Bank

Lula Mae got a dollar from her Franny yesterday. (Franny is my Mom. Since Lula Mae was the first grandchild she got the privilege of "naming" her) Today I wanted to teach her about money. She thinks that money is just something to hold and play with at this point, and I just don't like that. I think the earlier you begin explaining financial things to kids, the better (in an age appropriate way of course). I want my kids to understand the importance of money and that since God blessed us with this money we need to use it wisely. I know the picture is hard to see, but it gives you an idea of what we made.


The big bag is Lula Mae's "bank". Inside of the bank are 3 different "accounts". We talked about how you give to the church first, savings second and then to your spending account last. So we took her dollar and broke it into change. Then I showed her how to divide her money between the bags. I will say, she was not thrilled and whined and pouted through a majority of the activity. She thinks she should just hold and play with her money.... and well, that just isn't going to happen. I think over time she will think it is fun, but right now she is protesting. The next time I go to the Dollar Tree I need to pick her up some pretend money to play and practice with. On Sunday I will let her take her church bag with her to give in the offering and I think that will perk her up a bit. I want my kids to have a good foundation of money so that perhaps they won't make the same mistakes that Charlie and I did. I think that this along with them seeing us work towards a debt free life will really help them succeed when they are in charge of their own finances.

My Boy

I feel like I am constantly updating you on Lula Mae, and never tell you about Jayce. hangs head in shame So today is all about my boy. Jayce just turned a year old, and I still just can't believe it! He is growing up way too fast! He is quite a tiny little guy... even now, weighing 17 lbs and being only 27 inches tall. He takes after his Mommy I guess! He is a smart little man too, but he likes to keep it a secret. He is reading about 6 or 7 words.... when he wants to! Stubborn I tell ya, stubborn to the core! From the day he was born he has been quite attached to me. I guess I can't complain about that ;-) unless of course I need to get something done....

He is a cuddly little guy. He just loves to be held in general! He like to know someone is right there I guess. He is much more affectionate that his sister.

Some times he seems more needy than his sister. He is just 100% different than Lula Mae which I guess I was not really prepared for when he was born. I knew they would be different, but I thought some things would be the same.... WRONG! This guy is totally unique in what he likes, what he needs, what he prefers.

His favorite thing? Putting things in his mouth! It has been since he was able to get things to his mouth on his own!

No really... everything goes straight to the mouth!

E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! He also really loves eating paper. We call him our billy goat. If he gets his hands on any paper product, he is going to eat it! Even cardboard... he will just gnaw on it until it is soft enough for him to eat! I can't leave this child alone with a book. Lets just say he really enjoys a good book ;-)

He sleeps with a stuffed Pluto so when we got to meet the real Pluto, he just laid all over him. He didn't want to let him go! He is quite the animal lover actually. He loves Eric and Heahter's dogs and is really loving out new cat. He is so gentle!


This boy is an outdoors-man. This may be the one thing he and Lula Mae have in common. Both my little ones love to be outside. I loathe being outside by the way... yep I'm that girl! While we were waiting to see the Fantasmic show at Disney Hollywood Studios... aka: THE most amazing show in the world... Jayce joined in on doing "the wave" with everyone. I think he would have a fun time at a ball game!


Typically, Jayce is grouchy. He has been since birth. I am not saying he is a bad baby, just cranky. There are times when he is super happy, but they are not that often. He isn't always crying... but whines a lot. When he smiles, I try to praise him and bask in it while it lasts. He has his good days where he is happier than normal, but for the most part I see this a lot...


This is his usual face. He is such a somber baby and keeps a serious look on his face most of the day. When I look at him I feel like he has an old soul. I feel like he is going to be a person who feels others pain. I feel like he will be one of those guys who is great to talk to and is always there with a shoulder to cry on.


I pray for his spirit daily. I pray so many things for him, but mostly I pray that he knows Jesus and loves him with all of his heart, all of his mind and all of his soul. Jayce could use your prayers too if you are a prayer warrior. Shortly after he was born he was diagnosed with reflux. Since then he has been on medication to help control it. Typically at a year a child is ready to be weaned from it... not sweet Jayce. He still needs it or he has horrible choking fits and grunts because the acid is hurting his throat. Pray for healing for him. It is getting better, but I want so badly for him to be medication free, for once. Also, he has eczema. It started off as just a few spots on his legs. Slowly it has covered his legs and feet. Then it creeped onto his arms... to his belly.... and now covering his neck and back. He scratches constantly and often has tiny cuts all over if I fail to trim his nails the moment they grow at all. I feel like my sweet baby is never comfortable. We just got a higher, stronger medication to put on him, but it is one of those things where I just want him to not need it at all. I want him to be normal and feel good. I know that God will heal him in His time, but I would ask you to pray for healing for him in this too. I think these two things kinda lead him to be a bit more grouchy.

