Can't sleep...

Well, it is a little after midnight, and I'm wide awake!  My husband is out of town, and the kids and I are spending the next couple of days at my parents house.  P and LH are sleeping soundly, as is the rest of the household, I presume.  

Today, after I picked P up from school, I realized that he had a rash from head to toe!  Well, let me clarify, I didn't notice it right away, as he had on long pants and a long sleeved shirt. However, as we pulled into our driveway, he calmly said "Mom, I didn't want you to worry, so I waited until we got home..."  Never a calming statement!  He then proceeded to tell me that he had noticed the rash soon after he had arrived at school that morning...great. 

 Let me just say, when you have a child with several life threatening food allergies, this type of thing can send one into a mild panic (especially when one already suffers from anxiety, and especially, when ones husband is out of town!).  I took one glance at the rash, and put my little minivan right into reverse, calling the doctor to let him know that we were on our way!  I would like to add, that at this point I was approximately 35-40 min away from the Dr.'s office, while if we had gone straight there from school, it would have been a 10-15 min drive, but, I digress.  I remained calm, realizing that since he had had the rash ALL DAY, that he obviously was not having an anaphalactic  reaction or anything like that.  

We made it to Dr. Savy's office, where my 3 year old (not the patient) immediately asked the Dr "Is my bubby going to be ok?"  When Dr. Savy gently put her 3 year old worries to rest, she then said "Ok, well can I have a sucker?"  Oh to live in that sweet world!

After glancing at the rash, checking the lungs etc, the Dr. concluded that it must be some sort of virus, although there was no fever, no swollen throat etc.  He gave me a couple of prescriptions, along with a hug (such a sweet Dr), and sent me on my way.  I have been relatively satisfied with this diagnosis, until now!  Let's just say that currently, I am strongly resisting the urge to google, and self diagnos!  I am a master of the google self diagnosis!  A talent probably passed along from my mom...or my dad!  A gift that keeps on giving :)

I have decided that I will tell my little "anxiety part", as I so fondly refer to it, that I am not going to work myself up tonight, and that although, I am keenly aware of it's presence, it will have to be set aside for now.  That's years of good therapy right there people!  

However, I don't know that I will be able to convince this mama's heart to leave her little boys side, and go to bed anytime soon :)  Praying that all is well with my sweet, precious, hilarious, tender-hearted, adorable little boy!  I love you P!  

- Mama 

Lord and Savior???

This morning in our Sunday School class we began to study the book of Hebrews. As we were discussing the first chapter, and came to verse 3 (you can tell we got really far) it reads: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." The last part of this verse describes Jesus as both Savior (provided purification for sins) and Lord (he sat at the right hand of the Majesty of heaven).

It isn't always easy to delve into scripture and understand fully what it might be saying. It is also SO NORMAL to read our Bibles and not fully grasp everything that we read, both of which are ok (in my opinion). However, there are times when we hear something in a new way, or gain new insight, or just get a great reminder about things we already know to be true.

This morning, as we were reading, I was again reminded, that it is so easy to know and love the Jesus that is our Savior. It is not always as easy to know or to want the Jesus that is Lord. We are glad to cling to the Jesus that loves us when we mess up, that is there to forgive. It is not always our desire to cling to the Jesus, who is to be our Lord. For Jesus to truly be Lord, we are to submit our will/plans to His. We are to allow Him to guide our life! I am the first to admit...not always so easy!

I would challenge us all to think about the question: "Is Jesus my Savior and my Lord?" Will my/your story be a human one, or a divine one?

GO BLUE!!!

Well...a great game with a great outcome for the Big 10!!! I didn't know if we would pull it off, but how exciting that we did! Tonight before bed, Palmer said "Boy, I don't know how they won that game" and I just simply reminded him that it's because we are the champions of the west :)! He said "Well, that IS true Mom".

