Disappointment and Death

I do like to post a couple of times a week, but lately that seems impossible.  Last week was crazy, unexpected, and not according to our plans.  

In February, Josh told me that he had planned a surprise getaway for us the third week of March.  We were to leave on Monday, the 15th, and come home on Wednesday, the 17th.  Because of the nature of Josh's job, we have to take mini-trips during the week since we have to take vacation time to miss a Sunday.  As you can imagine, I was so excited!  We have never taken a surprise getaway (and we have only been away one other time for a marriage conference) and I couldn't wait.  My parents were going to keep the boys for us and of course they were thrilled as well. 

Sadly, our plans were canceled on Saturday night because a lady, who was a shut-in, in our church passed away Saturday night.  She had been moved to hospice at the end of the week and Josh had been to see her multiple times in the hospital, so we knew it would be soon.  In fact, we made the decision not to go before we found out she died.  We didn't want to be on the road and have to come home - that would have been even worse. 

We did wonder why the Lord allowed this to happen at this time, but we know that he is sovereign over all things and death is never convenient.  However, the Lord revealed to us fully on Monday morning why our trip was postponed.  We received a call around 9:30am that a very faithful man in our church had a massive heart attack and had died earlier that morning.  It was such a shock to us and to our entire church.  He was such a godly man and a death that sudden is hard to understand.  My last memory of Mr. Charles is of he and his wife coming forward last Sunday morning to pray for Josh.  Mr. Charles took his wife's hand and then took Josh's hand and knelt down and prayed for him.  He will be missed in our lives and at our church. 

Instead of going to Asheville and visiting the Biltmore (Josh told me about the getaway), my parents came to visit us, Josh wrote two funeral sermons, and then preached two funerals last Wednesday.  I haven't seen him that exhausted in a very long time. 

We are thankful the Lord's timing is best and we hope to take our getaway some other time, Lord willing.  I have been reminded through this experience that our plans really are in His hands.   As James 4:15 says, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."  Please pray for Mr. Charles' widow, Mrs. Nell.  She has lost both of her children (one 5 yrs ago and the other just 6 months ago) and now her husband.  My disappointment of a trip postponed is nothing compared to her grief and sorrow. 

9 Months of Fun

My little Josiah is 9 months today. It really does seem like that I was pregnant just a mere 2 months ago and now he is nearing the end of his first year. My time with him has gone much faster than time with Thomas or it just seems that way. Since it was just Thomas I could concentrate all my time and attention on him, but Josiah has the added blessing of a sibling to interact with everyday. There are definitely wonderful things about being the firstborn (not sharing parents), but also wonderful things for younger children (the joy of having a sibling).

What Josiah is doing at 9 months:

• Still sleeping great. He has dropped his 3rd nap (I'm glad!) and just has a morning and afternoon nap. Sometimes I'm able to squeeze an errand in between he and Thomas' afternoon nap.
• Scooting backwards. He isn't crawling yet, although he has been on all fours a few times, but he does scoot backwards. I'm in no hurry for the crawling. Thomas didn't crawl until 11 months. My boys are content where you put them!
• Babbling all the time. Around 8 months he began saying "da-da, ba-ba," and sometimes "ma-ma." When he wakes from his naps, he often lays in his crib babbling until I get him - so cute!
• Loves big brother more each day. He gets so excited at everything Thomas does. His whole face lights up and he squeals with delight - I love it!
• Reaching for everything. I have learned not to put things within his grasp or it will be gone! He has spilt food recently because he grabbed a spoon or container before I knew what was happening.
• No teeth. Not even signs of teething. I know some babies don't teeth until late, but Thomas was 6.5 months when he got his first tooth and had 8 by his first birthday. I really thought siblings would teeth around the same time. Guess I was wrong!
• Loves to eat! He can eat a whole banana (mashed of course, see above comment!) after he has had 3 cubes of peas/squash/sweet potato/mixed veggies. He really likes to eat and I'm trying to teach him to sign "more" because he gets really impatient when the food doesn't come fast enough or if I don't have the next thing ready.

