Vacation

Ok, so today is my last blog for about a week. We are leaving on vacation and Grannylou (my mom) is meeting us there. We are extremely excited and I am busy getting everything ready to go. I have the kids about 90% packed and me about 10%. It has been very challenging around here as Grace is very into climbing on the counters and getting into the cabinets. I finally just had to quit everything and wait until she fell asleep (that was another challenge). I am off to finish packing and hopefully dust and clean the rest of the kitchen. It just needs to get done. I can't leave my house dirty while I am gone. I will definitely update you about our trip when I can.....maybe I can just pay for a little bit of time to use their computers.....what can I say? I'm addicted! I think the first thing I am going to save money for is a new laptop. That is, after my contribution to church and gas for the van. It will definitely be a while before I can save the money but I can dream. Have a great week!

Just Me

Ok, so I try to make these mainly about the kids because well, this blog is called My2Blessings but today is all about ME! A couple weeks ago I asked you to pray for me about making the right decisions...thanks to anyone that took the time or remembered! Anyway, today I had an interview at church. I've been working in the nursery as paid staff (meaning I lead a classroom, in the babies that just means changing diapers, checking kids in and out, cleaning after) but today I interviewed for coordinator. My director called tonight and they have placed me in the preschool area for the Sunday night service as coordinator and also a couple Sundays a month I will work in the 4/5 year old classes as coordinator. I won't be in a classroom but will oversee the whole area and help out with kids as needed. There are other responsibilities as well but I will learn all the details starting a week from Sunday. I'm really excited to be starting this new position. I'm very sad to be leaving all my babies that I have been taking care of and the other girls that I have been working with but I will just have to pop in once in a while and say hi. This is definitely a door that has been opened. I have taken 3 different spiritual gifts tests and each one has said that administration is one of my top 2 gifts. Obviously I won't be completely in charge but it gives me the opportunity to use my gifts. Of course, teaching is also one of my gifts as I was a public school teacher before I became a mommy. Now I get to combine the 2 doing something I absolutely love and serve the Lord at the same time. I am so very excited. I prayed that God would open doors in this area if this is where I should be and this opened when I wasn't expecting it to. I knew there would be opportunities in the future but didn't know it would happen so soon.

Tomorrow will be my last post for a while since we will be on vacation for a week. Hope you all have a blessed Friday! I will be cleaning, doing laundry and packing. Definitely waited til the last minute on this one.

Wordless Wednesday

The Beach-UPDATED!

UPDATED:
Click HERE to see all of our beach pictures. I'm warning you that I took a lot!

Saturday we spent the day at the beach. We weren't too sure about going b/c of he high surf warning but we went anyway. We figured if the kids got an hour of playtime in the sand they would be happy. We were actually on the beach for about 3 hours. There was a lot of traffic going out so it took us longer than planned to even get there. Then we ordered pizza from our favorite pizza place and ate it on the way home. The kids had a great time. Grace even rested in the shade that we made with our chairs and towels. We didn't want to mess with the canopy since we weren't sure how long we would stay. Andrew had fun running from the waves. I took way too many pictures, of course. Here's a few pictures from our day! I can't get into my picasa account so I will try to upload them tomorrow.

This was Grace's way of telling us that she was just fine in the sand. She wanted nothing to do with the water. The waves were supposed to be about 10 feet but some were definitely more than that. The lifeguards kept telling people to stay out of the water because it was too dangerous. They didn't even want kids playing alone at the edge of the water.

God Helps Me

So, last night this proud momma got to see her little boy receive an award from vacation bible school for being the most enthusiastic in his class. He got to go up on stage and he got a safari hat (goes with the theme). His teacher said he listened to all the stories and participated in everything and at the beginning of the week he said, "I can't color in the lines but God helps me." I'm so proud of him for listening and going this whole week. Tonight is the last night and I am so excited for what God is doing.

Should I mention that there's only a couple other kids in the class? The first night they had about 5 or 6 but last night it was only 3. Whether the class was full or not, it's just so neat to see him doing so much there and loving it. I like him going to this church for VBS b/c it is small and he gets so much attention and he learns so much. I love our church but it is huge and sometimes I just think with so many kids he isn't getting as much as he could. He never comes home telling us about what he did or learned. He always says, "I don't know." He always acts so embarrassed. Guess that's why I have to keep teaching him at home.

