First day of school 2010!!!!

Karlea

(notice the lovely step ladder in my kitchen. i've been meaning

to finish painting!!!)



Connor's first day of 2nd Grade!!!

Wow how they grow and time flies!!!!

They both had a great day today. Connor has Mrs.Krystal Hunt this year. I went to school with her and played softball with her and her older sister. She's a great person. She is a few years older than me, so I wasn't extremely close to her but know that she's a good person. I asked Connor if he wanted me to walk him in this morning. He said nah. Broke my heart a little. I know that he adapts well to everything so I knew he was fine.

Karlea has Mrs. Brittany this year. She is really excited. I walked her in and got her cereal ready to eat for breakfast. I told her to have a good day and that I loved her. She said "I love you too". She didn't cry, didn't even really bat an eye. Broken hearted again. Oh well. That just means that they have a good time at school and feel secure without me. Thank you Lord for wonderful, amazing kids.

One week left!!!! :(

So, the summer is almost over for me. I have one week left before I go back to work. The kids have another week. It will be like they have to go back, because we will all be getting up and the kids will be taken to different places while I work. I wish they would not have us go back until the last week of August or the first week of September. I remember not going back to school until closer to Labor Day, possibly even after. The government is so concerned with test scores and grades, not the kids. They've changed everything and are involved with all aspects of school. You know, my friends and I all turned out just fine without the government interfering in school. We went to school from late August to mid May. We had spring break and a couple days and Thanksgiving and Christmas. We all turned out fine. We didn't have to have all these standardized tests and so forth. Anyway, that is not the direction I was going with this so I'll get back to my thoughts.

Let's see. Last week we went to Alabama Adventure with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law and her two kids. We had a good time. It was cloudy and overcast but we got some sun, especially me. For some reason, I didn't put sunscreen on. Dummy! We enjoyed the Lazy River, the kiddie area and Connor and I rode one of the slides. He had a blast. He was scared to death, quite unlike Connor. He didn't say much going up the stairs to the entrance. But oh my, when we got to the end, you couldn't get a word in. He really enjoyed it.

We decorated the church for VBS which was this week. I am in charge of crafts. I ordered some neat crafts I think. We had canvas bags to color with fabric markers, picture frame, binoculars (they really work) and a water globe. The kids seemed to really enjoy them. The "big kids" liked the binoculars. Over and over I heard, "these really work". Well duh. I wouldn't get something so cheesy! Anyway, it's been a great week. I didn't realize I would be so tired at the end of the night from crafts!!!??? Crafts, really? I told someone last night I picked crafts because I thought it was the easiest things to do. Then someone said "are you kidding, crafts is the hardest thing". Why didn't someone tell me this before hand? Oh well, it's been fun and I truly enjoyed every minute of it. Seriously, I did.

I went to the doctor yesterday because of my not very fun mood and fatigue. I was diagnosed with clinical depression and put on some "happy" meds. I took them for the first time yesterday morning. Wow! I felt like I had taken benadryl and nyquil at the same time. I had that "sleepy" feeling but with some major energy. I don't know how you have both of those at the same time but I did. I was so sleepy but I was a busy little bee all day long. I cleaned out the garage and took the garbage to the dump. I dusted, vacuumed, mopped, cleaned mirrors, washed clothes. I tried to stop at one point but just had the urge to keep on. I didn't like the weird feeling too much, but I liked the energy part of it. So we will see how it works.

The kids, mom and I are going back to the beach Monday and are staying until Wednesday. I just need a little beach time. We are staying across the street but hopefully we will get to see some sand at least once. There's something different about the pool at the beach and the pool here at home. There's no breeze off of the coast, no sand or smells of that yummy seafood. It's just plain ole hot here. No breeze. No sand. No wonderful aromas. Just hot.

So when we return, I will have 4 days before starting back to work. Bummer. I wish I was able to work at the same school as my kids. There must be a reason, I just wish I knew what it was or why. I'll just enjoy it as much as I can.

Money....or the lack of Part 2

So you know how I was complaining about money and always having to spend money on something. Well, I'm not gonna do that anymore. You see this week alone, we have had to pay for someone to come look at our refrigerator, go buy a new refrigerator, pay someone to come look at our air conditioning and spend $187 to fix the air conditioning. Man, this is getting old. REALLY FAST!

Hopefully, next week we will spend a whole lot less and actually be able to save a little. I hope so anyway.

Money....or the lack of

Why is it when you are trying so hard to save a little money something always falls apart, or someone gets sick, or a tire goes out or something happens to cause you to spend the money you were planning to save? I don't remember having this much trouble with money issues before. The last two years have been very stressful regarding money, or the lack of. Brandon and I both have really good paying jobs so where's it all going?

He knows how I feel about his truck. It's a money sucker every month. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice truck. He's never had a new vehicle. We got a really good deal on it. The crappy part is that we pay for it every month plus insurance and it's only driven on the weekends and maybe once during the week. That's a lot of money sitting in the garage. I told him I would sell my car and just drive his truck. He didn't really like that idea.

