The Sickness Continues...

Well, I had to take David to the doctor today. He has been rather puny for the past couple of days. He has had a low-grade fever, has only wanted to lay on the couch, and has not wanted to eat anything. I had debated on whether or not to take him to the doctor since he didn't have any real specific symptoms, but I decided to take him today; and he has strept throat. They did test him for the flu and it was negative, so that was good. He got one really big shot for the strept and won't have to take oral antibiotics, so hopefully he will be well in a few days.

When I told David that I was going to take him to the doctor, he looked at me and said, "Mommy, I feel so bad that I don't even want a lollipop." Isn't that just pitiful, he didn't even want the lollipop they give the kids when they leave the doctor. However, he did change his mind when we were leaving, and he enjoyed his green lollipop!

Please pray that the rest of my family stays well, and that once David gets over this we will all stay well for a really long time!!!

Wordless Wednesday #6

Cleaning Out the Dirt!

I am almost embarrassed to share this but I will anyway...

Yesterday I was doing my normal Monday cleaning and was mopping my kitchen floor. As I was examining my work, I noticed that there was a buildup of dirt on the edge of one of the tiles. I scrubbed it and it came off rather easily. Well, then I started looking closer at the floor and I noticed that practically every tile had a build up of dirt around the edges, it had just built up in these little grooves. Well, in the past I think I thought it was just the color variation in the tile. You know how some tiles have different shades of colors. Well, ours in the kitchen and the laundry room is a light brown, so I had just mistakenly thought the "dirt" was a "color variation".

I was absolutely horrified to know that my kitchen floor was that dirty. I consider myself to be a clean person and I clean my house A LOT. Instead of watching TV I frequently clean. And I do some routine cleaning every Monday, including mopping the kitchen, laundry room, and the bathrooms; so I just could not believe how all that dirt got there without my noticing it!!

So I went to work. I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed that kitchen floor, every tile! And I am glad to say that the dirt is gone!! It really was not too hard, just a little elbow work and it went right away. After I scrubbed it on my hands and knees, I mopped it again, just to make sure I got all the dirt. And later when the boys went down for a nap, I got down on my hands and knees again and scrubbed the laundry room, and all the dirt is now gone from there too!! Next week I will tackle the bathroom floors...

Well, as I was scrubbing I began to hear God speak to me in that still, soft voice. I felt like He was saying, if all this dirt has accumulated on your floor over time without you really noticing it, even when you were "caring" for it, what about your heart? What has accumulated in your heart and mind that you are not really aware of? What is there that needs to be cleaned out by My Word and My Holy Spirit?

Often times we spend time in the Word and in prayer, we check our devotion or quiet time off of our to do list; but do we take the time to sit and soak in His presence, to let Him reveal to us things He wants to work on in our lives, and things He wants to do in and through us? I plan to spend extra time with My Lord, allowing Him to reveal things to me that are on His heart, and listening for that still small voice to give me direction and guidance. I am looking forward to times of refreshing found in His presence. How about you? Do you have some "buildup" in your life that you need to allow God to take care of?

Birthday Celebration!!

My birthday was Saturday. It was the best birthday I have had in a while, so I thought I would share how we spent the day. (The past few years I have been working the Mother of Multiples Consignment sale on my birthday, so there really was no celebrating).



















I wanted to do something fun as a family in the morning, and then later have a date night with James. So Saturday morning we decided to go bowling. The boys had never been before and I thought it would be lots of fun. When I told them what we were going to do they were so excited, they had seen Curious George go bowling, and wanted to know if we were going to do it like he had! So off we went to Oak Mountain Lanes. It was a very nice family environment and it was a non-smoking bowling alley! It has been quite a while since I have been bowling, everything is computerized now! We all had lots of fun, the boys are ready to go again! After bowling we went to lunch at one of my favorites, Panera Bread.

We all came home and took naps, and then James and I left around 5 for our date! We went to Cheesecake Factory, and had a wonderful meal and dessert! We then went to see a movie, Juno. It was good but did have lots of language and was a little edgy, so we don't really recommend it.

And I got some "girlie" gifts!! I got 2 rosebushes, planted and everything. I also got a really nice shirt & sweater and a dress! The only thing that was missing was a strawberry birthday cake from Edgars, but I am not complaining! I did buy myself a small birthday cake at Publix yesterday when I bought groceries. Then last night the boys put candles in it and sang to me! Is that bad?

The Happy Housewife

I was looking through my files for something I wanted to share with the girls in my Wednesday night Bible study when I came across this and just thought I would share it with all of you. It is titled "The Happy Housewife" by Elizabeth Baker

A woman who depends on outside decoration and eternal youth to satisfy her need for acceptance is on the wrong course. She should seek the spiritual beauty which cannot be erased by time and does not depend on financial status. To be spiritually beautiful is a command of God, and all the commands of God have one interesting thing in common. They all pay read dividends in one's physical life. When you take the time to let the Lord make you spiritually beautiful, your physical appearance takes one gigantic step forward.

To learn to depend on Jesus for tomorrow's needs can do more for a wrinkled complexion than facials.

To learn self-control or temperance can do more for the figure than a health spa.

