seems at times all you can see is the bad. We also got to see many of our preaching friends, so besides the fact that it was exhausting it was a lot of fun. On Sunday my friend Amanda and her family came to church with us. It was great spending Easter with them. On Monday a very precious couple from church had us over for a cookout. We got to fish in the pond (not tank, for my Texas friends LOL!) and ride 4 wheelers. We had a blast. My little chicken, aka Jacob, was very content to play football and fish, but my little daredevil, aka Carley, wanted to ride the 4 wheeler all day and kept hollering for Brad to go faster, go figure! I have a feeling the teenage years with that child will definitely put my parenting skills to the test! On Tuesday we went over the Mrs. Bettye's, aka my flower lady, for dinner. It was such fun letting the kids play and getting to know a newly baptized couple a little better. Yesterday we headed to Alabama to visit MawMaw and PawPaw. We had so much fun and can't even explain how nice it is to be able to go and see them when I want to.

Needless to say, what I thought would be a boring spring break has turned out to keep us on our toes. Next weekend my family is coming up to spend the weekend with us and watch the kiddos play soccer (I will get some pictures of that up soon).

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

2010-03-29T10:58:00.001-05:00

SPRINGTIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the elders wives here at the congregation has the best garden I think I have ever seen. Her yard is absolutely beautiful. She always has fresh cut flowers in her home, and you know how I feel about fresh flowers in the house. She knows that I share her love of flowers and last night after church she brought me a huge assortment of her buttercups (it was enough to make 5 arrangements!). Thanks Miss Bettye, I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Info too Good not to Share!!!

2010-03-24T08:55:00.002-05:00

Let me first start off by saying if you have EVER had any kind of grocery dilemma, stay tuned! A little background. Me and Brad became fans of Dave Ramsey while in preaching school. For those of you who don't know, he is a money guru. He has awesome tips at getting out of debt and staying debt free. We have read his book The Total Money Makeover, and tried to apply those principles to our lives. It is hard work, but it really does payoff. Anyhow. He has a radio talk show on about the same time I am waiting in car line to pick Jacob and Carley up, so I usually listen to it and work on my ladies bible class lesson for the 20 minutes I wait (you know multitasking is a requirement for being a mother!). The other day he did an advertisement for www.e-mealz.com and all of these moms were on there raving about all the money they were saving and how easy it made their lives, so I thought I would check it out. Well anyone mentions saving money and I'm all ears, being the bargain hunter I am. I checked out the website and am hooked. It is awesome! A panel of moms, just like us, go through all the store ads and make menus according to what is on sale. I have in the past tried to do this, but it takes me hours of stressing and is usually hit or miss. They do all the work. First, you pick your favorite grocery store, Publix, Wal-Mart, Aldi, my favorite Kroger, etc. Then you pick what you need, meals for 2, meals for a family, low-fat, low carb, vegetarian, etc. Then once a week a menu is giving along with a detailed grocery list and prices. You can change your menu up if you wish by marking off a meal you may not want. The grocery list labels your ingredients by meal numbers, so if you don't want meal #3, just mark off all the ingredients with a 3 beside it. They promise all weeks will come to an average of $75 a week. This has cut my spending tremendously. No more buying useless stuff to sit in my pantry for weeks. Of course nothing is free. The cost is $5 a month, taking out of your account $15 every 3 months. But there is a coupon code. Type DAVE in the coupon code at checkout and it will reduce it to $12.50. I feel it is well worth it. Check out the website, they have sample menus to look at and explain how it all works.

Long Time..............

2010-03-22T11:51:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I said I was going to be better at blogging and I obviously lied. I have had every intention of blogging about what has been going on, but somehow never get around to it, Imagine That???
Life here is about the same as usual. On Monday and Thursday nights we take the kiddos to Franklin (about a 30 min. drive) for tutoring, on Tuesday nights we have soccer practice, Wednesday night church, Saturday soccer game, and Sunday church. Now you know why you haven't heard from me in quite a while. I have in the meantime managed to finish making Carley's bedding (which turned out SUPER cute!). I am now working on curtains and trying to decide how to paint her room. Once I get everything done I will post some pictures.

A Sad Week

2010-02-12T08:42:00.003-06:00

This has definitely been a bad week emotional. On Tuesday I found out that a fellow student from MSOP (the preaching school that we attended), had made the tragic decision to end his own life. I had such a hard time with this because us being a preaching family it just hit so close to home. I kept trying to think how that could so easily be Brad. Then yesterday I got the tragic news that a fellow classmate of mine was killed in a car crash. This was a guy that I started kindergarten with and went all the way until 12th grade. He was married to Brad's 3rd cousin and had 2 young sons. I had such a hard time sleeping last night because once again I thought about how my life could be changed in a moment if something happened to Brad. Take the time today to stop and Thank God for every day he gives you with the ones you love. You never know when everything will change!

To the families of John Gondos and David Norwood, we love you and you will be in our prayers!

Bye, Bye Monkeys...

2010-02-11T14:57:00.002-06:00

OK I was starting to get a little tired of the monkeys hanging around, so I decided to go for something a little more "ME". Let me know what you think.

12 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-08T08:54:00.002-06:00

As many of you already know, me and Brad celebrated our 12 year anniversary last Thursday. It is so hard to believe that we have been married for 12 years! To celebrate our big day we decided to splurge a little (well maybe a lot) and spend the night at the Opryland Hotel. MawMaw and PawPaw came up to spend the night with the kids and we went Friday night. It was awesome. It is so nice to get away from being "Mommy and Daddy" for a little while and just be a couple. I am so thankful to be close to family again you just don't even know!

Now onto this weeks events! I have conferences today with both Jacob and Carley's teachers, just to try to see where we are standing. I need to make the valentine cards for both the kids school parties. I have a baby shower gift to make by Saturday. And to top it all off, me and Brad are finally starting our diet!(that needs a major prayer)

Snow...

2010-01-29T08:45:00.002-06:00

Ok, once again I know these pictures are a little late. This is the snow we had back at the beginning of January.

Here is my "snowman". I think the temperature that day was 8 degrees!

BURRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Here is Carley trying to make a snowball, but the snow was so fine it wouldn't pack (for my Texas friends that means "stick together")

Carley making a snow angel!

Better Late than Never...

2010-01-29T08:34:00.002-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I still had the pictures from Christmas on my camera. Well due to the fact we are expecting 7 inches of snow today and I might need my camera for some "snow fun" pictures, I decided I had better take the time to upload my pictures. With all of that being said, here are some pictures from Christmas morning.

Carley getting her DS from NaNa.

Jacob getting his Florida football.

Jacob chilling in his Florida chair.

Jacob and NaNa playing the Wii.

Carley holding Haylie.

I am still alive

2010-01-25T16:46:00.002-06:00

Let me just start off by saying I had totally forgotten how busy a stay at home mom's life could be (note my last posting being Dec.31). I had a delusional thought that once I quit teaching and stayed home that I would spend my days crafting and blogging and talking for hours with old friends...WRONG!!!!!!!!!!! I have been so busy that I can't even believe that we have been back in Tennessee for 1 month. Of course I spent the first few weeks unpacking and getting everything somewhat organized. Past that it has been spending a day shopping with an old friend, making curtains for my kitchen and den, visiting sick and shut-ins with Brad, making vinyl letters for my wall with my cricut (the absolute best invention ever!), having all the elders and deacons over for dinner (40+ people), spending about 2 hours on homework every night...including the weekend (first grade may kill me and Carley both), and turning the big 3-0. Not to mention my pictures from Christmas are still on my camera, what does that say. I will say I am starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. I spent the day cleaning out my dresser drawers and closet and exercised (something much needed to get off my 10 lb winter coat). I have also been planning a get away for our anniversary. On Feb. 4 me and Brad will be married 12 years...That is just CRAZY. We are going to spend the night at the opryland hotel and MawMaw and PawPaw are coming to stay with the kids (did I mention how great it is to have that option again). I know it is a splurge, but we need it. It has been about a year since we had an overnight date by ourselves, and it is much needed! I will try to keep you posted and hopefully one day get up some pictures of my crafting.

