Another year over...almost

Wow, can you guys believe this year is almost over? I most certainly can't. The older I get, the faster things just fly by. I look back on the goals I set for myself, and sadly, I can't say I met most, if any, of them. I can blame it on working full-time and being a wife and toddler's mom. However, I will try and not make excuses. Frankly, I'm just too tired and more days than not, there just aren't enough hours in the day. For 2009, I am really looking forward to becoming a stay-at-home-mom. Although I think I will trade the stress of a 40 hour work week for the stress of a 24/7 work week, I look forward to being home with Carter more. I think this opportunity will not only make me a better mother but also a better wife. I feel like I have often neglected my responsibilities as a wife and mom because of my sheer exhuastion after having worked all day. I heard one working mom describe it this way..."My job gets me when I'm at my peak, fresh and alert. My family gets me at the end of the day when I'm tired, all out of energy and all I want to do is put my feet up," Man, do I know what she's talking about. I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to finally be able to stay home. I tell Theo all the time that I'll be working harder at home than I do at work :) but it will be a much more fulfulling and rewarding type of work.

This year has been a blessing but we've also been through some struggles. But God is good. And if there is one thing I can proclaim at the end of this year, God is faithful and in control. This past spring, we experienced something so terrifying as parents. Some of you may already know this, others may not. In April, Carter went through a 5 day phase of waking up screaming, unable to open his eyes, and couldn't walk without running into things. At first, I wasn't too concerned. But when my strong, never wavering husband said "Jaime, if you don't take him to the doctor, I will", I was freaked out. Carter looked like he was having a migraine. He couldn't stand to be in a lit room or outside especially. He would sit in his carseat with his hands over his face. My first thought was that Carter had a brain tumor. I see cancer patients all the time. We took him into the pediatrician on that Monday and within 24 hours he had an MRI of his brain performed. Those few hours were some of the longest and most difficult hours I've ever endured. Hundreds of "what ifs" were running through my mind. I prayed to God and begged him to let Carter be okay. I remember writing in my journal that this was the day we would find out if our only son had a brain tumor and how weird that felt to write that. I prayed that his MRI would be normal and there would be no sign of a brain tumor.

God heard me. He listened to my pleading as I literally cried out to Him and reluctantly placed Carter's life in His hands. Praise God Carter's MRI was normal. Carter did end up having a rare eye infection (rare in kids). We spent many days in the opthamologists' office and took a few weeks of various medications. God is the Great Physician and He showed us that by healing Carter. For those of you who know me, you know I can be somewhat of a control freak and always want things planned out and done my way. This experience was so hard for me because I truly had to let everything go and place it in God's hands. People say they trust God and trust in His plans but when that's truly put to the test, it is extremely difficult. I remember thinking that God knows how I feel. He had to give up his only Son and allowed him to endure pain and suffering because it was all part of His ultimate plan. I remember thinking that I'm not near as strong as God and I can't unselfishly give up my son for some greater plan. God knew my heart and He stepped in and intervened so that we would not have to go through such pain. For weeks afterwards, I would just cry everytime I went to church knowing how truly amazing my God is and how amazing He continues to be.

From this to this....... (top photo: Late April 2008 bottom photo: Early May 2008)

I am eagerly waiting to see what God has in store for us in 2009. I am excited about the plans He has for me and my family. I pray God's richest blessings on you and your families for the new year.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and celebrating our Savior's birthday. We went to church last night at St. Judes then came home, had hot chocolate (Carter had milk) and read the Christmas story-Bible version. Today, we have had a fabulous day (except for when I spilled a full mug of hot chocolate all over our living room floor)! Carter slept until 8:00, then he came into the living room and discovered the fun of Santa. He got a Thomas the train set and he kept exclaiming "Dank You Santa!". We opened presents from Grandpa, Nana and Grandma and PopPops. Then we opened our family Christmas presents. I'm telling you...Carter racked up this year! Next we headed out to Omaw and Papaw's house for our traditional family Christmas breakfast. Carter had such a good time. He's actually starting to understand Christmas and loves ripping the wrapping paper off his presents. Tonight, we're heading to our friends' house for our third annual Christmas Chinese food dinner! I'll miss this tradition when our friends move away in the spring.

