Holden turning 3

I cannot believe my sweet "baby" is turning 3! He was determined to have a Woody cake... not Buzz, but Woody! So here it is!

Relax!

This past weekend I went to Wilmington for a little mother/daughter time. Wow! She was all about spoiling me rotten! She set up a massage, manicure, pedicure... I did not know what to do with all the pampering! I had to get over the fact that I worried so about my masseuse! Does she get pampered, does she get to enjoy being on the receiving side of her awesome work? I sure hope so! Once I became an official noodle, I was over feeling guilty... just relaxed! My fingernails look better than they have in years... not to mention my poor neglected... for oh so long... feet! I am quite sure Mylee (sp?) is THE BEST nail person in Wilmington!

The weekend was also filled with food, food, and more food! Indochine, Terazzos, and Smithfields. WoW! Lots of talk time with my mom, yummy food, and fun. It was a little weird being without my boys and Russ, but I am thankful for a family who loves me and wanted to give me a weekend off. It certainly does refresh the mind, body and spirit!
Blessed!!!

Praying for Zack

I have shared with anyone that will listen about the sweet boy Zack Mayo, who is from my hometown of Wilmington, NC, who is suffering from cancer. I follow his families CaringBridge site and our family prays for them. His mom is such a precious testimony for how God wants us to cry out to Him in our pain, so that He may give us comfort. This is a posting she had a week or so ago that really spoke to my heart.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 10:26 PM, EST
Revival in Zack’s Room…The hospital is under “flu season watch”. This means if you are under the age of 14, they think you are a flu carrier and you are not allowed to enter the units. So Nick can’t be in Zack’s room which means we can’t all be together. Before “flu season watch” he had to have his temperature checked upon entering the unit. By the way, I think they should make adults get their temperature checked….I hear them hacking all over this hospital and nobody is freaking out about that. ( Am I the only one who ever notices that when adults are sick they say “it’s my allergies”. Hmmmmm?) Any way Mayo and I have to switch off. He was here all day and night yesterday. I have been here all day and will spend the night tonight. (Never fear – we have family on the way -arriving tomorrow to help as I type this).

Last night I had quite the pity party about Zack’s n/g tube which was not a good prelude to being here alone with him today. I got really nervous when the doctors started telling me various numbers, tests etc…..but I got really freaked out when I “googled” what they were talking about!! (Google is not always a good thing.) See – usually Mayo and I bounce off each other and remind each other how doctors always have to tell us the absolute worst case scenarios and how we have to stay positive, focused and trust God. But he wasn’t here to remind me all that and I didn’t do such a good job saying it to myself. As a result, for the first time in a while, I was really, really scared. I’m talking the kind of scared where your throat is dry and your stomach is knotted up but you know you can’t lose it because then your child will be scared so then you just get nauseous. So I did the only things I knew I could do to relieve my feeling of helplessness. First, I asked my momma to come to Cincinnati. Next, I sent out a prayer APB to my prayer warriors!! (Love me some technology!!!) Then, I prayed and I got in the Word and I spoke Word Out Loud – for a couple of hours!! I’m talking WOW – the kind of praying that makes you feel invincible! I put on the whole armor of God as this battle is still raging! I read so much scripture out loud praying over my child. Then I logged in and read your prayers out loud and your encouraging scriptures out loud! That’s right! We had a REVIVAL in Zack’s room – complete with some great music. (I even got an AMEN from the housekeeper) I’m sure the nurses think I’m a Jesus Freak and Zack thinks I’m a little crazy but when he’s all grown up and witnessing to people, he will be able to say “my momma prayed scripture over me daily and one day she got started and I didn’t think she would ever stop.” And I’ll be ok with that.

Have you ever prayed that way? If not – I highly recommend it! When I was done, I wasn’t scared anymore. And bonus – I feel closer to God than I have ever felt in my life. “Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world”!!! ~ 1 John 4:4 He has overcome the world!! My family and I are so very thankful to be trusting God and to be God’s property. And by the way, I’m still wearing the armor. Thank you all for always lifting us up.