A funny little story...Palmer started out watching the game w/ "the girls" (our neighbors), who happen to be big Notre Dame fans. Well, just moments after ND scored the first touch down, I noticed P walking up our driveway, head held low...I figured that might happen. When he walked in he said "I want to watch this game w/ people who are going to cheer for Michigan"! We had a little chat about good sportsmanship, and that it's about having fun (sort of), and then we called cousin Logan, a huge U of M fan at the ripe old age of 2! Let me tell you, he did not disappoint! His mommy said he was completely decked out in his U of M gear, watching the game, with a milkshake in hand...so adorable!

It's been a great fall day! Now, we are just waiting to see if the SEC half of this family can pull off a win. Go Orange!

A lifetime of memories

Yesterday, I got to hang out with one of my oldest and dearest friends. Anna and I met the summer before I began 2nd grade. My family had just moved into the neighborhood, and I noticed that she and her sister were out in their front yard playing. My mom could tell that I was really wanting to meet them, so she suggested that I take our dog, Duke, for a walk around the block. Luckily they loved my dog, which opened the door to a lifetime of friendship :)

We have since celebrated many a birthday together, have played hours upon hours of Barbies together, have seen a few boyfriends come and go together, have been 2 of the most loyal Duran Duran fans, have survived high school and college together, stood up as each others maid of honor in our weddings, have been with each other through the death of a parent, buried a childhood friend together, been at the hospital with each other through the birth of 5 children ( I even cut the cord at the birth of her 3rd daughter), and continue to share life together.

Unfortunately, these days, life is a little crazy, so we don't get to hang out as much as we would like too....but today, we were able to spend the day together, and it was so much fun! We had the kids ,that were'nt in school, with us, so we went to lunch and spent the day talking while the girls played. The girls were so cute, and it is so fun to see them playing, likewe used to do "back in the day" Thanks for a wonderful day Anna and Gabriella! What a blessing to have friends like you! Love ya!

Total sweetness...

Almost every night, after we pray, we sing two songs: "Jesus, Let Us Come To Know You" and "In Your Presence". It is such a joy to hear their little voices as they sing the words. It is my prayer that our family will do our best to truly live out those words...often, easier said than done. Tonight, I just listend as they sang....priceless. After we were finished, LH began to sing "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands". She literally went through each person on both sides of the family (so sweet). When she was finished, not sure if she would have any idea, I asked her "Who has the whole world in His hands?" In the most precious little voice she said "God, Mommy!" and she then added "He made me too!" What TOTAL SWEETNESS!!! Thank you Lord, for this blessing today!

I love you my sweet children.....NO MATTER WHAT!!! Just like your Savior! May you always desire to know Him and dwell in His prescence!

Love,

Mommy

A weekend fit for a "King"

This past weekend, we went to Memphis to visit some of Randy's family for the holiday weekend. Friday evening we were able to spend time with his Aunt, Uncle and cousins, before they headed out to the lake! I was so bummed that I forgot to bring my camera to their house...sad face! We absolutely adore Uncle Jerry, Aunt Carol and their sweet family! They are some of the most peaceful, compassionate and godly people we know! We had an "old time" Memphis BBQ, and enjoyed a great evening together!



Saturday, we had a great time doing the "touristy" thing! We have obviously been to Memphis a lot throughout the years, but we usually don't "hit the town". I thought it would be fun to take the kids to the Peabody, and let them watch the DUCKS!!! So, the ducks it was....

AND THEN...

OH, YES WE DID...

I mean, come on....how could we not make a visit to the "King"?
So, we didn't actually tour the house, or the museum on this trip, but we did do a quick drive by of Graceland!

As we were driving away my 3 year old actually said, "there's Elvis Mommy"
Hmmm?

Saturday evening, we had the chance to meet some new friends over at Grans house! Julia made a WONDERFUL meal, and we had a wonderful evening getting to know some of her family.

This is a tree in Gran's yard that tried to eat Palmers football! If you look closely up in the top of the tree, you will see it!

