Happy Rainy Monday

As I begin this dreary and raining Monday morning, I am reminded of God's love. The steady rain hitting my windshield as I drive E-pie to school only serves to remind me of God's steadiness and his loves for us us as he showers his love and mercy on us everyday, even on days where we cannot seem to find the light. If we just open our hearts and life to him, he will guide us, tend to us, and help us to grow and become strong.

I am so glad that I accepted the love of Jesus Christ almost 2 years ago . My life has more meaning now. I still don't know what God's plan is for me but I know that he has created me for a specific purpose and that I am special and important to him. Even with the long to-do list I have waiting for me today and the chores beckoning to me, I just feel so renewed this morning by his faithfulness and love for me. Our God is so BIG! He created the heavens and the Earth and all the universe and yet, he knows and loves little ole me. :D

~ H

scienceblogs.com

 

Two steps back

So before I left on my retreat, C-bear (2.4 yrs old) was regularly going to the potty for all his needs. We had worked on it for a week at home. He would tell me when he needed to go and didn't have any accidents. He only got to wear his pull-ups during his naps and overnight. All waking hours, whether we were home or out, he would be wearing his big boy underwear. I would tell him, "Keep McQueen Clean." He has some Cars underwear. He even managed to wake up from his naps dry and overnight a few times dry. While I am away on my retreat, he didn't do badly at his grandparents' either. He did raise the level of the lake at one point ;) and didn't quite get everything into the potty another time, but he went on it. He did poo after his bath but it was in his diaper. So, overall, he did well for being away from home and his Mommy. However, ever since he has come home, everything has ended up in his underwear. I guess any change can cause regression. At first I was calm about it. But after the third time of pooing in his underwear, I lost it a bit. I ended up yelling at him when I know that it did no good. It's my fault for not taking him more regularly. I get caught up in things I need to do that I forget to take him. I take for granted that since he's gone before, that he should naturally know what to do. It's my responsibility to check on him more regularly (like his facial expressions and if he's too quiet in the corner somewhere) and to put him on the potty even if he tells me he doesn't need to go. I mean, what kid, especially at 2 1/2 will want to stop their fun and games to go sit on the potty? Anyways, he's doing better. He has not had a poo accident today as of yet. We will be working on it. I am praying for patience on the matter :)

~ H

When Momma was away...

So while I had an incredible time on my women's retreat, the kids had a pretty good time with their grandparents and Daddy, too. They got to go to a hot-air balloon show up in South Carolina. Looks like they had a good time.

Pictures taken by Poparuski :D 

~ H

Resting in each other's love

This weekend, I had the privilege of spending some time with 10 other amazing women from my Church's Sunday school class. We rented a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountain. While most everyone arrived Friday night, P and I got there Saturday morning just in time to join them for devotional even with all the little "short cuts" that we took. Momma C, our wonderful mentor and a very godly woman, spent this time to share her experiences, wisdom, and love for the Lord with us. Momma C had us go out onto the deck so that we could bask in the beauty created by our wonderful God. In the brisk morning air, we sang songs of praise for our Lord to the nature around us and to the campers across the river. We spent the afternoon pampering ourselves at a nearby day spa with manicures, pedicures, or massages. We headed straight out to dinner at Serenity Cafe in the downtown area. Although, the food and service left much to be desired, the time we spent together laughing and conversing made up for it. Later that evening, we continued with more deep discussions about the 7 scriptures that pertain to women and lies that women believe before wrapping up with 2 wonderful Max Lucado stories that Momma C read to us.

The scriptures, advice, stories, and experiences shared has definitely helped me to grow as a person, mom, wife, and friend. I learned so much from this brief time together with these wonderful ladies. When God created Adam, he still felt that something was missing...that it was not good that man was alone...he needed a helper and companion. That is what we, as woman, are in our relationship with our husband. We don't need to do it all, and it doesn't all have to be done our way for it to be the "right" way. I need to love my husband as much as I love myself because just as Eve was created from a rib of Adam's, wives are a part of their husbands just as much as husbands are a part of their wives. This way of thinking should really help me to avoid being selfish which is a very easy mindset to fall into. Always tallying up all the things that I've accomplished and compare it with what he's done or making excuses for not fulfilling my role as mom and wife based on what I think I deserve because of what I've done. This world is not perfect and we will never have things just perfect. This is just our temporary home, and we need to take comfort and find joy and faith in His words and His love for us. God loves us each and every one. He desires an intimate relationship with each one of us. As our relationship with Him deepens as will our relationships with our husband and children prosper.

I just want to thank Awesome A and Momma C for how much you love us, for working so hard to put this together so that we had such a memorable time together, and for being such godly women and great role models for us. I want to tell the women that I had the honor of spending the precious time with this past weekend, I love you all and thank you for being such an important part of my life and spiritual journey! I can't wait for our next retreat :D

~ H

God-sized jobs

In Sunday school class this weekend, Mr. G, our class mentor was talking to us about God-sized tasks that God wants us to take on in our lives, tasks or roles that we look at as impossible and improbable. But when we choose to take on those tasks or roles, we are not doing it on our own. We have God to help us along the way. We just need to have faith in Him and His plans for us, and we will be blessed on our endeavors as long as we continue to look to Him for guidance and wisdom. As I sat there listening, I was trying to think of what in my life had seemed impossible or improbable. My thoughts turned to my decision to homeschool. If you had talked to me 5 years ago when I was still teaching, I would have replied with a very emphatic, "NO WAY!" If you had asked me 2 years ago, I would have replied, "I would maybe like to, but I definitely don't have the patience for it. I am not a patient person at all...kinda like a Chinese redhead." But today, I will answer you, "It is the best way for my family at least for a few years." I really believe that God has put in my heart the desire to homeschool. He will be there for us as we go along to help give me wisdom and patience. I just think that is amazing and am in awe of the way He works in our lives. Mr. G, did I get the main point of our class lesson? ;)

This is what they choose to do when I am doing my chores.

