Something to be thankful for. . . .

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:38-39

No explanation necessary.

A Night Out. . .

Tonight Josh and I went out and Cameryn had her first non-family member babysitter and it went fabulous. A little girl named Morgan from our church babysat Camy and Ellie, Clint and Ashley's daughter, while we went to the Achiever's Club dinner at Martini's. Dinner was great and we got to hang out with some grown ups which was nice.
Ashley made all the arrangements for Morgan to come and watch the girls and she was great. She was so at ease with the kids and had such a sweet demeanor. I definitely got her phone number stored in my phone! She nanny's two days a week for a family with 4 kids under five so she's a pro. Overall, a great end to a hectic day! Josh is going hunting tomorrow at 5 am and me and Camy are going to hang out until it's time for her to get her pictures made. I love the weekends!

Thursday night update

I have been so tired lately! I feel like I could sleep for a week. The bright side is that tomorrow is Friday so I'm in the home stretch. Tomorrow will be a busy too but it will end with a free dinner on Cintas. Josh and I are going to the Achiever's club dinner tomorrow night with Clint and Ashley. . . and that's it. I hate to brag on my awesome husband but he and only one other rep made it this quarter and she can't come to dinner. We're going to Bravo, one of my favorite places and Cameryn is going to have her first non-family member babysitter. A little girl from church is going to watch Camy and Ellie at our house so we can have some fun, grown up time.

Saturday we are getting a family picture made and then Cameryn is going to get a few made in her Christmas dress. Pray for no tears and lots of smiles.

Oh my gosh! I almost forgot the biggest news of the week. I am the proud owner of a mini van! Josh was up to his wheeling and dealing at the car lot which happens frequently and we traded our Ridgeline in for an Odyssey. I never thought I would drive a van but I really love it. It's so roomy and has all kinds of neat gadgets. I'm hooked now. Laugh if you must, but I was once in your shoes. I'm telling you it's cool. Anyway I hope everybody has a great weekend and enjoys the nice weather!

Boys and Their Toys

When we went to Logansport last weekend is was first and foremost, freezing! But aside from this Josh had a great time acting like a kid and racing around in this go-cart his dad built. The go cart was all fine and good but now my husband is talking about dune buggies and other four wheeled things that I know nothing about. This particular go-cart started as junk that a neighbor gave to Ted. ; Since they have started the tradition of going to 2 NASCAR races a year, Ted was going to make a motorized cooler with it by mounting a cooler on it and then making a really tall stearing wheel so you could sit on the cooler and drive it from point A to B (A pretty nifty idea in my book). Any how, one thing led to another and it ended up with a roto tiller motor and a rebuilt seat. I think the next step is new tires. Before we know it there will be XM radio! Josh had so much fun racing around the parking lot at his old elementary school. He works so hard, it's so good to see him just have fun and not have a care in the world. I'll admit I took it for a little spin myself. Being the embodiment of grace, I accidentally went through a puddle and splashed water all over my face and I was wearing my glasses so I was in need of some mini windshield wipers. And even though Ted is officially a "grandpa" he was not driving like one! Josh did have a little "wreck" at one point when he was trying to brake really hard and turn at the same time. Let's just say his rear end paid the price.

Gatlinberg was Awesome!

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As you can tell from our pictures we had a great time! We ate, relaxed, went horse back riding, shopping, and nearly burned our cabin down. Just kidding! We did accidently shut the flew and filled the entire place with smoke. So, at about 1 am instead of hearing the tranquil sounds of the mountains at night, you could hear our screeching smoke alarms echoing through the woods. I'm sure our neighbors loved it!

We also had nightly visits from the local racoons which was cool. Saying they were not afraid of people was a bit of an understatement. We were all sitting on the deck talking and I heard this scratching sound and saw a little nose. We ran screeming into the house, but figured out they were pretty friendly little guys.

It was a great trip and we laughed non stop. We all missed our little girls pretty badly so we were happy to come home but it was so nice to have some time away with great friends!

3 Years Ago Today. . .

Exactly 3 years ago today at this time I was dancing and having one of the best nights of my entire life. Josh and I were at our wedding reception at this time on October 28, 2006 and by this point in the day we were just having a blast celebrating that we get to be with each other for the rest of our lives. It's amazing to think of all the things that have happened to us since that day, but the most exciting part is all that God has in store for us in the future. He sent me the literal man of my dreams and I am so thankful to have Josh.

