Today I woke up and started to think of happy thoughts. I thought that it might be fun to write down things that make me smile.
Happiness is...
1. Watching my kids play together.
2. Listening to John Derrick tell me something especially when he gets very animated with his hands.
3. Faith doing well in school.
4. Having the toys put away where they belong
5. When John Derrick takes a nap
6. Taking a car trip and talking with Kevin
7. Trying a new recipe and it turns out to be a keeper
8. Listening to John Derrick laugh at a funny movie
9. Watching new TV shows
10. Bedtime for the kids
11. Cool sheets on a warm summer day
12. Warm flannel sheets on a cold winter day
13. Christmas morning
14. Watching TV with Kevin
15. New clothes
16. Finding cash that I forgot I had
17. Finding old friends on Facebook
18. Reading a good book
19. Re-reading my favorite books
21. Watching a good movie
22. Going to the lake
23. Making homemade cookies
24. The opening song in the movie Cars
25. Having the windows open on a beautiful day
26. Payday
27. A cake or brownies baking in the oven
28. Having a good friend
29. Seasons changing
30. A hot shower
31. A good night sleep
32. Watching John Derrick play with his best friend
33. Chocolate
34. Donuts
35. Christmas lights
36. Going out with Kevin
37. Remembering some of the fun things that I did in high school and college
38. Watching a favorite movie
39. When Faith is excited about something at school
40. Knowing that God is always in control
41. Knowing that God has always answered my prayers to bring Kevin home safely when he goes out of town.
42. Remembering how God answered prayers
43. Remembering how God answers prayers differently from the way I thought they should be answered
44. Seeing God's blessings in my two children
45. Seeing God's amazing creation
46. Knowing God is part of my life and how horrible it would be for Him not to be part of my life
47. Reading about the heros in the Bible
48. Having parents who raised me to know God
49. Having two beautiful children
50. Being married to my best friend, Kevin
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
25 Random Things about me
1. I was part of the first kindergarten class at Friendship Christian. There were 11 of us in the class, 9 girls and 2 boys.
2. I went to Friendship from kindergarten to 12 grade. There were 6 girls left from that first kindergarten class. So we were the first to go completly through Friendship.
3. I was in Jr. high chorus and Sr. high chorus at Friendship. I never thought about being in chorus before Jr. high but I decided on the first day of 7th grade that it sounded like fun and joined. I loved every minute of it.
4. I went to Freed Hardeman and didn't join the chorus because I didn't know how to. About 4 weeks into my freshman year, I met some people in the chorus and they encouraged me to call Doc Rhodes so I did and I was in chorus for 2 1/2 years.
5. At Freed Hardeman, I lived in 3 different dorms (almost 4). I lived in Bradfield, Dixion and Hall Rolland. I was originally assign to Porter Terry but the day I moved in, they couldn't find my info but I soon found out that I was going to live in Bradfield.
6. My husband is 2 years younger then I am.
7. I met Kevin at Freed. It was my junior year. I had gone up to the radio station with my friend Betty and Kevin came down the hall. I had never met him before and I wondered why. I found out later that he was a freshman.
8. I learned how to ride a bike in about 5 minutes when I was about 6 or 7. Someone gave us a bike, I got on and my dad gave me a push and I started peddling and did not fall down.
9. I have never played any organized sports and I don't regret it.
10. The church that I went to as a teenager was a small country church where my dad preached. On Sunday morning we were lucky to have 35 people in attendance. There was one other teenager and she was my best friend and we were the "youth group"
11. Since I didn't have real youth group at church, I attended functions at College Street church of Christ with another one of my friends.
12. I have spent the night in a cave. I went with the group from College Street to Cumberland Caverns and we went on one of the tours that takes you through deeper parts of the cave with a lot of tight squeezes. After the tour we were able to spend the night in the cave. It was a lot of fun.
13. My father-in-law passed away 11 days before Kevin and I got married.
14. I truely wish that my father-in-law was alive to meet my children. He would have loved both of them.
15. The first house that Kevin and I bought was in Marion, AR. It was 867 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. It cost us $54,000.
