$1.94

I couldn't believe my eyes as we drove through Burleson on our way home from camping. Gas at the QT was 1.94 per gallon! I wanted to get a picture for posterity, but couldn't find my camera in the messy van. Now that is something to blog about! We did stop at and put 10 gallons in the van! I felt like I was stealing gas or something - 1.94 - that was on my WOW list for days!

Autumn Camping 2008

We had an amazing time camping with our great friends the Tyson's. This trip was by far the best, most relaxing, camping trip we've done. The first night was a little hard, with noisy neighbors who woke the kids up, then Gabe became bloated and screamed. John, sweet John, put Gabe in the car seat and went for a 1 hour tour around the park at 11:00 pm. The poor guy was very gassy from being sick and couldn't find a comfy position to relieve all that pressure. The car seat worked its magic and he slept peacefully all night long in the van - with Kitty on guard.

Drew had so much fun being a total boy, inventing with sticks and flashlights, trying to catch fish in a broken net, jumping in the Brazos river, imagining with his best playmate Zac, throwing the ball for Kitty, getting dirty, and eating PB&J sandwiches. Both nights he begged me to put him to bed. He also enjoyed riding his bike and playing in the "spooky forest!"

The trip was so relaxed, we just kept talking about how nice it was. We didn't forget too much and our days were spent playing in the river, reading or taking quiet naps. It was awesome! The lack of heat was also nice, the weekend was perfect with the high around 80 degrees and the low at night in the 40's. Many layers of clothes were needed and are now washed and put away. We even used our winter coats that hadn't seen the light of day in almost a year!

Kitty Had Fun Camping

Kitty loved camping, look what she did the whole time! Our campsite was right above the Brazos river, we literally chucked the ball right into the river from our site. Kitty was in heaven; she came home so tired, she hasn't moved off her bed since we arrived home last night - except when I made her get a much needed bath.

Perfect?

How was my 29th Birthday, you ask? Well, lets just say that perfect is the opposite work I'd use. The day began perfectly, I slept in and John took care of the kids. When I woke and went downstairs, I found a large hole in the wall and Drew waiting on breakfast - at 9:30? "Why isn't Drew in school?" I not so casually state, about that time John grabs Drew, and the snack I had packed the night before and whisks him off to school. They arrive 10 minutes before the snack is needed... whew!

Next, the large hole in the wall is explained, it is needed to place all the TV wires behind the wall so when the TV is mounted, you don't see any cords. Great, it was promised to complete by Wednesday, but isn't, which leads me to the next "imperfect Birthday story."


There is nothing like getting puked on, especially when it is your Birthday! Drew came home from school that afternoon and mentioned to me his tummy hurt, I turned and bent down to comfort him and about that time he threw up all over the floor and my nice clean shirt and jeans. Drew proceeds to puke and scream hysterically while I tried to calm him down. When I mentioned that since he really was sick, "he'd get to watch Little Einsteins," he finally stopped screaming and agreed with me, "I sick" he proudly confessed. I then took Drew upstairs and John so sweetly cleaned up the floor. What a wonderful man! Unfortunately, by evening John wasn't feeling too great. So, my birthday evening was spent sitting in traffic for 1 1/2 hours taking my dad to the airport and then taking care of two sick boys - one of whom had it coming out both ends. The following day Drew felt much better, but John and Gabe were both sick. Thus, the hole in the wall still sits!

Presently, John is driving Gabe around the block at 11:10 pm Thursday night in hopes that the Benedryl we gave him kicks him off to sleep. Gabe has a fever and hasn't slept in 48 hours. He is whiny, hates to lay flat on his back, and cries hysterically if John or I leave the room. We both took shifts last night and are praying for a good nights rest, but aren't optimistic. Gabe really feels sick and I think he may have an ear infection, so we're off to the doctor tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, our camping trip was delayed a day and we're really praying that we can leave Friday morning after Gabe's appointment.

