Just doing a little catching up

Pictures in this blog have nothing to do with the actual blog~just wanted to post some recent pictures. :)

Hey, hey, hey! I cannot believe that I haven’t written in so long. I have been running around crazy the past week or so. Last week I helped my friend, Adrianne, out some with her 2 boys. They had a rough week to deal with. Adrianne’s cousin, Shane Northcutt, was murdered last week. His father is the Mayor of a small town here in Arkansas, Malvern. Shane’s parents have been divorced for over 10 years and this was the Mayor’s only son. Shane’s mother, had 2 kids from a previous relationship, a son and a daughter. The thing that makes this situation even worse is that her daughter died about 7 years ago as a result of a car accident. So Libby, Shane’s mom, has now lost 2 out of her 3 children. I cannot even begin to imagine how incredibly hard this has to be.   They have already made an arrest in this case, so that does help to know that the killer is not out running the streets.  Please keep this family in your prayers as they deal with this tragedy. I kept Adrianne’s boys when they got out of school while the family was getting together and during the visitation.

This week, Olivia and I will be going to my Aunt and Uncle’s house and babysitting their 2 girls Wednesday-Friday. Abby and Mary Claire are AWESOME girls and Olivia loves spending time with them. I am excited to be getting to spend some time with them. They are in the 4th and 5th grade and that is such a fun age. The beginning of the pre-teen years. It will be alot of fun. We went over there yesterday to get all the information and the house keys and Olivia just cried and cried when we left. She didn’t understand that we would be coming back on Wednesday. She loves kids and sometimes I feel guilty that she is at home so much and not around alot of other children. Part of me thinks she would do amazing at preschool or mother’s day out. Then there is part of me that is scared that she would just cry all day.

Thursday morning a small group of women from my church are going to start getting together with an amazing, Godly woman, Debbie,  to begin a Bible study. There is only about 5 or 6 of us and I think this is something that we have all been wanting to do. I am so glad that Debbie has obeyed what the Lord is asking of her and taking a step in faith to do this. I think that God has alot that He wants to teach us and Debbie has alot to pour into us. I am a little bit biased though, Debbie is my mentor. I have learned so much from her already. She is very gently in her approach. I am excited to see what she is going to teach us as a group.

Guess that is all I have to say for now. I am not very interesting lately. I just don’t have an exciting life! ha! I will try to update this week with pictures while we are with my cousins. Olivia is going to have a blast! She is so excited to go over there and play Barbies! Our Poppa made Abby and Mary Claire a big doll house when they were younger. They still have it up in their playroom and Olivia plays with it every time we are there. Aunt Lindsey told me today that the girls are giving it to Olivia!! I don’t know where we will put it, but we are sooo excited about getting it!! Olivia is excited to be able to play with it 24/7, but I am excited about getting it because my Poppa made it and that makes it sooo much more special. We want to keep it in the family so my kids will play with it, then when Abby and Mary Claire have their own children, we can pass it back to them. It is a very special thing. My grandfather is soo very talented! When I was Olivia’s age, he made me a rocking horse. We stored it in a storage building at my other grandmothers house once and she gave it to her daughter…my dad’s half sister. I was so sad that I didn’t have it anymore to pass it on to my children. So the fact that I am getting something else that he made is just really special. He has also made Olivia a stool with her name on it that is very special.

Letter to myself

I have seen a few people do this on their blogs so I thought I would give it a try. If I could write a letter from myself NOW to myself before I met Ben, it might go something like this:

Dear Jenny,

Take a deep breath! Relax! Enjoy the ride! Time goes entirely too fast.

First, CLEAN YOUR ROOM! You will be glad you did and you will enjoy the neatness. One day all too soon you will have your own place to keep clean so get in the habit NOW. The man you marry will NOT be messy and WILL like a neat house.

Enjoy the time living in your parents house. Quit trying to come up with ways to get out. Again, one day really soon you will move out and very quickly start a family so enjoy where you are now.

Spend more time downstairs with your mom and dad. Invest more in your brothers. There will come a time when they will need you and the relationship you could have with them. Do not judge any of them. Everyone deals with things differently so do not judge them if they deal with them differently than you would have.

Get over him! He will move off, come back, live with your family, and then break your heart. Do not try to remain friends~in the end it doesn’t matter. God has something in store for your life bigger than you can dream. Do not waste your time sick over him. He is a liar, he will not change for you, he only cares about himself. Harsh words, but you know they are true.