Josiah really is a joy to be around. Life is just a big party for him. This week we were in the car and we heard him in the backseat laughing and squealing and clapping just because. Thanking the Lord today for 9 months with my sweet "Jo-boy."

He has a cold in the picture (see his poor nose) and you can't see it here, but his hair is really blonde now!

Great Learning Website

I have found a wonderful new website called No Time For Flashcards. There are so many wonderful learning and craft ideas for toddlers and preschoolers. It was a website that I found through another website (you know how that goes!) and I liked it so much that I bookmarked it and have been back over and over.

One of the crafts I have used most frequently is her crafts with letters. She has a craft (often multiple ones) to do with each upper and lower-case letter of the alphabet. Since Thomas is learning his letters right now, this has been really helpful. For instance, a couple of weeks ago he was having a hard time learning the letter D. I went to the website and found two different crafts using the letter D. We made a dragon and a duck with the letter D. And now he knows the letter D with no problem.

There are also tons of crafts for animals and holidays and just fun stuff. Check it out if you have a child and tell me what you think. Here are some pictures of Thomas painting an elephant.

Greater Works

At the beginning of the year, our church had a week of prayer.  It was entitled Greater Works: Asking for a Decade of Growth in Grace!  Josh really wanted us to begin the year asking God for greater things in this year and the next 10 years, as we just started a new decade.  The desire for this prayer week grew out of John 14:12-14:  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works that these will he do, because I am going to the Father.  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.  Those are some truly powerful words!  Whatever we ask in His name, He will do it.  Do you believe that?  When Josh preached through the book of John last year and came across this passage, I really had to stop and ask myself, "Do I pray believing that God will answer my prayers?" 

The key to this prayer is "whatever you ask in my name."  What does that mean?  Josh explained that to ask something in Jesus' name is to pray according to His will and His character.  We know what God's will and His character is by reading the Word.  For instance, we know that the Lord desires for His people to worship in Spirit and truth and so we pray that our church would worship Him in Spirit and in truth.  These are some of the "greater works" Josh listed in his sermon:

• More people repenting of sin and trusting in Christ
• More lives changed by the gospel
• More hatred of sin
• More hunger for the things of God
• More families studying the Word together
• More evangelism taking place at home and work
• More people called and sent as missionaries/pastors
• More people embracing biblical manhood/womanhood 

Since this sermon on January 3, and our week of prayer, my prayers have changed and I see evidence of God moving in my life, my family, and our church.  Do you pray with dependency and expectancy?  Do you long for God to move in your life and in your church?  Your church can have a wonderful preacher (of course I think we do!) and have the best worship leader and Sunday school teachers, but if we aren't depending on God and expecting Him to move, then we are trying to accomplish spiritual things in our power and it will fall flat.

I hear so many people say, "I wish God would change our country" or "We just need another revival to get people saved."  What we need is for believers to be on their face before God asking Him to save people and to change us and our churches for His glory.  May it be! 

Publix, Where Shopping Is A Pleasure

I have a confession to make. Up until a few months ago, I thought anybody who shopped at Publix was wasting her money. Their stores are always very nice and it just always seemed to me like an "upper-end" store. Who carries your groceries out to your cart anymore without even asking? However, I have been proved wrong. Very wrong.

About a year ago, I became what some would call an extreme couponer, but what I would classify as frugal (my husband says I'm crazy!). A lady came to talk to a group at our church about the advantages of couponing. Sure, I got a Sunday paper and I clipped coupons, but not that many. This lady talked to us about how to get products for free! Free? How can you walk out of any store with something free? I was a bit skeptical at first, but now that I have been couponing for almost a year, I know that I can get several things for free at one time!

I still was a snob about Publix until I began reading the Southern Savers blog. Jenny, who operates the blog, lists the weekly ad of most southern grocery stores and the coupon match-ups each week (I have no idea how she has the time or patience to do so, but I'm very thankful). As I started reviewing the ads and the coupon match-ups, I realized that Publix really has the best deals. Why do I like Publix so much now?

· Buy-One-Get-One Free Deals (BOGO). This is when at item is 50% off essentially and you can buy one or both items and use a coupon on each item you buy. Great deal even without a coupon.