I feel like Jayce needs me differently than Lula Mae did at his age. If I were being honest, I would say he needs me way more. I feel like maybe he will need me more for the rest of his life. I love this little guy to much! He knows just how to melt my heart :-)

So this is how Mr. Jayce is right now. Growing, changing and learning so fast!

Downgrade

In December our contract with Direct TV is up (Woo Hoo!). This is one time that I am like, "Come on December! Hurry it up!". Father Time please don't take that literally, okay? Today I called and downgraded our package to help lower the bill. Canceling our service before the contract is up would cost us about $500 so we are just trying to ride out our contract as cheaply as we can. I was hesitant to downgrade though, I will be honest. There is only one show my husband watches... River Monsters. There is also only one show I watch (when there is a new season on).... 19 Kids and Counting with the Duggars. The package that I wanted to downgrade to, that just happened to be the most basic package they offer, would mean dropping both of the channels that these shows came on. I didn't know what my husband would say, so I brought it up to him and to my surprise he was all for the downgrade. I wish I could be more like him sometimes. I wish I could just say "that doesn't matter at all" the way he can. I am working on it though. I grew up, not spoiled per say, but fortunate. I kinda want my kids to live a bit more primitive than I did. I don't want them to think that TV is everything, I want them to see TV as a privilege they get. I always thought I could never live without TV, but I am learning that I really really can, and that I really really want to. Cable is just so expensive and just feels like a huge waste to me. I like having PBS and Disney Junior, but I know I can find little clips for the kids to watch on the internet too. Plus we have DVDs that the kids love, and we have Netflix so we can keep new DVDs coming that we think are appropriate for them. So why be tied down to a bill! I feel good about our downgrade, but I really can't wait to be able to cancel our service all together.

I am slowly, and I mean s-l-o-w-l-y, learning that less is more. I am learning that we need to lead a more simple life because it is biblical. At the same time, I am learning how hard living simply can be. Funny how God does that, huh? Making things that are so necessary seem so impossible. When I see my daughter satisfied with the simplest things (empty paper towel roll, a few books, junk mail, crayons and paper, a bowl and a wooden spoon) and my son satisfied with just having my attention and a hand full of toys.... I know living a simple life is necessary and so incredibly possible.

What do you do to help you live a simpler life? Any tips?

Could We Add More Hours To The Day Please?

I am in the process of trying to make a vacation slide show of all our pictures. There are so many and I want you to see all of them! But posting that many photos would take.... well f-o-r-e-v-e-r! So, I thought I would just show you a few comparison photos for now.

Lula Mae's 1st birthday morning

Jayce's 1st birthday morning

Lula Mae swimming with Daddy 2009

Lula Mae swimming with Daddy 2011

Riding the carousel 2009

Riding the carousel 2011

Downtown Disney September 2009

Downtown Disney 2011

Now I am off to work on the budget, work on plans for Lula Mae's party this weekend, do some laundry, clean up a bit.... oh the list goes on! I hope your week has started off great!

Torn

I am not a political savvy person. I don't really know the difference between democrats and republicans. I can't tell you what bills are being discussed or who the senators are. I don't watch the news or read the paper. If it isn't on the Yahoo News for the day, chances are I don't know about it.

But, I am not this guy....

...and I do know that the US got Bin Laden. Actually my husband and I watched the President do his speech about the whole shebang that late Sunday night. As a military wife I feel the need to be excited and glad that this has happened. Part of me is. Some of me is glad that the 2 deployments my husband has been on have a purpose. A piece of me knows that all the families who lost precious loved ones in the 9/11 attacks have a since of closure now. Deep down I know that he was doing horrible things and needed to be stopped.

What bothers me the most is that people are saying "justice was served".

What bothers me is that there were people in front of the White House jumping, shouting and cheering knowing that Bin Laden had been killed.

What bothers me is that people don't seem to care about other people.

As a believer you are called to love everyone. Not everyone except terrorists. Not everyone except child molesters. Not everyone except people who don't have the same beliefs as you. Everyone. I know it is hard to wrap your brain around that.... but if you are a believer you really must. I am not saying you have to love what Bin Laden did, I am just saying you are suppose to love him and be worried about his salvation. Because guess what... God gives justice, not us. Here is a thought....