I hope each and everyone of you are having an amazing Christmas and enjoying being with friends and family. God bless all of you and Merry Christmas! Pictures to follow soon.....

Prego Patrol

Kim, Kaliina, and Caraline......in 2006, we were all pregnant at the same time. What a bunch of hormonal fun we all had together. This picture was taken the weekend in June when we went on a girls road trip to Dallas. This was definitely one of the most fun girl things I have ever done! Kim and Kaliina were pregnant with their second babies and Caraline and I were pregnant with our first babies. It was this weekend that I first realized I was having Braxton hicks contractions. We were walking through the mall and I told Kim that I was having a tightening feeling in my belly. I was only about 24 weeks at the time. She said I was having Braxton hicks. I was like no way! Sure enough, Kim was right.

Kim and I both graduated from nursing school together. I have known her longer than I've known Theo. She left nursing temporarily and now runs her on cake business. And man, she can bake! I admire Kim so much. She is a wonderful wife and a fantastic mother. She makes it look easy and fun to be a mom. She and her husband are the social mecca of our group. Now that they have moved a few states away, we don't see them near as much but we are excited they have this amazing God-given career opporunity.

Kaliina is another member of the prego patrol. We have a lot in common, especially our love of books. While Theo and I were dating, some of the "work" wives started a book club and invited me. I never will forget our first book club selection picked (title will not be mentioned here :) ). Kaliina knows what I'm talking about! We stuck with the book club for a long time until we all started having babies. I miss our monthly get togethers which a lot of times consisted of talking a little about the book and a lot about life and love. Kaliina is a blast to be around and I do believer Carter is falling in love with her two year old daughter. Kaliina never hesitates to welcome people into her home. She is a great wife and mom! Now that several of our friends have moved, Kaliina and I share a common bond in that we sometimes feel "left behind". I'm glad her family is still here with us. Don't know what I'd do without them!

Caraline is the fourth member of the prego patrol. We were both pregnant with our first babies the same time. It was so exciting to share all of the things I was experiencing with someone who knew exactly how I felt. Caraline and I have known each other as long as I've known Kaliina. She was in our book club for a while too. We became friends fast. Something about being from the South tends to make people stick together. Caraline is by far one of the funniest people I have ever known. She makes me laugh every time we talk. Sometimes I think we could be related. Caraline and her family also moved over the summer. I cried all the way home the last time I visited her before she moved. She is only a few hours a way so I am hoping to visit her in the next couple of months. Caraline is an awesome mom and wife and she tells it like it is. That is one thing I love about her the most. She is so real and down to earth.

All of these women are some of my closest friends. They are all beautiful on the inside and outside. I admire them so much and they make me want to be a better woman, wife, and mother. I love you guys more than you will ever know!

*Another friend of ours, Esther, was also pregnant with us. She wasn't able to go on our girls trip with us. She was the first one the pregos to move. We all miss her and her family too!

Not Me! Monday

Hi everyone,

It's that time of the week again! Click on over to MckMama's blog for some more Not Me Monday therapy.... www.mycharmingkids.net

Today, I did not realize I hadn't posted anything on our blog since last weeks Not Me! Monday.

This week, I most certainly did not leave Carter at home with Theo for 4 hours on Sunday while I went to church alone and then Christmas shopping afterwards. This was not after I had already taken off from work 2 hours early to go Christmas shopping. And I definitely do not still have more Christmas presents to get (only 2 left though!)

Saturday, I did not go from wearing a short sleeved shirt with no coat on Saturday morning to bundling up in my sweater and winter coat Saturday night because the temperature here dropped from literally 75 degrees that morning to 30 degrees that night.

Carter did not use the wall next to his high chair as a napkin to wipe his ketchup on because I wasn't quick enough in getting him a paper towel......for the third time!

I am definitely not looking forward to having the rest of the week off and am not counting down the days until I go from full time pediatric nurse practitioner to full time stay-at-home mom!

Not Me Monday!

I have been following MckMama's blog for a few weeks now. Every Monday, she blogs (for therapeutic reasons of course) about all of the things she most certainly *not* do the past week. Check out her blog for other versions of Not Me Monday (at http://www.mycharmingkids.net/)! I am in much need of therapeutic blogging at the moment and here's why...