16. I miss that house.
17. I think that Kevin is the smartest person that I know. He is always on top of current events and I can ask him anything and he will give me an answer that I trust. He can also fix just about anything. When someone comes to him with something that they need help with and he can do what they need, I am so proud.
18. I LOVE to read. The mornings that I am home, I am usually reading a book while I am drinking my coffee and John Derrick is watching cartoons.
19. My favorite author is Laura Ingalls Wilders. I usually read through the whole set of Little House books about once a year. I also try to find biographies to read about her. She is a fascinating person. Her books, although fiction, are about her and how life was back in the 1860-70's
20. My biggest fear right now is not that Kevin will lose his job because of the economy but that the company that he works for will make him move back to Memphis.
21. I wish I could be an children's book author. I think it would be a lot of fun but I can't think of anything to write about.
22. I wish I could be more organized and I try really hard to be but the harder I try the more unorganized everything gets.
23. I think the Payton Mannings MasterCard reward point commercial is so funny. I laugh everytime that I see it.
24. I sometimes wish that the news was animated because then I think the kids would let me watch the news occasionally.
25. I think that my children are beautiful. I still can't believe that I was blessed with such beautiful and special children. I love watching them play and discover things. Everytime one of them tells me that they love me, my heart melts.
2. I went to Friendship from kindergarten to 12 grade. There were 6 girls left from that first kindergarten class. So we were the first to go completly through Friendship.
3. I was in Jr. high chorus and Sr. high chorus at Friendship. I never thought about being in chorus before Jr. high but I decided on the first day of 7th grade that it sounded like fun and joined. I loved every minute of it.
4. I went to Freed Hardeman and didn't join the chorus because I didn't know how to. About 4 weeks into my freshman year, I met some people in the chorus and they encouraged me to call Doc Rhodes so I did and I was in chorus for 2 1/2 years.
5. At Freed Hardeman, I lived in 3 different dorms (almost 4). I lived in Bradfield, Dixion and Hall Rolland. I was originally assign to Porter Terry but the day I moved in, they couldn't find my info but I soon found out that I was going to live in Bradfield.
6. My husband is 2 years younger then I am.
7. I met Kevin at Freed. It was my junior year. I had gone up to the radio station with my friend Betty and Kevin came down the hall. I had never met him before and I wondered why. I found out later that he was a freshman.
8. I learned how to ride a bike in about 5 minutes when I was about 6 or 7. Someone gave us a bike, I got on and my dad gave me a push and I started peddling and did not fall down.
9. I have never played any organized sports and I don't regret it.
10. The church that I went to as a teenager was a small country church where my dad preached. On Sunday morning we were lucky to have 35 people in attendance. There was one other teenager and she was my best friend and we were the "youth group"
11. Since I didn't have real youth group at church, I attended functions at College Street church of Christ with another one of my friends.
12. I have spent the night in a cave. I went with the group from College Street to Cumberland Caverns and we went on one of the tours that takes you through deeper parts of the cave with a lot of tight squeezes. After the tour we were able to spend the night in the cave. It was a lot of fun.
13. My father-in-law passed away 11 days before Kevin and I got married.
14. I truely wish that my father-in-law was alive to meet my children. He would have loved both of them.
15. The first house that Kevin and I bought was in Marion, AR. It was 867 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. It cost us $54,000.
16. I miss that house.
17. I think that Kevin is the smartest person that I know. He is always on top of current events and I can ask him anything and he will give me an answer that I trust. He can also fix just about anything. When someone comes to him with something that they need help with and he can do what they need, I am so proud.
18. I LOVE to read. The mornings that I am home, I am usually reading a book while I am drinking my coffee and John Derrick is watching cartoons.
19. My favorite author is Laura Ingalls Wilders. I usually read through the whole set of Little House books about once a year. I also try to find biographies to read about her. She is a fascinating person. Her books, although fiction, are about her and how life was back in the 1860-70's
20. My biggest fear right now is not that Kevin will lose his job because of the economy but that the company that he works for will make him move back to Memphis.
