Saturday, April 26, 2008

okay, I'm slacking

but it's been a hard two weeks...sort of. Let's just say that with everything that has happened this week, I still have a peace that only comes from knowing that my God has everything in his hands.
Two big things happened these last two weeks that made me a little stressed.
#1 - I have to get a job. The job I currently have (Pampered Chef) is not working for me. Or, I'm not working hard enough at it. It's just getting a lot harder to make money at it and, frankly, I need more than I can put into it right now. So...I'm looking for something I can do in the evenings after my hubby gets home that will bring in some more money and not tie up the computer (since he still has work to do when he gets home). I've applied to Wal-Mart...not great for a college graduate with a teaching license, I know...but I'm open to options from you. Any ideas?
#2 - we have to move. I won't go into details in this public forum, but we need to move by the end of May. We are looking and praying for the right place. I am NOT looking forward to packing up everything and going through the moving process again, but this is what has to be done.

So...that's basically what has happened the last couple of weeks...just in case you were wondering.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

I am

Saw this on Jamie's blog and thought it was a great post. I'm all about stealing good ideas! :)

i am: a mom and wife
i think: constantly
i know: that "this too shall pass"
i want: to have it all
i have: security in my faith
i wish: that I had more time with my husband
i hate: disrespect
i miss: my family in Oklahoma and my best friend in Korea
i fear: leaving my comfort zone
i feel: emotional
i hear: songs in my head all day long
i smell: tater tots
i crave: affection and meaningful conversation
i search: for God's purpose for my life
i wonder: why other people have it better than I do
i regret: letting my past interfere with my present
i love: my son's cuddles and my daughter's laugh
i ache: for a better marriage
i care: about other people's happiness
i always: procrastinate
i am not: a Tennessean!
i believe: my children are the most beautiful kids on earth
i dance: with my kids at least once a week
i sing: not as often as I want to
i cry: over many things, some silly, some not
i don’t always: like my life
i fight: to keep my emotions semi-stable
i write: to get my feelings out
i win: at nothing
i lose: my mind constantly
i never: get to go grocery shopping
i confuse: my son's name with my brother's all the time (and they're not even close to the same!)
i listen: to silence whenever I can.
i can usually be found: at home
i am scared: I will lose myself completely
i need: security
i am happy about: losing weight.

Friday, April 18, 2008

The shirt says it all...




If you know Aaliyah, then you definitely understand the shirt!

My baby's growing up

Kyler went to his first Nashville Sounds baseball game with daddy on Wed. :( He was so excited and I really wanted to be there, too, but we had agreed that this was a daddy/son kind of thing and I'll get to go to the night and weekend games. They didn't take the camera, but I did get some pics before they left.

Kyler getting his very first baseball glove.








Here are a couple before daddy came home to take him to the game.







You should have seen everything he came home with! He had a picture, pennant, hat and his glove all signed by Ozzie! He also kept going on about how he didn't have fun because a girl beat him to home plate when he got to run the bases after the game. All in all, I think they had a good time and are looking forward to the other day games this season.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Hot Topics...

okay...so it's been a while. Sorry. I have had several blog-like thoughts running through my head the last week and, frankly, I've just been too lazy to write them out. A couple of hot topics for this week.

I was listening to this show on the radio last night on my way home from a meeting at church. They were talking about Oprah's "A New Earth" video conference class thing. OMG!!! They played a clip of Oprah talking about how "all paths lead to the same god" and whatever works for you is "your path to whoever you call god." She went on to say that there was no way for there to be only one way into heaven; that it was just impossible to have only one way. That got me thinking about how I would share my faith with someone like this. Someone as powerful and intellegent as Oprah would surely have done more research on the topic of Christianity. How do you convince someone that there truly is only one way? If they believe with all their heart that they are right and you are closed minded, what do you say? You can't just say "here in the Bible it says..." because they probably think that the Bible is just "our" religious book and it's just one of the ways to believe. It comes down to really having to prove that the Bible is true and not "just a religious book." How would you do that?

Another hot topic right now that I really can't get out of my head is the raid on the polygamist camp in TX. They sent some of the women back to the compound with out their kids and now the women are going to court to try and get their kids back. This is such a touchy and delicate matter. On one hand, how do you dare take these kids away from their mothers in such large numbers and put them in a strange place where they have never been? On the other hand, you can't send them back to a possibly abusive home where the mothers know what is going on. My heart goes out to the mothers and the children. But even more so, my heart aches to know that these men, women, and children don't know anything about the world outside their little town in TX. They don't know what it's like to meet kids from different backgrounds or play with kids of a different race or religion. They don't have the freedom to question their religion or even choose who they marry or how many kids to have. The mothers are mostly victims, too. They were married very young and started having children as teenagers. They don't know what it's like to have a husband who is focused only on her and their children together.

more hot topics coming soon.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Trip to Oklahoma

On Thursday, Aaliyah and I packed up with mom and dad and headed out for Oklahoma to help my Grandma Theda move. She has lived in her house for 56 years and, understandably, it was hard to pack up and move to an apartment in an independent living home, but she seemed excited once she saw all her furniture and pictures in place. We wouldn't let her really come in until we had it looking like "home." This trip was also an opportunity for Aaliyah to meet her Great Grandmother (or Great Granny as Grandma kept saying) for the first time and for me to see my cousin who I haven't seen in 8 1/2 years.

Here is Aaliyah meeting Great Granny for the first time...


...actually, we had been there a while, but Aaliyah finally warmed up to her enough to sit in her lap.


Just for comparison...here's Kyler the first time he met Great Granny (at the same age)


Grandma keeping warm the day of the move (it was a bit chilly that morning). Can you believe she's 82??!!


Aaliyah helping pack up some boxes.


On Sunday, we went to my uncle's house to meet up with the other side of the family and have lunch together.


My cousin Deb (the one I haven't seen in 8 1/2 years).


My cousin Chasie and her boyfriend (don't kill me Chasie, it's the only pic I got!)


Chasie's son Chase. He's so much fun to tickle and chase around the yard!


Chasie's brother Rory...


...and their dad, my uncle Darrel.


After lunch we went outside to play some and burn off that yummy lasagna.












And the others stayed inside

Grandma Carter


Grandpa Carter


"Grandma" Sharon (Grandma Theda's best friend)


Aaliyah decided to play a little, then snuggle a little.





All in all, it was a good, productive trip. We were all exhausted, but glad the move went smoothly. I was happy to get to see family again b/c it only happens maybe once a year. In fact, I haven't been to Oklahoma since Kyler was 13 months old. That's pretty sad. Maybe I'll be able to make a few more trips now that the kids are getting older and I'm at home. We'll see.

Through the eyes of a 3 year old

Kyler decided that he wanted to play photographer so he asked to use the camera. I set it and let him go to town. Here are some of the pictures he took.




















I may have a budding photographer on my hands!