Oh, and one of Grace's new words is Bible. It's her favorite book to read and sleep with. I think b/c it is colorful and the stories are so short. She doesn't have much of an attention span.

Have a great Thursday!

Random

Not much to say. Actually I can't think of anything to even write about. Andrew still has bible school. The last night is Thursday. I'm so thankful that he stays and doesn't get upset when we leave him. Each night we go at 8 so we can see the last half hour while they are doing their worship and watch the video and he looks for us to make sure we are there. Once he sees us he just turns around and listens. Such a change from last year when he was 3. He would cry when he saw us and wanted to sit with us instead of his class. In fact, his daddy couldn't even take him b/c Andrew would cry when he left. This year David took him the first night and he was fine. So proud of him for being a big boy. Grace had a hard time leaving him on Monday night but last night she didn't mind. She misses him a lot though. She acts so different when he isn't around. This morning Andrew slept in until 10 am so it was just Grace and mommy. She was really good and loving but as soon as Andrew woke up she turned so mean. She wanted to sit right next to him and when he would move or protest, she sat on top of him. She is always trying to get in his way of whatever he is doing or takes his cars when he lines them up. Yesterday she kept getting in front of the tv b/c she knew it upset him. Maybe she isn't being mean but she's definitely being a 2 year old. Poor Andrew. We told him to be nice to her when she was a baby because she would grow up and learn to fight back. Her newest defense (or just for fun) is pulling his hair or biting. Just another phase to go through.

I've been getting so many tomatoes. In fact today, I picked 73 cherry tomatoes and most of them came from one plant. I found one pumpkin that is already getting big and quite a few others that are beginning to grow. The onions are almost ready and on Sunday I picked about 2o green peppers. Some I had to throw out b/c they had a lot of bad spots. I would have kept them and just cut around all the spots but I had so many that I didn't need to. Oh, and when we get back from our Vegas trip the first week of August we will have grapes that will be ready to eat. So exciting!!!

Have a blessed day!

God is Always With Us and Not My Child Monday

Andrew started VBS (vacation bible school) last night at my neighbor's church. He had a lot of fun and came home with candy which his daddy let him eat before Grace got home. She went to church with me last night while I worked and got to go to her class again. Anyway, they learned that God is always with us and got to use that last night. He and his daddy took the trash barrels out to the road and it was lightening a little and Andrew was kind of afraid. I'm not sure what the whole conversation was since David was telling me...but in the end Andrew said, "I know, I know God is always with us!" Awesome! He learned a lot last year at this VBS so I am super excited that he is going again! It's good for Grace as well b/c she gets alone time with us while he is gone.

So over on MckMama's blog she is doing a Not My Child Monday instead of Not Me! Monday. I thought I would throw a few in....I have a lot but am only choosing a few...

I told Andrew to use nice words and he did not respond to me with "I just don't know what you are talking about!" Not my kid.

He also did not use the toilet cleaning brush to try to plunge the toilet and then use a hand towel to try to clean the brush when he realized that wasn't a good idea...thanks daddy for teaching him to plunge the toilet. Of course all of this did not happen while I was on the computer not paying attention.

Grace did not pee in her bed just because she was too stubborn to go potty before her nap. She also did not figure out how to climb out of her bed making nap time more difficult. Grace would never do any of this and she is definitely not strong willed and stubborn! Not Grace!

These are just a few of my Not My Child Mondays. Head on over to MckMama's blog and read hers and there are many others that have added theirs to the bottom of her post. Have a great rest of your Monday!

5's and ramblings

I worked in a new classroom at church tonight...with 5 year olds and I LOVED it! They were so sweet and calm. Of course I only had 7 so double that and it would probably be chaos but it was so much fun. I would definitely do it again if they need help.