You will not marry every guy you date, even though you feel like you could. Don’t rush relationships. Don’t give so much of yourself so quickly. Don’t say yes just because you are lonely. God does have a plan for your life and you will figure it out. You do not have to be married now, you do not even have to have a boyfriend. Learn who YOU are first, because it will make it that much easier when you have to learn someone else.

Cherish your relationship with Stephanie. She will remain your best friend. Anna will always be a part of your heart. Your children will play together one day.

Spend more time with your grandparents. Go see them on your own. You do not always have to have a reason or someone to go with you. They would love to see you anytime. Time is not guaranteed and you will regret it if you don’t get to know them.

Don’t spend so much time dreading church. There will come a time in your life when you are hungry for what God has for you and will seek out “more” . Do not worry about your church situation. God has you where you are now for a reason and will take you some place “new” very soon. Keep in contact with old Victory friends, they will soon be your 2nd family. Do not keep God in a box. He is going to break down all paradigms and religious thoughts and build up HIS foundation in your life. Do not be so judgemental and closed minded~you will soon be one of “those” people.

Quit playing around with college. Take it seriously and get finished. It is an opportunity that you will not have again for a long time. Go to classes, do your homework, study!!! You end up with plenty of time to do it so go for it. Give it your all.

Enjoy healthy days. Very soon migraines and kidney stones will come along and throw you for a loop. Remember what it is like “before” .

Get rid of the fear, guilt, and any other emotional issues that you have. You ARE worthy. You are beautiful in God’s eyes. You CAN do this. There will be someone watching your move quicker than you realize and you will want to instill Godly emotions into her. Open up your heart. Be a hugger. Be touchy feely. Be romantic and hopeful. Soon your husband will need that.

Last of all, trust God with your heart. He is a gentleman and will never hurt you. Stand in faith for the things you want and believe in. Not all things will come easy. Depend on Him. Trust HIS timing even when you do not agree or think He has forgotten. He hasn’t and never will. His timing is always perfect.

Love,

Just Another Day

Not much to blog about today. Ben went back to work. It looks like most things are back to normal. We do still have alot of snow/ice on the ground, but the roads are clear. The city of Little Rock has done a great job at getting out and making the roads safer for those that have to be out on them.

We spent most of the day today out and about. About 9pm last night, Olivia and I loaded up and went to my parents house to spend the night. No particular reason really, just tired of the looking at our 4 walls. It was a nice change of scenery and of course, Pop and Meemaw LOVED having Olivia there. Pop even stayed up late to see Olivia. We had taken a late nap so Olivia was not tired and very hyper when we got there. She is always excited when we go over there ~or anywhere for that matter~because we usually take the blow up bed and “camp out” in the living room. She thinks that is the coolest thing. It was after midnight when she finally settled down and went to sleep. Then around 12:30 the snow plow truck came through the neighborhood one last time with their lights flashing and loud noises. I am very thankful for them and their hard work but 12:30!!! This morning my brothers girlfriend, Linsey, was leaving for work at 5:30am and couldn’t get over the big mounds of ice/snow that the truck had pushed to the side of the road so my brother and Dad had to go out and help her. I think I finally fell back asleep around 7:15 when my parents left for work.

Olivia and I ate at Subway today. That is one of our favorite things to do together. We share a sandwich and coke and sit in a booth just the 2 of us. Fun times. Afterwards, we went next door so I could see the doctor for a couple of things. Olivia did great. They brought her colors and a coloring sheet to keep her occupied. She was so proud of it and gave it to Dr. Pickett to hang with the others on her bulletin board. Then she got stickers and a sucker. Made her day. What made my day is that I am down 6lbs! I know it’s not a ton but it is a start!! Just enough encouragement for me to keep going!

Ben is home from work now so I am going to start dinner. Tacos tonight I think. Church is cancelled for tonight so we are going to enjoy relaxing together as a family. They are calling for more snow/sleet tomorrow evening into Friday. Saturday clear and snow again on Sunday. I will be SO very thankful when Spring is here. This has been a rough Winter! Fun, but rough!

Windows Live Writer

Well I am trying out something new. I am so tired of trying to move photos around on blogger. I read on a blog community about Windows Live Writer~turns out I had already installed it when we first got our laptop but have never used it. I am going to try to remember to use it from now on. I think it will be much easier and hassle free. :)

We woke up Monday morning to snow. Not just a dusting either~like 3 inches! For central Arkansas that is unheard of! Olivia and I got out and played, but most of the day it was raining also. We have sun today so alot is melting but the temperatures aren’t getting any higher so we will probably have some refreezing tonight. Ben is home from work today and we have had a LAZY day. I am ready to get back to normal around here.