21. I wish I could be an children's book author. I think it would be a lot of fun but I can't think of anything to write about.
22. I wish I could be more organized and I try really hard to be but the harder I try the more unorganized everything gets.
23. I think the Payton Mannings MasterCard reward point commercial is so funny. I laugh everytime that I see it.
24. I sometimes wish that the news was animated because then I think the kids would let me watch the news occasionally.
25. I think that my children are beautiful. I still can't believe that I was blessed with such beautiful and special children. I love watching them play and discover things. Everytime one of them tells me that they love me, my heart melts.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Change
Did I mention that Faith does NOT like change either. I guess I have some crazy kids but then I am crazy myself. Our furniture is falling apart. Our recliner that we have had for 9 years is sinking to one side and the lever doesn't stay on. The couch that we bought apart 3 years ago has a broken frame(Note, never ever buy anything from Ashley Furniture). My loveseat that doesn't match anything is the only decent piece of furniture that we have but it is 12 years old. And not to mention, my dining table and chairs has to be 50 years old (it was my grandmother's). I only have 2 chairs that can be sat in. The other two have great big holes in them where the weaving it coming apart. I told Kevin we would definitely get a new recliner sometime soon but it couldn't wait. So we went to DT McCalls and found a sectional with 4 reclining ends!!!! We bought it and it will be delivered Tuesday afternoon and the rest of the furniture (except the table and chairs) will be leaving with the delivery drivers.
Faith was excited at the store. She liked what we picked out and said it was very comfortable. BUT then it hit her when we were on our way home that our old furniture was going to be gone. She didn't like that idea. She was actually sad. She thought that we needed to keep the furniture. Where I would like to know?? The only piece that is worth keeping is the loveseat but I just don't have any use for it. She'll get over it. I just hope that this furniture holds up like it is suppose to.
Well, John Derrick is getting use to his carseat. He likes that he can unbuckle himself as soon as we get home. If you do ask him what he thinks about his carseat, he will tell you, "This carseat is old and boring, I need my baby carseat back."
Faith was excited at the store. She liked what we picked out and said it was very comfortable. BUT then it hit her when we were on our way home that our old furniture was going to be gone. She didn't like that idea. She was actually sad. She thought that we needed to keep the furniture. Where I would like to know?? The only piece that is worth keeping is the loveseat but I just don't have any use for it. She'll get over it. I just hope that this furniture holds up like it is suppose to.
Well, John Derrick is getting use to his carseat. He likes that he can unbuckle himself as soon as we get home. If you do ask him what he thinks about his carseat, he will tell you, "This carseat is old and boring, I need my baby carseat back."
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
John Derrick's Carseat
John Derrick does NOT like change. He is the only child I know that doesn't want to be a "big boy." He wants to stay little. He has been like this for the past 3 or 4 months. We have been trying to transition him away from little kids things like sippy cups and booster seats. Our latest transition was his carseat.
John Derrick weighs over 40 pounds and he is 4 years old. He was too big for the carseat that he has been using since he was 6 months old. It was time for a new one. The problem was that he really likes his carseat. I guess he felt safe in the 5-point harness and I felt safer with him in the harness, too. So I did a little research. I found a carseat with a 5-point harness that went up to 65 pounds that converted to a booster seat and then a backless booster but it was quite expensive and I felt like he would want to use a seatbelt in a few months.
Target had the Graco Turbo Booster on sale this week and that is the carseat that I really wanted to get him. So I got it. I showed him the ad and he didn't like it, he wanted the one that had the 5 point harness that was also on sale. I got him dressed this morning and told him that we were going to Wal Mart (decided to use their price matching instead of driving to Mt. Juliet) and we were going to get his big boy carseat and he told me that he was too little for it. So I resorted to bribing him. I told him that I would get him a toy if he would get a big boy carseat. So he reluctantly agreed. We went to Wal Mart and looked at the carseats. We found the one advertised and he told me that it didn't have yellow on it but he still let me get it.