We made it!

2009-12-31T12:38:00.002-06:00

Well folks, we have finally gotten moved in...YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! This has definitely been the most stressful move we have ever made...and you know that we are moving pros! I don't know if it was because of the lack of organization that the movers had, the fact that it was Christmas time, because we have all had terrible colds/allergies/crud (welcome home!), the 1000 miles!!!!!!, or a combination of all the above. Anyway with all that, we still made it. We are by no means organized yet, but we are getting there. I can not wait for the kids to go to school next week (without me going YIPEEEEEEEEE) to see what I can accomplish. Also I am dying to catch up with all my stay at home friends that I have missed dearly for the past year!

On to church news. The people here are wonderful!!!!! They absolutely outdone themselves. They had painted the entire house for us, including all the wood trim white! They set up a real Christmas tree for us and everybody in the congregation bought ornaments to "introduce themselves". They put bows and garland on all the windows and candy canes on all the cabinet knobs. They even had a wreath on the front door and an Alabama flag for Brad in the front yard (well nobody's perfect!). Brad preached Sunday for the first time and had 2 baptisms Sunday night, how awesome is that! Tonight we have our New Year's get together with games and finger foods followed by fireworks at midnight. I will hopefully get some pictures up soon, but first I need to find my camera :)! Hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year's!

Sorry it's been so long.

2009-12-13T15:25:00.002-06:00

Let me start out by saying that I cannot wait until Friday aka...MOVING DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that that is out of my system let me first apologize for being so far behind on updating my blog. Just to let you know how crazy my life has been, I just uploaded Thanksgiving pictures today only because I have to make room on my camera for Christmas. I am so anxious to move and go back to my former life as a stay at home mom. I am ready to once again cook supper every night, have all the cleaning done BEFORE the kids get home from school, not minding helping my kiddos with homework because I won't have done it ALL day long, an get to the million crafty projects I have been dying to try. Did I mention I got myself a sewing machine for Christmas that I can't wait to learn how to use! Also we will be living in the preacher's home which is in need of some decorating TLC. I can't wait to get started, but first I must get in gear here. I keep saying I have so much to do, but have no clue where to get started, maybe my inspiration will come soon.

Here are some of the pictures that was taken during Thanksgiving at MawMaw's.

We decided to play football after lunch.

Here are me, Brandon, and Jamie. Notice how short I am and I have heels on!
Jamie striking her Heisman pose!

And our newest member...

Haylie Elise

Yes I do know it is still November!

2009-11-16T19:12:00.002-06:00

O.K., I know that it is only November 16 and I am usually very anti about putting up a Christmas tree before Thanksgiving (because let's face it Thanksgiving always gets left out), but due to the fact that we are moving Dec. 18 I finally talked Brad into getting our tree up and wasn't it worth it.......... I Love My Tree!!!! One reason I look so forward to putting up the tree is because Christmas ornaments have always been my collectible. Every year we have a family ornament and a kids ornament. Also that is the one souvenir from all the vacations we take that I get, so I have one for every place me and Brad have went to. We also get a new home ornament for every new home, so lets face it that takes up half of the tree :)! So long story short, I couldn't imagine going through another whole year without my tree because it houses all my memories!

Moving home....

2009-11-01T07:29:00.002-06:00

Yes, we are moving to Fairview, Tn (outside of Nashville). I am so happy to be moving close to family and friends again. We are still planning on leaving Breckenridge around Dec. 18, but it will take us a few days to get there. I really was hoping to be settled for Christmas, but that won't be happening. I am thinking very seriously about putting my tree up now and taking it down before we move. I know that sounds CRAZY, but if you know me at all, you know Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. If I can't have my tree, I may go into total depression! Anyway, onto some other news. The kiddos had their eye appointments this week and they both have to get glasses. I knew it was coming since everyone in both mine and Brad's entire family wears glasses except Brandon...LOSER! Carley is actually pretty excited. Her glasses are sooooooooo cute. They are pink with a little diamond and a flowered pattern on the sides. Her eyes are actually pretty bad (like Daddy's). He said that one eye is pretty weak even with the glasses, so he wants her to wear them for 2 months and then see her again. If it's not any better, he wants to patch 1 eye for 2 hours a day to strenghten the other eye. I know that will go over GREAT! Jacob's is just normal can't see like Momma. He was NOT a happy camper. He had told me the night before that if he had to have glasses, he would break them. I know that this is going to be a battle of the wills, but I hate to tell my hard headed little man that Momma is going to win! He tried on every pair of children's glasses they had with a sullen look on his face, telling me he hated every pair. Finally the lady had a pair in the back that had just come in. They are blue and green and he finally decided to give in and go with those. I am just grateful they both are getting them at the same time, or I might have had to have Jacob's glued to his face. At least this way he is not alone and Carley will be doing the same thing.

2009-10-24T07:39:00.003-05:00

We had our tryout last weekend at Fairview (the church in TN) and everything went well. We have not really heard anything formal from them, but they seemed super interested. Next weekend is our trip to Crestview (the church in FL). We leave here Friday, plan to drive to Hattiesburg (about 10 hrs away), then drive the other 4 hrs on Saturday. We won't leave until Monday and should hopefully be home on Tuesday. It is going to be a long weekend. At this point I really don't know what I want to do. I can see good things happening with Fairview, but
it is hard for me to get excited about anything at this point. I am so mentally exhausted that I am just going through the motions. I know everything will work out like it is suppose to, but I really hope it happens soon!

Onto other news. My sweet baby girl niece was born yesterday! They ended up inducing Suzanne Thursday around 1:00. She was 36 weeks and 1 day. They finally ended up doing a c section around 6:00 Friday morning...poor girl!!! Miss Haylie ended up weighing 6lbs 14 oz and 18 in long. I told Brandon she would have been a big baby if she had of waited 4 more weeks! She was breathing on her own, something the doctors really didn't expect with her being early and came out of NICU yesterday morning. She is perfectly healthly!

Complicated!

2009-10-09T16:18:00.003-05:00

Where do I even begin. Let's start with Jacob having the flu-regular,not swine-and Brad with a sinus infection-sick man...no fun!!! Then lets move onto Suzanne, my brothers wife to be who is pregnant and due Nov 18. She has been admitted to the hospital with high blood pressure-last I heard 209 over 109! They did an ultrasound and said the baby(Haylie) is weighing in at about 6 1/2 pounds and is in the 91st percentile, so if she has to be delivered early she should be o.k. They are trying to wait until Wed. when Suzanne will be 35 weeks and see what happens. We have another scheduled tryout for next weekend. It is in Fairview, TN not too far from Nashville, close to Franklin. The church is flying us there on Friday and we are coming home Monday. This is where the complicated part comes in. As I said in a previous post, I knew it would come down to living closer to family or being in our dream location-BEACH! We will not make a decision until after our tryout at Crestview(close to Destin,FL) on Nov. 1. Please pray that everything works out, and we make the right decision. I could really use some feedback on this subject. I am feeling a little leftout and am even wondering if any one out there is even reading this. Let me know!

Help/Prayers Needed

2009-09-26T08:14:00.002-05:00

Brad finally got to announce Wednesday night that we were leaving. That was actually a huge relief because we have been holding this in for a while. We have already sold our house, I know a major shocker! There was a girl a school looking and I secrectly told her the situation and told her she was more that welcome to look. She did and they made us an offer Sunday night. They have sold there home, but are moving in with her parents this weekend and we have set the closing date for Dec. 18. Now here's the prayer request!!! We #1 need a job. We have 1 tryout set for Nov. 1, but that is all for right now. The tryout is in Crestview, FL, 20 minutes north of Destin. That I know will also cause a dilemma. That is our dream spot to live, but at the same time, we were kinda wanting in the Nashville area so we could be closer to family and we could live close to my new niece who will be arriving in Nov. We do have lots of options in that area, but none have called yet. Crestview is only 5-6 hours from home, which is defifnitly closer than 15. Granted Crestview may not even offer a job, so I may be stressing over nothing and then really be stressing that we get nothing and become homeless on Dec. 18. Please pray that all works out. I know God will take care of us, he always has, but the OCDness in me wants it now. So if nothing else pray for me to be patient and wait for God to lead me down the right path!

