Where's my blogroll???

I got inspired by Kelly's new template and have been wanting to change mine, so I thought I'd give it a try. Well, here it is and now my blogroll is gone and I can't get it back (you can see my sorry attempt to the right).

Please help, someone.

Hate to make fun of Josh's people but.....

Rot iron from Landis, anyone???

Photo update

Baby blues

My beach boys

Sweet Karis

Here they are!

Kayla, Isaiah, Karis and Kayden

Sand beard....great.

Attempt at beach picture

Another attempt
(these were my best shots)

Pops and Grammie

Kayden and Grammie watching the dancers
at Johnny Rockets

My most favorite one
(just coming up from a wave)

Keeping it good

I just read this short article by Abraham on blogging, and thought it was helpful, honest and important (I needed to read for sure).

Thought I would share.

Josh's character (not a Jane Austin fan)

You scored as Edward Ferrars, Edward Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility is one of the most awkward characters you'll come across, but it's endearing once his better qualities come out. He's devoted, extremely true to his word, and gentle. Edward Ferrars 93% Mr. Darcy 53% Captain Wentworth 53% Willoughby 27% Which Jane Austen Hero are You? (For Guys) created with QuizFarm.com

I had to for my mom....but whatever.

You scored as Emma Woodhouse, Emma is possibly one of the most loyal characters of Austen, always wanting better for those around her and doing all she possibly can to make it happen. Her motives sometimes get in the way of her good intentions and her own opinions can end up ruling her actions, but she has a good heart. She loves to be social and is welcoming to most, unless they are too silly to tolerate. While she sometimes changes her behavior to make others feel comfortable, she knows who she is and is always bettering herself. Emma Woodhouse 88% Marianne Dashwood 69% Elizabeth Bennet 69% Jane Bennet 44% Elinor Dashwood 44% Lady Catherine 44% Charlotte Lucas 31% Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!! created with QuizFarm.com

I'm good....just lazy

I really love the summer, ya'll. Sorry for the delay in posting during the last month, and thank you to those who have been concerned. Lazy summer days are here and I'm soaking them up. Plus, I have soooo many pictures and videos I'd love to post that I get overwhelmed thinking about it and therefore procrastinate like it's a pap smear.

Quick snapshot of the last month:

1. Spent a good 8 day stretch at the beach.

2. Been cleaning out closets, rooms and the garage of junk and furniture and storing it at family's houses to get the house ready to sell (like we're always doing).

3. Been playing phone tag with the headmaster at a nearby Christian school about the possibility of teaching music part time there in the fall....which, I'm happy to report, resulted in God providing me the job.

4. Been chasing little man all around the house as he's getting really fast and now enjoys opening every door, cabinet and drawer he can reach and pulling himself up to grab whatever's available on that surface.

5. Been trying to decide what's important to implement discipline for and what's not (very tiring).

6. Been endlessly shopping for cute fabrics to make my burp cloths, and then trying to decide if it's worth the effort to try to sell them.

7. Been really enjoying having Josh home with me everyday (yes, that's honestly how I feel...though he does hog the computer).

8. Been walking at the mall with Kristin (who still doesn't have a blog that I can read, but gets on me when I don't update) at least 2 times a week...and 5 days lately.

9. Been trying to sell all my Mary Kay on ebay to fund my fabric shopping.

10. Been planning my first one year old birthday party, which makes me more sad than happy right now.

11. Been playing A LOT of cards....which happens to be what I was doing almost a year ago when my water broke ("Uh, Josh could you deal for me?")

12. Been hanging out with friends from church and deepening those relationships.

13. Been trying to read more and spend more consistent time with the Lord...not always successful but really good every time I do...I feel like my desire to be deep in prayer and the word is being restored (I feel like I've been in a dry spell), which is very sweet of the Lord.

14. Been spending really good time with our families on both sides (and Mom is doing AMAZING. Thank you for praying for her.).

15. Been looking to take advantage of the outdoor festivities the city offers in the summer time.

16. Praying and discussing plans for our finances and possibly baby#2 sometime in the future.


Ok...does that get me off the hook? Probably not, since all of your lives are busy....so thank you for continuing to update your blogs.

It gave me something else to do while I was not updating mine :)

What was the #1 song the day you were born?

Mine was "Good Times" by Chic.......WHO?!?

Josh's was "Bad Girls" by Donna Summer. He must have been getting ready for me....I was born 3 days later.