I LOVE IT!!! The faith and perseverance and the love and bravery.

Love Song

Last weekend I got to go visit my mom and Tim in Wilmington. It was filled with pampering and fun. However, on my way there and my way home, I had a lot of just "me" time. I enjoyed spending that "me" time with the Lord, and listening to podcasts and a rediscovered Third Day CD. One song on the Third Day really touched me, and when I found out the name of the song, it makes so much sense. 'Love Song' as in a love song from Jesus! WOW! I do not know about you, but back in the day when I would make a "mix tape" for that someone special, I think about how much thought and feeling went into me trying to express how truly, madly and deeply I felt about that person. This song spoke to me because it is exactly what Jesus did for me... loved me so much that he died for me. This love song is written for you too!

Show and Tell

I found this bible at Barnes and Noble before Christmas and immediately, it went on my wish list. Thank you to Russ's mom and dad for this gift! I love this family bible so much that I wanted to share it with everyone!

Every page to every other page has blue side bars. These sidebars have a scripture verse for you to read, and then questions for you to answer and discuss. There is then a short path or a long path for you to take to go to the next page.

We read this each night at the dinner table while the kids are finishing up eating. They look forward to it and really enjoy this discussion time. I love love love this family bible, and highly recommend it to everyone with kids ages 4 and up! Great family time coupled with great bible learning = BLESSED!

Forced Surprise Christmas Joy!

For the past couple of days, late in the evening, the UPS man has been making a stop to deliver some Christmas orders. Not sure if anyone has had my same experience, but sometimes Amazon will ship out a box that has a big ole picture of the product on the side. So, Russ and I have been trying to meet Mr. UPS at the door and not let the kids get a glimpse of the boxes.

Well, Landon has about as much self control as an dieter in Krispy Kreme (in case you have never had to diet, that equals 0), and he is so beyond hyped up this holiday season. Soooooo, when the truck is in the neighborhood, Landon knows it and he is at the door screaming, "IT IS THE DELIVERY MAN!!!"

To which, I am in another room yelling, "DO NOT GO TO THE DOOR!"

TO which HE IGNORES!

Then I continue, "I AM SERIOUS LANDON! GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!!!"

Ignored!

Until I finally yell, "I WILL TAKE BACK EVERYTHING AND YOU WILL NOT HAVE CHRISTMAS! I WILL CALL SANTA! I MEAN IT!" Extreme? Possibly! ;-)

Russ started making fun of me and my extreme "holiday cheer" saying, "YOU WILL HAVE A SURPRISE ON CHRISTMAS MORNING, BUT YOU WILL NOT HAVE JOY UNTIL THEN...OR NO CHRISTMAS FOR YOU!"

Ok, I see that I may be a little too controlling when it comes to forced family fun! I just want them to be surprised, but I guess it does not really matter when they are surprised, right?

Praying for Zack

Landon and I watched this video this morning, and I stood their sobbing like a broken child! It is unbelievable how far this little boy has come, God is amazing! I am so touched by the unwavering faith that his family holds onto, they have truly claimed God's Word every step of their journey thus far. Amazing testimony for Him!

Also, I as I stood watching, I was reminded that when all things seem to be going well and "normal", it can all change in the blink of an eye! We are not guaranteed tomorrow, not even an hour from now. So thankful for the gift of health, my family, for four crazy, drive me insane boys, and for this day!

Fishing with Math...

This afternoon Landon was working on a homework math worksheet and was having trouble with some of the problems that were on there that he had not yet learned. He asked Blake to help him with the sheet, and Blake agreed. So, Landon asked Blake what the answer was to one of the questions, and Blake replied, "Landon, I will not tell you the answer! ... If you give a man a fish, he will eat for one day. If you teach a man to fish he will eat forever!"

Hmmmmm!

Kill Santa?