Update

2009-09-05T07:02:00.002-05:00

Sorry it as been so long, but once school is back in session my life becomes consumed. School for the kiddos has been good so far. They are at different schools this year because the schools are split PK-1, 2-3, 4-6, Jr high , and high school. I was a little concerned how that was going to work, but so far so good. School for me has been a little different. JR high kids are definitely a new bred. Also I have so much more responsibility this year, but I have made it 2 weeks LOL! As for everything else in my life it is CRAZY as usual. We are struggling with the church and not really sure what to do next. They have all of a sudden decided that they believe in marriage, devorce, and remarriage and really don't want Brad to "hurt anybody's feelings" when he preaches. Well my opinion of that is if your feelings get hurt, your guilty! We also have a youth minister that is as liberal as they come and we have expressed our concern to the elders, but they do not seem to care. I know Brad won't make it here much longer, so just pray everything works out. We would like to be closer to family and friends, which when you're 15 hours away pretty much anything is closer. We will just have see what happens. I really don't want to move in the middle of the year, but I am not under a contract with the school so if we HAD to it wouldn't be too bad from that aspect. We also need somewhere we have a support system. We feel a little lonely here in the Lone Star State(now I know where that name came from LOL)!
On to other news. The carseat law here was 6 years old or 36". Carley has been 36" since she was 5, so we took her out of her booster at about 5 1/2 and got rid of the booster seat. Well the law now states 8 years old or 4'9", so today we have to shop for 2 booster seats. One for my car and one for Brad's. I take Carley in the mornings and Brad picks her up in the afternoons, so we need 2. It is a good thing Jacob is 8, because he is only 45", so he is still too short but luckily meets the age requirerment. Sister was not a happy camper, but I talked it up and told her she could pick out a "cool looking carseat" and so far that has worked, but we will see when we get to the store today!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2009-08-12T08:51:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we went to Abilene to go to Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, and just get out of the house some before going back to school. Jacob and Carley were in the backseat having a conversation about God and what he looks like and how he acts, that sort of thing. I hear Jacob say "Carley you don't know, you haven't seen him" and Carley responds "yes I do, I seen him before he sent me down here". I start to laugh and told Brad that we have told them their entire life that God sent them here to live with us, so I guess she was actually listening. Too Cute!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB BRADLEY

2009-08-08T08:10:00.003-05:00

I can't believe you are 8 years old! It seems like such a short time ago I welcomed you into my life, yet I cannot remember a time without being your mommy.
You have always been my sweet boy, who acts just like me. Poor thing, you inherited my "OCDness" and have to have everything just the right way.

But you also have a silly side just like your daddy and your uncle!

You have made it so far, so fast and are turning into an awesome "BIG" boy!

I Love You Jacob!

The Very Best Vanilla Ice Cream!

2009-08-03T09:14:00.002-05:00

I found an awesome recipe for my fellow ice cream lovers:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 T. vanilla
2 c. half & half
2 c. whipping cream
Mix all ingredients and place in ice cream maker.

This ice cream is unbelievable. It has the texture kinda of like frozen whipped cream. I am sure it's not fattening at all LOL! I have also added many things to mine such as bananas, chocolate chips,etc. I am pretty sure you can't go wrong with it!

As Promised

2009-07-25T16:59:00.002-05:00

I told everybody that we redid we floor in the family room and that I would eventually get some pictures up. This is a before photo (no, not a very good one but it at least gives you an idea of the carpet and the wall color... PLAIN!) This is an in progress picture. Remember I said we had to sand the concrete first. No it is not snowing in the living room, that is dust flying everywhere!

Here is the finished product!

Here it is from another view. Hopefully a corner fireplace will soon be filling up the empty corner.

And my tile job. I was pretty impressed with myself since this was the first time I had every laid tile, and I did it all by myself!

To catch everyone up

2009-07-13T10:12:00.002-05:00

Well I feel as though I have been out of commission the last couple of days. On July 4, me and Brad woke up and decided to rip the carpet out of the family room. This has been something we have wanted to do for a while, but always assumed we would have some sort of plan. After taking the carpet up we decided to stain the concrete. The family room use to be the back patio and they closed it in and made a room. It has a step down going into it (what use to be the porch step) and we decided to tile that. It took us a week to get everything done, including sanding the concrete before applying the stain. My house was turned absolutely upside down for a week! We finally got everything done yesterday and I will get some pictures up soon so everyone can see how it turned out.

I have also been trying to get ready for VBS which is next week. I am teaching the 2-4 year olds. Last year this was one of the biggest classes with as many as 35 kids some nights! I am decorating my room in a zoo theme, which I'm sure is totally appropriate.

On to funnier news. Last night we had told the kids to go brush their teeth and go potty to get ready for bed. After a few minutes, Carley came in and said Jacob was crying. Me and Brad went in there to find out the problem and you will never believe what he said. He told us that he was sad because he wanted to live with us forever and never wanted to leave home. I was totally floored; this came so out of the blue. Of course his crying lead Miss Drama to crying and we spent 30 minutes trying to explain how life was suppose to work. I couldn't help but laugh. I told Brad I wish I could record that conversation and play it back in 10 years when they hate us and are dying to move out! Leave it to children to say the craziest things!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLEY BROOKE!!!!

2009-07-03T08:53:00.002-05:00

It is hard to believe that you are 6 years old today!
When we welcomed you into this world, you let everybody know right from the start that you were here and it was going to be your world! Your personality has always been so different from Jacob's. You have always been my girly girl.

You have also been a daddy's girl from the get go. You and daddy are so much alike, it is scary. Y'all have the same way of doing everything. You are carefree and never get in a hurry to do anything, just like him, a trait that drives this OCD mommy CRAZY!!!

You have always been my beautiful little girl. Hardly a day goes by that I don't get told how gorgeous you are, and of course I agree!

Your life has had to change so much over the past few years and you have always taken everything in stride.

You are no longer my baby girl, but my big girl! I wish all the best as you continue to grow and change over the years to come, and just hope that we both survive!

Happy Birthday my big girl, momma loves you!!!

We're Back!!!

2009-06-30T10:42:00.002-05:00

Well we are back from Disney World and we had an awesome time! It was an exhausting trip, but it was so worth it. The only problem now is we are dying to go back, everyone for except maybe Brad. The kiddos did pretty good considering that we were getting up early every morning, it was very hot, and we were on the go most of the day.
We also got to meet tons of characters, including my main man Mickey. It was a great experience getting to see the kids face as they seen all of their favorite characters.
We also had a great time with JoJo. I loved getting to spend that time with her. Dropping her off at the airport Sunday was the hardest thing I've had to do. Carley cried for 45 minutes after we dropped her off. It was heartbreaking!

I have tons of more pictures, but there was no way to get them all on here, so if you would like to see them you can check out my facebook page.

On to other news, yesterday Brad turned 32!!! I want him to know that I love and appreciated everything he does! I hope you had a great Birthday!!!!!!!!!

Finally Here!

2009-06-15T15:08:00.003-05:00

Well the vacation I have been planning for literally a year is finally here. We are going to Walt Disney World YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am just a little excited, can you tell. For those of you who don't know, I love Mickey Mouse! Jacob's nursery was done in Mickey, the original not the baby mickey, I am anal like that. Anyhow, we leave here Thursday to go to Dallas to pick up JoJo(my sister Jamie)from the airport. Then we are going to spend the night in Dallas and our plane leaves Friday morning at 7:30 and we will be back the night of Friday the 26. I think me, Brad, and Jamie are more excited than the kids are! I will definitely update you on our trip when we get back and will post lots of pictures!

Ch Ch Changes!