It's been so hot here the past few days. It makes me so tired. Our dog Carbon hurt his foot yesterday. He ripped the toenail completely off his foot and it was bleeding. Today he woke up limping b/c part of the nail was still attached so off we (I mean David and Carbon) went to the vet. We had some medicine to sedate him so praise God we didn't have to pay for them to sedate him. They took off the nail and wrapped it up and sent him home with antibiotics. He is leaving it wrapped which is very surprising for a dog that chews the collar off our other dog. He must know that it makes it better. Do you think he will learn not to jump over the fence after this? Probably not...but I doubt he will try it for a little while and then he will forget the injury and it will start all over again. So the cool thing is the bill was about $103 and yesterday we got a check in the mail from the hospital for $100. (For a short while we had double insurance coverage and didn't know it so I think it was from that time). But isn't God so good. Now we don't have to worry about that bill. I still have to worry about possibly getting rid of Carbon but for now I'm not going to stress about it as much. If he doesn't stop jumping we will have to probably get rid of him b/c he jumps the fence even when we are standing right there.

The kids have been playing hard the last couple days despite the heat. Today they played in the pool and the water table. David had them busy all day and had them in bed before I got home. I haven't seen Grace since she went down for a nap today b/c she was asleep when I left and back in bed when I got home. I went to the mall to shop for a swimsuit before I went to church. It went surprisingly well. I found a suit and got it on sale with an extra 30% off. I think it was like $30 which is more than half off the original price. Yay for me (and thanks honey)! Overall, I think it has been a good day. I'm tired and going to sleep now. Up early for church in the morning....

My Monkey

Andrew wasn't a climber. And he still isn't much of a climber except where he is supposed to like at the park on the play sets. Grace on the other hand IS most definitely a climber. She has always carried her little pink chair around the house (thanks, Grannylou) to be able to reach things that are up high but recently she used it to climb up on the kitchen counter. Then the other day she realized that she could just scale the cabinet from the floor and almost get up on the cabinet. These things (among many others) definitely keep me on my toes. The newest climbing is out of her crib. What??? My child climbs out of her crib? I can't believe it....I saw it with my own eyes today and almost laughed! Andrew would never have done such a thing. In fact, he had a crib until he was 3. Of course he only slept in it from 1 year old to 3 years old off and on so maybe he just never figured it out. No, that's not it, he just wouldn't do that. He even slept with one side down (gasp!) and never climbed out. So, because of this climbing issue I just spent the last 20 minutes sitting on the floor by Grace's door so she wouldn't climb out. She tried once while I was sitting there but I quickly and using a very stern voice said No! She immediately got down and then spent the rest of the time fighting sleep. It was actually kind of fun to watch b/c she never stays in one place for long and here she was....trapped.

Today my devotion was to find joy and laughter in the daily things. This was an awesome opportunity. Here I was guarding the door in my 2 year old's bedroom. Thankfully Andrew was in his room watching a movie during all of this. I just sat and talked (in my head) to God and found the joy in this situation that would usually cause me to want to pull my hair out b/c I can't stand just sitting there in silence waiting....but see, that's what I need. To just sit in silence and listen. I'm sure I've been missing a lot b/c I am always just "too busy" to spend time reading my Bible and just listening. I've been reading my devotions every morning and evening and praying for these opportunities to happen.

Of course I don't pray for Grace to climb out of her crib. Putting her in a toddler bed is scary. She just wants to play, play. play. I will definitely have to put a gate at her door...yesterday I was telling my mom that but the only problem is that she will probably just climb over the gate. That's easier than getting out of the crib. My mom's reply was to put up a screen door....hahaha! That's a great idea...one with bars at the bottom so she can't bust out of it!

I love that she is independent and carefree and so in love with life that she never wants to stop. She is not one to stop and rest when needed. She just wants to plow through (literally) the day. She doesn't want to miss a thing. She is such a joy and so hard to deal with at the same time.

Thank you God for these children and the opportunity to teach them and mold them. I am so thankful that their personalities are so different and that I am able to learn from them each day!

Pictures!!!!

at the lake Last day of swim lessons

Too see more of these pictures...click here. I made another picasa website for pictures b/c I was tired of deleting albums and my blog takes up space on it also b/c they are linked. Anyway, you can always find the link on this page on the right hand side. I have both sites listed in case you want to see old albums.

Thanks Papa Wayne and Daddy!