So it was off to the toys. I had offered to get him a Webkinz because he and Faith had been playing a lot with her Webkinz and I thought he might like his own. He told me that Webkinz were for girls but he did consider it. We perused the toy aisle. He wanted to look at the cars. We looked at the cars. We made it down to the Disney Cars. He looked at all the cars. I tried pointing out a few and he picked out two cars which of course were not the $3. He picked out a Mack truck and a Mini Lightening McQueen with a trailer. He knew he had me if the palm of his hand. I didn't want to upset him because this was his treat for getting a big boy carseat so I let him get both. Thankfully he loves playing with his cars so I know this won't be wasted money.
So he is slowly becoming a big boy. I don't want him to grow up too quickly so if he wants to drink from a sippy cup a while longer so be it. He is still my little boy.
John Derrick weighs over 40 pounds and he is 4 years old. He was too big for the carseat that he has been using since he was 6 months old. It was time for a new one. The problem was that he really likes his carseat. I guess he felt safe in the 5-point harness and I felt safer with him in the harness, too. So I did a little research. I found a carseat with a 5-point harness that went up to 65 pounds that converted to a booster seat and then a backless booster but it was quite expensive and I felt like he would want to use a seatbelt in a few months.
Target had the Graco Turbo Booster on sale this week and that is the carseat that I really wanted to get him. So I got it. I showed him the ad and he didn't like it, he wanted the one that had the 5 point harness that was also on sale. I got him dressed this morning and told him that we were going to Wal Mart (decided to use their price matching instead of driving to Mt. Juliet) and we were going to get his big boy carseat and he told me that he was too little for it. So I resorted to bribing him. I told him that I would get him a toy if he would get a big boy carseat. So he reluctantly agreed. We went to Wal Mart and looked at the carseats. We found the one advertised and he told me that it didn't have yellow on it but he still let me get it.
So it was off to the toys. I had offered to get him a Webkinz because he and Faith had been playing a lot with her Webkinz and I thought he might like his own. He told me that Webkinz were for girls but he did consider it. We perused the toy aisle. He wanted to look at the cars. We looked at the cars. We made it down to the Disney Cars. He looked at all the cars. I tried pointing out a few and he picked out two cars which of course were not the $3. He picked out a Mack truck and a Mini Lightening McQueen with a trailer. He knew he had me if the palm of his hand. I didn't want to upset him because this was his treat for getting a big boy carseat so I let him get both. Thankfully he loves playing with his cars so I know this won't be wasted money.
So he is slowly becoming a big boy. I don't want him to grow up too quickly so if he wants to drink from a sippy cup a while longer so be it. He is still my little boy.
Today in History
Today history was made. That has probably been said a million times in the past 24 hours. America's first African American was made President of the United States. Wow. One thing that I find important about today is this history. Our children are going to grow up and be able to tell their children about the first African American president. This event will be studied in American History classes. Barack Obama will be the first.
We must pray for our president. He has at least four years maybe eight years ahead of him to make his name synonymous with positive change for America. He is human and he will make mistakes and he isn't going to keep all of his promises. But he is our president and we must support him.
We must pray for our president. He has at least four years maybe eight years ahead of him to make his name synonymous with positive change for America. He is human and he will make mistakes and he isn't going to keep all of his promises. But he is our president and we must support him.
Monday, December 29, 2008
It was a very Merry Christmas.
Christmas 2008 is over. It came quickly and quietly without a lot of fuss but it was a good Christmas. This year John Derrick was very excited. He would ask every morning when Santa Claus would be here and when he could "u-pen" presents.
This is John Derrick after he took a bubble bath. He stuck his chin in the bubbles and would say "Ho, ho, ho! I'm Santa Claus"
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas if one of my children wasn't sick. John Derrick struggled with a cold for over a week and then Faith started with a runny nose. Kevin took both of them to the doctor the Saturday before Christmas and both of them had DOUBLE ear infections. I feel very blessed because my children do not get sick a lot. It has been a while since either one of them had an ear infection if fact, I can't remember the last ear infection we had at our home but since it was Christmas, they had to get sick. They both got antibioctics and by Christmas Eve they were feeling much better.