2009-06-03T16:00:00.002-05:00

Yes, my blog is different! As most of you know I hate to have things the same old way all the time (note all my different hairstyles). I decided this time to not go my usual way and go for something fun. Afterall I do live in a house full of monkeys! Hope you like it.

Swimming Lessons

2009-06-03T08:51:00.002-05:00

Well we attended our first session of swimming lessons on Monday. They spent most of the time just getting the kiddos use to the big pool. They had them hang on to the side and kick and they also took each child and held them and had them practice the swimming motion. They tried to get each child to put their face in the water(you can imagine the reaction from my son!). When we got there we realized Carley's best friend, Taylor was there. Of course the two of them didn't get much accomplished for the constant talking, gotta love girls! Jacob just kinda made himself a wall flower and tried to disappear. He kept telling me he didn't need swimming lessons, they were boring. The fact is he is scared too death and doesn't want to admit it. At the end of the lesson all the kids got to put a life jacket on and have "play time". The pool has a really cool built in slide(kinda what you would see at a water park). I told Jacob to go down the slide that Jessica was at the end to get him(a lifeguard that we go to church with, whose family has become some very dear friends). He went on over, but you could see him shaking with fear. Carley and Taylor both jumped right on, so Jacob finally decided to give it a try. His head never even went under the water, so he was good to go after that. In the meantime, Taylor goes over and jumps right off the diving board without any hesitation, so guess who follows. She climbs onto the board and looks at me and says she scared. I told her she was already there so she might as well jump, and she did. Of course she went under the water, but came right back up. I was amazed! I am sure she would have never done that if Taylor wouldn't have, but nevertheless she jumped! Tonight after church we have Taylor's party at the pool and then swimming lessons again on Friday, so hopefully by the time we leave for Disney they will both be pretty accustom to the water.

On to other news, I couldn't finish my antibiotic because it was making me sick so I called yesterday to tell the doctor and see what he wanted to do. I told him I was still not feeling great, so of course he wanted to see me. He ended up doing a mono test which thankfully came back negative and gave me a penicillin shot to hopefully clear everything up. May I add that thing HURT!!! Anyhow hopefully now I can get better and get on with my summer vacation. Although last night before bed sister said her head hurt (the main symptom my children have when they have strep throat). I gave her some medicine and she is still sleeping at 9:00. I hope and pray she is not sick! If she has to miss Taylor's party I may have to buy her a pony to get over it!

SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-30T08:53:00.002-05:00

Need I say more! I am so glad that we made it through another school year. It is somewhat bittersweet since my baby will now be a first grader, but life does go on. I did miss my students last day of school being out with strep throat AGAIN, but at least I am recovering a lot quicker this time. Baseball also ended for Jacob last night, Hallelujah! I am glad they won 2nd place for the season, but am even happier that we don't have to play today. I love it when my son wins, but am so ready for the break. The kiddos are starting swimming lessons Monday. I am not real sure how that will go. I think sister will do fine, but Jacob on the other hand??? He told me this morning "but you and daddy usually just hold us in the pool". When they tell that child to stick his face in the water, I am sure we are going to show all of our true colors.(Remember the death grip from the beach Becky?) Only time will tell. On to better news, Disney is only 20 days away!!!!!! I am so ready for this trip, I've only been planning for a year(you know the OCD kicked in a long time ago!). We are also in desperate need of a vacation. We missed ours the last 2 years due to moving!

Finally, Easter Pics

2009-05-02T08:13:00.003-05:00

I am ashamed to say, this was my kiddos 1st time to dye eggs!

Notice Gracie hoping for an egg to eat!
Aren't they sweet, sadly it won't last!

Just to let everyone know...

2009-04-17T14:24:00.002-05:00

Brad made it through surgery great and without a problem. He was even cracking us up afterwards coming down off the drugs(I wish I had a video of that). Then they got him up to go to the bathroom. While in the bathroom I had to hold him up when he nearly passed out. I pulled the nurse call button and they came with a wheel chair to get him. He lost all color in his face(even his lips turned white). They got him back to the room and turned him basically on his head to get his blood flow back and when he regained some color, took his blood pressure. Of course it was 80 over 50 and then the longest day ever started. We spent the next 7 hours trying to get his blood pressure back up. The nurse even called the dr trying to get him admitted, but there was not a bed available. So finally at about 8:00 with a blood pressure of 99 over 76, they decided to go ahead and send us home. Keep in mind this was suppose to be day surgery. The dr had told Brad to stay off his feet for 3 days because the swelling was going to be bad. I knew this was going to be a challenge, but never dreamed that I would have to threaten to duct tape him to the bed at 5:00a.m. Tuesday morning. Tuesday was a little better. He only got up a few times and managed not to pick up anything-shocker! Well I took Jacob to his baseball game Tuesday afternoon(which he scored 2 runs!) and my throat was a little scratchy- I figured just allergies, no big deal. Well in the middle of the night I noticed I was sweating and running a fever. I got up at about 6:30 and took my temp and it was 101, which is very high for me. I took Jacob and Carley to school then went straight to the dr. Of course my strep test came back positive. The dr said I had a horrible case of strep with tons of pus pockets in my throat. So after a quick stop by the pharmacy, I went home and went to bed. Now we were a sight to see, Brad hobbling around after surgery and me feeling like death! So to make a long story short, today is Friday and the the first time I have really gotten out of the bed besides running the kids to and from school. I still don't feel great, but feel a lot better than I did. Brad on the other hand went to work today, so that should tell you how he is doing. Please pray that my life gets better! I know that may sound petty, but I am really about to reach my breaking point!

Update!

2009-04-12T15:13:00.002-05:00

Well to update everyone on the recent situation. We went Friday and picked Josh up for his first visit home. On Saturday he wanted to go to his Aunt and Uncle's and see his half brothers, not a good situation. These are the people he went with last time that got him in Cherokee in the first place. I told him no and after an hour of arguing decided to call the home. The director told me to let him go then go back in 1 hour to pick him up. If he didn't come let them know and at 3:00 Sunday afternoon he would be considered a runaway and they would deal with it. I agreed and let him and Josh know that if that was the case me and Brad were through. Well you guessed it. It is after 3:00 on Sunday and he is now a runaway. Me and Brad are finished helping him and no longer consider him a part of our family. I know it sounds harsh, but we can't keep putting time and energy into a kid who don't care. He is now the homes problem and hopefully they can straighten him out. Me and Brad both feel that we did the very best that we could do.

On to other news. Brad's hernia surgery is tomorrow at 11:00. It is suppose to be out patient, but with Brad's blood pressure issues, they told us to pack a bag "just in case", so we will see how that turns out. Please pray that all goes well and that we don't have to stay in the hospital. I am really tired of those at this point. Also hopefully my next post will include some Easter pics of the kiddos!

Living a Crazy Life!

2009-04-04T10:04:00.002-05:00

Does anyone else out there feel like they are running in a constant circle? Just wondering if I am all alone. When I was a stay at home mom, I felt like I was constantly busy with cleaning, bathing, feeding, etc. That I never had a moment to catch my breath. Now that I teach school 8:00 to 4:00 5 days a week, have 2 kiddos in school, 1 kiddo playing baseball, the wife of a very busy preacher, and now live 14 hours from close friends and family, I feel like I am gasping for air. Not to say I don't love my life, but just to question when did things get so hectic! If any of you have advice that would help me sort it all out, I would greatly appreciate it. I know this is not my typical blog entry, but I really need to just vent and take a moment to meditate on this crazy world that i am now living in.

Finally Getting Better!

2009-03-26T19:35:00.003-05:00

After a very long week and a lot of crazy diagnosis, Brad is finally getting back on his feet. They have narrowed the problems down to a blood clot in his arm, asthma, strained muscles in his chest, and STRESS! Who knew. Today he actually went to work for the first time in over a week, and for anyone who knows my workaholic husband knows how hard that is to believe. We thank you all for all the prayers and please don't stop. It is us we are talking about and you know how prone we are to all kind of problems! We love and miss you all!!!

