Ahh, September

I felt as if August was long, but that's okay, because it was birthday month, so it can be as long as I want....
Alas, it's over. The last birthday celebration was fittingly on the last day of the month, in which Jeremy and I enjoyed dinner at a plush place near the night life part of Atlanta. We had a gift card that my old company gave us for Assistant Day, so we enjoyed ourselves, ala no Boo, who was living up life at Nana and Papa's house...yes, again. It was technically his last week of Summer! He enjoyed Nana and Papa's house, and Aunt Laura's house while I met with all my students and parents during last week. I was exhausted by Thursday afternoon...and I will have you know that I took a nap every day last week...couldn't explain the level of exhaustion, it was surreal.
Jeremy preached today while the pastor was out of town...it was on struggles and he used the life of Jacob as his example. It was good and we got out early! I know, that's not really the point. :) Just a sidenote.
Because it's September, that means College Football has begun...can I get a Sting Em for the Jackets whomping on the Irish??? Oh yeah baby! We proudly wore our White and Gold yesterday and what a game! We are hoping to take Boo to a game this year...we will let you know how that goes.

For all my Siesta friends out there, the Siesta party has been set - click the words Siesta friends back there (<-) to see what the big deal is...can't wait to see you all there...if you are planning on it, please let me know, I want to meet up! :) I know Preacher's Wife is going!

Oh my gracious! Y'all! I have not even begun to tell you about my little preschoolers. Oh how cute and enjoyable they are!! Classes begin on Tuesday! I am excited and Boo is just as excited! I have already re-thought about this several times, but know without a doubt God called me to this purpose. Let's see if I feel the same after the first week! :) hee hee...just teasing. Oh! And Jeremy's job is going well too...lots to learn and deal with, but we are both chugging along.
And, I hate to do this, but if you would say a little prayer for Boo...he is having some trouble with the potty skill, and I really don't want to have to leave my free day to come change him on Wednesdays. It's bad enough if he does the deed in his pants and I am working that day, then they will come bring him to my room for me to change him.
Okay, that's all.

Love,
Karen

Grandma Land

Boo went to Grandma's yesterday to spend the day. Jeremy had to be "in-house" this week and we had no one to keep the little man. Luckily, the grandma came to our rescue! She picked him up at the church and then we went and got him last night. I called to check on him and her during the day...she says he talks big. I agreed. She says he looks taller. I agreed with that too. He is just growing up so fast.
Grandma Land is filled with many things, but two things are for sure...the lay of the land is all for him and the dog, Buzz, is his best friend. He is a big helper, taking trash cans back to the house, getting the mail, and always willing to walk with her when she takes Buzz for a walk. She sets up a pool for him to play and he smells like suntan lotion when I get there. He sure does love his grandma.
The last few weeks he has had some incredible time with his grandparents...I am so thankful for their willingness to take Boo and love and nuture him. They may not do everything like Jeremy and I do, but it's okay; it's the priceless moments that help mold who Boo is. Two more weeks till Papaw comes and spends a few days with us too!!! We are headed to the Braves game!!
His memory is growing and being filled with memories of the last year - Disney, Busch Gardens, and even most recently he is recalling the time he spent with Nana and Papa to us. He knows 8 scriptures very well and told me all about Jonah and the whale from reading a book the other day. He blows my mind.
Happy Saturday to all!
--Karen

Making Memories

Today was all about making memories. It's these kinds of memories you want him to think about years from now and look back and say, "Remember when..."

We all ventured to the golf tournament today! Boo was originally supposed to go to school while Jeremy and I went. After thinking about it, we knew he would probably just love it there, so we decided to take him with us...taking the chance that if he so even sneezed at the wrong time, we could possibly be kicked out of the tournament! :)

We parked, rode the bus to the country club, which turned out to be an adventure in itself. I mean, the kid loves anything that's different and new to him, so riding a huge bus was like, awesome! We get there, walk to the 18th green and watch a few batch of players come through. Then we walked back to the 17th, since their green is great for spectators. We told Boo the rules - when they put the signs up (Hush, Y'all) you have to be quiet. He did pretty good, and learned to say "In the Hole! In the Hole!" really loud after the guys putt the ball. It was classic. Some of the players liked it so much they gave their golf balls to him after they putt...now, that's classic. He was so tickled and excited and it seemed to make the players excited too. One guy even stopped us hours later to ask us if he still had the ball...of course! He loves golf! So, that's our family today, making memories for a lifetime.