Seriously, is anyone else having these issues or had these issues? We went through Dave Ramsey. We were better off financially before Dave than after. What's up with that? We don't just spend money to be spending it. We only eat out on Saturday and Sunday most of the time. (Except this week our refrigerator died and we've had to eat out) Has anyone noticed how much you spend buying groceries? It's almost as much as going out to eat. I know I shouldn't be complaining because there are people out there who don't have a job. I don't see how anybody could support a family on minimum wage or even if you make $10 and hour. It's hard. For everybody I guess. Well, hopefully this will make me feel better for letting it out.

I looked into work from home jobs. I'm skeptical. I don't mind doing the work, I just hate that you can't trust anyone any more. I thought if I could do something like that, I could bring in money to put in the savings account. I'm a nurse. There's not much you can do in your home in the nursing field. Any ideas on how to better save money? I've prayed about this several times. I guess I should continually pray about it. God has already shown me that He will provide. Not once have we been in the negative area in our checking account. We've always paid our bills on time. We always "get by". I'm tired of just getting by. I want to feel secure and feel that I'm on top of things.

nothing accomplished this week!

Considering we only have a few more weeks left before school starts, I didn't accomplish anything this past week. We went to Birmingham 4 times. The house is a disaster. It seems as though everything is quitting. My refrigerator has quit. My cell phone has quit. We are trying to refinance the house. In doing that, we decided we should trade my car in for a car with a smaller payment since our house payment will go up (going from 30 to 15 years). So the only thing I did accomplish this week is getting a new car with a lower payment. Yay me. I got a Ford Fusion. I feel like I'm a Flintstone. It's been an adjustment from seeing everything up high and now feeling like I'm driving right off the ground. I keep thinking I should have a hole in the floor of the car for my feet to "drive" the car because it is so low to the ground compared to my Explorer. Anyway, it's nice. We've had to eat out a lot since the refrigerator has quit. Fast food, or any food for that matter, is expensive $$$$$$!!!!!!

The Ford Fusion


Oh yeah, one more thing. My lovely father-in-law bought Connor and Karlea a go cart. I try not to be too overbearing and try not to be all over the kids but oh my goodness. Connor is use to driving a four-wheeler so I'm use to it a little. Karlea absolutely loves it. SCARY! I had to drag her off of it.

Wonderful Go-Cart

Our Story

Our wedding day, June 3, 2000

Our 10 year anniversary was on June 3. It has been great, good, bad and worse. We have been through some difficult times. We have had some wonderful times. I am two years older than Brandon, and felt that sometimes he may have married me because I "talked" him into it. I now know that it was God's plan. We dated for about a year and a half. I am a Christian and thought Brandon was at this time. He had always been in church and I had not. I thought I had asked him if he was saved. Maybe I just assumed he was since he had always gone to church.

After 9/11 my thoughts began to change about family. I had an urgency to start a family. I'm not really sure why. Like I said, I was a Christian, but not the Christian I should have been. I didn't read my Bible or pray like I should. I basically went to church. God had a plan. He allowed Brandon to walk into my life and allowed us to conceive a little boy only after trying for one month. God knew what he was doing. I thought I knew what we were suppose to do. As Connor reached one I noticed that Brandon and I seemed to be slipping farther away. He loves to hunt. That was his passion. He went EVERY weekend. I enjoyed hunting as well but once becoming a mother I didn't want to go anymore. I somehow thought that when he became a father he would want to spend his extra time with his family. We had reached a low. I knew divorce wasn't the answer but at the time it was MY answer. I couldn't take it any longer. I told him I didn't want to be married to him any longer. I didn't want to waste these years of my life on a man that could care less if I was at home doing everything in the world for him and his child. I went to a counselor by myself. He didn't want to go with me. It was a lady counselor. We talked and I told her what was going on. She suggested that maybe my husband was doing drugs!!! Say what??? No, I absolutely knew in my heart that he had not ever and was not currently using drugs. Let's just say I got out of there as fast as I could. I came home and told him what she had said and he told me no that he had never used drugs and had never drank, nor smoked his entire life. I knew that. Brandon is a good guy. He works and works hard. He doesn't drink, smoke, do drugs, doesn't party, doesn't hang out with the guys. Anyway, that night, Brandon cried like I have never seen a man cry. I told him I couldn't do it anymore. He told me that if he couldn't have me in his life, he needed God. WHAT???? He needed God- he already had God in his life or so I thought. Brandon had never been saved. After hearing that I knew that was the reason for our fights and dying marriage. It didn't have God in it completely. That Sunday he went to the alter and asked God into his heart forever and was baptized the next Sunday. I have never been so proud in my life. We began to have the marriage we were suppose to have.