Just today, I most certainly did not put on a 4 episode Diego DVD in order to have 20 minutes of alone time to take a bath.

And when I emerged from the tub, I definitely did not have Carter enter the bathoom sans his pajama pants, carrying in his hand a poopy diaper and saying "It's dirty". This was not the second time in a little over 24 hours that he had done this.

When I came back into the room living, I did not see a pile of poop on the floor that Carter had apparently emptied out of his diaper. Then I did not laugh out loud to keep myself from crying.

As if this wasn't enough, I certainly did not get a call from the Toyota place saying it would cost $500 to fix the driver's seat because the motor went out this weekend and we can't adjust the seat and it's in permanent long-legged Theo position. This money was not in addition to the other $200 we are going to have to pay for some other car part.

Lastly, I did not finally sit on the couch and cry for a few seconds because I could no longer hold it in.

But God is good. He is our provider and I'm thankful for money in the bank that we can use to pay for these car repairs. I am thankful that Carter is feeling much better and is back to his normal self again (although I didn't realize the new normal would be him pooping all over the living room). In the grand scheme of things, are lives are really good thanks to God. So although I may need some therapeutic blogging today, all in all, things are good.

Feeling Better

For those of you who weren't aware, Carter has been really sick the past few days. He started running fever Thursday afternoon and by Friday, his fever was up to 103. Along with the fever, he had the worse cough ever, wheezing, and very yucky nose and eyes. We saw Dr. M on Friday morning and he tested him for RSV...that came back negative. So although we don't know exactly what is causing this, he is finally starting to feel better. His chest x-ray from Friday looked ok so thankfully he doesn't have pneumonia. Theo and I had a million things planned for this weekend. We have still been able to do just about everything but only one of us went to our various functions and the other one stayed home with little man. My mom came over last night and was such a blessing to us by watching Carter so Theo and I could go to his work Christmas party. This party is something we have attended every year together since we met and we look forward to it all year. So thank you so much "Omaw" for coming over to watch Carter. It seems he just needed an "Omaw" fix and now he's much better :). As long as he doesn't run fever anymore, I think we'll talk him back to Michele's this week and I'll pick him up early so he can get his afternoon breathing treatment. We're going back to the doctor Wednesday or Thursday so I'll keep everyone posted on how he's doing. Prayer works! We are thanking and praising the Lord that our little precious one is finally feeling better.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I love this time of year! I love the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. When I was younger, I really looked forward to getting a whole bunch of "stuff". In fact, I couldn't stand to wait to find out what I was getting so I would try and unwrap my presents before Christmas. Now that I'm older and much more mature (well, maybe not so much), I don't get near as excited about opening a bunch of stuff. Now as a parent, I have way more fun shopping for Carter and my other young family members than I do for any adults (sorry guys, no offense). I figure the adults in my family all have jobs and can essentially buy anything they want. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy giving gifts, but I'm no longer obsessed in getting/giving stuff.

Christmas has become so incredibly commercialized that if we let it, all of the material things can easily overshadow the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Theo and I saw on the news that a lot of stores do 30% of their business for the whole year on "Black Friday". (Yes, we did go shopping that day but bought very little) I want Carter and any children we may have later to know exactly what Christmas means. I don't want our family to be so caught up in acquiring things that in a month's time won't be that imporant anyway that we forget to stop and celebrate Jesus' birth.

How did the two most important events (Jesus' birth and resurrection) turn into Santa Claus and the Easter bunny, candy, presents, etc etc? Yes, I want Carter to enjoy the innocence of believing in Santa and the Easter bunny. But I want that to make up a very small percentage of what he believes about Chirstmas and Easter. I want him to be more focused on Jesus' birth than Santa showing up. I want him to understand the eternal significance of the Messiah being born when he's old enough to comprehend such concepts. But in the meantime, we are practicing singing "Happy Birthday" to Dedus Jesus.

Now more than ever I am so grateful that God sent His only Son to die for me. Everyone I know and every single person on the planet has access to heaven through Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection. All they have to do is confess and believe. How amazing is that! The best part is that God gave me salvation even though I'm completely undeserving of it. And God loves me just the way I am. Talk about unconditional love!