Earlier tonight, John took me out on a surprise date to somewhat rectify the Birthday fiasco. My husband is so sweet and tolerant of my frustrations. As for the date, I spent an hour in the bookstore drooling over Children's books that I just knew Drew would love. My favorite book is about Oregon and I think it deserves its own blog post when we're back from camping!

So, my 29th Birthday epiphany has been,

" There is no such thing as perfect,

life happens while waiting on perfection;

cherish the imperfect ticks of the clock

for true joy is found in those

imperfect memories of life."

Look Who's Walking

Reflection

We've had a whole week to reflect on Home Makeover. Its been a quiet week, often John and I find ourselves thinking, "I wonder what the __ family is up to in their home?" "Is God answering our prayer of Faith for them and their neighbors?" "Has the neighborhood changed, have any seeds started to sprout?"

We are so blessed to have a God that wants us to participate in Kingdom work! What a privilege to emulate the King of Kings! We serve such a big God, the weekend probably changed our hearts more than those we served!

I've noticed such a peace in John since last weekend, he loves to serve and has always felt his gift of carpentry and tools was hard to fit into Kingdom work. This past weekend he was able to serve unbelievers and believers alike by doing what he loves, teaching! He spent most of the week prior building the front railings and a bookshelf just so he would have time during the Makeover Weekend to teach. It was a privilege to watch him in action. I'm so proud of his patience, knowledge, and ability to be calm even amidst the trails -like having some fail through the ceiling hours before the reveal!

I felt blessed to watch the body of Christ in action. I helped landscape on Friday night and was getting a shovel to start digging holes when three men came up and said, "where do you want them?" as they took the shovel from me. What servants. The side of the yard had 4 large shrubs/bushes planted in only 20 minutes! It was such an encouragement watching men and women come together with hearts to serve in any way necessary. I was convicted that often I'm only willing to do those things I'm good at, this weekend I learned to be more open to serving wherever there in a need.

My first step of faith in following through with this conviction is by speaking to my Mom's mentoring group about budgeting and frugality. Yikes! They had asked me a month back and I wasn't sure I could do it. But have since prayed and been more open to whatever God would have me teach on. This is huge for me, I hate speaking in public, and I'll be speaking for 45 minutes! Please pray for me, I'm terrified!

We're off to the Pumpkin Patch! I'll post pictures soon!

Melissa

What Can 1 Person Do?

Christmas & Birthday's

Well, I'm having way too much fun getting Gabe's Birthday "shopping" done. Shopping is in quotes because I did it online. I love Thanksgiving; Fisher-Price.com put their Mayflower Boat on sale! I love it, we're starting to collect the Little People sets, their safe and fun for Gabe who loves to put things in his mouth, but also fun for Drew who is into character playing and setting things up. I ordered a few additional Christmas gifts too since there were many other things on sale (Drew is getting a race car track!). I even found a coupon code for 15% off plus free shipping.

During our shopping Wednesday I used the rest of my giftcard on Noah's Ark for Gabe's Christmas present. It's so cute! I love the musical train, but decided we really had spent enough on Little People for a while. I do think the "Little People" name is fitting for us, don't you?

Gabe is getting the above Mayflower boat plus the feast set for this Birthday next month. It will be a perfect addition to the telling of the Thanksgiving story. Then, when Thanksgiving is over I'll put them up with the Thanksgiving decor and Gabe won't notice! It will be something fun that we play with during the Autumn season. Gabe also received the Little People Drummer Boy set (below) and hopefully the Nativity set for Christmas, I just haven't found the Nativity set on sale yet. Kohl's normally has 50% off Fisher-Price around Thanksgiving so hopefully I can get it then. I had such fun playing and setting the boat this afternoon! John thought I was a little nuts, he kept calling it a Pirate Ship just to make me mad. Gabe had fun playing with the boat too, before I boxed it back up, he even walked on his own over to it! Gabe is now consistently taking 3-4 steps before sitting or falling over! He is so proud of himself!

Daddy's Birthday!