As time went on though, we began to grow apart again. He still hunted but didn't go on Sundays. He was in church with me on Sundays. Our marriage grew weaker and weaker by the day. By this time, we now have had Karlea. We have become members of a new church with wonderful, Godly people. I knew that he was saved now and had no biblical reason for divorce as neither of us had committed adultery. I hated being in the same room as him. I hated for him to touch me, to even look at me made me want to vomit. I didn't know why. He just irritated me. I now know it was the devil. I went to a lawyer to find out what I needed to do. This is what most people don't know. I have a friend that has been my friend for more than 16 years. He is male. Brandon knew of my friend but didn't know that we had kept in contact over the years. Nothing had ever been said about anything happening between us because I am married. But for some reason, this time was different. My friend told me that I needed to lose my husband and get on with my life. The devil was using my friend to put more doubt into my head. As I realized what was happening, so did Brandon. He confronted me about my friend. I was honest with him. I told him that we had talked to each other for 16 years and nothing had ever happened between us. I knew divorce wasn't the right thing to do but I didn't care. I didn't care if I disobeyed God. God had another plan. God put a wonderful pastor, pastor's wife and other wonderful friends in our paths just at the right time. Thankfully, our pastor talked with Brandon several times during this time and told him to be strong and not to leave. I'm so glad. One Saturday night, Brandon told me that he loved me and he would forgive me for talking with my friend about things that I should've been talking to him about. Brandon should've been my best friend. At the time, he wasn't. This guy was. I thought what I was doing was innocent enough and was ok. It was wrong. I no longer have contact with my friend. At that moment I realized that if Brandon loved me enough to forgive me then he truly loved me. I had let him down this time. I deeply hurt him. I just pray that if there's someone out there reading this that is going through something like this or whatever it may be, just put it in God's hands. He always takes care of his children if you just do what the Bible says. Plain and simple. I hope that if God isn't your main priority and your spouse second that you make a change. It's hard to do when you have children and live in the world we live in but it's the right way. I hope that everyone reading this will forgive me as well. Sometimes we go through things, first for God to get the glory and honor he deserves. Secondly to make us stronger in Him and in ourselves. Thirdly, to help others.

Malchi 2:16 "I hate divorce , says the Lord God of Israel". Pretty plain and simple.

Family Pictures

Connor riding the waves!

Karlea and her dad playing in the pool.

More like Karlea playing and daddy working. :)

The wonderful family picture that would've been great had it not been so dark and Connor not crossing his eyes. Geez!

They can be sweet when they want. :)




Naturally, we took pictures while at the beach. I knew some of them would be awful because I caught Connor crossing his eyes in some with his sister. So I get home to look through them so I can update our family picture. NOT ONE SINGLE PICTURE IS GOOD!!! Come on Connor. If it wasn't him with his eyes crossed, it was Karlea making a crazy smile or looking off into the wild blue yonder. We waited a little to late, so it was getting too dark. But I thought what the heck we'll take them anyway. We had one family picture that was descent, but it was too dark and made it look grainy. I'm hoping that my sister-in-law has some of us that are good. If not I guess we'll just be taking pictures here at the house where it's hot and humid. Maybe this time they'll cooperate so they won't have to be in the heat.

Been a while!

Well it's been about a year since my last post. Everyone seemed to be doing the facebook thing, instead of blogging, so I did as well. Well, my husband hates facebook so I decided for the sake of our marriage and his health I would not get on it anymore. I do, however, get on it every once in a while without him knowing.

Anywho, we've all had a pretty good year. Connor made it through first grade with all A's. He's so smart, sometimes too smart for his own good. He is so funny. Sometimes when he's in trouble he will say something or do something that is so funny that I totally forget to punish him. I think he knows it and does it on purpose.

Karlea enjoyed her Preschool class at First Baptist. She learned so much. I had been worrying about her because I had spent so much time helping Connor with homeowrk that I didn't work with her very much at all. I was worried that at 31/2 she didn't know how to spell her name or recognize letters until one day out of the blue, she spelled her name. I was amazed. I had not taught her that. What a wonderful teacher she has. Ms. Kim is awesome. She not only knew the letters of her name, the alphabet, but could write her name at 31/2. Connor was right at 4 before he wrote his name. She is very smart as well. It amazes me that small children soak up everything you say just like a sponge. So remember, just as we do, whatever you say or do is soaked up along with the good.

Brandon and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary on June 3. I don't know how in the world we made it but we did. It's been a long, tough road. Nobody told me that it would be so much work. Nobody told me it wouldn't be the fairy tale that I had imagined for myself. It's been quite the opposite. Why is it that once kids enter the picture everything seems so much harder? Why had no one told me this or prepared me? My mom only had me and made it look so easy. She was a stay at home mom and did everything for everyone. She was always there and took me to all the softball and cheerleading practices and events, Beta Club events, etc. She made it look so easy. I guess she was happy. She never complained, or I never saw or heard her. My mom was 20 when she had me. Wow! I wanted to be just like her. I'm so glad I didn't. I was nowhere near mature enough to have a child at 20, much less 25 when I had Connor. When I think about it, I'm a big baby. Do any of you feel that way sometimes? I guess I'm doing a pretty good job as a mother. My then 6 year old little boy accepted Jesus into his heart and life. He's so compassionate. He may just be a preacher when he's older. I would be so proud. Karlea is a sweet, loving little girl. She loves Jesus too, and loves church. So I guess if I look at all we have accomplished I have done a descent job. We will see what the next 10 years holds.

Sweet Babies

Easter 2010