Woo hoo! We have a swing set! Papa Wayne came over and got started on the swing set and had the frame done before David got home from work. Everything went together so easily (can you tell I had nothing to do with it?)....actually it wasn't bad at all. I've heard so many horror stories about putting together swing sets but none here. They are still working on the bench swing...where 4 kids can ride together. That is taking about as long as the whole frame took. It has a lot of parts and bolts to put in. The kids have had a blast this evening. Of course Grace already walked behind the swing and Andrew slammed into her. No injuries though. She was just really mad. I got a few pictures of them putting it together and tomorrow will get a lot of the kids playing on it. Just thought I would update you!!!!

Oh, and on a more serious note...I need you to pray for me. I have some things that I am praying for and need to get back into reading my Bible daily and having more prayer time. I want to make the right decision about a door that has opened and could just use some prayer from you all. I will update you on what it is specifically at a later time but just pray that I can get back on track and make the right decisions. Thanks!

Not..Not Me Monday!

So, I was planning to do a Not ME Monday today but I am too rushed today. I noticed this morning I hadn't blogged since Thursday and I'm sorry to those of you that have been waiting. It's been so busy. Friday we finished up swim lessons...and they both passed. Of course, the teacher recommended that Andrew repeat level 1 which is fine by me. Hopefully next year he won't cry everyday.

Saturday, we went boating. David, Andrew and Papa Wayne went out at 6:30 in the morning to go fishing....but caught nothing. I think Andrew just thinks fishing is throwing your bait and reeling it in. Grace and I met them out there at 9:30 and Wayne left and it was just our little family that went out on the boat. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the water and sand. I will post some pics...hopefully tomorrow. Saturday night when we took the boat back to Wayne's I had to drive. I've never pulled the boat, just the trailer when I'm parking it so it was really different. Grace was crying and crying and just wanted her daddy next to her in the backseat, so David just coached me through the process. It wasn't too bad, I just drove really slow which probably annoyed all the people behind me. Oh well!

Sunday was church and then we went to Toys R Us to look at swing sets. We couldn't decide what to get so we came home and looked at them online and today we went and bought it. Except I had to go down to Fontana to buy it b/c it wasn't in stock here or where David works. Hopefully it will get put together soon.....

Today we had a birthday party at a regional park which was a lot of fun. Andrew and I were running through the water and he and another little boy bumped heads and the kid fell down. I tried to help him but his mom ran in and grabbed his shoe from me and took off really mad. I tried to apologize but she didn't care and just stood there and ignored all of us. I felt bad but my kid got hurt also and I wasn't sure how to handle the situation. I guess not everyone is as understanding. Then about 30 minutes later Andrew and a little girl from the party collided b/c they weren't watching where going and she ended up with a huge welt on her cheek. Poor thing. At least this time the mom was understanding. Apparently my kid is an accident waiting to happen to other people's kids.

Well, I guess that about sums up our life since Thursday. I'm going to download more pictures sometime tomorrow and I will let you know when they are online. Thanks for all the comments I got last time....much appreciated! I love reading them....

Water Fun (or not!)

Well, tomorrow is our last day of swim lessons. Thank goodness! It's not the actual lessons and driving there that annoys me, it's Andrew. Is is nice to say that your child annoys you? Well, anyway, he tells his teacher no....he says it's too cold to get out of the water and jump back in. Doesn't he realize that she is in charge? He whines and cries that it is too cold and when he does get out to jump in, he pleads with her to come closer so he doesn't have to jump so far. I know he is a little scared of the water but it's annoying! Andrew has become comfortable putting his head under water and floating on his back with his teacher's help....huge improvement. In the wading pool he tries to swim and isn't afraid to keep swimming even when he goes under....huge! He can crawl along the wall with all the other kids, much slower but he does it....huge! He can know bunny hop through the shallow end....HUGE! He has made huge improvements and I'm sure by next year he will improve in the area of jumping in the water and not whining that it's too cold. Maybe I should be grateful for his improvements rather than annoyed. Thank you God for that gentle whisper to be grateful!!! Grace is doing really well also. She is now going under water and trying to swim. Going underwater isn't her idea of fun and she gets really mad but she has to and will get used to it eventually. Everything she does is with a parent so she is pretty comfortable with everything.....except floating on her back. We'll work on that one!