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." Matthew 7:1-5

To God, a sin... is a sin.... is a sin... is a SIN! So the person who gossips falls short in the same way as Bin Laden. We ALL fall short of the glory of God. Every single one of us. This may be tough for you to think about too but, if by chance Bin Laden was saved (obviously that is a very slim, slim, slim chance considering his life) then he has been forgiven for ALL of his sins. How would you feel to see him in heaven worshiping God with you someday? If you are a believer you should be joyful about that. A believer should want everyone, no matter who they are or what they have done, to know Jesus as their savior and have everlasting life.

I hope this is making at least a little bit of since because I feel like I am going around in circles! People who profess to be believers need to set a good example for those people who still have not found the Lord. If the lost people of this world see us reacting in different ways, we will stand out.... in a good way! Don't assume we brought Bin Laden to justice, know that God did. Don't celebrate a mans death if you are not certain that he knew the Lord, that is just not right. Don't hold unforgiveness in your heart.

I am a proud military wife, but when it comes to this I feel very torn. I am very proud of our military and the fact that they have accomplished what they set out to do. I hope someone out there gets something out of this. I feel better knowing that I have said it.... and considering it is my blog I don't really care otherwise. Please don't leave me crazy hate mail just because you don't agree with me on this. My blog... my opinions... try to remember that.

All I Have Is Prayer...

Heather finally wrote about what she and her husband have been going through. She used her blog as a journal (for the first time in a long time) and really spoke her mind. She let things out that I was sure she would hold in. I feel like now it is okay for me to do the same thing. If Eric or Heather asks me to delete this, I will with no question. This post is for me, but since it is their lives I must use caution. You can read her post here if you want to be up to speed on what they are going through. I will warn you, it isn't easy to read. It is not some sugar coated, watered down post. It is real life and it is deep. As I have watched these two people that I love so much go through this, I have been amazed.


Amazed by Gods grace and mercy.

Amazed at how Eric and Heather are dealing with what has been laid in front of them.

Amazed at how badly I want to understand, but never will.

Amazed at how my flesh feels about this whole situation.

Amazed at how my spirit is dealing with everything.


My flesh is weak and feels broken and depressed for them. My flesh is mad. My flesh hates this. My flesh questions God. My flesh wants to rationalize this. But what can I say, it is my flesh and it is rotten. A lot of me hurts still and has not recovered fully. A little piece of me wishes none of this had ever happened.

Then my spirit breaks in and gets control.

My spirit is strong because the LORD is my strength. My spirit is joyful in all things. My spirit know that God makes no mistakes and does all things for a reason. My spirit is okay with not knowing why God allowed this to happen. My spirit is not broken, instead it is stronger and more focused. My spirit is the only thing that has kept me from walking away from the God I love.

Today I am grateful for the spirit God has put inside of me.

I have cried happy and sad tears for them. For 3 years I wanted to hear her say the words "I'm pregnant". Finally she did, and honestly I was more excited when she told me she was pregnant than I was when I found out I was pregnant (no joke. Yes" mother of the year" material I know.) I was also more crushed by their loss than I think I was by my own heaven born baby (yeah I know, I am just clean sweeping that mother of the year award with this post, huh? oh well. Honesty isn't always pretty.) Nothing has made me question my faith more than this. Nothing. Unfortunately, a lot of this stems from selfishness.

I want to see them pregnant

I want to throw them a baby shower

I want to stand outside of the hospital room and listen for the first cry of their baby

I want to hold their baby

I want to see them kiss their baby

I want to see them hold their baby and cherish their baby

I want to hear all the stories of how the middle of the night diaper changes went horribly wrong

I want so much for them.

I am selfish and I am learning to leave the planning to God. I know God wants all of this too, He just wants it in HIS time. His timing is perfect, mine is not. Right now I want to be able to do so much for them, but all I can do is pray. It feels like I am doing so little. It feels like I am ignoring them and not grieving well enough for them. It feels like it can't be enough. I know deep down though that my prayers are enough right now. God is enough for them. I see it on their faces. I know they are struggling in their own way, but they are strong... and growing stronger. I know they are trusting God fully and are being obedient to Him. I will never be able to wrap my head around all of this, but I also don't need to.

One thing is certain, Heather and Eric are parents. Their sweet baby is sitting with Jesus and waiting for them. My sweet friend Heather is a Mommy and my cousin Eric is a Daddy. Nothing can ever take that away from them.