Getting Into Winter

Once again, I'm here at home, and the house is quiet. Yes, Jeremy is at another UNC game! He called from work today to inform me that someone had again given him 2 free tickets. He is getting SO spoiled!!! Tonight, though, he and his brother David went to the game, and Stephen and Caleb stayed here with me. Is it bad to say I put them to bed at 7:45??=) Nope!!!

Both the boys have been so sick lately. It has been crazy in our house! After finishing his antibiotic for strep throat, 3 days later, Stephen got it again! On the very same day, Caleb got croup. And yes, of course, I got strep right along with the rest of my sick family. Thankfully, Jeremy avoided it, and the boys and I were able to barricade ourselves in the house for a few days. As for now, all is well, and everyone seems healthy!

I absolutely love this time of year! Christmas is on it's way, and you can just feel the excitment in the air! I don't usually decorate until after Thanksgiving, but this year I couldn't wait! Last year I didn't even get out our decorations, because we were living with my parents. The year before that, I was still in a wheelchair from the wreck, and the Canters did all my decorating! Needless to say, I was itching to open those Christmas boxes and liven this new house up! I'll be sure and post some pictures soon!

Tomorrow we leave for the beach! It's Jeremy's family's "year," and we're all headed to Myrtle til Saturday. I'm very excited and hope to grab some deals at the outlets! While sick last week, though, I finally finished Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. It really inspired me, so I won't be doing too much shopping!=) Unless, of course, it's a deal I can't pass up!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Cherish every day and thank the Lord for it!

Caleb is absolutely enamored with all the lights and ornaments!


The boys "posing" for a quick picture before getting back to work!


Stephen really was a big helper this year with decorating the tree. He's such a "big boy" now!


One night, we found Stephen asleep in his room like this! He had moved his fan and put it on his bed, blowing right in his face. Needless to say, Jeremy quietly moved it back after I took this picture!


Me and Stephen taking a "tree decorating" break!


Stephen and Caleb loved getting in the Christmas tree box and pushing it over!


We went iceskating last weekend at an outdoor, ice free, iceskating rink! It was fun, but our 2 trips around the rink (desperately holding onto the rails) was not worth the money! This picture was, though!=)

While It Rains...

It's Wednesday night and besides the rain following outside, our home is quiet. We just got in from small group about an hour ago. It was our night to fix dinner, and I just finished cleaning the kitchen. Caleb's asleep, and Jeremy and Stephen aren't here. This afternoon a friend gave Jeremy 2 tickets to tonight's UNC game. Stephen was so excited to go and see Rameses with his Daddy! Yes, I know the game didn't start til 9, and that Stephen will probably get very sleep (and be grumpy tomorrow), but oh well!=) You only live once, and who knows how long that will be??? So, they are there, having a blast I'm sure, and I'm here at home having some quiet time. It's amazing how little you get "quiet time" when you're a Mom. Honestly, I can't even count on quiet or privacy when I'm in the bathroom! There are always little people in there doing this or that! They just can't seem to get enough of me!=) So, I thought that I would do a quick post while I had a few quiet moments alone. Things have been going well for our family. Last week, Stephen unexpectedly got strepp, but he has recovered very quickly. The rest of our family avoided it somehow. We spent Saturday in Winston. Jeremy played golf, and I had some girl time at Hannah's bridal shower. Church was awesome on Sunday as JD finished up a series on The Presence of God. I have learned so much! This week has been normal thus far. Stephen had a dentist appointment on Monday, and he did great. We did give the dentist a laugh, though, when she asked Stephen to open up wide, only to reveal a piece of candy laying on his tongue! What kind of mother sends their kid to the dentist with candy???! Anyhoo, he goes back in 6 months, and this next time, Caleb will be going for his first check-up. Yesterday we spent the day at home packing our Operation Christmas Child shoebox, making Jello, and we even took our first wagon ride to the library. Stephen checked out some books, and they've come in handy on this rainy Wednesday. We are truly loving it in this home that the Lord has blessed us with. I had a thought this morning as I was driving to Women's Bible Study about the rain that just won't seem to stop falling. The Holy Spirit brought the phrase "showers of blessings" to my mind. I began to contemplate what that meant. "Showers" to me means a random occurrence, not too heavy and not too light, just enough to get you wet. I feel like that is how God often does bless us...a little at a time and just what we need. My mind then began to wonder what it would be like if God gave us a "downpour of blessings." His Word says that He will open up the floodgates of Heaven for us. I don't think I could even handle a "downpour" when I'm so amazed at the "showers" He gives me every day. What a great God we serve! How blessed!=)

Happy Birthday Caleb!

I can hardly believe that our little Caleb turned 1 last week! We had his birthday party on Halloween. It was a lot of fun, and I'm so thankful for everyone who was able to celebrate with us. We did a Winnie the Pooh theme, which is why Caleb was Winnie the Pooh for Halloween. He completely looked like a little girl and will probably hate us for this in the future! Regardless, he was cute, and we had a lot of fun!=)

The boys together...I love this picture!


Stephen's 3 and a half year old pictures


Caleb's one year old pictures


Caleb digging into some cake!


The finished product!=)