Love Thursday

Oops...I almost forgot I joined a flikr group called "Love Thursday", created by Chookooloonks. Each Thursday we are asked to post a picture and comment that shows the love all around us. Unfortunately I waited until the last minute, so I just searched some recent pictures and found this:
Love is...sharing your pancakes with Daddy and as a special thank you, giving him a slobbery, open mouth kiss that is sweeter than the maple syrup left sitting on the table.

My 6 Weeks is Up

The past 6 weeks sure have flown right by! That is a good thing for me, I suppose. Probably not such a great feeling for the new mom who is having to come back to work so soon.

Today should have been my last day. This afternoon I was in the middle of wrapping up all my looses ends when I got a call from the Payroll company. They were just calling because they thought it was strange that I only submitted payroll for one company. Uh, yeah, "you didn't think it was strange yesterday? When you received it? When if you would have called me at that time I could have resent it and everybody would have been paid on time?" No. They waited until 2 hours before I was expecting to get it to tell me they never received it. Okay...thank you for your call (kissy, kissy), what do I have to do to get my people paid on time???

Turns out the soonest I can get it is tomorrow at 10:30. So my peaceful, planned afternoon was turned into a frantic couple of hours while I tried to determine who could wait for their normal direct deposit and who needed me to cut them a live check tomorrow. Then I had to try to find a babysitter one. more. time.

I guess that was just a reminder that no matter where I am, at work or at home, there are still going to be days where I feel like I am spinning my wheels and going nowhere. Even so, I will miss going into the office a couple days a week.

On the upside though, I can get back into a routine where I have time for my leisure activities: Reading, cropping, or getting on the computer. Another plus will be loosing the weight I've gained while on the job. What with the morning lattes, fast food dinners, office snacks, and sitting at a desk instead of chasing around my son, the pounds start packing on. I can already tell!

One night this week, as we all sat at IHOP for the 2nd day IN A ROW, Jeremy said, "You know, I am really looking forward to you being back home." I agreed, but I wanted to probe him further because he has always said it is up to me whether or not I go to work. It doesn't matter to him either way. I wondered if that had changed, so I asked him, "how would you feel now, since we've had this 6 week experience, about me wanting to go back to work?" He said it was still up to me, but that he can see now how important it is to our family for me to stay home, so he hopes I would at least wait until the kids were older.

I don't know why it was so important for me to hear him say that. I appreciate that he's always let it be my choice, but I think I've always wanted to know that he really feels like I should be there. That just makes it seem to me that we are both on the same page.

She will only Pray for You if you are Not Nice

Okay. I found out today that it is not a good thing to be on Savannah's prayer list. Each morning on the way to school I have a rule. No movies. The 3 year old is familiar with the rule, but the 1 year old asks every morning, "ooh-mee?"

Instead, we save that time for talking about the plans for the day and then end with Savannah's prayer list. I ask her what she wants to pray about for each member of the family. This is the time that she calls each one of us out, even herself. Her prayer for me most often is "that Mommy doesn't yell", for her Dad it's "that he will be a good listener", and for Emery, "pray that brother will not hit me". This morning she also wanted to add a little boy who was mean to her last week.

I've never thought anything unusual about her requests. It's usually stuff that we've already discussed: bad manners, our tempers, good choices, how to treat people, etc. I always give God a lot a praise during these morning prayer times and try to show the kids how even though we are not perfect, He is full of mercy and grace, and we can learn to be like Jesus with His help.

But today, as she folded her hands and closed her eyes, I suggested we pray for her teacher. "What can we pray for Ms. Hilda today?", I asked. "No. We don't need to pray for her. She's already nice."

Now That's an Accomplishment

My husband has been on cloud nine for a week now as Builder Magazine named him at the "Top of the Class" for the fastest growing builder in the United States. WOW-what an accomplishment!!! The Fast Track article included builders from all over the 50 states, some who had been in the business as early as 1964. We started our company in 2003 and in 3 years it grew 516%.

I am so glad that I was working during this time and was able to be here when he made the announcement to our dedicated staff. We all knew he was on pins and needles waiting to find out if he was #1.

I wish the online article had his picture on it like it does in the magazine. It's a great picture of my handsome hubby (very "GQ", as Jessica pointed out).

Way to go, Babe! You are always #1 to us. You didn't really need Builder Magazine to tell you that, did you??? :)

7 Weeks and Counting

Mom and I just made reservations for a fabulous fall getaway in the Blue Ridge Mountains. About 4 years ago she had an idea to make this trip a yearly event, and each one has been a lot of fun. (Except the year I was throwing up the whole time with morning sickness. The pictures from that year still make me queasy!)