To allow the quietness and meekness of Jesus to be expressed through one's own personality can do more than the most expensive charm course.

To let Jesus make your life an adventure can put a joy in your heart, a spring in your step, and a sparkle in your eye that all the doctors' pep pills and all the paint and pretty bottles from the ding-dong lady can't match.

1 Peter 3:3-4
"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

Wordless Wednesday #5

"Just Stick to the List"

Well, this is my "Just stick to the list" list. At our ladies Christmas party at church this past year we all made a "Just stick to the list" list. This is a list for those special people who buy you gifts on those special gift giving occasions. If for some reason you don't have your eye on that "thing" that you just really, really, really want and you can't think of any real specific hints for gifts, they can just stick to the list and they can't go wrong.

Well, I did not give the list to my dear, sweet husband around Christmas time, and I ended up with some not so "girlie" gifts for Christmas; 3 knives (a pocket knife, one to keep on my keychain, and a leatherman like tool), and a grill cover. Since I have a birthday coming up this weekend, and I am a girl who loves to get gifts, (it is one of my love languages) I thought I had better make sure that list was made and in the right hands!

So here is my "Just stick to the list" list:
1. Gift certificate for massage, pedicure, &/or manicure
2. Any new releases by Karen Kingsbury, Dee Henderson, or Francine Rivers
3. Anything from the Yankee Candle store
4. Jewelry
5. Any bath or spa stuff
6. A day at the spa!!
7. New pajamas
8. Clothes (James does have very good taste in clothes!)
9. A whole weekend at home by myself to do whatever I want!!
10. Pay for me to go on a scrapbooking retreat so I can get caught up on my scrapbooks!!

Anybody else out there have a "stick to the list" list with some good ideas! I can always add to mine!

More Sickness!!

Well, I have been to the doctor again today, but not for myself. Last night we were up with Paul almost all night. He was complaining of a really bad headache, and then later started complaining of an ear ache. So I promptly called the doctor as soon as they were opened and got a 9:30 appointment.

It just so happened that my wonderful friend Mrs. Sandra was off work today, and she graciously responded to my plea for help and kept David while I took Paul to the doctor. David loves to go to her house and had a great time playing there, he even took her a Valentine. Thanks so much Sandra, I greatly appreciate your friendship!

They tested Paul for the flu and it was negative, Praise the Lord! I was so scared that he had it. It turns out that he just has a bad ear infection, so they gave him an injection of rocephrin (?) and he starts a round of antibiotics tomorrow. Modern medicine is amazing, he is already feeling better and playing out back, and he was a very sick little boy this morning; if only I could have started feeling better that soon, oh well. I am just thankful that I am better now so I can take care of my little man!

Hopefully I will have more exciting things to blog about next week, we will see!

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, I am finally starting to feel a little bit better!! Praise the Lord! Being sick is not fun, especially when you have a family to take care of. James has been wonderful, the boys have been to work with him several days, and he entered the world of 3-k as he took them back and forth last week.

I actually went back to the doctor again yesterday afternoon, as I was not feeling any better at all. It ends up that I also had a bad sinus infection on top of the flu. The flu was pretty much cleared up but the sinus infection was just getting worse. So I got a shot, which the boys thought was hilarious, they wanted to see it and everything, but I did not oblige; and I am now on a round of antibiotics... so I am on the road to recovery.

One of my best Valentine's memories is from 2004. That is the day we got to bring Paul and David home from the hospital for the first time! They were born 8 weeks early and had to stay in the NICU for 3 weeks. During those 3 weeks, I recovered from a 2 1/2 week hospital stay, finished packing our home in Trussville, and moved to Calera! We had been in our new home exactly one week when we got to bring the boys home, we basically had the kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms unpacked, the rest came slowly. But we were very excited to have our family home together!

On our drive home we stopped off at Driver's Way and let everyone there look at the boys through the car windows, we didn't want them exposed to any germs. Shortly after leaving there they started to get fussy, so we found a remote parking lot and I nursed both of them before we got home, how awkward was that for a new mom!!

But the best part of that Valentine's Day was that night when I went in the boys room to do their first middle of the night feeding. James had secretly left red roses in their nursery for me to just happen upon, and he left me the sweetest handmade card. On the front he had drawn roses in a vase, and had written "Happy Valentine's Day". When I opened the card on one side it read: "How beautiful you are my darling! O how beautiful!" The other side read: "It is a great honor and privilege to be able to call you my wife. It is with even greater gratitude that you are the mother of my children. Love, James"

I still have that card, in my scrapbook of course!

Today has been good. I am feeling better, the boys brought me flowers and a balloon this morning, James gave me a sweet card, and I got to go to the boys Valentine's Party at 3-k, which they keep referring to as a birthday party!! I hope to enjoy a nice relaxing evening with my man, snuggling and watching a girlie movie I picked up at the library, and I may just make him that chocolate cake he likes!

Sick with the flu...

I have been sick with the flu since last Tuesday night, and it is now Monday. I still feel horrible, and am quite ready to be well and healthy again. So far James and the boys have managed to dodge it, please pray that they will stay healthy and will not get sick. And by the way, I did have my flu shot!!

I will rejoin the world of blogging when I feel better.