Love,
Karen

Fog

This morning, the pasture that we drive by had fog on it. "Momma-Did you know that God also painted that with His hands?"
I don't know so much that He actually painted it, as He did make all the elements line up to form it...
Boo continues to blow my mind with his thoughts and ideas. He is good at imagining things and playing pretend and thinking of new ways to do things, possibly more simplified than I had originally taught him. He sure is growing up fast. I continue to love every phase that he is in...even that naughty side.

Have a blessed Thursday...
--Karen

Pottying Excitement

We began the potty adventure several months ago, with the addition of pull-ups into our lives and every once in a while thinking about sitting on the potty. From August till about December it was just something he tried and occasionally it happened, but after Christmas, it started clicking.
Last Tuesday I sent him in underwear to school. I had an idea of what might happen, and although it took all I had not to call every 5 minutes to check on him, I did quite well...and I didn't call once, thank you. :) He managed to go through the three pairs of underwear and had a pullup on when I got there. He is still learning.
So, we talked about it. Prayed about it. Put him back in the pullups and went another couple of days. I was out of town this past weekend, so I was unsure if Jeremy would want to try and help him get over this hump...luckily for me...he was!! So, he worked with him on Friday night and all day Saturday and do you know that boy stayed dry!!! He even went to the potty at Sunday School yesterday!!! That boy is so funny.
He sat in the bathroom with me yesterday and looked at me and said "Mom, isn't this pee-peein' fun?" Oh yeah, buddy, it's fun.
He's at school right now in big boy pants. He is excited and just loves that I get so excited with him. So, say a little prayer for the boo today. He is turning more and more into a man everyday.

In Love-
Karen

Tags: potty training

The New Year!

Whew! We made it through Christmas and New Year's with no major or minor incidents in our family and for that, I am grateful and blessed. It has been a long two weeks that I have been gone, so I will do my best to catch you up...

We began Christmas on the 23rd, celebrating with Jeremy's family. We got to see our new nephew, Joshua, and he is quite the cutie pie. Boo had a great time playing with his cousins and all we could do was imagine what next year would be like with FOUR boys that will be 5 years old and younger. WOW! Good thing mom and dad are moving...yep, that's right, Jeremy's parents are moving out of their little cape cod home to a ranch with a basement closer to the church that Jeremy's dad is serving at. The next few weeks they will pack up, so we will celebrate that.
Christmas Eve was busy (it was Sunday, so it's a work day), but we managed to have a great time. We decided against the child-friendly 4:00 service, since uh, my toddler is still sleeping at that time, and went to the 8:00 Lord's Supper service. I gotta say, Boo did pretty well, and the funniest part of the whole evening...well, let me just say, it was probably the funniest moment of 2006! So, Jeremy has a part in the service...his part is to read the scripture, you know, the Christmas story from the Bible. Boo and I are in the balcony, so he can see, and maybe behave through most of it, and when Jeremy starts reading, Boo starts repeating!!!! Here's how it went down...
Jeremy: "there were some shepherds..."
Boo: "SHEPHERDS?"
Jeremy: "an angel of the Lord..."
Boo: "ANGEL? Mom, Angel!"
Jeremy: "today in the city of David..."
Boo: "DAVID? That's me!"
The caps are stressing the LOUDNESS of the words coming out of his mouth. Ahh, yes, he wants to be just like his daddy. I love that!

Christmas Day was awesome. Grandma came up and we waited till she got there to open presents. That kid could not get enough...he kept asking for more presents pretty much up until we took the tree down days later. :) Boo got lots of goodies, mostly trains, but he did get a new chair and Cars sheets and bedspread. WOO HOO! He was thrilled. Jeremy's parents came over for dinner and we all had a great time.
The day after Christmas we went to my family's house and spent time with my aunt and uncle, cousin and grandmother. It was good and Boo racked up again, getting a huge tool set with tool box. WAY COOL! Thanks to Aunt She-She and Uncle Apple Juice. :)
We both returned to work after Christmas and Boo returned to school...although, it was so dead around there that he actually said it was only him and one other girl there. That was kind of sad, but I knew he was having a great time despite that his best buddy wasn't there.
And then...and then...it was time for the New Year. As is customary in our household since we got married, we have yet to stay up and ring in the New Year. In Texas it was easier, because of the time change, so we actually did stay up till 11:00 that year and rung it in with the Eastern Time Zone, however, after that year it just didn't happen. So, we went to bed at a decent time, because the next four days would hold to be the most incredible, tiring, awesome days in our lives...but that will have to be saved for the next post. :)

In Christ-
Karen

In Other Words - The Atmosphere

"I am the one holding the keys to the atmosphere in my home."
Teri Maxwell

It's fun to hold the keys...at least that's what my Boo thinks. He knows the importance and symbolism for holding the keys. We are either going somewhere or coming home from somewhere, but there is great importance in having them if you are driving your car or trying to get into your house. So, you could say the price of holding the keys is, well, valuable.