Several hours were spent trying to retrieve this ball. In the process, 2 other balls got stuck up there, but eventually...

The ball was rescued!
Julias grandson, Matt, came to the rescue!

Palmer was so relieved and thankful :)

Not only is it just that time of year, where we love to CONSTANTLY toss the football, but P has his first football game this Sunday!

We went to church Sunday morning, and got to see the new Highland building...beautiful, and all the lovely people that fill it! It was wonderful to worship there Sunday morning, and to see some folks we rarely get a chance to visit with.

We had such a great and fun filled weekend visiting with Gran and Julia, and we thank them for their warmth and hospitality!

We left them after lunch on Sunday, and headed to Nashvegas to see the rest of the family.

On our way in, we did a drive by of the old homestead...

This is a picture of the first house we ever purchased...it seems like a lifetime ago!
We didn't get a great shot, because we already looked a little crazy, stopping in the middle of the road to take a picture of someones house!

We finally got to Granna and Poppers house, were we met up with all the cousins!!!

It is always an adventure trying to get a snapshop of these 4 little sweeties!

This is the latest version of what we usually come up with...

It totally cracks me up!

It looks like Bennett is trying to explain this to Charlie.

He's saying "Come on buddy, you know how this goes..."

Randy, Ashley, Travis

Uncle Ash & Aunt Mereby

Uncle Trav & Aunt Kell-Kell

I know it's hard to tell in these pics, but both of those beautiful ladies are due to have babies in the next 6-8 weeks!!!

More cousins :)

It was SUCH A BEAUTIFUL EVENING that Grana and Popper fired up the 4-wheeler and took the kids on a "quilt ride"! Ha!

Popper, preparing for take off

Grana, with all the grandbabies!

It is pretty much a small miracle that I got this shot of Charlie, because he was actually screaming the whole time.....bless.

And they were off...

They traveled all over the yard, and down to the creek!

As Aunt Kelly said, on her blog, it was a great kick-off to the fall season.

It was a great Labor Day weekend, and we are thankful for a safe and fun-filled trip!

We are now safe and sound back in the homeland of Michigan, and ready for a great fall week!

Baby Shower!!!

This past weekend I hosted a baby shower for my sweet friend Mary! I met Mary about 11 years ago, when she was just a "youngin" in our Youth Group! Since that time we have always had such a special relationship. Not only was she in our Youth Group at church, but she also lived in the dorm, as a college student, during the time my husband and I served as "dorm parents"! We also had the honor and priveledge of standing up with her and Steve in their wedding! She was one of the first to know when I found out I was pregnant with Palmer, and I was 7 months preggo with Lainey Hope in her wedding! God has blessed us with such special memories, and I am so thankful that He is allowing us to add this special time to our book of memories!

Me and Mary

Mary and Annie

Annie was Mary's college roomate, and another special gal that lived in the dorm while we were dorm parents at Rochester College.

The yummies!

This was the first time I have done cupcakes at a shower. I usually do cakes for special occassions, but decided to venture out this time. We have THE BEST bakery in our town...seriously, it is simply delightful...and they did not disappoint :)

Baby bottles filled with none other than sweet tea!

I may live in the north, but I am a southern girl at heart :)

I cut these out on my cricut machine, that I use for scrapbooking. The little prints are also from the cricut. You can replace the blade with a marker, and "wala", you have an entirely different look! I would have loved to do monograms, but Mary and Steve are waiting until their little bundle arrives to name him!

Love Hydrangeas!

Just added coffee beans to a Mason Jar, and stuck the hydrangeas in.

Sweet Mary -

It was such an honor to share such a joyful occassion with you! You are going to be a wonderful Mommy, and I know you and Steve will do your best to raise a little boy who will loves Jesus with all of his heart! My prayers and love are always with you my sweet friend.

I can't wait to meet your sweet little bundle of joy!