Cut Me Some Slack!

2009-03-22T09:10:00.002-05:00

Well Brad went to preop Monday afternoon. He wasn't feeling real well, but after a stress test and an EKG they finally cleared Brad for surgery. They did say however that they were going to have a cardiologist stand by in the surgery room "just in case" and that they would most likely keep him overnight instead of sending him home that same day. Well Tuesday morning I wake up to Brad throwing up. He had taking some medicine that made him sick. That early evening me and the dr. decided to go ahead and take him to the hospital to get hydrated. After a long night, a chest xray proved pneumonia. So at 2:00a.m. Wednesday morning we were admitted. Wednesday was a horrible day for Brad. His blood pressure at one point was 49 over 40! I don't think he even got out of the bed until Thursday night. Friday the dr. comes and says it sounded like he was getting bronchitis. So they kicked up the antibiotics a bit and started breathing treatments around the clock every 4 hours. Finally by Saturday they said he could go home. He is still not up to speed, but is at least up and talking a bit. I don't think he spoke a word all day Wednesday. Of course his hernia surgery has been cancelled until he is on his feet. He goes in the morning to see the dr. and see what kind of progress he is making. Please keep us in your prayers. Brad always says the devil isn't after you until God has you and this year is proving that true!

If it ain't one thing...

2009-03-16T12:17:00.002-05:00

Well to update everyone on the Josh situation, we have talked to him a few times and he seems to be adjusting well. The house mom says the school has been very impressed at how well he is taking to the school and making friends. He is not real excited about his room mate. To quote Josh, "He talks till about 1:00 in the morning and never shuts up." But that is the only complaint I've heard so far. Just keep him in your prayers and hope for the best in this situation.

On to other news. Brad is having hernia surgery on the 25 of March. He has had this for a few years now, but is hurting to the point that he has trouble standing now. If he would have taken care of this when it happened, he wouldn't be in such pain now, but that is a man for you! He is suppose to go for pre-op today and get all the details of the surgery. Once again keep my family in your in prayers, you know it is always something!

A Very Hard Week!

2009-03-07T17:58:00.002-06:00

I am not even sure that I still have any fans out there that take the time to read my once a month post (sorry I will try to be better),but here is a little update from the past week. As you all know we took on Josh about 2 months ago and things were going great until this past week. Josh called Tuesday night after he was suppose to be at some friends house that we knew and trusted and said he was with J.T., an absolute nightmare of a kid. Not really his fault, his mom is a total crackhead, but that is besides the point. Josh said he wasn't coming home because he was "messed up" and he knew we would kick him out anyway. I told him to get here now or I was calling the police. After some persuasion, he gave in. Sure enough he had been smoking pot with J.T. and said he was ready to give up being a Christian and go back to his old lifestyle. After a long meeting with us, a deacon, and an elder he decided he was wrong and he would not give up.

Well the next day at lunch, he wanted to go see his mom, which is also a crackhead (what's the deal with these parents?) and Brad agreed. Josh told him to pick him back up at 4:00. Well you guessed it, 4:00 no Josh. We got in touch with him and he was with J.T., said he was moving out and couldn't take it anymore. We were so mad we said fine come get your things tonight. Me and Brad at that time felt as though we were through. We went to church and a deacons family came home with us, so we wouldn't be alone when he came by. The more we thought and worried about it, we knew we couldn't give up that easy. We knew that was what everyone else had done to this once upon a time innocent child, and I knew we were better than that. We went with the police found him, once again high, and brought him home.

The next morning we arranged for him to be placed in a Church of Christ children's home about 3 hours from here in Cherokee, TX. We went that day not really telling Josh exactly what was going on. We talked with the counselors and toured the entire place and after a very long talk with a very angry child, he decided to stay. That was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life! It was like leaving my own child down there. I cried that entire day. Josh said he knew we were just dumping him like everybody else had and he knew he would never see us again. Talk about breaking your heart. We know we made the best decision for him, because he needs out of this town with all of his old influences, and needs a chance to have a real life. If he stayed here things would never change and he would never have a chance.

The home there is super nice. They have a game room, weight room, pool, indoor basketball court, and all kinds of activities. He is in a house with a set of house parents and 7 other teenage boys. He gets to call us once a week for 15 minutes, and gets to come home once a month, holidays, and some in the summer. We went today to take him some of his things and got to take him to eat. He says it's OK, but he hates all the strict regulations like no phone, no computer, dressing up for church (no jeans), and the little school. They are super tiny like 120 kids K-12. He is use to 120 kids in his class. It was still super hard to leave him today. We miss him terribly, but know this was his only option.

What a Week!

2009-02-08T13:08:00.002-06:00

Well it all started with my dentist appt. on Monday. I have my very first cavity. I guess I really can't complain since I managed 29 years before I got one. Josh (not sure who that is, see a few posts down) came down with strep throat and bronchitis on Wednesday, which also happened to be mine and Brad's 11th anniversary. He missed school Wed., Thurs., and Fri. and is just now getting back to speed. Thursday me and Brad had a doctor's appt. They took some blood to check my iron levels and to test my thyroid. He said he could tell by looking at me that my iron was a little low. And remember I've been on 2 iron pills a day since Carley was born. He scheduled Brad an appt. with a surgeon to fix a hernia he has had for a while now. Jacob woke up yesterday with a fever of 102. I called our doctor and he was at the local hospital doing rounds, so told us to come up there. They did a strep test and a flu test, both of which came back negative. He finally concluded that the only thing left to be wrong with him is some sort of viral thing. He is still running a fever today and now has added a cough to that about 30 minutes ago! Carley has also developed a croupy cough over the last few hours, so who knows! Just please keep my poor little sickly family in your prayers, we seem to be needing it right now!

A Day in the Life....

2009-02-01T16:38:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that things are still as crazy as ever. Josh is still doing well and we have still managed to steer clear of any major problems. They(Josh, Brad, and people from church) have been working the last couple of weekends to get his bathroom added on, so that seems to be a work in progress. School is still school and Jacob and Carley are still as wild as ever! The weather here has been CRAZY!!! It was near 80 for an entire week, then ice storm on Tuesday and Wednesday with highs in the 20's, and now back to 70. When we moved here someone told us if we didn't like the weather to give it a day or two and it would change, I didn't know they meant literally!!! I hope this finds everyone well and we miss you all terribly!

It's a Boy!!!

2009-01-21T16:37:00.002-06:00

This post is so not what you are thinking. For those of you that know me, we know that ship has sailed! We have on the other hand taken in a 16 year old boy to live with us. His name is Josh Brown. He came from a horrible situation and after many late nights of discussion between me and Brad, we decided to give this a shot. So far it has only been a week, but things are going pretty good. It is definitely a change going from raising a 7 and a 5 year old, to attempting to raise a teenager. He is very clean and respectful at this point and he minds us very well. He actually makes his bed most mornings before school (maybe he could give me some lessons). I hope things continue to work out for his sake. Just keep this work in progress in your prayers!

Just thought I would also mention it has been in the upper 70's the last 2 days and is suppose to reach 80 tomorrow! I know your jealous LOL!!!!

My Chldren!

2009-01-03T20:42:00.002-06:00

Well today Carley got her first set of stiches. She somehow managed to cut her eyelid playing on the swingset. The doctor attempted to steristrip it, but that didn't work and ended up with 2 stiches. A nurse had to wrap her in a sheet and hold her down and mom did really well until the doc. decided it was going to have to be stiches and broke out the needle. At that point I was done, and told Brad he was going to have to take over. I do not do well with shots anyway especially when it is in my childs face! Then Carley screams bloody murder and told the doctor he was killing her. He said he has never had a child to say that to him before. I thought just leave it to mine! Anyhow for those of you who are counting that is stiches in Jacob's right eyebrow and now stiches in Carley's right eyelild(must be something about that right eye) and a broken collarbone. That totals 3 emergency room visits in my 7 1/2 years of being a parent. Not too bad I guess but I did ask Brad how Becky had manage no visits in 5 years with 3 kids! You must have better luck than me sister. Anyhow Happy New Year, and I sure hope that the year manages to get better.