The #1 song on our wedding day was "Baby Boy" by Beyonce with Sean Paul.

What was your song? Find out here.


(Thanks for the link Teresa!)

Summertime....

Happy first day of summer!!! The time of year that most people wait all year for. The time when you go on vacation, go swimming, have cookouts, play on the beach, get a tan, harvest your garden, catch up on your reading, stay up later than normal, relax.

Here's some great music to get you in the mood as you catch up on your blogs (just minimize the page and go about your business).




....and a small plug for Renee.

Update on Mom

Her surgery went really well this morning, finishing much earlier than we expected. Her blood loss was very minimal and now she's just resting. We went to see her and she was pretty out of it (saying that she had to look at us with one eye because otherwise she would see two of us), but was happy to see us and Isaiah. He kept talking and cackling which she loved.

It seems the hard part is going to be the recovery. She is supposed to take her first couple of steps sometime this evening. She really appreciates your prayers and will continue to need them in the weeks ahead.

Please pray for my mom

She's having surgery tomorrow morning to have both of her knees replaced. She'll be in the hospital 4-5 days and then at home recovering for about 6 weeks.

Pray especially for my dad as he will be primarily taking care of her at home (we'll help too). She's really looking forward to relief from the pain she's been in (and their vacation in July).

Father's day and Isaiah's dedication

Watching Daddy open his presents and cards from us.
(Daddy's tired from playing tennis all morning)

Trying to be just like Daddy!

Josh wanted Systematic Theology and Bible Doctrine.
While I know this will be really good reading for him, I wanted to get him a grill
(you know, a "fun" present)!
Oh well.

Isaiah would NOT be still during the dedication...I was sweating bullets!

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord."

Our pastor Mickey praying over Isaiah
My brother Darren, my dad and my neice Trinity eating lunch

The day really couldn't have gone smoother. We celebrated with Josh on Saturday, and then celebrated with our dads Sunday. It was really special to have almost ALL of our family at church with us to celebrate us as parents dedicating Isaiah to the Lord. A definite full circle moment for them. I remember my mom telling me the story of the day my dad lifted me as an infant up to the ceiling in the middle of our living room and commited me to God praying that God would use my life mightly for His glory. They promised to not stand in the way of His plan for my life. I can honestly say, they have parented me in light of that...never saying no to any opportunity for me to serve the Lord, no matter how long or how far away that took me. I have always been thankful for that, but never like I am now. What trust in God that takes!

My prayer is that we would parent Isaiah in the same way. Holding him loosely, knowing that he is the Lord's to do with as He chooses. I can already tell that this will be both a tremendous joy and a tremendous struggle.

Big day tomorrow...

1. Father's Day -- spending time with both Josh's and my dad.

2. Isaiah's Dedication -- Isaiah will be publicly dedicated to the Lord (along with a bunch of other babies) at church tomorrow. Pray I can hold it together.

3. Josh's FIRST Father's Day -- I truly wouldn't hand pick another man to be Isaiah's daddy. I'm amazed at how he's being transformed day by day into a more caring, couragious and godly dad and husband. Simply put: I'm incredibly proud and grateful.


***I'll update more about this stuff later.

Honoring Ruth

You can read her memorial on the Billy Graham website here.

What a woman

I'm sure most of you know this already. Just for your prayers and reflection on the faithful vessle she's been...especially in her roles as Billy's wife and mother to their children.

RIVETING!!!

For the past 4 Wednesday nights at 10pm I have sat absolutely pinned to the couch totally and completely engrossed in this new series. Josh thinks that I'm becoming more and more of a conspiracy theorist and maybe he's right. Either way "Traveler" has captivated me so I must plug it.

I'm amazed that I've never heard of these actors before. Where have they been hiding?!? I keep thinking that I'll be disappointed because the writers surely can't do what they did the week before, but I haven't had time to feel disappointed because the show holds my full attention every second. I need the commercial breaks to sort through what had just happened. Each week is a huge cliffhanger.

Don't judge me. I know I sound pathetic, but it really is THAT good (to me, at least).

I won't give anything away, but if you want to see any of the first 4 episodes go to the link above. I've told Josh a couple of times that if it was a movie I would most certainly own it. Hopefully, it will go to box set.

Ok, I'm done.