I know 3 years in a marriage is not really that long to some people, and I hope and pray it is just a small fraction of the time we will have together, but I feel like we have grown and learned so much in this time. Josh is not only my husband, but he's a wonderful father, son, and brother. He's the leader of our home, bread winner, lawn mower, care taker of our pets, manager of our money, floor sweeper, and the person that loves me and Cameryn more than anything in the word. He is my everything and his love is something I could not live without. He puts his heart and soul into our family and takes good care of us. He makes me laugh ALL the time. He's understanding and kind, bold and thoughtful. Right now he's sleeping on the couch instead of watching The World Series, but I know this is exactly where he wants to be and that gives me such a sense of peace and contentment. God is so good to give us His love and the gift of marriage.

"We love because he first loved us" 1John 4:19

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up" Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Happy Anniversary, Josh!

Picking Up a Baby Bumble Bee. . .

We have the sweetest little bumble bee! We dressed Camy up to go to Halloween at the Zoo with Abbey and Bella and had such a good time. The girls were so cute and Bella got a bucket full of candy. They had all these candy stations throughout the zoo and they all had themes. We saw Shreck, the Disney Princesses, the Wizard of Oz characters and lots more. Bella loved Bat Girl! For me, it was awesome to see Abbey. She's a teacher and coach so our schedules never seem to coordinate. Anyway, it was a fun night and I can't wait to dress our girl up for the Fall Festival at church tomorrow!

Cameryn's First Trip to Huber's

Fall is here so just as naturally as the leaves fall, you have to go to Huber's Orchard! This is a family tradition that we wanted Cameryn to experience and be able to say she can't remember a fall in her life that we didn't go. It's a beautiful drive up through Floyds Knobs with all the leaves changes, so even before you arrive you just get this sense of happiness. Once we arrived we took Camy to feed the fish in the pond. I think they were pretty full from all the visitors so when we threw our food in they just kind of gradually swam up and ate at their leisure instead of fighting for the food like normal. After that we went to the petting zoo so Cam could see all the animals. She was somewhat interested in them, but she LOVES little kids. Every time we see a kid in the grocery or at the park she can't stop smiling and reaching out to them. So the petting zoo was no different. She was so fascinated by all the people that the animals came in a distant second. Later we headed to the farmers market which smelled amazing! Fresh bread, homemade donuts, and apple cider, need I say more. Josh and I each harmed a carmel apple while Cameryn had some puffs. Poor kid doesn't know what she's missing. For the grand finale of our trip we headed out to the pumpkin patch. I think Cameryn's favorite part was the hay we sat on to get out there, but it was so cute seeing her out in the pumpkin patch. Overall, a great "Baby's First"!

I'm Back and a Little Lighter!

I know I have been MIA lately but for good reason. After three very painful attacks and seeing about six doctors by the time it was all said and done I had my gall bladder removed on Monday. If you have ever had any trouble with your gall bladder you know what I mean by "attack". I would have a baby any day of the week compared to that pain. I'm sure the fear of now knowing what was wrong with me added to the pain, but it was BAD. I can remember riding to the emergency room moaning and praying for God to please let me be okay and let this pain go away. My poor husband! During the first attack we had no idea what was wrong and he had never seen me in such pain, it really scared him. While we were in the ER the pain started to gradually go away and then I was completely fine. At this point the doctor said I probably had acid reflux or it could be my gall bladder. I basically have an iron stomach and am the "garbage disposal of our family, I'll eat pretty much anything. I thought this was way off but he said the only way to know for sure was to run a scope down my throat or do an ultrasound. This would mean many other doctor visits and appointments, so like any busy mom I put it off. The doctor said it wouldn't be anything that would kill me, I would just have another attack or I may never have another one.
Needless to say it happened again so I did all the tests and found out I had a bunch of little gall stones. Apparently having little stones is worse than big ones because they can pass down into your pancreas and cause problems from there. I had surgery on Monday and all is well. I was pretty sore at first but today I took care of Cameryn on my own all day. Josh left this afternoon with his dad and brother to go to South Carolina to visit Uncle Bob and go to the NASCAR race tomorrow. He was so excited. He definitely needs a break since he has been mom, dad, and nurse all week. I'm sure the guys will have a great time on their "man trip" and will have tons of stories to tell when they come home. I'll be posting pictures soon of Camy's first trip to Huber's and other random things we've been doing!