Here are some highlights of the cabin for this year, as mentioned in their website: Hot tub, 2 fireplaces, game room with pool table, flat screen TV, DVD player and Sony playstation. Magnificient mountain views from each of the 3 levels, satellite TV's, 3 decks, and gas grill. And all of this is within minutes of horseback riding, hiking trails, Mercier Orchard, and downtown Blue Ridge, Georgia. More pictures can be viewed here.

I think we should stay the whole week!!!

Miss Patty Cake

Tonight Savannah and I were invited to see Miss Patty Cake with our friends Michele and Jenna. We made it a girls night on the town by having dinner at Provino's before the show. The food was wonderful (vegtable lasagna...yummy!), as was the conversation. It's nice that our daughters are getting to the age of talking among themselves and it leaves time for Michele and I to talk as well. A few times I listened in on what the girls were discussing, and it mainly had to do with baby dolls, kitties, and who wanted which color crayon. :)

Miss Patty Cake's show started at 7:00. It was an hour of giggling, singing girly girls, learning about the love of God. It was a great time. However, Michele and I agreed that if the ticket stub did not specify that the parents had to stay with their children, we would have liked to grab a pew in the back of the church for a little nap after a long day and a carbo-loaded meal right before.

After the show, Jenna and Michele got in line for the meet and greet, and a hug from Miss Patty Cake. I asked Savannah if she wanted to wait too, and she replied, "I do want to wait in line, Mommy, but I do not want a hug." So I said, "Well, how about we just go get some ice cream and forget about the line?" "Okay, Mom". (whew).

"Mommy, that's a BIG Bug"

Is what I heard as we walked into the garage yesterday afternoon. I looked up to see what was making the buzzing noise and instead of a bug, found a hummingbird. I had left the garage door open because I rinsed off Emery's carseat and let it sit in the sun, just inside the garage, to dry. I guess the little fella came in and for some reason, couldn't figure out how to leave. He just kept flying himself into the ceiling, and then finally, came to a rest to watch us intently, as we all climbed into the truck to go to church.

I ended up leaving the garage door open at the bottom in hopes that he would land on the floor, see the light, and walk outside. When we got home that night, I was disappointed to see him still in the garage, just as confused as ever.

Jeremy got home soon after we did and I asked him if he thought he could help our new little friend. He put some work gloves on, picked the hummingbird up, and it was then that we realized his leg was hurt.

Now I am quite the animal lover and would be willing to nurse any injured animal back to health, but my husband is not so keen on outdoor critters or even house pets. He would rather fish for them or hunt them, and leave it at that. So imagine my surprise when he asked me to go and mix up some sugar water to see if we could get the pocket sized birdie to eat.

After sweetening the water I found an unused medicine dropper and we attempted to feed the poor, hungry bird. He ate the first dropper full quickly! Yay!!! After that, he wasn't very interested in food, so we got out a flower pot, and with Savannah's help, made him a cozy nest for the night.

We put him out on the screened porch, protected from predators, and there he slept (I guess) until morning. When we went out to check on him this morning, he was flying around and ready to get back to the outside world.

Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of Jeremy, in his business suit, holding a broom, trying to shoo our friend out into the woods this morning. But I did get a picture of him last night right after he ate his dinner. Kinda cute!

Jessica's Big Day

This is one of many pictures my sister posted on her blog about September 10th, the day she was baptized. I thought it was a cute picture of my family (including Meo, of course!). More about her special day can be read here. Congratulations, Aunt Jess!!!! :)

The UN-disciplined Life

Or at least, the undisciplined past few weeks.

The very last chapter in the book of Matthew gives us "the great commission". Jesus tells his followers in verse 19, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..." After spending the past year in a one on one discipleship study at church, I have learned it is no coincidence how closely related are the words disciple and discipline. I am convinced that it is not possible to do one without the other.

By nature I enjoy a disciplined lifestyle. I like order and routine. Naturally, when my first child was born, I had to get used to the fact that sometimes, things don't always go as planned! And over the years I've gotten into the good habits of eating right and excercising. Isn't it funny how those things that can make me feel so good about myself are the first things to go by the wayside after a long weekend or a couple mornings sleeping in?

The same thing has happened with my quiet time since I've been working. It's not happened. Not once. Not even at night. I am exhausted. But that's a lame excuse, because a dear friend of mine works everyday (to my measly 3 days) and has to be at work before 7 am. She gets up at 4 freakin' 45 in the morning to do her quiet time. Now that, my friend, is discipline!!! She is my quiet time idol!!! And in case you are wondering, yes she has children, one of which still depends on her to wake him up and get him ready for school.

So I am pretty down on myself at the moment. Then I received a voice mail when I got home last night that they have a woman in our church who has signed up for this years discipleship class, and they think I would be a good candidate to disciple her. Oh, and I feel soooo unqualified. When I was asked several weeks ago if I felt ready to teach, I was high on the Holy Spirit. I was working on my gentleness, hearing Him speak to me, living in a peaceable home. Everything was great and so I said, "Sure, I'll teach". Now I'm afraid I will be leading her in a wrong direction.

