Jared's Revelation

Just thought I'd share Jared's most recent grand discovery. I was getting him a pickle to have as a snack, and he got all excited. He said, "Mommy! Guess what! PICKLE is the same as 'pick your nose,' only, instead of 'your nose' it's 'ickle'!!" Amazing! That's my little genius for ya!

I was thinking recently that I need to be more aware of the things in my life that I have to be thankful for. So, I decided to make a list, though I'm sure I'll forget some things. Here goes...

Things I'm thankful for....
-My salvation!
-A God who somehow loves me in spite of myself! (Still have a hard time wrapping my brain around that one sometimes!)
-Christian parents
-A husband who loves me and takes care of me.
-A son and a daughter who are healthy and SMART!
-A Mom and a Dad who love me unconditionally
-A brother and 2 sisters who are some of my closest friends.
-A best friend who has been with me through thick and thin - love you Beth!
-My church.
-My pastor, his wife, and his daughters.
-My Sunday School girls - love them!!
-The opportunity to serve in my church.
-Knowing that I am exactly where God wants me to be.
-A nice home with working heating and air conditioning!!!! :)
-A husband who goes to work every day and provides a very stable environment for me and our children.
-My Christian education.
-All of the pastors I've had - Pastor Caldwell, Pastor Crumly, Pastor Jack Hyles, Pastor Jack Schaap, and Pastor Baines - each and every one has played a major role in my life in one way or another - I'm so thankful that God put each and every one of these men in my life.
-Absolutely wonderful grandparents. (Love my Gram and Grandpa!)
-Parents-in-law who have always been there for us - every time!!
-3 (soon to be 4) Brothers-in-law (Brian, Kenny, James, and almost Jim - hehehe), and 3 sisters-in-law (Jacqueline, Angel, and Jennifer) who have truly become family to me. I feel like I have 9 siblings instead of just 3!


Wow! I know there are more things that should be on my list, but for now, that's what I've got!

Oh no!!!

The thing I feared would happen, has happened. I have no idea what to write about today!!! Ahhhh!! I know - you all can't even imagine me, LAURA, having nothing to say! I know! I'll post a picture of the birthday cake Michael is getting for me! Does that look delicious, or what!??! I think he's worried about me. Seeing as how this birthday will be my 30th (just 17 more days - woo hoo!!), he's afraid I'll spend the day moping and crying. I told him I didn't think I could cry OR mope if I had this cake, so he said - then we'll get it for you!! LOL!! Whatever works!

Just a week after my birthday, Laynie and I will be traveling to Indiana for Pastor's School at First Baptist Church in Hammond. I can't wait! I'll be honest though. I really don't care much about the conference - I'm WAAAAAAAY more excited about getting to see my Mommy, sister (Holly) and brother!!!! I've been missing my family a lot, so I'm definitely looking forward to this trip. Plus, it's another opportunity to spend some time with my Pastor, his wife, and their family since we will all be riding together. And anyone who knows them, knows that I will have a great time just because they'll be there!

Well, I think that's about all for today...amazing - when I thought I had nothing to talk about, I came up with two paragraphs! Should I be shocked?

Me and my sweetie!

Our 2007 family picture.

Here is the picture of Jared and Elayna that we gave as Christmas gifts this last Christmas. J is 5 and Laynie is 19 months in this picture.

We'll see if I can figure this out!

Well, since it seems to be the thing to do, I thought I'd try my hand at blogging. I'm not making any promises though! I've hesitated to start one simply because I don't know if I can think of things to write about, so I figured I'd just try and see how it goes.

Of course, as soon as I figure out how, I'll be posting tons of pictures since showing off my children is one of my favorite things to do. Not to mention, they are two of the most beautiful and photogenic children I've seen in my life! (In my own unbiased opinion, of course!)

So for now, I'll start with a couple of today's highlights. I was woken up this morning to the feeling of a little 5 year old hand patting my cheek, and Jared compassionately saying "It's ok Mommy, I'm here now." LOL!! Don't know if he thought I was having a bad dream or what, but it sure was sweet! Oh, and Laynie's new word of the day: "Ta da!!" She is very proud of her new word, and is saying it pretty much every 3-5 seconds. She is such a daddy's girl. When he's at work, she'll wander around the house saying "Daddy?" with a very confused look on her face. She doesn't quite understand yet when I tell her he'll be home later! Of course - it's precious!

Of course, not ALL they do is precious. Jared is getting very frustrated with Elayna's thumb sucking habit. He explained to me the other day that "Laynie is a TODDLER now - she should NOT be sucking her thumb." (Even though he still has the same habit at 5 years old!) And Elayna's newest discovery is that she can scream! She loooooves practicing that too. (Groan!) Generally when we are in the car, or when I'm on the phone. Her timing is impeccable.

Well, that's all for today. I'll see if I can figure out how to post some pictures.....