The atmosphere in my own home is equally as valuable. The way we talk to one another. The way we discipline. The way we help each other. These are all very valuable things and can easily be distorted and torn down if not taken seriously. I woudn't say it's so much ALL of my job or responsibility to keep peace in our home, but I do play a vital role. My tone of voice, the way I speak to my husband, the way I hold my tongue...all of these things are addressed in the Bible (see Psalms, Proverbs, James), so God thinks they are of exceptional importance.

Women, as emotionally created beings that God so designed us to be...we can sometimes allow the emotions to control the atmosphere of our home. I want the emotions of joy, peace, and love to be the sweet fragrance that people see and smell and taste, but it's the other emotions of anger, bitterness, and chaos...those are the emotions I want no one to get a whiff of. This statement catapults me into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, I can do nothing (John 15:5). Apart from Him, I can't experience TRUE joy, TRUE peace, and TRUE love, which only comes from God above.

Father- may the atmosphere of my home be found pleasing in your sight.

--Karen

The Dreaded Note

Boo's attitude about obeying have been less than stellar lately. So, I kind of wasn't surprised when I received the note home from his teacher on Friday. Boo "has been disobedient and hitting his friends recently"...hm. I have noticed the change in him only recently, maybe about 2 weeks ago. He started putting up more of a fight at bedtime and just the constant statement of NO. It's been really tiring. So....
This weekend, we decided to change our habits. Friday after school, Jeremy and I had a long talk with him about the situation at school, we also decided that evening that no TV shows would be permitted for the rest of the day, and most importantly that we would pray about this. He agreed to the above and seemed to do better that evening. We also went back to something we used to do with bed time...straight from SuperNanny. It seems to help him more and although it takes time, it's worth it if it works. After we put him in his bed, I sit next to his bed for a few minutes. We can't talk to each other, so I take this time to pray silently for him and for our family, and depending on the amount of time, I pray for whatever the Lord brings to my mind. Every few minutes, I move closer to the door, until I finally say a final goodnight and leave. Every night the distance between him and me gets bigger as I move the starting point closer to the door. Now, I must say, this works MOST OF THE TIME, but there are the nights where honestly, nothing works, and you just have to leave and trust that he will learn to get in the bed and close his eyes. Last night proved to be that night. I did the sitting by the bed, then sitting by the door, then sitting outside and yet he still wouldn't stay in there, so after30-40 minutes, it was up to him. He cried at the door for a while and then....he went to his bed by himself.
I think I don't give him enough rope at times. He is only 2 1/2, but he is also a very smart 2 1/2. Boo has just always been the kid who needed to cry it out or figure it out himself. When he was little, he would cry for several hours at night and then just all of sudden stop. That would be it, and he would be happy and go to bed and Jeremy and I would just sit there and look at each other with wonder. He's just a kid who has to learn and do it himself at times.
I guess that's the prayer I think about the most....and pray the most often. Help me, Lord, to nurture him and direct him in the straight path, but help me also to allow him to learn and do things on his own. I think that's a huge deal in today's world...some parents let kids run crazy and others don't allow them to explore on their own. Finding that happy place is a huge prayer and responsibility to me.

I hope each of you is having a blessed day in Jesus!

--Karen

Tags: Raising Kids, Prayer

Looking forward

I am having a battle of the wills lately...Boo bear's will and my will. For some mysterious reason, bedtime has taken a turn for the worst. He so thinks he is going to miss something. I mean, I guess that's what it is... He doesn't need anything, he just wants to say my name a bazillion times over and over. I actually had to laugh at it, because I imagined the Lord laughing at the situation too. I wondered (and not long) about how many times the Lord says my name and I don't even flinch! It shouldn't be that way. My spirit should be more sensitive about hearing His voice and obeying. I sometimes feel Boo bear's ears need to be more sensitive to my voice also...hee hee. (That's the funny part.)
Our statement in the house to boo is this: Boo, if you can't learn to listen and obey Mommy and Daddy (whom you see), then it will be hard to listen and obey the Lord (whom you can't see). It's a good lesson and it keeps Jeremy and I in check probably more than Boo. I am following my Dr. Dobson notes and getting down on his level, touching and holding his arms and looking him in the eye, however, all he wants to do is hug me. I am grateful for the hugs, don't get me wrong, but I am having a time to get him to look me in the eyes.