Stuff in my brain

A couple things I've been thinking about:

1) How I can declutter our house most effectively
2) What all needs to be done to get it ready to sell
3) Where we will live next and how to afford a bigger house
4) Why I don't hate my sin
5) How to make our living room feel more tropical
6) How can the church utilize women with leadership skills
7) What fabric I should buy for my burp cloths
8) How much should finances factor into deciding when to have a 2nd baby
9) Should I take the part time job at the Christian school down the road
10) When to get a date night rotation going so we go on more dates
11) When to go to the beach next
12) What should my day look like tomorrow
13) How much I'm looking forward to "Traveler" tonight

Not quite sharing yet...

Give it back! No, you give it back! No you!
Well, I'm bigger!
( you decide who said that)

Naw, we're just messin'!

Check out the look she's giving him!

This is a new favorite trick: he'll just throw his body all the way to one side all of a sudden and he wants you to do it back (so go ahead...don't disappoint the little guy).
Sittin' pretty!

We've really enjoyed having cousin Karis in our house the last few Mondays, and, without a doubt, both Karis and Isaiah are happiest when they're both awake together. It is so fun to watch them interact, laugh at each other and even have baby conversations with each other.

I seriously keep having to remind myself that it is NOT ok for them to get married. I joke with Stacey that if they were second cousins we could discuss it but definitely NOT first cousins!

No West Virginia jokes, please.

My little Van Gogh

Isaiah is 10 months old today and we celebrated with a trip to the mall to walk with our friends Kristin (who really needs to join our blog world...hint, Kristin) and Lily (her precious little girl who's close to Isaiah's age). We also stopped at Starbucks and a cute kids consignment shop by our house. We came home with a couple new bathing suits, sandals and a hat, all for Isaiah, although, I'm pretty sure the whole trip was more fun for me.

I just cannot understand why anyone wouldn't enjoy shopping and then sitting in Starbucks for an hour drinking coffee!

Then we tried our hands at finger painting! Again, I think this was more fun for me. He seemed to enjoy parts of it for awhile, but I wanted him to do some hand prints and I think he just wanted to make a mess (which he did). So when he got upset the first thing he did (of course) was shove fingers in his mouth.

Oh well. We'll keep trying. I think it was worth it to him since he got to play in the tub!

Holiday at the sea

"...it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. "

C.S. Lewis picked the perfect illustration, in my opinion, to show us how profoundly sad and absurd it is when we reject the reward of communion with God to eat worldly crumbs and play in mud pies.

It's fresh on my mind since we just got back from our own holiday at the sea (ok, we got back last Tuesday) and about a day after being home I was having withdrawls and planning the next trip which will be as soon as possible.

Josh's grandparents bought a great little piece of land in North Myrtle Beach back in the 70's. It's a double lot one row back from the beach with a building that has four separate, cozy apartments. Josh's parents now own it and have provided their family with an amazing place to unwind and relax together whenever we want to. We LOVE it!!! It's the most amazing feeling to wake up, and while fixing my coffee be able to stare at the glittering ocean greeting me first thing in the morning.

I went with my best friend from college, Meghann, late Wednesday night (had to see Jordin win American Idol) and arrived early Thursday morning. Josh came Friday after work and stayed until Monday. We talked Meghann into calling into work for one more vacation day (which she never does) and staying until Tuesday. We just weren't ready to leave. I think the beach comes with a 5 night minimum.

We spent our time either on the beach or in the apartment playing Yahtzee, cards, watching movies (or in my case, sleeping), eating, reading (Meg's a faithful TIME reader), having great conversations and getting ready to go back out on the beach. The weather was perfect everyday....very warm and sunny.

Isaiah was a challenge on the beach as long as I was trying to keep him from grabbing handfulls of sand and either eating it or smearing it on his face. It seems that the whole skin exfoliation idea was ours from birth. I finally let go and let him have his fun, while smothering him in wipes. Meg was a big advocate for letting him dig in and, as you see in the pictures, they won out a couple times.

When I wasn't bothering him, he had a blast...even sitting in the surf and letting it splash up on him. He was born to be a beach baby!

I have a feeling you will get sick of seeing beach pictures as the summer wears on. I'm planning many more trips!

Meg has declared herself his girlfriend until he's 5. I'm not sure this is appropriate behavior, Meg.

Ah ha! That's what these silly things do!

Taking a shower....he loved it!

This is the sweet face of the little boy who yelled out "you suck!"....twice! (I'll tell the story if you ask me.....it's rather embarrassing)

"I. D. K......my B. F. F. Meg?"