Maniac

The Scarlet Thread is taking over my life this week!  I'm tired and a bit anxious about the Spring Valley Holiday Bazaar this weekend, but I am excited too!!!

So far, I have 16 makeup bags made up, 7 key fobs, and 7 crayon rolls.  Wow.  That doesn't sound like much.  I'll be working on more crayon rolls and some zipper pouches.  I would like to have time to make up some tiny pouches too, but I'm already overloaded enough.  I'll try to remember to update you all after it's over.

Peace.

Thankful

Church Family.

Tonight was our church Advent Celebration.   Putluck dinner.  Soups, salads, desserts.  Friends.  Crafting ornaments.  Perfection.

Thank you, Lord, for beautifully different people to enjoy life with.

Thankful

An Up-to-date Sewing Machine.

Seriously, this has brought me so much challenge and so much joy over the last 2 months!

Thankful

Girl Time.

A movie.  A cup of coffee.  A ride in the car together.  A long and varied conversation.

Amen.

Thankful

Supportive Friends.

In life, friends are such a blessing!  The true friends, walk with you through your low times and rejoice with you in your better days.  I have several of these kind of friends.  I may not talk to them for a few weeks, for a few months, or maybe even a few years, but we are always able to pick up on a positive note. Friends care about you even when they don't agree with you.

I also have some tremendous friends who I am surrounded by during this season of life.  I say that they are friends for a season, because they are only here for a season, while their husbands finish their advanced degrees.  These friends may find themselves "stuck" in Waco after graduation, or they may settle on the other side of the country.  What I love about these girls is that they don't let their unseen future stop them from developing deep friendships in the meantime.

Thank you, God, for friends to share life with.

Thankful

Peace in the classroom.

As I have mentioned only a handful of times, I teach in the BSF children's program each week.  My partner and I (along with the other children's leaders) have been praying for 2 specific children to embrace the morning's activities instead of focusing on missing their mothers.  As the weeks have gone by, one of these children has gradually decreased her crying time.  This week was a victory, a miracle of our sweet Lord.  This child not only went the entire morning without even a hint of tears, but excitedly joined in each and every activity.  The other child had a great day as well, spending time bonding with a friend instead of sitting by the door crying for mommy.

He's amazing.  God listens to our prayers and answers them in a mighty way.

Thankful

Awesome.

This word is a tad bit amiss coming out of Caleb's mouth.  He's using it to describe everything today!

Thankful

Sweet Caleb.

Where do I start?

His laughter is contagious.
His love is deep.
He is protective of his sister.
He can sometimes manage to put others before himself.
He enjoys to helping.
He is tender.
He is tough.
He can hit a golf ball with some measure of accuracy.
His smile shows lots of teeth (just like mine).
And more.
And more.
And more.

Thank you, God, for blessing my life with such a unique little boy.  I know you are and will bless others through him as well.

Thankful

Baylor lost to the Aggies.

Although this may seem to be a negative (and it is), there is always a positive side to things.  Since Jadie and I finally attended a Baylor/A&M game in which the Aggies came out on top, I will actually get to look forward to attending another one in the future.

You see, the last two times we've attended a Baylor/A&M game together, Baylor has come out on top.  Jadie gave me an ultimatum.  If the Aggies lost again this time, he would refuse to go to any more of our rivalry games in the future.

So, although my Baylor Bears lost this one, I will still be able to go to more Bears/Aggies games in the future.  And I look forward to cheering on the Bears to a WIN!!!

Thankful

Our flat tire came on a day that Jadie was home from work.

Jadie was scheduled to be off from work yesterday.  We had plans to run errands and accomplish several things that I just can't get done on my own.

As we pulled out of the driveway and got to the stop sign at the end of the street, we noticed that our right front tire was flat.  Bummer.  This would interfere with all of our plans for the day.

Jadie switched out the flat for the doughnut and we took Caleb to Mother's Day Out, 45 minutes late.  We headed to Discount tire first.  The wait was 2 hours, so we opted to run our errands anyway.

I was able to take care of the tire situation this morning.  Thank goodness for Sears Auto Service department, because it's the only place where I can stay near the car and still have entertainment and food options for the kids.  The mall is not my favorite place, but when it comes to car repair, it's a pretty nice option.  3 hours passed pretty quickly this morning since we had plenty to do.

Thankful

Veterans.

My Paw-Paw.  My cousin, Melinda.  Jadie's grandpa. Jadie's cousin, Les.  Thank you, God, that the armed forces have been a part of their lives, but not the definition of their lives.

Thankful

Healing.

Sarah's been sick this week.  I mean she couldn't keep a thing down.  It started Sunday morning when I found her in her crib, covered in nastiness.  At the time I assumed that she had simply started gagging because of congestion.  So we went on to Sunday school at church.  Then we bolted from church to go to the service across town so we could be there when Jadie's cousin, Paul, was baptized.  So, Sarah was in childcare at two different churches on Sunday.  Oops.

She didn't eat much Sunday, but I figured she was better Monday morning because she ate a hearty breakfast and was acting normal.  That was not the case.  As I was getting ready in my bathroom, Sarah played in the floor.  With about 20 minutes left before we were supposed to leave, Sarah's entire breakfast made its way onto our bathroom rug.  I guess she wasn't done being sick.  Was she actually sick?  A stomach bug?