We went fishing with Papa Wayne...or maybe I should say we went casting. The only thing that was caught was a trash can lid....thanks to Jayden! You can see those pictures on my picasa picture site. (click on the highlighted picasa to go straight there or continue reading and I will give you another chance to get there.)

Today we had Andrew's 4 year pictures done. The pictures turned out awesome and will upload them when I get them back (in about 10 days). We went to Victoria Gardens Mall to JCPenny and then to play in the water. Andrew had a blast, Grace did not. She wouldn't even touch the water. I wish we lived closer to Victoria Gardens so we could play in the water more often. There were lots of moms with blankets and picnics watching their kids play in the water. One more reason to dislike where I live and the fact that there is nothing to do. God placed me here for a reason, just hope he will reveal it one of these days. Anyway, hope you are all having an awesome week. If you want to see more pictures of my blessings, click here. I added 3 new albums

Christmas in July

Well, the weekend was great! We went to Heather's mom's house for the 4th of July and they had a bouncer with a water slide which was a lot of fun. Andrew had a blast. Well, actually before we went to their house we went to Bass Pro Shop and the kids got to paint a bird house and run around and see everything. You can see all of the pictures on my picasa site.

Sunday was Christmas in July around here. Andrew turned 4 and we celebrated with a Christmas theme. He loved Christmas this year and cried when we took down the tree so it was perfect that his birthday fell in July. He got a lot of presents and had awesome cakes. The kids made a photo frame craft, played in the kids' rooms and overall it was a lot of fun. I'm exhausted today after this weekend of crazy. But we are so thankful to celebrate with our closest family and friends. I think Andrew could have had one little boy named David at his party and it would have been complete. Not that he didn't want everyone there but he loves this little guy and I'm going to be so sad when David goes to kinder in August and makes new friends and grows up....hopefully he will still have room in his heart for Andrew. He is almost 2 years older and I hope that for a while at least they will continue to want to "hang out and play cars" as Andrew said this weekend. It is so cute to watch and hear what they say to each other.

The kids making their craft.Andrew's finished frame. Yes, his name is backward, not sure why b/c he usually does it the correct way....very cute though. The cakes. The baker did an awesome job on both cakes. I think I will use Super Target again (oh, and I love the price!!!)

It's over and now I have to pack up all my stuff and get my house clean again. You can go here to see a whole bunch of pictures....I just put up 3 new albums last night-swim lessons, 4th of July, and the birthday party. Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you all have happy and safe 4th of July. We will be celebrating with friends and I pray that we are all safe and get home safely as well. I prefer not to travel on the 4th (or any holiday) and we will be quite a ways from home. Enjoy the day, the fireworks and your freedom!

Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs

So going to see Ice Age may not have been one of my best ideas.....but we got cute pictures. It was a little scary for Andrew...thank goodness they didn't end up seeing it in 3D that would have been bad. Andrew still had fun going to the movies with his daddy even if it was a little scary. Of course last night I had to lie down next to his bed while he went to sleep but that's ok. Once in a while isn't a big deal.Swim lessons are going well. Here is a picture of the kids getting ready to go.
Still have lots to do to get ready for Andrew's party. I made the goody bags and got the craft sorted so it will be easier for the kids to do. I am having them decorate a Christmas picture frame and I will take a picture by the tree and send it in the thank you card. David wants the kids to play in the water but we'll see. I told everyone to bring their suits just in case. Not sure what the day will bring. I am only having them do one craft activity now instead of 2 or 3. I decided it would probably just be too chaotic with that many kids. They get to make 2 frames if they want to. David has told me that he doesn't really like the idea of nothing for the kids to do besides a craft b/c he's never heard of a party like that. I think that's why he wants to do the water stuff also. Oh well, I can't please everybody!!!

Last night I gave Grace a bath and after we sat on the couch to put on lotion and we sang some of the songs from her class. It was so cute to see her do all the motions to the songs. She kept telling me in her own sign language what song she wanted. It was nice b/c there was no competition or rivalry. It's a rare moment when I get to do things like that with Grace. She can be a little stubborn and forceful most of the time. Like right now....she wants to play with my camera and I won't let her so she keeps waving it around and crying and hit me in the face. I am patient until I get hit in the face with something and that just irritates me. So I just set her on the floor and she can throw her fit and when she's done we will do something else. I know, I know....paybacks.