So this Christmas, you will find presents under our tree and a very excited two year-old Christmas morning. You will find a beautiful Christmas tree in our living room and decorations throughout our house. You will find me shopping in various stores and on-line to find gifts for my family and friends. You will see us gonig to look at Christams lights. You will hear Carter singing Happy Birthday Jesus. You won't find us breaking the bank in order to give Carter to biggest, newest, most expensive toys. You won't find me buying many new Christmas decorations because the ones we already have are special to me. You won't find me obsessing over finding the perfect gift for someone because whatever I choose to buy will be given out of love. You won't find me trying to outdo the "Jones'". You won't find me saying "Happy Holidays" because I'll be saying Merry Christmas. You won't find me too stressed out because I have a peace that passes all understanding. And more importantly, you won't find me forgetting the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Carter's first Christmas and my, how things have changed.......

Georgette

This is my second "friends tribute". Georgette and I have known each other for at least 5 years now. Our husbands work together. We instantly became friends. Fellow southerners have to stick together :) Georgette and her husband are also Carter's godparents and Theo and I are godparents to their beautiful little daughter. We live in the same neighborhood so we often hang out at each other's house. She has been such a big help to me when I'm in a pinch and needing someone to watch Carter for the day. They will be moving in the spring and I have already cried my eyes out over this. Life is not going to be the same without having them down the street.

What I love about Georgette is how funny she is. We often poke fun at our husbands (and I'm sure they do the same about us). We can joke with them about things with each other that I can't joke with other people about. We don't ever have to hold anything back from each other. She also sure knows how to throw a party (Guitar Hero rocks!!)

I will truly miss Georgette and the rest of her family. Carter will certainly miss his Nanny too. She is one of my closest friends and I already am making plans to go visit them in the very near future. We love you guys!

"The Boys are Back in Town"

You all remember that song right? I thought it was a perfect title for this blog post. Theo and Carter arrived safely home Wednesday night. And when I tell you my boy was excited to see me, it's an understatement. I was in the car picking them up and I had to pull up a few feet to park and Carter began screaming hysterically because he thought I was leaving again. Once he realized I wasn't, he jumped out of the stroller and threw his arms around me. It was so sweet and I don't think I have ever been happier to see him. I took the day off yesterday to spend time with my two fave fellas. It was nice. We decorated our Christmas tree last night, Theo lit a fire, and we listened to Christmas music. My definition of a perfect Christmas tradition. Unfortunately Carter had a rough night. It took him half an hour to fall asleep on his own and then he woke up a half dozen times crying in the night. I'm praying he'll have a smooth transition going back to sleep in his own bed.

While we were in NY, we went to the city and saw the Intrepid, a Naval aircraft carrier/museum. Theo really wanted Carter to experience this. It was a neat thing to see and if Carter had not been acting so terrible that day (and I do mean truly terrible!!), we probably would have had a much better time.

Alas, I digress.....I wanted to post some pictures of our visit. Note to self: toddlers can not fully appreciate the value of visiting a military museum and learning about naval history. We will definitely not do this again until he is older :)

Home Sweet Home....Almost

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in New York visiting Theo's parents. I had to come home Saturday because of work so Theo and Carter are still in New York. Theo wanted Carter to have some quality time with his other grandparents that he doesn't get to see that often. I thought this would be all fine and good....until I had to leave Carter at the airport. I can't even describe how sad I felt turning my back on my screaming son (saying "MOMMY, HOLD YOU!!") and walking into the airport. I know it is only going to be a few days that I won't see Carter and Theo but it hurt my heart so much. By the time I landed in Dallas, Carter of course was fine and no longer screaming. But as soon as he got on the phone with me, he said "Mommy, hold you". Seems this is his favorite phrase lately.

