Filled

That is a word that I will use to describe me right now. We had our 25 year anniversary at church today. It was a wonderful day. I really felt the Lord and the excitement that was in the air was amazing. The service was great....I cried the entire time and went through three tissues. I usually can keep it in pretty good, but not today. I was able to see old friends and their precious families (hello Evans, Verdells and Woottens) and visit with friends I don't normally see at service b/c we have 2 services now.

God has been working in my life over the last 2 weeks. He is showing me my true self, not who I think I am. It has been raw and hard, but I'm starting to feel forgivness and healing. I feel like a person that's just accepted the Lord, a rededication to my Lord and Savior. The bitterness, ugliness that I have had for a while now is starting to get less and less. God is changing our family...me, James and Ryland. I am very thankful that God is working and can't wait to see how He is going to continue to grow us.

God is so good!

Me and my boy

Me and my dad

Ryland and his Grandma and Nonna

Nothing new....

Not much new happening here. I did help my brother move out of my parents house yesterday. It was so hot, but he needed some help, so I helped. My mom was so sweet to watch Ryland at my house so that Daniel and I could work without worrying about Ryland. James came and helped move the big stuff. Thanks babe!

We are having some friends come over tomorrow night for dinner and fellowship. I'm looking forward to visiting with them!

Ryland is cutting teeth constantly. I have finally learned what his teething symptoms are. It took him awhile to get started but he is definitely catching up quickly.

Daddy's home!

James made it home safely last night. I was so glad to have him home. Ryland was pretty excited too! James visited NASA while he was in Texas and bought Ryland an astronaut bear...so cute! Ryland loved it and kissed it.

I was waiting for this to happen...

Well, he's done it! I was in my room when I heard a loud thump. Ryland crawled out of his crib...and landed with a crash! I'm not ready for this yet!

Sunday afternoon

There is nothing like a Sunday afternoon. Ryland and I went to SS and I had nursery this morning. SS was very good, very thought provoking. We went over the 10 commandments and took a moment to really focus on each one. Then, during service, I had nursery. After church, we came home, ate, Ryland went down for a nap and I piddled around the house. Now I'm just chillin, waiting for Ryland to wake up. James should be home around 8:30 tonight...5 more hours to go. I can't wait to have him home, safe and sound. He should be landing in Atlanta within the next 1/2 hour. I am getting tired and I know as soon as I lay down, little man is going to be waking up... Oh well....

Week in review

This week has been a very good week. God answered some of my prayers this week and the results have been amazing. I am so thankful that we attend a church where my SS teachers and Pastor follow the call of God and allow God to use them to speak to me.

This week has been a pool week. My mom has come over and we just float around and relax. I am enjoying the pool so much. Ryland? Well, he likes to be held and walked around. He doesn't like his blow-up toys he's supposed to sit in. So he plays for a little while and I put him in his bed for his nap. Then, mom and I relax on our floats. AAhhhh!!!

James is leaving for Houston today. He's got training to attend and he'll be home on Sunday. I miss him already and he's not even at the airport yet. Ryland asks for daddy now and this morning has already asked several times. When he and I pray at breakfast and lunch, he always points to the living room and says "da-da". He wants James to pray with us. Oh, the teachings from an 18 month old. Pastor Larry talked about the importance of the father in the home and even at 18 months old, Ryland needs his daddy!

I'm so excited! I bought some things for my house with my yard sale money! I bought placemats, napkins, silverware and my favorite thing so far, my centerpiece for my dining room table. I made it myself. I went to Michael's and bought the flowers and holder. I am very pleased with it and I did it for 1/2 the price! Even better!

Weekly Poll

Check out my weekly poll on the right side of the screen.

Enjoy...

Yard sale results

Well, folks! I guess location is the key to having a yard sale. People actually bought my stuff. My mom, brother and I had our yard sale yesterday. It just trips me out how people will come up before it starts and start going through your stuff before you have it all set out. I got to mom's around 6:50am and there were people there at 6:30am. People were walking in the garage! We immediately started setting stuff out as fast as we could and people were buying left and right. We stay busy for about 3.5 hours straight. Then the crowd slowed down so we were able to go inside to cool off for about 15 minutes. I was so hot and completely soaked in sweat. Our family has been cursed with the "sweat-a-lot" disease so we all looked like we had just got out of a pool or shower. My brother and I both had to change shirts b/c we were so sweaty. Ok, can you get the picture that we were gross. hehe
Anyway, we all did GREAT! We brought in a total of about $1200. I made $470!!!! I couldn't believe it. You can ask my friends, people just don't buy my stuff. Items that I couldn't sell in past yardsales were sold. I even sold a wicker bedroom suit. Needless to say, I was excited. We plan on spending the money on buying things for the house. The first thing on my list is new silverware, glassware and a nice arrangement for my dining room table. Woohoo!!!

Yard sale....

My mom, brother, and I are having a yard sale this weekend. I don't like yard sales, but I would like to make a little $$ so I'm gonna do it. I hope it's not 100+ degrees like it's been this past week. I'll keep you posted...

Home again

We made it home!!! The ride home was pretty good. Ryland only had a couple of meltdowns and thanks to Kendall, we were entertained with the movies "The Incredibles", "Enchanted" and "High School Musical 2". Ryland really liked watching them and dancing to the music. To save on gas, the Maxwell's rode with us...that's why we had Kendall's movies. Kendall helped me entertain Ryland. "Tin-dull", as Ryland would say....

Here are our annual beach pics. We try to take one each year we go to Destin.

Tatoos and Toe Rings

Well, as I type this, I am sitting on the balcony listening to the waves crash on the shores. There is a nice breeze blowing and it is very quiet, dark and relaxing. We packed our bags for our long (8+ hour) trip home tomorrow. I hate the day before you head home. I've enjoyed my week so much and had such a great time with my friends and family. Now it's back to reality....and from what I hear, back to the heat!

Let's see...no more sharks this week, but I did see a group of dolphins today. I love seeing dolphins in the ocean. It's such a graceful, beautiful sight. There was a wedding tonight on the beach. Once again, a beautiful sight.

While Denny and Vickie were here, all of the us girls got tatoos on our ankles. They were butterflies. If you didn't know, children with EB (what Emma had) are called butterfly kids b/c their skin is as fragile as a butterfly's wings. So we decided to get spray-on tatoos as a memorial to Emma. It was so much fun. We also went into one of the beach stores and got matching purple butterfly toe rings.

All in all, this was a great trip. I am so thankful we were able to come this year. Enjoy some of the pics.

We are still in Destin, Fl. The weather here has been awesome. Our friends, Denny, Vickie and Grace left today. We had so much fun with them. I'm so thankful I got to spend uninterrupted time with them. We laughed, cried and laughed and cried some more. God is showing me how to share someone else's burden. It's hard and it hurts, but such a privilege and blessing. We talked about Emma, and looked at pictures and remembered our time with her.

We saw 3 sharks within 30 minutes of each other. The lifeguards told the people to get out of the water, and the sharks swam on by. That's one major reason I don't get in the water. I don't even like the minnows that are in there, much less jellyfish and sharks!

Ryland has done really good. He usually has one meltdown a day. He is at his worst in restaurants, but we've been going to loud ones and that has helped. He has loved being with so many friends.

I'll close for now and try to update soon with pics.

Life at the beach!

We are in Destin!!! The weather is beautiful and we're here with our friends, the Maxwell's and the Mack's. It is hot, but since Ryland needs naps, I stay inside with him. Oh the sacrifices, hehe.

More to come...