Go to this site now!

So I saw this site on another blog and am just overwhelmed and in tears--God is so good! Please go check out www.iamsecond.com --you will be blessed! Just be sure to take some Kleenex with you! Click on any of the pictures for different and powerful testimonies about putting Christ first in your life--just what I was needing today:-) I hope it encourages you as it did me.

Yesterday

So I went back over my post from yesterday, and needed to clarify something for myself. I don't mean that I am expecting Obama to fail--far from it. I am praying for him and his family during this transition--especially his sweet girls. I can't imagine how this new life will be for them, but am thankful that they seem to have a mom that puts their needs first. Still, it can't be easy to have to go to school having big men with dark jackets and ear pieces following you around:-) My point of my post yesterday (and today) is that I wish the majority of the American people were not pinning their hopes and dreams on one man. The only "man" who deserves that honor is Jesus Christ. I know people are anxious for change, but that can come in many forms, and not all of them are positive. So, while I didn't' vote for Obama, I will support him as best I can since he is our president. On a different note, Emma and I were talking yesterday about the events of the day, and she mentioned watching Obama on tv. She was telling me he was the 45th president, then she asked how many of them had been boys. I told her so far all of them had. She looked at me and said, "Well that just isn't fair--they should let a girl be president. Why don't you work at being president mommy?" I told her I had enough to do here:-) So then she told me she was going to work on it herself. She also told me she was happy that "Mark Obama" was now the president:-) Never dull with her around! I still need to post birthday pics, but am really tired this am. If anyone has any suggestions for how to keep Jake in his bed, I would love to hear them. I am thinking I will try a baby gate for his door as my next option. I am just really tired of being awakened at 3 am every night:-( Hope you all have a great day!

Historic Day

So I know I need to post about Jake's birthday party, and I will, but I wanted to put down my thoughts about today first. I do understand that this is an historic date in our country's history. And I am praying for the president as he transitions into this role. However, I don't like how every media outlet and a lot of people are looking at him like he is the messiah come to fix every problem of every person. That's a lot of pressure for one person. I do hope he lives up to the promises of his campaign, but I don't feel like he is going to solve all of my problems. Jesus doesn't promise that all of my problems will be solved (far from it!) , but He does want me to rely on Him and Him alone for my happiness. I guess I just wanted to write how I was feeling--I truly hope I don't offend anyone--but I probably won't be watching much of the coverage today because I am a little sickened by how ingratiating everyone in the media seems to be. When you are put up on a pedestal, it is just a further fall when something happens to knock you off of it. I promise to try and post a more upbeat post about Jake's birthday party later!

Am I in the right house?

So an amazing thing happened at bedtime tonight. I told Caleb and Emma to go upstairs and get in bed--I folded a load of laundry, helped Jake get ready for bed, and when I went up to check on them, it was almost too quiet. I figured they were in Caleb's closet holed up with a bunch of books since all the lights were on upstairs. Instead, I found each one, in their own beds, ASLEEP! I cannot ever remember a time they have done this, let alone both at the same time, so I figured I needed to mark down this special occasion. This really brightened my day, especially with all the fighting and arguing that went on this afternoon. The long weekend is starting on a good note! Hope everyone stays warm--Jake is having his birthday party tomorrow, so I will post pictures of that event soon!

Carolynn

Happy (belated) Birthday, Jake!

I can't believe you are already 3! You are the only one of our babies to be born in a state other than Arkansas. You are such a sweet boy when you want to be, but you definitely have a strong willed side. I can remember when I found out we were expecting you. Daddy had to go out of town for a funeral, and I was home with your brother and sister. I took a test in the morning, and I remember it was around 6 am--it looked negative, so I went back to bed. When I got up a few hours later it was positive. I quickly got everyone ready, ran to Walmart, and bought a digital test:-) It was positive as well. So I called your daddy and told him, and he of course told everyone there, even though I asked him to wait:-) We had just moved to Springfield, MO 2 months before finding out about you, so I didn't really know anyone or anything about the doctors in the area. God blessed us with a wonderful OB, the only problem was that he perpetually ran 30min to 1 hour late for appointments. It was exhausting:-) We had a lot of false alarms with you--the scariest for mommy and daddy was at 23 weeks when I started having contractions while we were at Celebration City. We headed to the ER, and were told I was just dehydrated. So I had to drink a ton of water and nana and papa actually drove up to stay with Emma and Caleb, so we just went out to eat after leaving the ER:-)

I went to the ER 2 other times, a few weeks before my due date with contractions that were 3 minutes apart, but you weren't ready to be born yet. My OB was on vacation for your 38th and 39th week check ups, which I wasn't real thrilled with, but as soon as he was back for the last one, we scheduled your induction for the 15th. Mom and dad were coming up the next day and we were going to shop a little and do a few more things before you were born. However, you had other ideas. My OB appointment was in the am, so I remember doing some shopping, then picking up Caleb from preschool, and Emma from Mother's Day Out. I was having contractions, but they got stronger around 4pm, so I called nana and papa to go ahead and come up. We left for the ER around 5, and I was finally dilating--I was a 5 when we arrived. Nana and papa arrived a little later ( your daddy was very happy to see them) and took them home. I had a very fast delivery with you--I pushed 3 times, and you were born! They had me waiting to push until they knew the doctor was in the building:-)

You were a really good baby, but you had to go in the hospital with fever at 2 weeks because you got the flu. We moved back to Arkansas when you were 1 month old. You love to spend time playing with your brother and sister, and right now your favorite things to do are play with your Geotrax, your Cars cars and legos, and anything to do with Toy Story.

I hope you continue to grow and learn in this next year. Mommy, daddy, Caleb and Emma all love you very much!