So although I am always happy to be back at home, it is very strange being home without my two favorite boys (Theo insists however that he is not a boy, but a man!) I am taking advantage of my alone time and doing things I can't normally do easily with a toddler around. I am definitely looking forward to seeing those guys again. I'll post more NY pictures soon! This one is Central Park at night. Absolutely stunning!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I hope you are all enjoying your day. We are spending Thanksgiving with family and will be gobbling up some turkey, dressing, and all of the other usual foods later this afternoon. Because today is Thanksgiving, I feel compelled to write about the things I am most thankful for. After going through a health scare earlier in the year with Carter, I am most thankful that he is healthy and happy. God is good! I am thankful for a loving husband who is an exceptional father and best friend to both Carter and me. I am thankful for our extended family and getting to spend lots of time with them this past year. I am thankful that Theo and I got to vacation in Hawaii this summer (somewhere I've always wanted to go). I'll post pictures of our trip soon :) I am thankful that at the end of January, I will resign from my job in order to stay home and that Theo has a good career which allows me to stay home if I choose.

I am thankful for a new church in which I feel more spiritually alive than I have in a long time. I am grateful for all of my friends, those who still live here and those who have moved over the past year. I am thankful for the wonderful and crazy life God has blessed me with and look forward to His new blessings in the coming year.

Little Drummer Boy

This morning after breakfast, Carter decided he wanted to learn how to play the drums. We got out the metal mixing bowls and let him bang on them with a wooden spoon. He (we) had such a blast! My ears were ringing by the time we were finished playing but we had a great time. Let me just say, the boy has rhythm!

Hugs All Around

We really do have a sweet kiddo. He is so loving and affectionate....most of the time! Now he even picks up his stuffed animals, says "Awwww" and gives them a hug. It's too cute. Last night, we were laying on the floor reading a book and he looked at me and in his tiny voice, said "Mommy hug" and laid his head against me and wrapped his arm around my neck. It was so sweet. I picked him up off the floor and had daddy take a picture of this photo op moment. I cherish these moments because I know they won't last forever. I know there will come a time when he doesn't want my mommy kisses and hugs anymore and he'll be embarrassed when I show him affection, especially in public. So for now, I relish in the fact that Carter loves on me. My heart is abundantly full of joy each and everytime I get a hug or kiss from my sweet little Carter man.

Wages Earned

With the way things have been in the economy lately, it has got me thinking a lot of employment, finances, money, etc etc. I haven't spent much time worrying about the economic crisis because I trust a big God who can/will/does provide for all of my needs and my family's needs. I go to work everyday Monday through Friday and get a paycheck at the end of every month. Overall, I feel I am fairly compensated for my work. Some days I think "Man, I don't get paid enough to deal with this!" But for the most part, I feel the wages I earn are equal to the time and effort I put into my job.


Thankfully, my God doesn't opearte on a wordly wage-earning system. I would be broke and in debt up to my eyeballs in the spiritual sense. Thankfully, every time I sin, I can come before the throne gracefully, ask for forgiveness, and the slate is wiped clean. Thankfully, God keeps forgiving me each time I ask Him, even if it is over the same sin. When I truly try to wrap my mind around what God has done for me and will continue to do, I am in awe. The Bible says "For the wages of sin is death...." But because I am a born again believer and have confessed that Jesus is Lord and Savior of my life, I get to take part in the second half of that scripture..."but the gift of God is eternal life". I truly do not deserve the salvation that has been given to me. I will never be able to pay back what Jesus did by dying on the cross for me. I fail more ways than I would ever care to mention (just ask Theo!) but I serve a loving and forgiving God! Thankfully, my spiritual "debt" has been marked "paid" by the blood of Jesus.

Meredith

This is my first friends tribute post. Meredith and I have been friends literally almost our whole lives. I can hardly remember a time in my life when Meredith wasn't a part of it. We became friends in elementary school and have been close friends since then. We were cheerleaders in high school together (does that surprise anyone?) We graduated in the same class. Although we went to different colleges, we both ended up becoming NICU nurses. Now she is my oldest and best friend. Meredith and her family live in Colorado so unfortunately we don't get to see each other often but we talk all the time now. Carter and I plan on going to visit Aunty Meredith in the spring! I can't wait!!

To know Meredith is to love her. She is the strongest woman my age I know and one of the most remarkable women on the planet. She is so real and authentic and doesn't sugarcoat anything, least of all her thoughts about motherhood. She is a fabulous and down to earth mom. She was the first person to let me know that it's okay for everyday of life/motherhood not to be perfect. She let me know it's okay if I want to scream and pull my hair out somedays. She has taught me more about grief and faith than I could have ever imagined. She also has a quite humorous side. There is never a conversation between the two of us where we're aren't cracking up laughing about something. (Zelda!!!)