Christmas Eve is spent at my parent's house. Everyone is suppose to be there but unfortunately Penny and the kids went to Florida this year to see her family. Marty was able to come and so was Lane and Kristen and little Josie. We still had a wonderful time and Faith and John Derrick loved their presents they got from Grandmommy and Granddaddy. Faith's favorite present was her Goldfish Webkinz from Uncle Lane and Aunt Kristen. John Derrick's favorite present was his tool set and Scooby Doo movies from Grandmommy and Granddaddy.
We were able to "get" Granddaddy this year. Every year Granddaddy wraps all the presents and he likes to use A LOT of tape and add a few surprises to the boxes like bricks and dried beans and maybe but a box inside a box and inside a box. Sometimes it takes someone a while to open a present. Oh, they also use food boxes that they save throughout the year. So we open a lot of 100 calorie snack boxes. This year, I put his present inside a ziploc bag, put that inside a cereal box, wrapped it and then kept putting boxes inside boxes and wrapping each one. I used a Dunkin Donut box also. I put all of these inside one big box and then filled it with "filler". I put two shoe boxes of Happy Meal toys in the box. I had fun wrapping the present and I think he had fun unwrapping it.
Christmas morning started about 7:00 this year. Faith was the first one up which isn't surprising. We had to wake up John Derrick and he didn't want to get up at first, but when he saw the presents under the tree, he perked up. Santa Claus always leaves wrapped presents under the tree. They are wrapped in two different color wrapping presents with no names on them. He leave a nice letter that he has typed. The letter tells the kids how proud he has been of them this year and tells them which presents are thiers. Faith's were wrapped in red wrapping paper and John Derrick's was green. Santa was very good this year. Faith got an Easy Bake oven and decorating pen, Wii Fit, Super Mario Galaxy for Wii, a Bible devotional book, Pixo's pen, Silvermist doll and a few other little things. John Derrick got a remote control Monster Truck, play food, blocks, Lego Batman for Wii, a Bible devotional book and a few other little things also. They have really liked what they got for Christmas this year.
For Christmas day, we go to my Aunt and Uncle's house for dinner and the unwrapping of the yearly gag gifts. Dinner was delicious and it was nice seeing all my family. John Derrick got to play with his 2nd cousin, Lawton and that was fun to watch.
Now I need to get back to normal. It is the Monday after Christmas. Kevin has gone back to work. The kids did not get out of their pajamas all day (what is really scary is they stayed in their pajamas the day after Christmas also). I did change clothes today and cleaned house a little. I made my grocery list and played on my blog for the afternoon. (Thank you Laura Beth for telling me that changing the background is easy because that is what I did) I am planning on trying to start my shopping tonight after supper and if I get it done, I don't have to go with the kids tomorrow. They hate going to the grocery store and I don't like taking them. But, if I don't do that, we will probably stay in our pj's again. So I need to think of something to do with them that doesn't cost any money.
Till next year...
This is John Derrick after he took a bubble bath. He stuck his chin in the bubbles and would say "Ho, ho, ho! I'm Santa Claus"Christmas wouldn't be Christmas if one of my children wasn't sick. John Derrick struggled with a cold for over a week and then Faith started with a runny nose. Kevin took both of them to the doctor the Saturday before Christmas and both of them had DOUBLE ear infections. I feel very blessed because my children do not get sick a lot. It has been a while since either one of them had an ear infection if fact, I can't remember the last ear infection we had at our home but since it was Christmas, they had to get sick. They both got antibioctics and by Christmas Eve they were feeling much better.
Christmas Eve is spent at my parent's house. Everyone is suppose to be there but unfortunately Penny and the kids went to Florida this year to see her family. Marty was able to come and so was Lane and Kristen and little Josie. We still had a wonderful time and Faith and John Derrick loved their presents they got from Grandmommy and Granddaddy. Faith's favorite present was her Goldfish Webkinz from Uncle Lane and Aunt Kristen. John Derrick's favorite present was his tool set and Scooby Doo movies from Grandmommy and Granddaddy.