New Year, New You!

2009-01-01T12:27:00.002-06:00

Well for starters I would like to wish everyone a happy 2009! As we begin this new year I would like to reflect on this past year and make some challenges for the new one!

2008

1. celebrated my 10 year anniversary with my honey!

2. watched my baby sis graduate high school

3. watched my big boy finish kindergarten

4. watched my baby girl graduate preschool

5. watched my kiddos fly on a plane for the first time

6. visited Texas for the first time

7. moved 850 miles away from my home and my friends to Texas!

8. started a new life in Texas with just my hubby and kiddos

9. watched my last baby start kindergarten

10. got my first real teaching job

11. watched my baby girl get her ears pierced without even shedding a tear!

12. watched my big boy as he is slowly turning into a little man!

13. watched Brad find his goal in life with a total of 29 baptisms!

2009

My goals for this next year is to live everyday to the fullest. As we all know I am a realist instead of an optimist. I would love to try and improve on that and make the most of everyday God gives me. I want to be a better everything including Christian, wife, mother, and friend

Christmas is finally over!

2008-12-31T12:37:00.003-06:00

Well Christmas has finally came and gone once again! It has definitely been a rough holiday season this year. For starters we made the 15 hour trip to Alabama all in one day, there and back, which is a LONG ride. Thankfully we made it both times with no major catastrophes, and both of my children did exceptionally well in the car! I got to see some much missed friends and hate that I don't get to see them more often. Sorry this post is super short, but I'm in the middle of trying to get things back in order. Hopefully I can fill in some details later.

SORRY!

2008-12-13T15:22:00.002-06:00

Sorry that I've been MIA for so long! It seems like the past month flew by in a whirlwind. To catch up everyone up to speed: Brad has had 20 baptisms, Carley got her ears pierced, me and Brad had a date night for the first time in like 4 years, we have had 1 christmas get together and are preparing for the next! Now to elaborate on all of that! The church is going great. It seems like every other week we have at least 2 baptisms. That just shows me that this is where God really needed us right now. We are definitely looking forward to our Christmas break and hopefully getting to relax for a bit(YEAH RIGHT!!!). Carley begged me one night while Christmas shopping to get her ears pierced. I explained that it would hurt a little, but she still insisted, so off to the mall we headed. She picked out her earrings and jumped in the chair like a big girl. She never cryed a single tear, just flinched a little. I was very impressed knowing the drama that child has been known to cause! Now on to our date. A couple here from church, who also happens to be a lady I teach with, offered to watch Jacob and Carley overnight while me and Brad went out. She said they wanted to do that for us for Christmas since our families are so far away( I am so glad somebody understands that!). We went out to dinner and finished our Christmas shopping, then had lunch before picking the kiddos up that morning. It was a much deserved break. Now if I could only make Brad take a break from church stuff, but we all know the days of miracles have ended! Last night we had our Polar Express Party for the kids at church here last night. It went well. We had hot chocolate and decorated sugar cookies and watched the movie. Everyone wore their PJ's and I think it was a success. Next Saturday is our Christmas open house for the church here. After that is over I will be packing like mad to leave for Alabama. We are hoping to leave early(like 2ish) Monday morning. It should take us about 12-13 hours or so. We are not leaving to come home until the 30. I have made plans to meet up with some much missed friends and hope I can work everyone in. I hope all is going well with everyone and ya'll are getting all prepared for Christmas. Hard to believe it is already that time of year!

Halloween!

2008-11-02T15:26:00.003-06:00

Well I'm finally getting around to posting and letting everyone know what has been going on. This week has been an EXTREMELY busy week! We had 9 baptisms this week!!! That is such a wonderful thing for the church, but sure wears out the preacher and his wife. I had training again all week at work which kept me until 5:00 every night. And Brad had to preach a funeral yesterday. Any wonder why I woke up this morning and couldn't move my neck. Can we say STRESS!!! That extra hour last night needed to be about 5! On other notes the temps here are in the 80's. I can't recall a Nov. with 80 degree weather. The gas prices here have dropped to $1.92 as of yesterday. I hope everyone is having a wonderful fall and getting ready for Thanksgiving. As of now, I think I might cook my first Thanksgiving meal this year for just us. I know we will be invited to go places here, but it may be kinda nice starting our own tradition. If I decide to do that it will be something small like a turkey breast, but I'll let everyone know what I decide!

2008-10-16T17:02:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Jacob's eye appointment. Luckily everything went well. His vision was 20/25 in both eyes. The doctor said that wasn't bad enough to fight with glasses just yet. I know it's coming, but at least we put it off for hopefully another year. In other news, it has finally became fall in Texas. Today was the crispness in the air that we've been waiting on and we finally got some rain yesterday. It was just time time. This weekend is "Boo at the Zoo" in Abilene and we were hoping to go and not have to roast the entire time. Also our family harvest at church is coming up and we were hoping for a bon fire, but have been under a burn ban since June, so hopefully we got enough rain to lift the ban. Hope everyone is doing well and we miss everyone very much! Can't wait to see everyone at Christmas. Brad is actually getting off from December 22 to the 31!!! So plan a date and we will book you in LOL!

A Sad Day!

2008-10-03T18:13:00.002-05:00

Jacob came home from school the other day with a letter from the school nurse saying he had failed his eye exam at school. I always knew this day would come since mine and Brad's entire family is blind as a bat (with the exception of Brandon-LOSER), but I at least hoped it would be later on. We have an appointment in 2 weeks and I hope that there was maybe a mistake, but chances are probably not. I will keep everyone informed on what happens and if we end up with glasses in the 1st grade!

Ways Texas is Different than the Tennessee Valley

2008-09-26T21:12:00.002-05:00

This never happens (2 post in 1 day), but none of my family or friends has been to Texas and everybody ask what it's like here, so here it goes.

1. FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL!!! Everyone here is football crazy even though our Breckenridge Buckeroos aren't that good. They only won 1 game.

2. It is hot here, but it's a different kind of hot. Low humidity and always a breeze blowing.

3. Oil wells everywhere! Even in the parking lot of the elementary school.

4. People here don't complain about gas prices because everyone owns an oil well. MUST BE NICE!

5. No real trees. They have misquite trees which look like a big bush to me.

6. FLAT! It seems like you can see forever, which is pretty neat.

7. Windmills. I've never seen a real windmill until I came to Texas.

I guess this has been a good experience for us, and I am glad we decided to come here.

2008-09-26T20:28:00.002-05:00

Well I've made it through another week. This week is homecoming and today all 3 elementary schools were bused to the high school for a pep rally on the football field. The actual game is tomorrow night and tomorrow morning they are having a parade. I still can't believe how over the top they go for football around here. Both the kiddos are doing good in school and luckily we've had no more incidents. I am still anticipating fall weather here. The highs today were still in the upper 80's and I can't even remember the last time we had rain. I think this will be the first homesick feeling I have, being away from the wonderful falls in Alabama and Tennessee. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year, but I'm afraid I'm going to miss it here. We do have some pecan trees in the yard here, so at least they should be pretty. I've already put out my scarecrow and mums, so that should at least make it a little better. Things are still going good with the church and we are working on planning a family harvest. I hope all is going well with everyone and I hope to get to see everyone soon!

A BIG Week

2008-09-18T18:56:00.003-05:00

Well it has definitely been a busy week. Starting on Monday, Brad went to the Dallas Cowboys football game with a member from church. That was his first ever big football game, so I know he was excited.

On Tuesday, Carley lost her first tooth.

She was super excited for her first visit from the tooth fairy.

So far everything is going good with work except for me being worn out by the time I get home, but I'll adjust soon. Hope everyone is having a great week!

One Week Down!