I love you Meredith. Thanks for always being there and letting me be me! See you soon! :)

Addendum: No, Meredith is not always perpetually pregnant...these are just the two most recent pictures I have (both of which she is pregnant in which each of her sons) :)

Friends Tribute

As I think about this past year, I realize that the majority of my closest friends have either moved or will be moving soon. I do have a handful of close friends still here (thank the Lord for that) but a good percentage of my close knit circle has left. So, I feel the need to pay a tribute to my friends, both to those who are still here and those who have moved on. I am blessed to have a lot of close friends so I can't possibly pay tribute to all of these wonderful women in one blog post. I have decided to write about my different friends in different posts. I'm aiming to do one friends post a week. So stay tuned...you might be next! :)

How much is too much?

As most of you all know, I am an expert in pediatric development because of my job as a pediatric nurse practitioner (just kidding!). No, I'm not an expert but I do know what the American Academy of Pediatrics says and I know what is actual reality in our house so I thought I would conduct a poll. The question: How much tv do your young kids watch on a typical day? I have been talking to Theo about this off and on for months now. The AAP recommends less than 2 hours of tv a day. We do pretty good with this during the week. That's mainly because Carter spends about 4 hours awake at home and the rest of the time, he's at Michele's house. But on the weekends, I hate to admit that I often use the tv, particularly Diego and the Wonder Pets, as a babysitter so I can get stuff done around the house. I would prefer he only watched one hour of tv a day on the weekends but that hasn't worked so far for us. Our new unwritten agreement for weekday tv is that the tv stays off when we get home until 30 minutes before bed and then he can watch one show. So far so good. The weekends, however, anything goes. So, I'm curious. Those of you who have young children (kindergarten or younger), how much tv do your kids watch? This is no way to be judgmental or persuade you to not let your kids watch tv. I'm mostly curious as to what goes on in other households where toddlers reign. If you don't mind, cast your vote and see what the results are. I'll leave the "polls open" for a few weeks. Thanks everyone!

*On a side note, tv must be somewhat advantageous because after months of Diego/Dora watching, Carter can now count to ten in Spanish! And the coolest part is, no one taught him that.....unless you count Diego as a teacher!

Potty Time!

I know this is probably not an exciting post for most of you all. But it was an exciting night in our house last night! Carter was in my bathtub taking a bath (which is usually only a weekend ritual). He made his "gotta go" face and I said "Carter do you need to use the potty?" In his polite little voice, he replied "No tanks". But I knew better. And I knew I didn't want to have to clean poop out of MY tub! So I rushed him to his own bathroom and put him on his own potty. I gave him his Elmo potty book that he can only use while on the potty (thanks Kim for that advice!). And a minute later, he had successfully used the potty (number one and two!) Woohoooo! We made a big to do over this. Now my only concern is that I'll have to give him a sucker everytime he uses the toilet. His teeth will have rotted out but at least he'll be potty-trained! I don't plan on really pursuing the whole potty-training until I can work part-time or not at all but last night is at least a start. Sorry, no pictures to post with this one. I do have some cute pictures of him in my bathtub but I haven't uploaded them yet. Stay tuned. Hope you all are doing well.

Major Meltdown

This is for all you moms who wonder if other people's kids misbehave in public places the way your kids do......the answer is YES! :)

