It's Me Birthday

Love inspires. When I feel really loved I feel like I could do anything. My cup over flows. The warm fuzzies, as I used to call it. I know I'm loved every day, it's just that some days I don't feel it or don't stop to realize it. This is my birthday prayer...may we all remember our warm fuzzy moments and let them inspire us to love others whether they are lovable or not.

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

I Can Hardly Handle it

I drove two hours tonight to my parents house without the kids. It's been over three years since I've been here without a child in tow. It's weird! I don't have to be quiet, I didn't have to have to chase anyone to get them into PJs, and I don't have to worry about a little person getting me up in the middle of the night. This will only be the second night since Brady was born that I have not had kids. As I drove off tonight I felt guilty. If I had let Tommy know how guilty, he probably would have run with it. ;o) I miss them but am so glad for this time away. I remember my first big trip away from Haylie. She was about 16 months old and I was gone on a business trip for two days. She was asleep when she and Tommy picked me up at the airport. When we got home I took her out of the car seat and brought her to the changing table in her room. I remember the dazed look of confusion on her face that eventually became a very happy smile. I can't wait to see that same smile on Brady's face.

Just Like Back in the Day

I woke up very dehydrated today. I'll stop you right now and say I wasn't drinking last night, I promise, though there was a time in college it could have been a possibility. Anyway this morning I got up and went to the bathroom and felt like I was going to puke. Once I made it back to bed I started to feel better. WEIRD. Ok, I'll stop you again and say...I'm not pregnant either! After I laid in bed for a while I remember that that's how I felt most days back in high school. The nausea and headache would last until about noon. It wasn't until I was older and had experienced a hangover (and knew what caused it) that I realized what the deal was back in the day. I hated drinking water, so I didn't. I can't believe how much can be changed just by drinking enough water, headaches, constipation, leg cramps, your complexion... Check this out... http://www.romow.com/health-blog/health-benefits-of-drinking-water/ and then ask yourself...have you had enough today? Heck, if I had drank more tap water, maybe I would have better teeth too (fluoride). If you want to see some health benefits, try drinking enough water for 21 days (the amount of time it takes to make or break a habit, so I've heard). It's never too late for a New Years Resolution! Let me know if you do it and it works. I'll be trying harder to drink more water too.

Sleep...AT LAST!!

Sure, he's cute, but he can sure be a pain when he's getting up once, twice, three times (or more) a night screaming. I finally got the confidence to let him scream without feeding him. Haylie never gave us this much trouble at night so it kind of caught us off guard. I should have "weened" him of his night feedings a LONG time ago, but it was not until I started tracking his sleeping and eating patterns that I got the push I needed. Most could have told me he wasn't starving, the kid is a heavy weight, but because of nursing I just wasn't sure. The good news is I'm now done nursing and we've started to form a pretty good schedule. He is still a night owl, up until 10:30 most nights, but the great thing is I don't hear from either of the kids until about 7:30 in the morning (or later!) This I can handle. ;o) I actually feel normal again!
Here's some pictures of Haylie and daddy cleanin' the semi this weekend.

Potty Possible! (P)

We did it! (insert Dora song and dance here). It took just over six months but it's a done deal. Haylie is potty trained. We started June 14th of '08 and by her birthday we were down to an accident a week. Now she's going through the night without a pull-up and getting me up if she has to go potty. She still doesn't always wipe, flush or wash her hands if she goes by herself, but we'll get that part down too. I don't know how people say they can potty train a child in a weekend. Maybe if we had started this last weekend. I guess each child is different and so is their path. All I know is that we've got one kid down, one to go. ;o)

Cross Between Bumper Cars and Air Hockey (V)

Coincidentally...

My sleeping problems started the same time I started taking my women's bible study Wednesday mornings on prayer. Hmmm...

Why did it take me this long to add it up, maybe because this week we are reading about answer to prayer and these two scriptures were a couple of the highlighted ones.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Luke 22:42-44 (Jesus prays on the Mount of Olives)
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
(In Matthew and Mark it is stated that Jesus also pleaded three times)