· Store Coupons. Publix issues coupons they can be used in their store and "stacked" with a manufacturer coupon. For instance, Huggies diapers are on sale for $8.99 and I have a manufacturer coupon for $2 off and I have a Publix coupon for $2 off. That makes the diapers $4.99 - a great deal!

· Competitor Coupons. Publix accepts competitor coupons, although not as many as they used to accept. Who can blame them? They are losing money when they accept another store's coupon.

· Friendly Service. They really have the best service of any grocery store I know. They are always ready and willing to help with anything in the store and cheerfully take my groceries to the car.

Let me give you a quick example of how I saved on chicken and beef broth this weekend at Publix. Progresso Chicken/Beef Broth was BOGO for $2.59 (1.29 each). I bought 4 cartons. I used (2) $.50 manufacturer coupons that doubled to $1.00. One manufacturer coupon of $1 off when you buy 2. And one Publix store coupon $1 off when you buy 4 Progresso products. Basically, $4 off my purchase of $5.18, which made it $1.18. Divide it by 4, and I spent about $.30 on each carton and it is normally $2.59 a carton!!

Have you ever tried Publix? If so, what was your experience? Do you have a favorite grocery store? Or do you just buy what you have to get when you need it and could care less who has the best price (that is Josh's philosophy and one of the many reasons I do the grocery shopping!)?

Brotherly Love

Since today is Valentine's Day and my valentine is sick in bed, I thought I would post some pictures of my two little sweethearts. It is so fun to watch Thomas and Josiah interact with each other. Right now it is fun ... ask me again in a year and I'll probably tell you how it is fun and challenging, but right now it is great!

In the past couple of months, Josiah has become very aware of Thomas and he watches everything that Thomas does and loves to "play" with Thomas. In return, Thomas loves being the center of attention. Josiah laughs at almost anything Thomas does and Thomas tells me all the time, "Mama, I funny." Well, to Josiah he is a regular comedian!

Thomas has also realized that this little person isn't just for mama, but he is a playmate and that is exciting! He likes to "teach" Josiah how to play with his toys or "read" to him. It is fun to watch him take care of Josiah and love on him. Of course, Josiah thinks that Thomas hangs the moon!

Josh and I both look forward to watching them grow up together and to have a close relationship. Both of our siblings are over a decade apart from us (Josh's brother is 12 yrs older; my brother is 13 yrs younger) so we both grew up as essentially only children because our siblings weren't around as we were growing up. Sometimes it makes me sad not to have a brother or sister close in age, as many of my friends do, because those sibling relationships are so close and unique.

Here are a few pictures of our sweet boys together, who we pray will one day be the best of friends!

Busy With Birthdays

The last couple of weeks have been busy with celebrating birthdays! At the end of January, my brother-in-law celebrated his 40th (pictures to follow). Last week, we celebrated birthdays three days in a row: mine, my mom's 50th, and a good friend's 30th! My posts have been non-existent because I have been busy. I'll admit the blog is the first thing to go during busy weeks and days because it is by far the least important thing on my to-do list. Taking care of my family and my home is the most important task the Lord has called me to do and I have learned that means I can't do everything I want to do all the time.


With all that said, I wanted to share the fun cake I made (with my sweet husband's help) for my brother-in-law's birthday. Since he was turning 40, it was only appropriate to do an Over The Hill cake! The cake turned out much better than I expected, especially since I started off with problems.

A few weeks ago, Crisco sticks, which I use to make icing, were on sale and I had a coupon (of course!), so I decided to stock up on them, but I bought butter flavor instead of original. At the time, I thought this would be a great idea and would make the icing taste even better. The icing tasted great, but the butter flavor Crisco also had the color of butter and when you try to mix black food coloring with a butter color, it isn't gray but an ugly green color! I tried to turn it gray for a while and eventually it turned a dark gray color that I used for a border, but my mother-in-law was gracious enough to buy some original Crisco sticks and everything turned out great!

I'm not good enough to go into the cake decorating business (ever seen Ace of Cakes?), but I do enjoy making cakes for my family. What do you think?