two-morrow

Our little boy turns two tomorrow. Two years ago, at this very moment I was getting settled into a hospital room and was very close to waking an anesthesiologist up and demanding an epidural. Funny how any fears you have about epidurals go out the window when you are in such crazy pain. Yeeesh. Here's my baby. My sweet little first born who will always and forever have a hold on my heart. I love you Jackson and am so thankful God blessed us with you two years ago tomorrow.

Off I go...

What a great way to start my 27th birthday! I woke up to a clue in my coffee cup that would start a super fun birthday present treasure hunt... I have THE best husband in the whole world

yep, one of my clues was rolled up inside a play hotdog bun inside the fridge :)
Part of my loot

Gumballs!!!

And last, a super 'sweet' card complete with the song, "sugar, sugar"

I am one lucky birthday girl :)

Happy Birthday to YOOOOOOOOOO!

Happy Birthday to you, my sweet wife. Today we celebrate your life and 'specialness' (I know how much you like made up words).

I want you to know that this world is a better place because you are a part of it. I couldn't get Michael Scott to come sing Happy Birthday for you, but I hope it still feels special.



Happy Birthday!

funny quotes to remember

We'll just add this one to the list...

Tonight as we were putting Jackson to bed I asked him if he was ready to say his prayers. He quickly replied, "No thank you. I'm full."

:)

Sunsets and Promises

The sky has always fascinated me. As a kid, I'd lay in the grass and watch in wonder as the cumulus clouds soared over the trees that hemmed our house tightly against Crowley's Ridge. As I suspect most children do, I pondered the mysteries of the skies. Oh, to fly with them someday...

Later in life, I worked overnight as a mechanic in the Air Force. Never had I known what secret beauty the heavens held through the night watches. There are so many shades of blues, blacks, and purples - colors that man could never duplicate - shifting silently through our world going mostly unnoticed. So many nights I would take a break from my work to just watch in silence the magnificence above me. If only my eyes were a camera I could show you what I've seen, but my words will have to suffice. See, I've always seen God's creation as evidence of his love for us. Romans 1:20 says:

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

A few weeks ago I was in the backyard taking pictures of planes or birds or something and I, on a whim, snapped a few pictures of the sky. There was just something beautiful about it, but nothing that would cause you to stand back and say, "Whoa!". I'm not much of a photographer- I get frustrated trying to get what I see with my eyes to show up on the camera shot. But every now and then, I guess we all are in the right place at the right time. When we put the picture on the computer to look at it, this is what we saw:

Wow. That's all I can say. It's as if we caught a glimpse of a sliver of a fragment of God's glory radiating through the cloudscape. What I saw through the lens of Bethany's camera was nowhere near what showed up on the computer screen, but it's no surprise. Isn't it just like God to sneak in something beautiful when we're least expecting it. How many times has He stunned me to silence with His masterpieces? I'm sure you can relate.

With all the stress that comes with living in such an UnGodly world, our Savior reminds again that He is in control. Humans may deny Him, dilute him, and declare Him powerless but Psalms 19:1 reminds us:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

And again in Psalms 97:6:

The heavens announce that he'll set everything right, And everyone will see it happen -glorious!

When I get so frustrated- as I often do - He promises His love by writing it on the sky. A sky so enormous that there is no where I can go on this earth where I'm not covered by it.

~ Ben

Menu Plan 9/20-9/27

Forgot to post this yesterday...

Monday - dinner out at OTB :)
Tuesday - Spaghetti, Salad and Garlic Bread
Wednesday - Grilled chicken, Baked Potatoes and Zucchini
Thursday - Rachael Ray's Super Sloppy Joes and Mixed Veggies
Friday - Grilled Ginger Lime Pork Chops, Green Beans, Pinto Beans and Crescent rolls
Saturday - Taco Night
Sunday - Bacon and Mozzarella Chicken Wraps, Steamed Green Beans and Couscous

For desserts this week I'm making:
Almost Apple Pie
Cooking Light Chocolate Chip Cookies

Fall!

Today is the first day of Fall - yay! We got out the fall decorations last night and our house is looking fun and festive already :) Jackson and I put a pumpkin outside the door when we got up this morning. It's the beginning of my favorite time of year! Yesterday when I got off work I ran into Kroger to get some eggs and saw the fall sugar cookies in the refridgerated bin...I almost peed my pants a little!

