In Better Hands

Have you seen this video? The song has been around a while, but if you haven't watched the video, then pause my playlist to hear, and be sure to have your tissues handy. It just gives me chills. This speaks about the hope we all have if we have put our hope in Jesus Christ!

A Mom's Ramblings

I have to warn you! This post is kind of long! Sort of just getting my thoughts on paper...uh...computer.
I have been feeling blue this week. I think fatigue has begun to set in. I need to start going to bed earlier. I can't put my finger on it, but I just feel sad this week, no interest in much of anything. Ever felt like that?
I worry about Matthew in first grade. He has his first spelling test on Friday. I did a practice test with him yesterday. He passed, but it took SOOO long. So if the teacher doesn't make time accomodations for him, he may blow it. We'll see. I guess I shouldn't worry until after the first one. We put him on ADD meds again yesterday. His OT said his attention span was all over the place at therapy yesterday afternoon. Perhaps by then (4-5 PM), it is wearing off. I will give it another week or so and then speak to his teacher to see if I need to increase the dosage. (He's on the smallest dose.)
Jonathan has had a ton of homework. We have fully intended to start going back to Wednesday night worship at church, but it's so hard, and Jonathan especially is disappointed. If I don't have another stop to make, we usually get home from therapy on Wednesdays at around 5:30. Then after supper, we complete homework (which we begin in the waiting room at the hospital). That means we have a little less than an hour to finish homework and eat dinner before leaving for church. Maybe soon we can make it work. I try to do an easy dinner on Wed. night. Last night it was frozen pizza, but we still didn't make it.
Today, since I still feel kind of blue, ya know what I'm going to do? I'm going to my scrapbook room for a little craft therapy! I did laundry yesterday, dinner is planned out, and I don't have to leave the house until 2:30 PM. SO... maybe tomorrow I'll post the results of my creative endeavors.
By the way, if you visit VanillaJoy, you still have time to enter to win a Cricut machine (from Monday's giveaway), and Tuesday's loot is $130 of scrapbooking supplies and tools by EK Success AND a portable ribbon dispenser from Creative Options. Then you can enter for yesterday's prize package which includes a Purple Cow paper trimmer, a Sizzix Sidekick, and a portable ribbon dispenser. Today's package is a huge lot of Fiskars brand products. So go on over and enter. It's easy.
Today, Jonathan goes to his first middle school "dance." It's a back to school bash with a DJ that you pay to go to after school. He was excited about it....that Jonathan can cut a rug I tell you! I just hope the music is in good taste. Unless we hear it on TV, we rarely venture from WAFJ Christian music at our house. If you read this, pray for me this week. Pray that I'll get out of this slump! Oh, and have a great Labor Day weekend coming up!

Jonathan and Vanilla Joy

Hi. Hope you're having a great week. School seems to be going smoothly so far. Jonathan was excited that his t-shirt design was the winner for his class. His GT (Gifted and Talented) class had a contest to see who could come up with the best t-shirt design. The one chosen will have his/her winning design produced on the class t-shirt! Jonathan had the winning design! I'll show it to you as soon as I can get a photo or scan.
In other stuff...have you heard about the contest going on over at VanillaJoy? Monday's prize (which you can still enter if you hurry) is a Cricut machine! I know many of you who would want one, especially free! VanillaJoy is a cool website that I just stumbled upon this morning. They have craft ideas and other stuff for family fun. Go check it out!

Three Milestones

Yes, I realize I haven't really blogged much lately. Seems like things start getting busy in August. The boys reached milestones when starting school this year. Matthew started 1st grade, and Jonathan began middle school on the 18th. Where does the time go?

Jonathan did have to begin the school year with a cast on his arm, but he seemed to take it all in stride. He got it off Wednesday, the fourth day of school. WE were thrilled, and the x-ray showed that it healed well.

Last night, was another first. I hosted our monthly crop at church. But this time, we did a crop in conjunction with Big Picture Scrapbooking, and it was themed, "Big Wig Bash." We had a blast! Take a look at some of the photos from last night. Obviously, I didn't get much scrapbooking done, but I always love this fun girls' night together. Looking forward now to a quieter week....I hope.

WOW!

Have you seen this little girl? She's making her way around E-mails. But WOWZA! She's the most amazing little thing I've ever heard! Pause my playlist and check her out in this video. Then I'm sure you'll want to go here to hear more.

Anita Refroe

This is a hilarious video that my friend Linda shared on her blog. Just had to borrow it! Enjoy!

School Days, School Days....

