Irony...

So, my last post was for free gum...I love anything free! :) But, I think I'll be hiding my free gum when it arrives...near the end of church yesterday, I see a child come into the sanctuary trying to be stealth, but making lots of noise. I always hold my breath when this happens, because we just never know what Isaac might do. I was feeling pretty good that it wasn't him, since the kid was on the other side of the sanctuary. That is, until I realized that's where we usually sit and he couldn't find us!! When he spotted me, he ran (barefoot, at that!?). At once I saw it...the long stripe of gum across the top of his head!! At first I thought it was silly string or something...but no such luck! We took off for the kitchen with my favorite hairdresser in tow (thanks Bev!) in search of peanut butter and ice. We found the ice, but had to settle for Mazola spray, but it did the job. We did get it mostly out and all that remained was a greasy head! :) I made Isaac go apologize to Seth for interrupting the service, which he was really embarrassed to do. The funny thing is, we always sit on the other side of the sanctuary, no certain pew, just the usual side. Courtney's parents (whom I affectionately call the outlaws) were with us and saved us seats on the "wrong" side. As it turns out, that's also where the gum came from...Isaac had a long stripe of robin-egg blue gum, which turned out to be pomegranite Orbit!

After church we ended up going out to lunch with the outlaws. As I returned to the table from the buffet, I look over to see Isaac....chewing gum!!!!!!!! Why oh why??????

Free Stride Gum!

For a free pack of Stride Gum, visit this link:
http://thepeople-vs-stride.com/sweeps/index.php?action=startAgeCheck&redirect=%2Fsweeps%2Findex.php%3Faction%3DstartSettle

My Husband

I am so thankful for the man God sent to be my husband. He is a real blessing, a wonderful father, friend, and partner. He used to be quite shy and I didn't feel like a lot of people knew the "real him" that I knew. Over the past couple of years, he has come out of that shell...and then some! He has become a real leader -in his job, activities, and at church. He's also now using his beautiful voice to help lead worship at church and in his "'Son's of Encouragement" singing group. It has been amazing to see the process of God working in his life as Courtney submits. He is such a hardworking, humble servant. I know we shouldn't brag, but I think bragging on someone else is ok, right? I'm just so proud of the man I married almost 11 years ago and thankful that God chose him for me!

Being blessed in the small stuff

Had to run to town to fill some new prescriptions for Andrew. As I pulled up to Family Pharmacy, I noticed some girls I know holding signs saying "Free Carwash - let us bless you!" I thought there must've been a catch, but it was truly free. In fact, they wouldn't even take donations for it. You see, they were trying to raise money for church camp. They had sponsorers pledge so much money per car washed! I thought this was brilliant! Of course they wanted me because mini-vans count as two!! : ) So, I was blessed by a free carwash, and in turn, it helps them get to camp. Everybody wins. And to think, water has had such a negative impact on this area this week...and they were able to use that very thing to bless people with. Sometimes it's the small stuff that really means the most.

If the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise...

I used to work with a lady who said this. It took me awhile to get used to hearing, but after the recent flooding, I have a whole new appreciation for this saying.

Had to be in West Terre Haute today for a class. I didn't go through nearly as much as others did to get there. One poor girl from Odon had to go via Logootee to get to Terre Haute!! Needless to say, she was 1.5 hours late and said she'd just stay on campus tonight. Unfortunately, her plans of getting what she needed at Walmart won't happen since it's closed due to flooding. Several other people ran into 70 being closed again, too.

It started to storm at 2:30. Immediately, we were released from class - and apparently all of Terre Haute was doing the same. The rain was coming down so hard that I could hardly see to drive. I didn't know if I should pull off and risk getting flooded in or just keep going. Thinking of my sick husband at home and my kids at the babysitter's, I pressed on. The hail was hitting so hard at one point I was sure I'd have a busted windshield! It took me twice as long as normal to get home, but I made it. In fact, it was an hour between SMWC and Boot City!! I dread doing it all again tomorrow - that is, if it's not cancelled. We left with several assignments to complete before morning. However, given that so many people are in danger of flood damage to their homes, a few assignments don't even compare. There's currently only one way to West Terre Haute (that I know of), as the other way is closed. With much more rain, that will be flooded soon. The Wabash River was right up in the ditches next to the guardrails as I drove alongside. So, I guess I'll be back in class tomorrow if the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise!!

How You Live

I really like this song by Point of Grace. It was one of the songs from my Walk and it really touched me. The words are so true...in the end, nothing else matters other than how we lived our lives. We must strive to be more like Christ and less like ourselves daily. We must make each day count and stop worrying what the world thinks of us. Here's the song:

Wake up to the sunlight
With your windows open
Don't hold in your anger or leave things unspoken
Wear your red dress
Use your good dishes
Make a big mess and make lots of wishes
Have what you want But want what you have
And don't spend your life lookin' back

Chorus:
Turn up the music
Turn it up loud
Take a few chances
Let it all out
You won't regret it
Lookin' back from where you have been
Cuz it's not who you knew
And it's not what you did
It's how you live
So go to the ballgames
And go to the ballet
And go see your folks more than just on the holidays
Kiss all your children
Dance with your wife
Tell your husband you love him every night
Don't run from the truth
'Cause you can't get away
Just face it and you'll be okay

[Chorus]

Oh wherever you are and wherever you've been
Now is the time to begin
So give to the needy
And pray for the grieving
E'en when you don't think that you can
'Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you
So think of your fellow man
Make peace with God and make peace with yourself
'Cause in the end there's nobody else

[Chorus]

'Cause it's not who you knew
And it's not what you did
It's how you live

Am I A Natural?

Isaac was born to be a monkey. Before he could even crawl, he was able to climb out of his pack-n-play. Knowing this, we were a little leery of him sleeping upstairs and climbing out of his crib.(Have you seen our stairs??) We did a little research and found a mesh"tent" that looped all around his crib. It had a zipper you opened from the outside to get the baby in and out and just made me feel really safe that our little climber couldn't get out. That is, until a few months passed by and he somehow figured out how to unzip it from the inside. Then, we not only had to zip him in, but safety pin the zipper to one of the loops so it wouldn't come unzipped. Alas, this worked until we could no longer lug him up in the crib (since the side couldn't move down with that silly tent on it!). From an early age, he let us know that he was part monkey! :)

Fast forward a few years, and that same little boy is now all about climbing, doing flips and standing on his head. A couple of weeks ago, Courtney even caught him climbing up the pole to our security light out back! We decided it was time to start going to gym class to put some of these skills to good use, and hopefully avoid a broken neck in the process!

We've talked about this since his 5th b'day a month ago, as this was part of his gift from us. Until a few days ago, he couldn't wait for it to start. Then he realized it was getting close and kinda freaked out about it. He went today, but with the agreement that if he didn't like it, he wouldn't have to go back. I tried to tell him that's how he felt about going to preschool and he ended up loving it, too. He was pretty hesitant today until Miss Jackie grabbed his hand and little by little he warmed up to it. By the time he got to the trampoline I knew he'd be back!

On the way home, after giving him a little time to process it all, I asked how he liked it. He said, "I can't wait to go back next time. And what's a natural?" I tried to explain what natural meant and he said, "Oh, good, because Miss Jackie says that's what I am!"