Dixie

There are still a few good things about living in this town.

I defy you to watch this without getting a lump in your throat.

Go Rebels!

~ Ben

these two

There's just something about the connection between Jackson and his Daddy. I love that.

t minus 7 days till fall and counting

Have you ever used Febreze candles? They are a little on the pricey side but smell wonderful and last longer than typical candles. I'm all about fall, alllllll about fall and I love pumpkin, apple, cinnamon and vanilla scented things. Combine my love for febreze candles and fall and you get their new candle scent Pumpkin Harvest and Fall. I saw these when I was getting some glade candle tins at Target last week and I just had to share...this candle smells so, so good.

I think we both know what my house will be smelling like for the next 2 and a half months :)

Kroger Water and Cookie Deal

We love Kroger Waters around here (don't throw rocks at me for buying bottled water!) and it's actually a good deal this week.

I found out that the Keebler cookies, fudgeshoppe cookies and Kellogg Cinnabon bars are included in the buy 3 get free water deal:

Buy 2 FudgeShoppe $1.75 each and one Keebler Chips $2 and use 2 $1 off coupons and one $.55c coupon (that will double) from here (don't forget to print the 2 coupons twice, just press the back button a few times after it prints the first time): Print Your Coupon
Makes your total: $2.40 for 3 bags of cookies and a 24 pack of water!

Or buy 3 Kelloggs Cinnabon bars 1.99 each and use 3 $1 off coupons from coupons.com and a bunch of recent inserts to get 3 boxes of bars and free waters for $2.97.

Don't know about ya'll but I love that deal!

dear jackson

Dear Jackson,

Today is Friday, September 4, 2009...although that may mean nothing to you now or even when you read this, it means so much to me. One week ago today we were being settled into a hospital room...your hospital room. Bless your heart, you were so sick. From Lord only knows where you contracted a virus that gave you croup. Early last thursday morning you started coughing, gasping for air and very understandedly getting upset. We took you to the dr where they told us to just give you lots of fluids and let you breathe in air from the freezer if you started struggling to breathe again...obviously they've never tried to let a toddler sit in front of the freezer. In the middle of the night thursday night/friday morning you woke up gasping for breath. It was so scary. I wanted to help you, tried for over 2 hours to help you but there wasn't anything I could do to make it better. We tried the freezer, sat in the steamy shower, went for a car ride, sat outside - nothing helped. We got to the emergency room at 430 am and they took you back immediately. You got several back to back breathing treatments and some pretty strong steroids that after 5 hours finally started to provide some relief. The nurses and doctors at Le Bonheur were so good to you...so sweet and gentle. You were such a big boy through all of it. Do you have any idea how proud I am of you? How incredibly brave you are?

For the past week I'm pretty sure I have never prayed so much in my whole life...sometimes I didn't even have words to pray. It may sound crazy but it's a great place to be. To finally realize just how little you are, how much you desperately need God. Always. Not just in troubled and sick times. We always need God just as much...we just aren't always as aware of it. There were so many times when I thought I was about to lose you. It is the most scared I've ever been in my whole life. I can honestly say that I just don't know what I'd do without you. You have and continue to bring so much joy to my and your dad's life. For some reason, some reason I'll never know, God chose to heal you, to carry us all through this ordeal. You'll learn all too soon that sometimes God doesn't heal us on this earth. Sometimes he takes us, big and small, to heaven where we can be eternally healed. We don't understand things like that, not fully anyway. No matter how or why we have been praising God ever since we got home from the hospital and continue to do so today. I'm glad to be sitting here this friday.

You were so amazingly precious this week. Every time you didn't feel good you would ask to sit in the chair and want me to sing Jesus loves me to you...all four verses. When I would finish you would just quietly say more. It would calm you, comfort you in a way that only the name of Jesus can.

What a difference a week makes though. Today we went to Kroger together and then went and ate lunch with Dad. You're so joyful and strong, as if nothing ever happened. Thank you for always teaching me something about myself that I didnt know before. What a blessing God has given me in you.

I love you bear.

Love, Mom

23 months

Jackson is officially 23 months old today...only one month until my big boy turns 2. I can't believe it...but I'm grateful.

Grateful to be experiencing each and every day with him...

Grateful God has blessed us with such a delightful little boy...

Grateful that I get to be his mom.

We love you Bear.