2008-09-13T07:47:00.002-05:00

Well I've have officially worked at the school for a week, and so far everything has went great. The hours work extremely well for us. I only live about 3 minutes from the school, and I leave every morning with the kiddos and usually pick them up from Brad at church by 4:00. All we did this week was testing for the new program. Next week we start our training with the trainer and we start the kids on Tuesday. It seems to be a really great program. It is called "Read Right" and seems to have phenomenal results. It is designed to make everyone a better reader including adults. We will be going through the program ourselves in order to teach it effectively.

FYI- We have had tons of e-mails and phone calls concerning Ike. So far we seem to be good. We sit about 100 miles west of Dallas and if Ike keeps the same path, it should miss us, even though we could really use the rain. The local weather this morning said we are suppose to get some rain today from the west, but said Ike looked like it was going to be too far east. I guess we will just wait and see. Thank you all so much for your concern and we love and miss you all so much!

Spoke Too Soon!

2008-09-04T13:54:00.002-05:00

Well I blogged yesterday about how great the day was and I was loving being at home. When I got to school to pick Carley up her teacher motioned for me to come there. I thought great what has she done now. Well it turns out she hit a little girl in the mouth. The entire way home I was thinking of things to make her do to realize the mistake she had made. When we got home, I ask her exactly what happened. She told me on the playground a little girl was pulling on her shirt and Carley had ask her to stop and the little girl kept on, so Carley hit her in the mouth. I ask Carley if the girl had to change her color like she did and Carley said no, but back in the classroom she had to change her color for messing with someone else. At that point I didn't see the need to punish Carley any further since she was defending herself. I simply explained from now on to tell her teacher and no more hitting. School is such a tough place for corrective parenting. You don't want your child to hit and be a bully, but at the same time you want the other children to leave them alone. I will take any advice on this matter that anybody has. Jacob has managed to make it all the way through kindergarten without ever being in trouble and Carley only made it 1 week. Who says girls are easier?
On to other news, the principal called today and offered me that job. I was thinking yesterday on turning it down, but I've prayed that God would show me what he wants me to do so I'm assuming this is it. It really is hard to pass up since I would have all the teacher retirement, insurance, and days off. I guess this is his way of saying I've relaxed enough. I start on Monday with the children not starting until Sept. 15. I will be the reading teacher working with 5 students every period for a total of 35 a day. Tomorrow me and Brad are going to Abilene for our last day together to eat somewhere nice and shop for fall clothes.

A Good Day!

2008-09-03T14:22:00.002-05:00

I am definitely adjusting well to the fact that both kiddos are in school all day. Yesterday I went with Brad to Witchita Falls(about 2 hours away) to visit one of our members in the hospital there. After our visit we had lunch at Red Lobster(Brad's fav.) and went to the mall and found Carley the cutest pair of boots at Children's Place. Today after I took the kids to school, I came home and cleaned my house and even got my floors mopped. I can definitely get used to this. I like the fact that I get time to just do whatever all by myself. We will see if this last.

Everyone Survived!

2008-08-30T07:39:00.002-05:00

Well the first week of school has come and gone and everyone has made it through. Jacob is still acting a bit shy, but he has always been that way until he really learns his environment. I keep asking him if he has any new friends and he keeps telling me no, but last night we went to the football game and this little girl comes up and drags Jacob away and he is running around with her. When he gets back I asked him who that was and he shyly says "Rachel", so I guess he adapting just fine. Carley, as we all know, is fine. She has never met a stranger a day in her life (she definitely gets that from Daddy). When I ask her about friends she says "Timothy, but I don't know if it is a boy or a girl; Lucas who is in my class; and Sunshine(yes Sunshine) who is in another class and is a boy". Now coming from Carley I don't know how much is true, but that is just what she has said. I asked her last night if there were any girls in her class and she said yes and left it at that. I am noticing a dangerous trend here that I hope we get over before 13!
As for the football game, I always knew Texas was big on football, but I never imagined this. I am from Alabama and I thought I had seen it all when it comes to "football crazy", but I was wrong. First of all the school here in Breckenridge is a 3A school and the football stadium is the nicest one I have ever seen. Now keep in mind I was in the band and have seen some awesome stadiums including Hoover, AL and Vestavia Hills, AL, but this beat all I had ever seen. The football field is AstroTurf. I have never seen a high school with an AstroTurf field. They have this giant inflatable green helmet that blows up for the football team to run through when coming onto the field. Our neighbor across the street told Brad one day last week if he didn't plan an going to the football games, he might as well look for another job. I thought she was joking, but now I'm not so sure.
The Principal from South called me in yesterday for an interview for that aids job. he said he wasn't going to interview me, but had such a response that he was going to interview everyone and pick 2. I guess the interview went OK, but I told Brad I don't have a lot of confidence that I'll get it. The first thing he ask is "Where are you from" referring to my accent. I said Alabama and thought great he's probably thinking how can she teach reading with that southern draw. They speak southern here, but it is a little different. He also ask do you like reading? Now we all know the answer to that, but I told him I do like reading self help parenting and marriage books but don't really read any fiction. We will see. I'm not going to be heartbroken if I don't get it, I'll just sub some. Part of me had rather sub, but the insurance part would be really nice. I told brad yesterday I was going to let God decide what he felt was best for me. I have faith that it will work out for the best.

2008-08-27T08:33:00.002-05:00

I wanted to add a picture of Brad and the kiddos. I took one the first day of school, but it somehow got deleted, so here is one from today.

We Made It!

2008-08-26T08:23:00.003-05:00

The first day of school went GREAT! Jacob was a little worried when we got there, but he did fine. Carley, of course, did fine. She walked right in with a big smile on her face and sit right down. Today when I took them she let go of my hand and went and sat in her seat and never looked back. Today is going to be a little strange for me being here by myself and it being so quite, but I may get use to it.

Ready..Set...

2008-08-22T09:00:00.002-05:00

Well we went to Jacob and Carley's school last night for "meet the teacher" night and everything went great, even though I did manage to get a little teary eyed (what in the world will Monday be like). Both of their teachers seem wonderful. They are both fairly young and seem to be great with children. As for the school I was extremely impressed. They are a title 1 school which basically means they get more money to work with. Every morning the kids meet at 8:00 in the lunchroom for a school wide breakfast which the school provides. On Monday the principal is having breakfast for all the parents, she called it her boo hoo session. They have a ton of parent activities through the year including a cookout, ice cream supper, and tons of other things. I had decided yesterday that I would turn in an application for subbing today and got a phone call last night saying that the principal at South Elementary (grades4-6) wanted to speak to me about a teachers aid position, so we will see what happens. I wasn't planning on working full time, but it would be extremely hard to pass up the insurance and retirement since Brad doesn't get any. I have never met him, but he just moved here and is a member of the church and got my name from someone he knows. Me and Brad decided last night to start a yearly tradition of taking the kids to the first day of school and then spending the day together kid free (what in the world will that be like). I will keep you posted and have some pictures of the kiddos first day.

1 Week to Go!

2008-08-18T08:12:00.002-05:00

Well it is hard to believe, but my kiddos will start school next Monday! They are both ready to go. They each got a postcard from their new teacher Sat. and then we get to meet them on Thursday night. I've talked to people at church and both of their teachers seem to be really good. (The advantage of living in a small town!) As for me I have no idea what I'll be doing that first week. I'm sure I'll be bored out of my mind. I've thought about maybe substituting some just to maybe get out of the house, but I don't know. I don't want to go back to work right now just because I want that flexibility of being off with the kids. Who knows!!! I'll definitely keep you posted on that. Shoe tying is going GREAT!! They are both doing wonderful and just need to keep practicing in order to get it tighter. I hope everyone is doing well, as for me I'm getting Fall Fever. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year and this weekend has been rainy and cooler, so it makes me very ready for fall!