Today we celebrated John's 28th Birthday! Daddy got to eat his favorite meal of Chicken Fet.Alfredo and Cesar Salad! I baked a German Chocolate Cake and some home made Strawberry Rhubarb Jam! Drew loved today, he stayed up until 11:00 pm because we picked up his Papa from the airport, then went home for cake! Drew loves Birthday's, especially ones where cake is involved.

John received his big gift last month, because I couldn't keep it secret. We bought him tickets home to Oregon for a week of elk hunting. He has been singing praises all month! I will be holding down the fort while he is away. I'm sure the week apart will be fast and fun for John, slow and a struggle for me!

(My first attempt at making jam!)

Bedtime Update

I just went into our room to give John something and in walks Drew, nonchalantly, declaring to the world that his chainsaw doesn't work.

"What, it's 10:00, you went to bed 2 hours ago!"
I tried to hold back the giggles as I walked out of the room and let Daddy handle things.

I'm not sure why this is so funny, probably because it was the last thing I expected!

Only our son would be upset that his plastic chainsaw didn't work!

Sweet Prayers

Tonight Drew prayed:

"Thank You Jesus, for my mommy and daddy,

Thank you that I went to Mcdonald's and was able to play,

Thank you for the children that have no toys,

(He means, thank you that we get to bless them!)

I love to play and run around.

Amen

Tonight we went to ToysRUs to use the rest of our gift card from when Gabe was born. We have some Christmas boxes to send to the Lockwoods in Mexico - they will distribute them to the children in their village. I can't wait to get wrapping with Drew! He was so good while we were shopping, he picked out things that he would like but was eager to give them to the children of Mexico. I'll post pictures soon of our boxes!

We treated Drew with a trip to McDonald's and he played for over an hour! He hardly ate anything, but played with all the wild children - he fit right in. Gabe enjoyed sitting on our laps and eating french fries. He also enjoyed apples and a bottle too.

We also did some Christmas shopping, don't tell Drew but some of the "toys for others", are really for him! Daddy found some Nerf swords to add to the collection, as well as some armor. John wants to build a sword holder for the library, it will look so cute! Gabe's birthday is in 1 month, how did that happen? We're getting him some Fisher Price "Little People" sets that mommy fell in love with. One is a "boat" as Drew calls it which is suppose to be the Mayflower, another set has the feast for Thanksgiving. I'm so excited, can you tell? We also bought him Noah's Ark for Christmas!

Well, back to applying cash and then off to bed!

Being The Body Of Christ

Northwood Home Makeover '08

(If you want to listen to music, go to the bottom of the website and click the play button. I muted the songs so you could enjoy the video.)

Makeover Weekend!

Before the Makeover!

After!

We're home catching up on housework and accounting stuff, we were gone much of the weekend, John was busy most of the week, working on making over 1 of 4 Haltom City homes. Here are some pictures from the weekend, I'll write more later! Just know it was a huge success, despite an electrician falling through the ceiling, the new A/C leaking all over the freshly painted ceiling, and a hard to install bathroom sink! We had a blast serving the King - I was even able to help with some landscaping!

Prayer

Tonight at bedtime Drew prayed,

"Thank You Jesus, for my day

Thank you for my mommy and daddy,

Thank you that I played at Nana's tonight,

and for my bug that I made in school,

oh thank you for his wings that fly,

thank you for the blinds in my room

and the slimy think over there,

and for my dresser with all my clothes."

Amen

Vocation

Drew told me today that he wants to be a daddy when he gets big so he can play all day long with his children. So sweet! He is also using the word "swell" and "sure" a lot.

Nothing new here to report, John's a busy bee in the garage building things for the Home Makeover, I'm closing the books for work. Drew is enjoying his class on Tuesday and Thursday's. I'm still in the Mom2mom group Thursday mornings too. We're getting prepared for our camping weekend October 23-26th with the Tyson's!

Handy Husband Does It Again....

Look at my new puzzle shelves! John finished them last night and we stayed up way too late putting books and toys away. I still have a ton of books left to add, but thought I'd take some pictures anyhow. Our dining room is officially the Library! Drew spent a few hours re-discovering some books that had been piled up in his closet. Gabe especially likes the board books which are now at his level! I just loving having space to read and play! The new storage system will be so much easier to clean up!