Well, maybe not the wrong direction, but I certainly won't be feeding her nourishing, life altering material until I get myself back on track. These days, when I slump into "undisciplined mode", it affects so much more than just me.

There's No Place Like Home

Yes, Dorothy, that's right. But I'm not talking about Kansas. I'm not even talking about the home I share with my husband and 2 kids. You know, the one that I obsess over and clean several times a day, just so it looks neat and tidy, even though it would fail the white glove test miserably. The one that I never seem to relax in because "I will sit down and rest for a minute as soon as I do this one thing." Then that one thing turns into another one and so on. It just doesn't ever seem to happen for me.

No, I am talking about my parents home. It's not exactly the home I grew up in, seeing as we moved to Georgia when I was 18, but it has been their house for the past 16 years. And it is the only place I can go and truly unwind. Maybe even be a little, hmmm, should I say it? Lazy. (shhhh...don't tell).

Last Sunday, not yesterday, but a week ago, I came down with flu-like stuff. I was in bed by 9:00 with fever, chills, aches, and pains. By Monday morning that had gone and in its place were some seriously stuffy sinuses. I don't know if it's my age, the fact that I have young children, or a combination of both, but I just can't get over sickness like I used to. All week I suffered and by Thursday, I was just plain tired!

Jeremy left Thursday morning for a work thing in Pittsburg and I was glad I decided not to go. Instead, that day I packed up the kids and headed to my moms for the weekend. When I woke up Friday morning with a splitting headache, I knew mama would have my back. And she did! I went to a doctors appointment and then waited FOREVER getting my prescription filled. I knew the kids were in good hands with Nanny and Grampa. If I would have been at home Friday, I would have thought it was too much hassle to try and get in to see my Dr. I'd probably still be sniffling today!

The other great thing about Moms is that they know just what to do. You don't have to ask them like you do husbands. That is so wonderful! When my medicine made me sleepy, I knew I could crash out on the couch and Mom would handle whatever happened in the meantime. I didn't have to try to rest by keeping one eye opened! I actually got in some good, solid sleep and it felt so gooooood!!!

Now that I am writing this, I am wondering where Mom goes to recharge? And I'm also hoping that Savannah and Emery will always feel like our house is a place they can go to breathe easy when the demands of life get to be too much!

Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

Nine Eleven

All day yesterday I thought about the 5 year anniversary of Sept. 11th. I thought maybe I should blog something about it for my kids to read in the future. But what could I say that hadn't already been said? It was shocking. Unbelievable. Almost incomprehendible. I turned on the news just in time to see the 2nd plane hit on live television. It was surreal. I watched, glued to the TV for what felt like hours, with my mouth left open. Unable to speak. And when the towers collapsed, I had a feeling I can describe only as a heavy burden on my chest. I sank into the sofa and cried.

I'll never forget that day and even writing about it 5 years later brings the emotions right to the surface. I can't imagine how real it still is to the thousands of people who lost their loved ones that day. Today I found a website called 2996 that was created to honor the people who died on September 11, 2001. I thought it was nice that they decided to honor them in their lives instead of in the way they were murdered. It's worth a look if you have a minute.

A Favorite American Past-Time

Jeremy made plans for this weekend and while it was originally going to be a family getaway, not all of the details worked out in our favor, so he left yesterday for a 3 day fishing trip on the Savannah River with some buddies. After the arrangements were in place and the 4 grown men were chatting like school girls bubbling with excitement about catching 2 and 3 pound bass in the strong river current, I realized we had Braves tickets for the night he was leaving. Knowing he would not want to suspend the trip just one more week for the sole purpose of catching a baseball game, I called a good friend of mine, whose husband just happens to be one of the giddy fellows I mentioned earlier, and said, "Hey, guess what I've got? Do you want to go just me and you, or should we take the kids?"

We decided to go with my oldest daughter and her youngest son, which are almost the same age. On the way to the game, Maylon excitedly told Savannah that if the Braves win, they let fireworks shoot out of the giant Coke bottle. Savannah looked worried (she had a bad experience with fireworks at Disney last year) and said "Mommy, I want the Cubs to win."

YaaaaHooo!!! I am after all, a Cubs fan at heart. It's true what they say up in Chicago...Once a Cubs fan, Always a Cubs Fan. As we entered the stadium, it was easy to see that it is also true what is said about Braves fans being of the "fair weather" variety. They have not been having a very good season this year, but seriously people, it was a beautiful night. Not a cloud in the sky, full moon, perfect temperature. Who wouldn't want to take in a game on a night like that?

But it worked out in our favor because of all the empty seats around us. The kids were able to wave their big foam finger and run back and forth on our aisle when they got restless. Savannah asked a lot of questions about the game. My personal favorite? "Why are those mans with the ball so small?" I guess distance and size is still a foreign concept to a 3 year old because she asked that question a lot. She also wanted to know which team had the "Brave man" and which one was a "little Cub".