A Weekend of Sick Babies

Everyone looks forward to the weekend but this one was not so great. Cameryn started not feeling well on Wednesday and it has gotten worse and worse each day since. She has been up coughing and last night had a fever. Of course the fever doesn't hit until Saturday night so the pediatrician's office was closed. We called the on call doctor and he suggested we go ahead and take her into the hospital. Well after spending a few hours at Kosair we found out what she does not have; no strep throat, no ear infection, no bladder infection. Most likely it is some virus that needs to just run its course. Meanwhile, we have a fussy, pitful looking little girl. Please pray for her to feel better soon!
Aside from Camy, Ellie, Clint and Ashley's daughter had to go to Kosair in the middle of the night last night. She was having trouble breathing and was diagnosed with Croup. I also just read on Erica's blog that she and Sawyer are both sick too! I hope everyone gets to feeling better soon and that no one is sick again for a very very long time!

An Amazing Insight

Today at Mom to Mom our speaker, Tera reference Nicole Johnson and I had to share this video. Sometimes as moms we feel like nothing we do is appreciated or of any worth. Our mission here at home with our husband's and children is all for God. He sees our hearts and He sees how hard we try. Every act of service and love we perform gives Him glory.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me'" Matt 25:40

Here, There, and Everywhere. . .

When Cameryn was born everyone would always say, "Enjoy her now, pretty soon she'll be all over the place." Well those days have been here for awhile, so I thought I would share some pictures of our girl during a typically day.

The first pic is of her in her groovey pj's crawling all over the place. We got her a few pairs of Amy Coe pj's at Babies R Us and they are just the cutest! The next one is of her sitting in her toy basket in the living room. She cruises all around her block since she can hold on to the wires. Well, I guess this time she needed a little rest so she just had a seat.

We also took her on her first trip to the park last week. It was a little cool but a great evening to swing. I'm not sure exactly what she thought of the swings but she did like the slide. We would stand next to the slide and hold her while she slid down. It was so funny. Her hair was full of static and standing strait up! After that one it's her up on the couch with her doggie that Josh brought home for her the other day. She was loving on him and giving him kisses that day (Josh and the doggie!).

And the last one is classic Cameryn. I opened the pantry to scoop out some dog food and feed Lily and Ceaser. Well as soon as a turn around this is what I see. She was grinning ear to ear! She thought she found herself a great treat while Mommy's back was turned. She cracks me up on a daily basis. We are so blessed to have such a silly, happy little girl. I enjoy her more and more every day.

So Tired!

It was a long day at work today and I really really missed my girl. Just a few of my favorite, more recent pictures of my sweetie pie! No matter what kind of day you have, when you come home to her you can't help but smile and thank God for such a wonderful blessing.

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful. . ."

Proverbs 15:13

Camy must have a very happy heart!

Mom 2 Mom

I recently started attending a Wednesday morning bible study for moms and absolutely love it! My friend Ashley is on staff at Highview East and her husband Clint is Josh's sales manager. We had talked about her Mom 2 Mom group over the summer and I told her I would like to check it out, just let me know when it starts up for the fall. Well, she is so thoughtful and not to mention organized and she remember to call me. The first session was last Wednesday and I really enjoyed it. The speaker was amazing! She had grown children so she knew all the joys and challenges of being a mom and then some. I don't know what it was, but just the way she spoke made things seem so simple.
Having an English degree has given me more than enough opportunities to disect a text and look for different ways to read a text and develope my interpretation of what the author is trying to convey. Even though it takes reading through something multiple times, I really like to do that. Well the light bulb went off for me when Virginia, the speaker, said to treat the Bible that way. She said to make lists and try to dig deeper into the passage you read. Sometimes you feel like you can't fully understand what your reading if you don't know all the theology behind it or if you haven't read the entire Bible. This method simplifies the process so you can learn the most important elements. One list is supposed to be what the passage tells you about God. And the other list is what God wants you to do. Reading scripture is to seek God's face and know Him better and to learn what He wants you to do and how to lead your life. I feel like making these lists really helps me to understand how I can apply God's word to my life since I have physically written down what He wants me to do. This method of reading has went really well for me this week so I just wanted to share that! Good Night!

Oh How Times Have Changed!

A few weekends ago Josh's friend Chris, who we all call by his last name, Pert, came into town from California. He was a manager for the baseball team at Dayton and graduated the same year as Josh. Anyway he came in for a visit so we had him and another one of Josh's old teammates, Will, over for a cookout. Will brought his cute little family with him and we had such a good time!

His wife Lene is a sweetheart, and they have two boys; Trey is one and a half and Clayton is five months. Trey was so sweet to Cameryn and gave her hugs and played in the pool with her. We just hung out and talked and let the kiddos swim. We got out the corn hole boards but Trey was the only one who played. Pert isn't married or have any kids so it was not his typical night I'm sure! Not too many years ago those three guys probably would have never guessed they would be sitting in our backyard watching babies play and checking for dirty diapers. Things have definitely changed for the better, but it is always nice to catch up with old friends.