So it's Sunday afternoon. Our tradition over the past several months is to do the grocery shopping on Sunday after church. In the most recent weeks, I have decided to take Carter and get him used to sitting in the shopping cart (as opposed to running all over the store). We made it to the store. I was armed with fruit snacks, ring pops, and promises of watching cartoons when we got back home. It worked.....almost. We had made it through all of the aisles at the store. Carter sat in the buggy until the last aisle and then he wanted out of the cart. I figured what the heck....we're almost done. We got in line and then I realized the mistake I had made by allowing him to get out of the shopping cart. He of course instantly made a beeline for the candy screaming "Tindy tindy!" which is Carter speak for candy. On a sidenote, I think it's absolutely cruel for grocery stores to put the candy in the one place you have to stand still long enough to unload your cart. It's not like you can just breeze through there. It takes a good several minutes to unload all of your stuff. Anyway, I digress....he began rummaging through Kit Kat bars and skittles. Finally he picked up a 3 musketeers (like mother, like son). When I reached down to get it out of his hands and put it back on the shelf, he let out the most shrill scream I had ever heard! Literally everyone in the front of the store turned around and stared at us. I promise one lady looked like she was about the dial 911 because she thought Carter was either severely hurt or somebody was attempting to kidnap him. When she realized he was screaming over candy, the look on her face said "Why doesn't she just give the boy what he wants". She didn't realized he'd already eaten two suckers, a bag of fruit snacks, and hadn't eaten lunch yet. So I stood my ground. Even when the shrieking continued and store employees had the look of we-can't-wait-for-them-to-leave. One of the nice baggers even blew up a balloon animal for Carter. It did fortunately seem to calm him down. As I'm strapping him in the car (and by this point, he is calm and happy), an older lady pulled in the parking place next to us. When she got out and saw Carter, she said that he was so precious. I told her that we had just had a major meltdown in the store. She said she could remember those days and that it does get better. Then Carter looks at me and says "I sowee mommy" (I'm sorry mommy). I thought in the grand scheme of things, this is not so bad. Now as I'm typing, I look over at Carter. He is sound asleep on the couch cuddled up with his blanket with a look of innocence on his little face. The bad moments are far outweighed by the good moments. And right now, it doesn't get much better than this.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! For those of you who were aware of the costume debate, the spider costume won. Theo had bought Carter a puppy dog costume last year after Halloween when everything was on sale. The tag says it's a 2T. Well, it must have been the wrong tag for that costume because Carter was way to big for it. So by default, he was the spider. I must say, it turned out so much cuter than what I was originally thinking. The costume came with "hands" and a hat, none of which Carter will usually wear. But to our surprise, he kept the mittens and hat on the whole time. He was absolutely adorable. We went to a party at some of our friends house. Then we went trick-or-treating in their neighborhood. Carter would run up to l

houses and yell "twa twa tweet!" He was so excited to get candy (surprise, surprise!). Carter was a real trooper and we were all worn out by the end of the night. But nothing like a bag full of chocolate to get my energy up!

Beyond the Grave

The title of this post may suggest this is a post about Halloween. It's about quite the opposite. As some of you know, I'm now going to a different church, Word of Life (a non-denominational church). This week they are putting on a drama called "Beyond the Grave". For any of you who have seen "Heavens Gates, Hells Flames", it is very similar to that. The first half of the drama is based on Columbine. The second half of the drama shows what happens to the teenagers who were killed after they die....going to heaven or hell. The play is very powerful and the take home message is if you die today, where will you spend eternity. For anyone who is reading this, you are someone I care about. I do not want to come across as condemning or judgmental because anyone who has met me knows how far from perfect I am. But I feel compelled to talk about my faith and relationship with Jesus. I don't want a single person reading this to not have the opportunity to know Jesus and have a personal relationship with Him. I don't want a single person to spend eternity separated from God. So if you are unsure where you will spend your afterlife, please talk to me. I want to pray for you and I want to show you how you can have a relationship with Jesus. Again, please don't think I am spiritually superior or that I have all the right answers because that is definitely not the case. But after seeing this drama last night, I feel responsible to tell every single person that is a part of my life about God and what He has done for me and more importantly, what He can do for you.

"All who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13

Be Blessed,
Jaime

Baby Beethoven

As most of you probably know, I play the piano. I took lessons for about 8 years when I was younger. I love to play but have a fear of actually playing in front of people. The short version of the story behind my fear is the first time I ever played in church, I messed up so BAD that I just stopped all together. I can't even remember if I made it all the way through "What Child is This" but I remember going to sit back down in the pew and just crying! But I absolutely love playing. Before my grandmother passed away, every time we had a family get together and there was a piano around, she would always ask me in her can't-say-no-to-me sweet voice to play something for her. Of course, I always did. And even though my songs were usually riddled with mistakes, I could always see in her eyes how happy she was hearing me play. The last time I was out visiting my mom, she asked me to play something for her too. Like mother, like daughter I suppose...I know it would make my grandma so very happy to see Carter climb on my piano bench and pound away on those keys. When he is old enough to understand, I will teach him how to play. He loves music and I think he'll be very receptive to learning how to play once he's older. But his "songs" now are still music to my ears. Hopefully one day God will give me the courage to play for others again. For now, I'll let Carter be the musical entertainer of the family!