I think I will like Live Writer~

Olivia just shut herself in the bathroom so I must run~when potty training that is not always a good thing!!

Finally! Found something!

I have been wanting to read my Bible more lately. I had even talked to Ben about getting a yearly Bible and reading it together at night. There is so much that I do not know about God's word and so much that I do know that I have forgotten! I was posting my Family post this afternoon (scroll on down to read it~it's good!) and I saw that I had 2 comments on another blog post. That led me to Patrice's blog. I was so excited to see the journey she is embarking on starting TODAY!! Read the Bible in 90 days!! This is exactly what I have been looking for. She has each weeks readings laid out for us and you can link up and have encouragement along the way. What a great way to do this! I am excited to be a part of it! Thanks Patrice!!




Here is this weeks readings:

Monday: Genesis 1:1 through Genesis 16:16

Tuesday: Genesis 17:1 through Genesis 28:19

Wednesday: Genesis 28:20 through Genesis 40:11

Thursday: Genesis 40:12 through Genesis 50:26

Friday: Exodus 1:1 through Exodus 15:18

Saturday: Exodus 15:19 through Exodus 28:43

Sunday: Exodus 29:1 through Exodus 40:39

Famiily

There is a family that we are very close to. I have known Jason and Nicole since I was in the 5th grade. I played basketball, volleyball, and was a cheerleader with Nicole in junior high and high school. Her and Jason dated almost all through high school and have now been married for over 10 years. Their very first child, Keaton, holds a very special place in my heart. I was his nanny for the first 10 months of his life.

Keaton Nicholas, 6 years old

While I was keeping Keaton, Nicole got pregnant with her 2nd child. I kept Keaton until September and in December she had Isaac and started staying at home with both boys.

Isaac Michael, 5 years old

Not only did I "work" for their family, but was best friends with them. Jason is a great friend also. He has just been a great support through some very tough times in my life. I have so much respect for him. A couple years later they had their 3rd child, Carder. Olivia and Carder are only 6 months apart and have a true love/hate relationship. They are best buddies one minute and the next they are fighting like brother and sister.

Carder Ellis, 4 yrs old

When Carder was about 2 or so Nicole got pregnant 2 more times and they both ended in miscarriage. The first one was very early on in the pregnancy, but the 2nd time, she was 20 weeks along and had gone in to find out the sex of the baby when they found that she had lost it. That baby was a little girl. Jason and Nicole were heartbroken. They trusted God though and knew that He had a plan for their family. They made the decision that they were done having biological children. They wanted to foster/adopt. They went through The Call and very quickly their home was open for placement. A couple weeks after their home being officially "open" they got a call about a brand new baby girl that needed a foster home. They weren't sure for how long or what the outcome would be. Nicole and Jason said yes. Nicole actually picked up the baby girl from the hospital and brought her home. She was 3 days old. She was a "crack" baby and they weren't sure who the father was or what, if anything, would be wrong with her. Her name was Rical. Everyone opened "baby rikki" into their home and hearts. We have a very close group of friends and we were all so excited to have a new baby around. Olivia is the only girl of the group. We all felt that God had placed this baby in their home and that she was here to stay. Jason and Nicole were hesitant to get their hopes up. After several "no shows" from the biological parents, the courts terminated their rights.

Ella Joy, 8 months

Last week, on January 27, 2010, Jason and Nicole became the parents of this baby girl. A mere 8 months after bringing her home from the hospital. Ella Joy is now a part of this family with 3 older brothers! She is blossoming and is beautiful and we are all so very excited for our friends. I babysit for them alot and have really enjoyed getting to know this baby girl. Because Olivia and Ella Joy are the only girls out of all the kids my friends and I have, I am really trying to encourage a relationship between the 2 of them. I know they are 2 and 1/2 years apart but when they get older that won't matter. Nicole and I are 4 years apart and are very close. Nicole was Matron of Honor in my wedding and we have talked about are kids growing up together like we have. It is awesome for us both to have daughters now and we hope and pray that they grow up to be best friends and maybe one day be in each others weddings. I love Keaton, Isaac, Carder, and now Ella Joy as if they are my own children.
Congratulations!!!