I want to be there for their love of learning...all the way. :D

~ H

Halloween Happenings

Wow! What a weekend we have had. I am definitely going to need a few days to recover, but alas, that is not going to happen. :( But that's ok. I don't like being idle anyways.

Well, let's see what all has happened...
My husband came home from work Friday evening only to be herded into the van so he and the kids could go backyard camping with our small group from church. I had them all packed up with their gear, plenty of marshmallows for roasting, some hot cocoa, and roasted potatoes. I was heading off to my girls' night out. Seven of us girls met up for a little painting soiree at a local paint and party studio. It ended up being just our little group so we got the instructor to change the painting from a vase of flowers to Van Gogh's Starry Night...yeah, not so sure that that was the best idea. But we all had a fun time and would definitely do it again. Then, I joined the campout later that evening. It was a COLD night! I got to snuggle with both the kids on the little inflatable bed they used.  The kids had a great time apparently. They ran around the wooded backyard, tried cooking hot dogs over an open fire, and jumped numerous time into piles of leaves. They had just gotten into their tents a few minutes before I got there and that was nearly 11pm! We had a lovely breakfast the next morning and are so blessed to have such a wonderful group of families in our small group. Here's a shoutout to the heavenly H and lovely L families.

We tried to keep Saturday a bit less hectic. But my sweet honey did get 2 pumpkins carved, my oil changed, and watched the Dawgs get defeated by those mean little Gators. E-Pie got to design one of the pumpkins using the little felt pumpkin that I had made her. I got the idea from this website, Camp Slop.

E-Pie is very proud of her creation :D

Then, there's Halloween day...
We started the morning praising our wonderful Lord. I was excited that my three cousins decided to come along. We attended our church's annual Trunk-or-Treat this afternoon. The whole family was in our get-up. I got the ideas and tutorials for Tinkerbell and Peter Pan from Ashley at Make It and Love it. I just winged it on the Captain Hook and Wendy costume. I am quite happy with the way the costumes turned out and am so blessed to have a husband that is willing to wear a nightgown so that we can dress up to fit a theme. He said he'd rather wear a nightgown than purple tights. He is such a good sport! We had a really great time at the event.

Please ignore Tinkerbell's finger ;)

We headed back home so we could get some pizzas for our friends that were coming over to our neighborhood to go trick-or-treating. It was so great to see all our friends, some we hadn't seen in awhile. The kids had a great time running around our "front yard" while we mingled.

flying fairies

my cousins

We already have plans for next year's Halloween :D
~ H

apple fun

I've always wanted to go apple picking, and I can finally say that I did. Last week, my honey took the day off so we could spend as a family. As he should since he volunteered to work on my birthday weekend. Joking aside, I am thankful that I have such a hard-working and dedicated husband. We got off to a later start than I had wanted to and was feeling a little frustrated at everyone for moving so slowly. Then, I gave off a scream in the bathroom (at my husband) and immediately felt better. My stress just melted away and I started to enjoy the day. I've done that once before when I got really stressed working at Olive Garden one night in college. I just walked into the walk-in fridge and let out a loud one and felt better. It's very cathartic. You should try it sometimes, but preferably not at someone. The counting does nothing for me. Talking to God works, too. I find that as I talk to him, whatever I am frustrated or stressed out about just doesn't seem that big a deal anymore. Anyhow, I digress.

So we head up to the rolling hills of North Georgia. The changing colors of Fall is always breathtaking. We ended up on Apple Orchard Row...several apple picking places to choose from. We skipped the first one because we wanted to avoid all the other fru-fru activities that were available- just wanted the apple picking part. The next one was perfect. The only 2 apples that they had were Arkansas Black and Romes so we stuck mainly with the Romes. Got some great shots of the kids at the orchard. They had a great time picking a few apples and running around. Besides filling a bag with 20 pounds worth of apples, we bought a few other apple related necessities like fried apple pie and apple fritter, honey, apple butter (didn't know it wasn't made of butter), and fresh apple cider.

C-Bear enjoying his freedom

my little monkeys

do you see the floating apples?

apple picking really does require a lot of thinking and seriousness ;)

I just like this shot

enjoying the fruit of his find

woohoo! finally went apple picking!

Daddy being silly

The apple of my eye

hand in hand...aren't they just darling?

rolling hills

love you, too!

Going home in warp speed...ever tried it?

On the way back home, we stopped in Awesomeville Dawsonville to check out their Hall of Driving Fame. C-Bear really liked that. He's a bit of a car fanatic like his Daddy.

We took a scenic (longer) drive home to avoid traffic hour and were plum pooped out but I can't wait to do it again next year. Now, it's time to do something with all them apples ;)
Applesauce, applesauce cookies, fried apple fritters, apple pie, apple mufins, and how about some apple pie pops? Directions courtesy of Bakerella. I did use some extra pie dough to put our initials on top but there are no pictures of those, because they couldn't wait long enough to get their pictures taken ;)

for my honey and me :)

~ H