2008-08-14T08:31:00.002-05:00

Well I feel as though I have accomplished a lot so far this week. I finally got the chance to sit down and go through pictures for my scrapbook and finished about 10 pages or so (yeah, I'm that far behind!). I am now working on the kiddos each a mini album (6x6 size) with some of the black and whites that I have. This weekend is our tax free weekend, so I'm planning to go to the vanity fair outlet in Mineral Wells tomorrow. I need to try to find some summer stuff for school since mine have just about ruined everything they already have. Hopefully I can find some cute stuff there CHEAP since we are still paying medical bills from Brad's surgery. Me and Brad have been working with the kids on teaching them to tie their shoes. They are getting there slowly. Note to parents- Shoe tying has become my new hardest thing to do as a parent. Up until now it was potty training, but shoe tying has definitely surpassed that.

Big Weekend!

2008-08-10T14:14:00.002-05:00

Well we had a very busy weekend. Friday was Jacob's birthday and we let him pick what he wanted to do. First we went to IHOP to eat. Jacob loves pancakes, so he has decided that is his favorite restaurant. Then we went to see the movie Space Chimps, which was OK. It always cost us more for snacks than for tickets, but since it is a special occassion we have to at least spring for popcorn. After that Jacob wanted to go to Wal-Mart to spend his birthday money. We started out in the toy section and the first thing he picked out was a 97 cent car, that is definitely my child! After about 30 minutes he had managed to spend all his money and we came home to watch a movie and eat pizza with popcorn and M&M's for dessert(for anyone who has not tried that combo it is very good, the perfect combo of salty and sweet!!) Overall we had a wonderful day.

As for the canoe trip on Saturday. I guess it went OK for our first time as we managed to not turn the canoe over and stay afloat. There was an incident where we had all stoped to rest and could hear this horrible screching sound. One of our members looked to see a rattlesnake eating a rabbit!!! Now we all know how I feel about snakes. I jumped in the canoe and told Brad if he was coming he had better get in and we were down the river before I could see anything. Luckily I managed to not see a snake, but I tried to not look too hard. We started on the river at about 9:15 and finished at about 4:00. I have never been so exhausted in all my life. When we got to the end I didn't think I would have the strengh to walk from the boat to the truck. We came home ate supper and went to bed by 8:30. I guess we have somewhat recovered except Brad's neck and knees are sunburned and my tailbone is so sore I can barely sit. It was an experience we will not soon forget!

Almost There!

2008-08-07T08:51:00.002-05:00

Well tomorrow is the big day, Jacob turns 7. It is so hard to believe that he has been in this world for 7 years! It seems like a lifetime ago that he was a baby (Becky and Lisa enjoy your girls, they'll be grown before you know it!). It is also hard to believe that I am the parent of a 7 year old-that sounds soooo old! I can say that I am pretty pleased with the way Jacob is turning into such a big boy. He is so not interested in "baby" things anymore and loves to do "big boy stuff". For his birthday tomorrow, he wants to go see the movie Space Chimps and then wants to go eat at IHOP (yes I know-strange child). Then he gets to go spend his birthday money from his grandparents. Last night after church he ask me when would he get to "blow" his birthday money. I will keep you informed on our big weekend coming up and let you know if I survived it!

Monday Monday

2008-08-04T10:27:00.002-05:00

Well today is a very typical Monday in the Tate household. I usually start Mondays by catching up on email from the weekend then get started on laundry and cleaning. I have successfully accomplished the email, but haven't quite thought about the other yet. We spent all day Friday in Abilene getting school supplies and school clothes- FUN! I spent $85 on school supplies for Jacob and Carley and am still lacking some special pencils that Jacob needs. That also doesn't include backpacks or lunchboxes which we still have from last year- talk about CRAZY! I was able to find them some clothes this weekend which was a total shocker, especially for Carley since the style is made for those mothers training their children to be street walkers!

Yesterday at church we had a good day. There was a 11 year old girl baptized yesterday which makes 2 baptisms in just a few weeks. That helps Brad so much to feel that he is helping to make a difference in this world we are in. We also got roped into helping with the youth canoe trip Saturday. I have never been canoeing not because I'm scared of water, but scared of what is in it!! We have a babysitter for the kids because we are leaving the church at 7:30 and won't be back until 4:00. The river trail we are taking is 10 miles and I figured that would be too tiring for them. Plus I can't look out for them and worry about the snakes at the same time. Please pray that I do not see a snake and end up dead from a heart attack! I will keep you posted on that. Hope you all have a wonderful week and try to enjoy these last few weeks of summer!

Much Better Days

2008-07-31T10:07:00.002-05:00

The last 2 days have been a lot better around the Tate household. Yesterday the kids went swimming at a ladies house a few houses down that goes to church with us. She keeps her 2 grandkids(1 boy and 1 girl) and invited Jacob and Carley over to swim in their kiddy pool for about 2 hours. That worked out perfect! The kids wore themselves out enough that by the time they got home, they didn't have the energy to fight with each other. Today me and Brad have a lunch date with a couple that has visited the church a few times so we can hopefully get to know them better. While we are gone the kiddos are going to Mr. Jim's with one of the teenagers from the youth group. Mr. Jim's is an awesome place here in town. It is a buffet pizza place that has an indoor gym for the kids to play. Everyone needs a Mr. Jim's! It has still been extremely hot here the last few days( I guess I spoke too soon in the first post). Tuesday night we were watching the news at 10:00 and the temperature was 98 degrees. I can't say I've ever seen it 98 degrees at 10:00 at night, but anyhow it is Texas so I have been expecting it. Tomorrow Brad is off, so we are going to Abilene to shop for school supplies-FUN! Wish me luck since this is the first year I will be buying supplies for 2. It is hard to believe time is going so fast!

Ready for school!

2008-07-29T13:03:00.002-05:00

School starts here in 4 weeks and I am very ready! Not to wish my kiddos childhood away, but they are extremely board with the summer and driving me crazy. I just spent an hour cleaning a broken lightbulb up out of Jacob's room. He and Carley decided to play star wars and hit one of the lightbulbs in the ceiling fan with a light saber. We all know how much glass can come out of a little lightbulb. Thank goodness for my kirby vacuum that I felt was way too expensive 10 years ago! It has been too hot the last couple of days to play outside(yesterday was 109), so we are getting to the bare wire. If anyone has any ideas on keeping us sane I am very open to suggestions. We have a mall here with a really good play area but it is 50 miles away!

Birthday Party

2008-07-26T19:07:00.005-05:00

Well we had the party today and everything went great. I'm so glad it is over as I'm sure all of you other parents can relate. It was nothing special, but the kids had a great time. Now we can prepare for our next big event, which at the time being is Jacob's actual birthday. I usually let the kids pick out what they want to do and make that day all about them. Right now Jacob is planning to see Space Chimps, but that is always apt to change. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

2008-07-25T21:51:00.002-05:00

Well I made the cake today. It turned out pretty well I thought for it to be my 1st time using fondant. I will post some pictures of it on Monday along with pictures of the kids party. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Life in Texas

2008-07-23T07:57:00.002-05:00

Well the 1st thing that everybody ask me is "Is it hot in Texas?" Well the temperature so far stays around 100 degrees, but there is hardly any humidity and there is always a breeze blowing. It really doesn't seem that hot here like it does back home. The church here has been great so far. We have been here about 6 weeks and Brad has baptized 1 person and had 1 person be restored. The people have been great and we are really liking living in a small town. We have been pretty busy since we got here. We had our VBS last week and it went really well, but we were super busy getting everything ready. I'm having the kids a combined birthday party on Saturday. They both wanted Kung Fu Panda, so it was easier to combine and do 1 party instead of 2 separate parties. I'm attempting to make the cake, which should be interesting. I've made their cakes for the last 2 years, but have always used the shaped pan and just piped on the icing. This time I'm making a sheet cake and covering it with fondant and painting it. I just hope it turns out, if not we will be using plan B, cupcakes. I'll keep you updated on the cake situation.

HELLO!!!

2008-07-22T16:55:00.000-05:00

Well with so many people in so many different parts of the country, I thought this would be the best way to keep in touch with everyone. Be patient with me for a few weeks until I can get the hang of blogging. I hope you all enjoy getting to glimpse into a little part of our crazy lives.