Sarah was totally pathetic for the rest of the day.  She slept.  A lot.  She cuddled.  She lay on the floor.  She slept some more.

Tuesday, I thought things might be looking up.  She drank some apple juice and ate some animal crackers for breakfast.  We got dressed and took Caleb to Mother's Day Out.  Sarah and I went to the mall so I could get my wedding ring inspected.  The stores didn't open for another 45 minutes, so we walked down to Chick-fil-A for breakfast (for me).  I gave Sarah the tiniest piece of my biscuit and she started gagging.  Disaster in the mall food court.  Awesome.

Needless to say, we went home immediately and stayed there the rest of the day except for the time it took to pick up Caleb from Mother's Day Out.  I talked to Mom about what in the world to do about Sarah.  She suggested boiling some potatoes for her.  That did the trick.  Sarah was so famished that she ate them all up.  And we've been cautiously adding foods back in since then.

Thank you, God, for healing our Sarah.  Thank you for a mother who knows just what to do.

Mixed Up

I figure I'd better record this little story, because someday things will be oh-so-different.

So, Caleb was telling me this story about how if there's a fire in his house when he grows up, he will know how to get out.  Ok, normal...

Then he says that he will help Sarah to know how to get out.  A little abnormal for a grown man to be living with his sister...

Then he says that if he and Sarah have a baby....WAIT...that is not happening!

I stopped him right there and told him that he would not have a baby with his sister.

Truly, his line of thinking comes from the innocent love of a 4 year old brother for his baby sister.  All he is thinking about is that he wants to see his sister every day.  Seriously, he started crying at the thought of not seeing her every day when he grows up.

We will have to work on the details of that in the years to come.

Thankful

Mother's Day Out.

And not just for the reason you think.  Yes, it is a treat to have some time with only Sarah to tote around or entertain at home.

But the reason I am thankful for Mother's Day Out today is the fact that Caleb's teachers are teaching him Bible stores, Biblical truths, and Bible-based songs.  On Sunday, out of the blue, Caleb started singing "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-contro-o-ol."

I asked him what that song was and he said, "It's the fruits of the spirit."

I asked him where he learned it and he said, "Preschool."

Look What I Made

I made a turkey onesie for Sarah.  I got the idea from The Cottage Home.

A couple of notes from me, since I'm always over-critical of my work:

• My stitches around the feathers are far from perfect (but you can't see that in the picture).
• I realize now that I arranged my feathers in rainbow order.  
• I totally used olive green thread for the eyes, beak, and feet.  Oops.

But here's the finished product...still cute, I think.

Thankful

Being a Stay-at-Home-Mom.

Sarah is sick today.  She's hasn't been able to keep any food down, but she's kept drinking apple juice.  I'm thankful that I didn't have to call in sick to work today.  This is my work.  Being a mother.  I did have to call in sick to BSF Leader's Meeting, though.  But it's not the same.  I am accountable to my own family first.  What a blessing!

Thankful

Salvation.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." Act 4:12

Jadie's cousin, Paul, gave his life to Christ about 2 weeks ago.  He explained it well this morning during his baptism.  He said that he had professed Christ when we was 13, but that nothing about his life had changed.  His recent decision was because he is ready to give all of himself to Christ, living his life in prayer and the study of God's word.

Amen!

It's Official

I think I will declare today the day that Sarah started walking.  Today marks the first day that she's walking more than she's crawling.

She walks.  She falls.  She gets right back up and walks again.  She stoops to pick something up from the floor.  She falls.  She gets back up and walks again.  She trips on a toy.  She gets back up and walks again. She is WALKING!!!

One day shy of 15 months, and this baby is finally on her feet.  Way to go, girl.  I'm proud of you!

Thankful

My Mommy!

Happy Birthday Mom!  You are a treasure in my life.  Sometimes you encourage me to follow my dreams.  Sometimes you bring me back to reality.  You bring balance and security to my life.  You are a rock and a listening ear.  Thank you for loving me every day of my life.  I hope you know that you are loved!

Thankful

Girl Time.

I enjoyed some time with amazing girls tonight.  By girls I mean twenty-somethings who can make me laugh one minute and bring deep truth to me the next minute.  Although it doesn't usually happen quite like that.  Maybe from one week to the next.  Anyhow, these girls are some of my favorites!

Thankful

Scripture.  

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17

Thankful

Today I am thankful for sweet time with Caleb.  Several highlights from today:

• Caleb's Bible Study class came to sing to our two-year old class this morning.  He really wanted a hug, but was satisfied with me "throwing" him a hug. So sweet.
• On the way to the car after Bible Study, we stopped to look at a pile of wet leaves.  There were actually all 5 fall colors represented!  Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Brown.  
• When we got home, we played Hide-and-Seek for a few rounds.  How fun it was to watch his face when he found me!

Copycat

I am not ashamed to copycat a good idea.  My friend, Mary Mac is doing 30 Days of Thankfulness over on her blog.  I have done post about thankfulness before, but I want to challenge myself to document or write about one thing that I am thankful for each day this month.

Halloween Costumes