This afternoon Blake informed me that he needed to speak with me in "private"! So we went into another room and he very seriously informed me that he thought in order to preserve his brothers' beliefs that Christmas is about the birth of Christ and NOT all about Santa, he thought we should... "metaphorically of course!" KILL SANTA.

To which I replied just as calmly and seriously... "Blake, we are not going to kill Santa."

He said, "OK, I just really wish Nicki Sprecklemieier had not told me the truth in
2nd grade!"

;-(

TOO CUTE!!!

Our newest addition to the family...our niece, Brenna! COULDN'T YOU JUST EAT HER UP?

It is on like Donkey Kong!

Landon has amused himself lately by jumping out from behind everything and scaring Gavin. Gavin cannot see the humor in this fun that Landon is having and after several days of hearing Gavin cry because Landon has scared him yet again, Russ and I decided to give Landon a taste of his own medicine.

Last night after church, I put on a black ninja mask and hid behind Landon's bed in the pitch dark. Russ called Landon upstairs to pick up some clothes in his room. He entered his room, turned on the light and out I popped, roaring as loudly as I could! Needless to say, Landon screamed like a 3 year old little girl and after about 10 seconds of being frozen in place, he took off running down the hallway.

The laughter erupted throughout the house, and we thought that maybe a taste of his own medicine had done him some good.

However, I am afraid that now it is on like Donkey Kong.... I am watching ny back constantly for the next scare!

NORTH

Coming back from North Georgia last weekend we took a "short cut" through the country to try to avoid interstate traffic and cut some time. We went through North, South Carolina, which reminded me of this hilarious video. Russ got to reminisce about his childhood going to the farm for the holidays to visit his Grandma and Papa Temples.

During our looooooong drive through the country, Landon said, "Are we in the middle of nowhere?"

To which Russ replied, "YEP! Ain't it great?

Stronger

I hit the bottom today... God sent me His ladder to help me out of the pit! Always amazed at His wonderful grace, mercy, forgiveness! Thankful that He loves broken people like me!

I will take the candy, but no costume please~

Have you ever met a 2 1/2 year old that HATES costumes? Well, Holden Brown is the first one for me! I have been trying to prepare that child for weeks to get his costume on in preparation for the big candy fest... to no avail! He absolutely HATES costumes. Does he think he will BECOME the character? Is there no turning back, if he puts on the Batman costume, he may have to be Batman Forever. I even tried to get him to simply put on an apron from Home Depot's monthly Saturday kids craft time. Does he believe that we will put him to work at the Depot if he puts on the apron? He would not even wear a HAT!

I tried to get him to carry his Bible around and I was going to put a sign on him proclaiming he was a "Holy Terror"! Second thoughts got the best of me when I thought about making light of him and his bible he so sweetly carries with him all over the place.

Trunk or Treat came and went and he was simply Holden, 2 1/2 year old. I thought for sure when Trick or Treat came around he saw all of the kids dressed up that he would be sure to don one of the 20 something plus costumes in the "costume trunk" - nuh uh!

So, he went around the neighborhood, as himself. The candy concept was a new thing for him too. If you know anything about Holden, he is a candy freak and a sneak. He LOVES candy. So when he realized he could walk up to a door (just like he was) and they would willingly fill a bag with candy... he was determined to hit every house in the neighborhood! ...and we did!

This week, I went into Walmart and with the release of Toy Story 3, they had some PJ's that looked like Woody costumes for $5! $5! They could have had purple dinosaurs on them and $5 would be a great bargain, but they didn't... they looked like a Woody costume. I put in them in the cart and Holden promptly threw them out and started to cry, "I DON"T WANT THAT!"

I guess we can get rid of the boys' costume trunk! Oy!

All I want for Christmas...

A conversation with Gavin this morning...

Me: Gavin what would you like for Christmas this year?

Gavin: Some coloring books, math books (REALLY?), a DS game and a couple of Playmobile people. That is really all Mom. You know, it really doesn't matter how much you get!

WOW! Thank you, Lord, for his sweet little heart!