Joy Comes In The Morning

431. I was so blessed to see the Movie “Fireproof,” John set up a sitter and we had a date night out. Now three days later the movie is still on my mind, it was too good for words! I love the lines spoken near the end of the film:

Catherine Holt: What day are you on?

Caleb Holt: 43.

Catherine Holt: But there are only 40 days...

Caleb Holt: That doesn't mean I have to stop.

Did you know that Kirk Cameron, a Christian evangelist, refuses to kiss any woman other than his wife? So in the film, they dressed his wife up and shot the kissing scene in the shadows so no one would know..such integrity!
432. My brand new shelves that John built for the library/school room. They are beautiful!
433. A wonderful family who gave me some time off to spend with the girls!
434. My friend Bethany who took time away from her sweet husband and son, she visited for 5 days! We didn’t chase frogs this year, but went on a road trip to visit old friends.
435. Drew’s love for his new teacher...
436. My mother’s group, it’s such a relaxing time spent learning about being a mom and wife!
437. Calm, peaceful Saturday, 80 degrees, sunny, time spent with family
438. Drew’s little voice making me laugh!
439. Our favorite song to dance to, “Today Is The Day” by Lincoln Brewster
440. Worship, quiet, worship with the Lord
441. Posts which were written easily and a sweet husband who took over the house for a few days
442. My new toilet that John installed in the bathroom, not so happy about John throwing his back out...

443. The Audit is complete!
444. Rhubarb from Kroger – it only took 6 visits over 2 weeks to finally get some. That's what I get not stocking up during rhubard season!
445. The yummy Strawberry/Rhubarb pie that I made for John tonight, I can’t wait for his smile when he walks in the house and smells his surprise
446. Gabe’s sweet smile when I drop him off at church for my mom’s group. He loves to stay and entertain all the older ladies. When I pick him up they report about how he had the whole hall in fits because he was giggling so much. I’m so blessed that he doesn’t mind being left for a few hours.
447. Visiting with my old Youth Pastor and his family, what a treat to catch up and show them my kids. How fast time is for this mommy! It was just yesterday I was watching their kids, now they are teenagers!
448. A quiet morning of visiting with neighbors and baking and packaging all my cheap chicken (59 cents a pound!).
449. A clean car!
450. My garden is still looking beautiful even in October! The frogs are enjoying the moist soil and yummy bugs!

Drew Funny

A few days ago Drew and I were chatting about the company I work for. I said that I was tired because my company was having an audit, I was so glad to have the audit over with.

Drew replied, "I don't like my company either."


Mommy: "You don't work for a company?"


Drew: "Yes I do, you know it really hurts to have a company."


(Mommy totally lost by this point)


Drew (sensing my confusion), " You know, they give you a shot and clean your company." (Drew then begins pretend brushing his teeth)


Mommy: " Oh, you mean a cavity?"


Drew: "Yes, a cavity, isn't that what you were talking about"

A Cavity and a Company are the same... right?

I wonder where he learned about cavity's? He doesn't have any. but has been to the dentist twice?

Night Time Talks

Drew work up last night about 11:30 pm. I heard him crying and went into his room, only he wasn't there. I found him sitting in the bathroom sink crying that he couldn't find his cup for water. I took him back to his bed and handed him the water glass - he drank the whole thing. Then we had the following conversation...

Mommy: "Drew, its time to sleep now."
Drew: "I know I'm really tired, can I have a hug first, a hug will make me all better."
Mommy: "Sure Drew, I'd love to give you a hug!"
Drew: "Mommy, I think I'm hungry, can I have a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich for breakfast in the morning?"
Mommy: "Sure"
Drew: " In the morning, in 1 sleep right?"
Mommy: "Yep, 1 sleep!"
Drew: "Mommy, night night, I'm tired and I want to wake up soon for my sandwich!"

So cute!