We were able to "get" Granddaddy this year. Every year Granddaddy wraps all the presents and he likes to use A LOT of tape and add a few surprises to the boxes like bricks and dried beans and maybe but a box inside a box and inside a box. Sometimes it takes someone a while to open a present. Oh, they also use food boxes that they save throughout the year. So we open a lot of 100 calorie snack boxes. This year, I put his present inside a ziploc bag, put that inside a cereal box, wrapped it and then kept putting boxes inside boxes and wrapping each one. I used a Dunkin Donut box also. I put all of these inside one big box and then filled it with "filler". I put two shoe boxes of Happy Meal toys in the box. I had fun wrapping the present and I think he had fun unwrapping it.
Christmas morning started about 7:00 this year. Faith was the first one up which isn't surprising. We had to wake up John Derrick and he didn't want to get up at first, but when he saw the presents under the tree, he perked up. Santa Claus always leaves wrapped presents under the tree. They are wrapped in two different color wrapping presents with no names on them. He leave a nice letter that he has typed. The letter tells the kids how proud he has been of them this year and tells them which presents are thiers. Faith's were wrapped in red wrapping paper and John Derrick's was green. Santa was very good this year. Faith got an Easy Bake oven and decorating pen, Wii Fit, Super Mario Galaxy for Wii, a Bible devotional book, Pixo's pen, Silvermist doll and a few other little things. John Derrick got a remote control Monster Truck, play food, blocks, Lego Batman for Wii, a Bible devotional book and a few other little things also. They have really liked what they got for Christmas this year.
For Christmas day, we go to my Aunt and Uncle's house for dinner and the unwrapping of the yearly gag gifts. Dinner was delicious and it was nice seeing all my family. John Derrick got to play with his 2nd cousin, Lawton and that was fun to watch.
Now I need to get back to normal. It is the Monday after Christmas. Kevin has gone back to work. The kids did not get out of their pajamas all day (what is really scary is they stayed in their pajamas the day after Christmas also). I did change clothes today and cleaned house a little. I made my grocery list and played on my blog for the afternoon. (Thank you Laura Beth for telling me that changing the background is easy because that is what I did) I am planning on trying to start my shopping tonight after supper and if I get it done, I don't have to go with the kids tomorrow. They hate going to the grocery store and I don't like taking them. But, if I don't do that, we will probably stay in our pj's again. So I need to think of something to do with them that doesn't cost any money.
Till next year...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Happy Birthday John Derrick
My baby is four years old. He has grown up so much in the past year that I can't believe that he is the same boy. Over the last year, he has learned how to carry on a conversation, he found out that he likes Batman, he is going to turn into a giant "mar-moe" (marshmellow), he learned to like the swimming pool, he has a best friend named Cooper, he now likes Mickey Mouse and Blue's Clues, he has learned to aggravate his sissy and drive his mommy crazy, he watched Scooby Doo over and over and over and over again, he went to the beach for the first time, and he likes to "help" mommy in the kitchen.
I am so proud of John Derrick. He is such a sweet boy and I love him so much. I pray always that God will watch over both of my children and protect them. I pray that God will bless John Derrick's life and help him grow up to be a fine Christian man who will one day marry a Christian girl. I pray especially that Kevin and I will be good Christian examples and to raise him as God wants us to.
We had John Derrick's birthday party at our Thanksgiving meal. This is him with the Batman cake that I made him. He was so proud of his cake and turning four. If you ask him how old he turned on his birthday, he is going to tell you that he is eight (because Faith is eight and he wants to be just like her)
Patiently waiting to open his presents.
John Derrick riding his new scooter.
We also went to Baton Rouge for Thanksgiving to visit Kevin's family at his brother Donny's house. Memaw decided to have a little birthday party for John Derrick while we were there. She went to Wal Mart and got this cake. Once John Derrick went through the kitchen and saw it, he came running into the living room and was pointing to the kitchen and saying, "There is a car cake, him in there (meaning Donny) made it for me!" It was so cute so we credited Donny in making the cake for John Derrick.
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