At one point in the game, a stadium photographer asked to take the kids' pictures. We agreed and they can be viewed here. Savannah is #35 and Maylon is #36. Don't ask us why they are making such strange faces!!!

By the 7th inning we were all getting tired so we only stayed long enough to sing the classic "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". The Braves were winning 7-5 as we left the park, but I never did hear a final score. It really didn't matter. We had a great time eating greesy pizza, drinking Cokes, snacking on M&M's, waving the finger, and snuggling in the Braves fleece blanket they gave to us as we came into the ball game. Does it get any better than this?

A Boy and His Toys

And no, I am not talking about my son! My husband has toys too. They are much more expensive and required us to build TWO extra large garages on this house. And even with that, we still have 1 boat that sits outside. And now this...a 1967 Shelby that he purchased off eBay a couple days ago. When I asked him where he planned to park it, he replied, "you don't really need to park in the garage, do you?" I think he then went on to either tell me he was kidding or to explain why he thought his new/old car deserved my spot in the garage. I don't know. I had tuned him out while I was trying to remember if I had 4 wheel drive on my Expedition. If we had to go head to head for it, I think I could take him! :)

Top 10 Reasons Why it Does Not Suck to be at Work

10. Having a job means having money.
9. One hour lunches.
8. Feeling productive.
7. Getting to know the people that work for us.
6. Dressing up.
5. Having a good excuse for a weekly house keeping service.
4. It's only for 6 weeks!!!
3. Listening to grown up music all day long.
2. Hitting the Starbuck's drive thru for a morning latte.

And the number 1 reason why is does not suck to be at work: I get to sleep with the boss!!! :)

Top 10 Reasons Why it Sucks to be at Work

10. Waking up to an alarm clock.
9. Missing my kids.
8. Achy feet from wearing heels.
7. Laying awake at night thinking about all the stuff that needs to be done at the office.
6. Sitting in the office thinking about all the stuff that needs to be done at home.
5. Laundry at 10 pm.
4. Stress!!!!!!!!
3. Struggling to get in my daily quiet time.
2. Running 5 days worth of errands in 2 days with tired children in tow.

And the number 1 reason why it sucks to be at work: Losing touch with family and friends because I barely have enough time to do the things that NEED to be done, much less to do the things I would LIKE to do, such as email and playdates!

God is so Cool

Last week, Jeremy and I got up early one morning to have quiet time together and pray about something that was on our minds. That was Tuesday.

We have my Escalade out at the road near our office with a "For Sale" sign on it and on Friday, Jeremy gets a phone call from a man interested in buying the vehicle. He left Jeremy a message asking some details, Jeremy calls him back and gets his voice mail, so he leaves him a message giving him the information that he needed.

A little while later, his phone rings again, and this is what was said:

Man: Hello, Jeremy?
JDY: Yes Sir.
Man: I was calling you back about the Escalade, but first I have to tell you something.
JDY: Okay.
Man: After I received your message with the information that I requested, God spoke to me and told me that I needed to call you and tell you that whatever it is that you and your wife have been praying about...it's all going to be fine. Everything will work out and you don't have to worry about it anymore.
JDY: (speechless!)

God is so cool!!!

Dawg Days of Summer are Here!!!

Today is the first game of the season for the Georgia Bulldogs. They are playing Western Kentucky and are currently winning 34-7.

When I first moved to Georgia, 15 years ago, I didn't watch much college football at all. In rural Illinois, basketball was the big sport that everybody loved to see. But after being here a few years, I grew accustomed to College Game Day on Saturday's in the fall. In the mid 90's I was a huge fan of Peyton Manning who played for Tennessee. After he graduated (but not before leading the Vols to the SEC Championship in 1996!) and moved on to a professional career, I continued to cheer for good ole "Rocky Top". Not so much because I felt a connection to the team, just simply because it irritated the stew out of everybody around here.

Ten years later, I am living in the heart of Bulldog country. I have 2 choices: 1. Keep annoying people or 2. Root for the hometeam. And since my alma mater, GPC, doesn't have a football team, I will choose to support UGA. To prove my dedication to the team, I have spent the better part of the past 2 months teaching Emery the phrase, "Go Dogs! Sick 'em! (bark, bark, bark)!" So far he's only got the "Go dogs!" part down. But that's enough for the season opener!
(Editor's Note: Today (#23) Tennessee upset (#9) California by winning 35-3!!! You didn't expect me to stop watching all together, did you?)

2 Years and Counting...

This week marks the 2 year anniversary of Jeremy quitting smoking. The actual day was August 29th. Way to go, Honey!!! I know I speak for the whole family when I say, "We are so proud of you!!!"