I think it's one of the most amazing things that the Lord uses my child to make an extreme point in my life. My eyes desire to be focused on the Father at all times and yet the distractions of the world are many. It can be simple stuff or complex things, but most importantly it takes the focus off Him to the circumstance, and my soul needs to be in constant communication with the Father to avoid de-railing off the path. I enjoy remembering the past and from where the Lord has brought me, but today, for only reasons He knows, my eyes are looking forward. Looking ahead. Looking for the path. Looking to Him for guidance. Searching for His will and His way. Oh, Lord, may my eyes see your glory and desire your way - the straight path. May I focus on Your face instead of my own. May I focus on Your work, instead of the circumstance. Oh, Lord, may I have Your eyes to see others as you see them....this is my prayer.

In Christ-
Karen

Tags:Children, Prayer

Where's Jesus?

I think I mentioned in the last post that I like to sing "like I don't need the money." And it's incredibly true. I love to sing...even though I don't think I am all that great at it...more importantly though, I love to worship! The Lord created us to worship! I can't think of a more cool thing at this time than that! To raise my hands to Him is an incredible privilege. To praise Him and thank Him and love Him...there are no words to describe it. It's amazing! I have this one CD by a lady who sang at FBA one time. The song is called "When I think about the Lord"...now doesn't that just create a good beginning to any sentence? When I sing it, tears come to my eyes and I love to raise my hand and praise Him. Especially when she says "Hallelujah, Thank you Jesus - Lord, You are Worthy, of ALL the glory and ALL the honor and ALL the praise (emphasis added)." David learned the word Hallelujah a few weeks ago and raises his little hands to God when he says it...I guess he watches mommy do it. :) Oh yes Lord, what a beautiful picture that is...we as parents want to be like you Jesus, and our children mimmick us, because they want to be like us. Until he figures out in later years to mimmick Jesus, may David see how to be a follower of Christ through my actions.
Majesty-Passion CD 2005, LOVE IT! When I ask David if he wants to sing to a CD, he says yes, majesty. I love that song and if you have heard it, then you will know where I got my title of my blog from. The song says those words, changed by Your Love, and I knew I could say that whole-heartedly, so that's just some background info regarding that.
Last night David and I were home together and he wanted to read/look at my Bible. He was in a snuggly mood, so of course I let him. We flipped through the New Testament and then to the Old Testament and then he wanted to start at the beginning...no problem. I taught him the first verse about God creating the "heavens and the earf." That's how he says it...and it's adorable. When we were done I asked if he wanted to get "his" bible. He went to his bookshelf and studied it...I imagine he was thinking 'where is my Bible. There is not one book in here that looks like mommy's'. I was mistaken as the book that I was thinking of is not really a Bible, but a collection of Bible stories and we can write what he thinks of the story and how he feels about it, or questions he may have, etc. I thought we would start it in a year from now when he might be able to respond to a feeling question, but letting him flip through that book was so cool. He saw the Ark and flood. He saw Daniel and the Lion and he saw the Widow opening her hands to the Lord. He put the book down to show me the way that woman lifted her hands to God. (All the while, I am sitting in awe of my little man...) I explained to him that she was giving an offering to God and that's what we should do when we want to praise Him and offer up our life to Him. With that same book in hand this morning on the way to school, he asked me for Jesus. Yeah, I was thinking, what? David asked me "Where's Jesus?" Flipping through his book, he couldn't find Jesus. WOW I began to prod him more for answers and what he wanted was to see Jesus' picture. When we got to school this morning, in the parking lot, I talked to David about how he sees Jesus. He will see Jesus portrayed in story books for kids and in some pictures, but ultimately Jesus is everywhere. His beauty can be seen in the flowers, trees, mountains...all the things we thank Him for on a daily basis. His power can be seen in the storms. We talked all the way to his room about Jesus...

I can't think of a better way to start my day.

Since last week...