Getting ready for Halloween

Theo and I have never really been big on decorating for Halloween. But now that we have Carter, I feel more obligated to put up some festive decorations. This year I made a vow to do more crafty things. So here are the results of all of my efforts. Carter helped some but having him around a hot glue gun is definitely NOT a good idea. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the wreath is just a grapevine wreath with fabric "ghosts" and I glued googly eyes on the ghost face. The "spirit jugs" as they are called were too easy and really cute at night. I took an empty milk jug, used a sharpie marker to draw on faces, cut a hole in the back and strung some orange lights in the hole. Really cheap, easy and cute. Thanks for looking. Let me know if you have any cute, easy Halloween craft ideas.

My Little Pumpkin

This past weekend we took Carter back to St. Luke's pumpkin patch. It was rather warm outside but he had a good time climbing all over the pumpkins. After searching for the perfect pumpkin, daddy finally found "the one". We also bought a smaller one to keep inside. We haven't carved it yet but will hopefully do that this weekend. Stay tuned for more pictures.

Fatherhood

I hope Theo doesn't mind me sharing this....most nights we put Carter to bed around 8:00. He normally does really well falling asleep in his own bed. Last night though, the planes were flying late and they woke Carter up. I am usually adamant about not getting him out of the bed once he's asleep. But Theo said "Can we just let him lay out on the couch with us for a little while?" Even though I didn't think it was a good idea at the time, I said "Whatever you think is best." So we got him out of bed, turned all of the living room lights and the tv off and laid him on the couch. After a few minutes, Theo went over and sat on the couch with Carter. Even though it was dark, I could see Theo just looking at Carter and stroking his curly hair and it was as if I could visibly see the love that he was pouring out over Carter. Tears just streamed down my face and I prayed a silent prayer to God thanking him for what an amazing man I married and what an incredible father he is. I have always secretly wondered if fathers love their children as much as mothers do. Last night, I knew the answer to that was yes. I also thank God for Theo's parents because I know the man that Theo is today is largely because of them. (Picture: Carter was only a few days old)

To Work or Not To Work

We enjoyed having a long weekend with us both being off for Columbus Day. Theo was able to get a lot done around the house. I was able to go to Hobby Lobby (my favorite shopping place) and run a few other errands. We hung out with Carter a lot, babysat some good friends of ours kids (one of whom is our adorable goddaughter). Sunday we went to church and Carter stayed in the nursery the whole time despite his buddies not being there. This is a huge accomplishment for him. Being with Carter and Theo for the long weekend really reinforced how much I miss being home. I know that I went back to school for a reason but I know God has spoken so clearly to me that at this point in my life, I should be home with my family. I am in no way condemning moms that have or want to work. I have a new understanding and respect for working moms since I've been one for a year and a half now. But I know my heart is at home. Yes, there are times I feel overwhelmed at the thought of being home 24 hours a day 7 days a week with Carter. However, as several of my friends have reminded me, time goes by so fast and in three years, he will be in kindergarten and I won't be able to stay home with him. (No homeschooling for this family!) All of this is to say please pray for me that I have a peace about staying home and the courage to leave work because I know wholeheartedly that being at home right now is God's will for my life.

Family Portrait

Hi Everyone! I realize it's been almost a month since I've posted anything. In fact, I haven't even told anyone about this blog until today. So, it's about time I start using it. We really enjoyed our summer but are looking forward to some cool weather. In Louisiana, that doesn't happen until around Thanksgiving! Theo is really busy with his grad school classes. Carter is keeping us both busy. He is such an incredible joy to have around. We're trying to decided what to dress him up as for halloween. Most of the costumes are designed for cold weather. There is a good chance it will still be over 85 degrees here on halloween! I'll post most pictures after Halloween. Stay tuned!

Introduction

Hello everyone! Welcome to our blog. In order to finally get with the 21st century, I've finally decided to create my own blog. I hope you all will look around and enjoy sharing our lives with us...even from a distance. Look for more to come as I navigate my way through this whole process.