We went to 6th grade orientation (for parents) last night. I met 2 of Jonathan's 4 teachers. If he works hard, I think he'll have a good year. He got his locker assignment and brought home his combination lock to practice with. He has done it over and over and over, almost a pro at it. LOL!
This year, I will have 4 kids riding to school in the morning. I am taking two of Jonathan's friends to school, and picking up one of them in the afternoon. I will be dropping off Matthew first at the elementary school, then the older boys at the middle school. Should be an interesting year.
Today, Matthew begins OT again after a break since May. I think it will be harder for Matthew than anyone to start a new routine. He'll do fine though...I'll make sure of it. Well...hope you all have a great week and enjoy what little is left of this summer! I leave you with a few more photos from TN.

Photos from Vacation

Well, as I promised, here are a few of the photos I took on our TN vacation. Hard to narrow down to just a few, but maybe another day I'll share more. Click on photo for larger view.

Exploring...I loved hiking!

The Incline...scary!

View from our room at the Fall Creek Falls Inn.

Some of the beauty of Rock City.

Fall Creek Falls

One of the MANY deer we saw in the state park.

One of 4 suspension bridges we encountered.

Catching up

Hi Everyone! Just had to plug my son's new blog. It's so cleverly titled Jonathan's Journey! He did his first entry back in May, but after a discussion on possible topics, he has picked it back up this morning. Check it out!

Here's my to do list today:

1. Church (well...we didn't make it this morning. Jonathan and now Matthew are fighting colds, and if I'm to be completely honest, we're just wiped out from "returning from our trip." You know...all the unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping, etc...)

2. Schedule and plan church crop

3. Finish bills.

4. Find Wednesday ride for Jonathan after school.

5. Upload vacation photos and send order for prints.

Okay...if I'm to get any of this done, I must stop blogging now. Maybe later today I will add photos from our trip.

Back to reality

Back to laundry, meals and bills! We got back from Tennessee yesterday, and let me tell you...I was sad to leave that beautiful place. I can honestly say it was the best family vacation we've ever been on.
On days one and two, we stayed in Chattanooga. We visited Point Park, a beautiful military museum/park on the mountain that overlooks the TN river and surrounding valley. We also did the Incline Railway and Rock City. The Incline, I must say, was ONE of the scariest things I did, due to my fear of heights. I've determined that it's not just a fear of heights, but a fear of heights that are MOVING! You simply must see the steep incline (72.7% grade) we traveled! It was breath taking in more ways than one. Rock City was awesome too. I remember visiting this place with my grandparents when I was a child. I was amazed at the things that came back to me after all these years. My kids LOVED it! We got lots of exercise too, and I took tons of pictures...which I fully intend to upload in the next few days. When I do, I'll share a few with you. We also parked and walked along the TN river in downtown Chattanooga. Nice place!
On days three and four of our vacation, we went to Pikeville, TN. On the way, we noticed several yard sales along HWY 127. Then we noticed a few more, and a few more. At McDonald's, I asked, "What's up with all these yard sales?" The manager told me that they do this yearly along that highway stretching all the way from Alabama through TN. Read more about it HERE. Amazing! Anyway...we stayed at Fall Creek Falls Inn. It was wonderful, and the people in Tennessee were so hospitable. We hiked and saw several waterfalls and cascades. We saw deer everywhere, birds, ducks, raccoon, and even a snake on one of our hikes. The beauty of the mountains and waterfalls was spectacular. God created some amazing things! I also got to face my fear of heights again. It wasn't enough to get me across the swinging bridge at Rock City...there were three more suspension bridges at Fall Creek Falls. I must say, I did only one of them across and then back. I actually cried on the way across the first time. That was the scariest thing I've ever done! Ed was proud of me for facing my fears.
While at the Inn, we enjoyed the pool, 2 playgrounds for the kids, a nature center, a game room in which Jonathan whipped me at both pool and ping pong. We just had the time of our lives! Now that I'm back home, and school is about to start in another week, I hope to get back to the gym, (even though I think I did pretty well on all that hiking). Okay...that's a blog entry for another day!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 44th birthday. Do I feel 44? Today I definitely do. I am so tired this morning, I mean afternoon. Anyway...my birthday has been really good. My hubby got me a new Cricut cartridge and got me a dozen red roses, a card, and doughnuts for breakfast! How cool is that? I also had a get together at my house last night for my scrapbooking friends. We had pizza and an ice cream cake. It was fun. These ladies are awesome, and I'm so blessed to have them in my life. Thanks Amy, MC, Brooke, Margaret, Sharon, and Lauri. Yall are the best! Above are some photos from my "party."

Oh....after rereading this post, I realize that PART of the reason I must be so tired is all the junk food I've had this weekend! (Doughnuts, pizza, cake...). Oh well...I'll try to do better today!

Way cool video!

Just had to share this video that my friend, Martha passed along to me this morning. Check it out....it's WAY cool! (Pause Play List to hear.)
Tonight, I'm having 4 or 5 ladies over to scrapbook with me to celebrate my birthday! Sounds like fun, huh? Can't wait!