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted something! That's not like me. I have been busy, although, if I try to recall everything, my head might explode. Not really, but it sounded cool, huh?
I worked only four days last week, since I was off on Friday. A co-worker of mine is off this week, so needless to say, last week we spent trying to wrap up everything for the weekend, and her for this week. Thursday was busy!!!!! I was given a task at 8:30 that morning and had a blonde moment, so didn't find the task information (it was flipped over the side of my tablet) till 4 PM that afternoon, after two meetings, a lot of paperwork later, and guess what...there was no way I was getting the material by Friday AM at 9. In fact, the guy I called to get the material laughed at me. None the less, my boss got someone else to do on Friday and set a delivery for Monday. Does anyone know what the weather was like Monday in Atlanta? Horrible. So, we ended up having to cancel the order....and all because I didn't call them on Thursday. ugh. It all worked out and my boss, well, he called in a blonde moment and told me the breakfast he bought us on Monday morning was brain food. ha.
Enough about work...let's talk about why I was off. Bellsouth Classic, baby! I attended my first golf tournament! I spent the day outside, with my husband, who loves golf, and I, well, I just love Phil. Phil Mickelson that is. I thought I was going to deliver David the day Phil won the Masters...in fact, Jeremy, my mom and our friends thought I was going to deliver as well. As it was, I didn't, but wouldn't that have been a storybook beginning??? No, I don't love Phil enough to name my child that, just in case you were wondering. I just really like him. So, I not only got to see Phil, I saw Harrington, Donald, and Goosen (all playing in a 3 pack Friday), Davis Love III, Sabbatini (he got really ticked on the 3rd hole that day), and Stuart Cink. I watched one guy throw his ball in the water and putter in the bag and attempt to walk up a grueling hill by his lonesome...some golfers, they just can't handle disappointment. Anyway, thanks to Jeremy, we had a great time. Thanks for making my first trip to a tournament a blast...I look forward to enjoying many more with you.
Saturday Jeremy went back to the tournament and me, David and grandma went shopping and to visit some friends. David hasn't been able to see some of his old friends from Atlanta in a while, so we went to the Hinton's and David got to play his little heart out. He learns a lot about sharing there. Grandma bought David some Cookie/Elmo tennis shoes, so that was the highlight of his day. He failed to take a nap that day though, ten minutes in the car is NOT considered a nap. That was okay, since it was Time Change, so it did not kill him to go to bed early.
And the weekend ended nicely, and it was off to work on Monday (bad weather day), but the sun managed to come out and today, just as equally as nice. I love Spring! I have a great view from the little house I work in; the trees are getting their leaves back and I am looking forward to a nice Spring and Summer here.
We are having a little issue at home, we call it the Bedtime Blues. Since it's daylight still at 730, my precious one thinks it must still be time to stay up. It wouldn't be so bad that he waited till 815 to go to bed, but it's the 630 wake up call that he hates. I use the term hates as in "when child screams bloody murder to make you stop taking pj's off to put school clothes on and won't stop until you stop and let him return to bed." Oh, now you want your bed...well, yeah, too bad, it's time to get up and go to school. It's kind of sad really, because I know he just wants to sleep a little later, and we did let him sleep somewhat later, since it's Spring Break, and there is NO TRAFFIC! WOO HOO! Thank goodness for weeks like this. This makes work worthwhile. I can hardly wait for Summer Vacation! But, the bedtime blues are killin me. We are going to start bedtime a little earlier tonight, in hopes of eating dinner before 800. Maybe I should cover his windows in back construction paper...no, wait, that would not be condusive, and the apartment complex probably wouldn't like that. I will let you know how that saga goes. We can't even have our family prayer time without him pitching a fit, since he knows bed is coming next.
Hope you all are having a great week so far!

Pacified no longer...

Gone are the days of David having a paci. (Hallelujah!) We started the journey Friday night, after talking about it for weeks. It just seemed like time. Time for him to let go...he was getting away from being so interested in it anyway, so, it was time for him...and for us to suck it up and do it. As he went to bed Friday night, we didn't allow him to have it. He cried a little and wanted to cuddle more, but none the less, he went to bed. He was however up at the crack of dawn, 5:00. Jeremy and I were half asleep, and decided to let him cry and see if he goes back to sleep. He did (another Hallelujah) and got up at the normal time, 6:30. He is used to getting up that early on weekdays for school, so that wasn't a big deal...although, I can't say that I wouldn't love an hour more on the weekends! :)
He did great Saturday as we were out and about and napped with no paci. Saturday night was okay, a little more crying, but still no asking for the actual paci...Sunday the same during the day, but let me tell you...by Sunday night, I was ready to give it back to him! He just would not/could not settle down. Jeremy made me stick to my guns and for that, I am grateful.
He did great on Monday at school and tonight (Tues) he was the model child...crying for the normal five minutes. Ahhh...I must say, we are relieved. It's all about re-training. I have told my girl friends, if I would have known it would be about re-training him to fall asleep on his own, I would have taken that thing away months ago. We first taught him how to do that as soon as he could sleep through the night...what, at the 6 week mark!!! I have said (in a delusional moment) that I will not give the next child a paci...guess you all will have to wait a while to see if that really happens.
On the spiritual note...is that not one of the greatest images of the Father and us? How many times does God ask us to give up stuff and we don't, or we give it up just a little, and then take it back??? I knew that when I had David the Lord would teach me so much about how He views and loves us...that is so right.
I pray that I would not be pacified with something but always striving to gain more knowledge, tell more people, and live a life dedicated to Him.
So, what's a good image that the Father is showing you?