Laura's Life

Recent Happenings

2011-03-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

Well, things have certainly been busy around here the past few weeks! We FINALLY go to take the kids to Disney World!!! This is something we've wanted to do since Jared was first born. It was such a wonderful trip filled with amazing memories. I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to go! We also got to go to SeaWorld - not the best experience after being spoiled rotten at Disney, but the kids loved it. It seemed to take a few days after we got back to recover - lol!! We tried to get to the parks as soon as they opened each day and stay as long as the kids held up - made for some long (but awesome) days! Levi did amazingly well, considering he's accustomed to having 2 good naps a day. While we were there, his naps were taken in the stroller or the Baby Bjorn - definitely not ideal napping locals, but overall he did really well. We got to do so much in those 4 days, it's almost overwhelming to think of it! Now when I see Disney commercials, I get kinda sad, and miss it - lol!! Michael and I both agreed that in addition to taking the kids again, we'd love to go back just the two of us sometime!

Levi is growing by leaps and bounds! His latest tricks are giving "high five" and clapping his hands - both incredibly cute!! He is crawling all over the place and pulling himself up on things. He loves to eat paper - lol!! Gotta watch that one! I love to just listen to him "talk" and squeal - he makes the best noises! I'm so so thankful God blessed us with him. He has brought so much joy to our family. He is precious!

Jared is truckin along in 2nd grade. We'll be done in 8 weeks - praise the LORD!!!! I believe May 13th will be our final day. Definitely not wanting to wish the time away, but at the same time we're looking forward to summer!! He cut his head open this past Sunday, and I had to take him to the ER...I'm trying to figure out why my kids always decide to do things like this when Michael is at Battle Assembly - lol!! (When Laynie needed stitches last year, it was a B.A. weekend!) Thankfully he didn't need stitches -they were able to use Dermabond. I was extremely relieved. Jared can get very worked up (borderline hysterical) when he's scared of something and he was very scared at the prospect of having to have stitches. (No matter how much I assured him that he would be completely numb and wouldn't feel a thing.) Shew!

Laynie is my little princess, as usual! Such a sweetie - I'm so thankful to have a little girl! We got to have a girls' day out today - so much fun!! We've decided to wait one more year to have her start Kindergarten. (Our original plan was to start her this coming up school year.) We just don't feel she's ready. Plus, since her birthday isn't until the very end of May, that would put her as always being one of the youngest kids in her class. (Should she ever be in a Christian school.) We've never wanted to put our kids at a disadvantage due to age - we'd definitely rather err on the side of them being the most mature kid in their age group/class rather than the youngest/most immature. I always felt that Jared was MORE than ready, academically to start Kindergarten a full year earlier than we did, but we just didn't want to push him. Plus the earlier we start them, the earlier they finish and leave for college!! :( I'd like to put that off as long as possible - lol!! Anyhow...I am going to order some of the A Beka curriculum (phonics, numbers, etc.) and she and I will do a more formal pre-K next year, then the year after that we'll get her the Kindergarten videos.

Well goodness, that was a ramble!! If you read all of this, you deserve a medal! :) Hope all is well with everyone! Have a wonderful day!

Happy times

2011-01-27T16:34:00.000-08:00

Lately I've found myself really trying harder to savor this time I have with my kids. I honestly can get myself worked up over the fact that they're growing up so fast (they're 8, 4 1/2 and 7 months). It truly seems like just yesterday that Jared was born - I can't believe it's been 8 years!! If I dwell on it, I actually get sad, and maybe even a little depressed over it. So what I've been trying to do more, is just savor this time - each day - that I have with them.

Recently a family who is from the same area that I am from in Missouri, suffered the loss of their little 6 year old son. It was a tragic school bus accident...I can't even imagine. That morning, a Mama unknowingly kissed her baby goodbye for the very last time. It pains me to just think of it, and I don't even know these people. Was it a good morning? Did she get up early and fix breakfast for him? Did she get irritated with him? Who knows...what I do know is that it definitely inspired me to appreciate my kids more. We have no idea how much or little time we have with them. And even if they do grow up to be a ripe old age, we still only have a few short years before they grow up and are on their own.

So to all one or two of you who actually read this, take a little extra time today and appreciate your kids. Kiss them a couple extra times, snuggle for just a few more minutes. Read that extra bed time story. I'm sure that mom would give anything for just a few more minutes with her baby.

Cleaning cleaning cleaning!

2011-01-19T07:49:00.001-08:00

It's the story of my life! Lol!! It's ok, really - I'm so happy to get to stay home with my kids - I truly don't mind that it's a never ending job. I think the hardest part may be teaching the kids to clean up their own messes. It is sooooo much easier to just do it myself! I finally decided something had to be done w/Laynie. (At 8 years old, Jared pretty much has it down, thank goodness!) She just would NOT keep her room clean. You could literally go in her room at any given time and not be able to see the floor, because she drags EVERYTHING out at once, rather than just having one thing out at a time. So the other night I decided to give her a reasonable amount of time to get it clean, set the timer and told her when the timer went off, anything that wasn't put away in its proper place was going into a plastic bag and staying in my room until further notice. Mind you - I have her room set up so it is VERY easy for a 4 year old to clean. I don't feel like I'm asking her to do something unreasonable at all.

Well, when the timer went off, I gathered 2 Wal-Mart bags of things that were either not put away at all, or put away in the wrong place, and those 2 bags are in my room. I told her if she can keep her room clean for 7 days, I'll let her pick a couple of things out of the bags to have back. We're on day 5, and she's doing FANTASTIC!! I've been helping her remember that before she gets something new out, to put away the first thing she was playing with. She's doing so well with it - I'm really proud of her! Hopefully we can keep it up!

Pictures!

2011-01-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids decorating some sugar cookies we baked. As you can see, they had lots of fun with all of the icing!

Since we were going to be traveling on the days before Christmas, we got to have our celebration a bit early - the kids each got a few gifts - here are their snuggies. Princess for Laynie, and Cars for Jared.

And here they are modeling them!

Levi got a few baby toys, and some bibs - as you can see, he wasn't overly impressed! (Though he did have fun opening them!)

By far, the kids' favorite gifts were their Pillow Pets - they wanted them so bad, and we were so excited to be able to get them for them. It was all Laynie talked about for WEEKS before Christmas - "I reeeeeeeeally want a pillowpetunicorn!!!" (She'd say it really fast like that every time - so cute!) We saved these gifts for last - kinda let them think they were done opening presents, then I "remembered" that there was ONE more gift for each kid on our bed - they came in and were so excited!!

At my parents' house, we got to spend some time with the newest members of the family - cousin Jasmine, and cousin Ethan.

Jazzie girl!!!

Precious Baby Ethan w/his Auntie Lala!!

And of course, we can't leave out Bella-boo! Not the best pic, but you can see her adorable Christmas outfit!

Snow in GA!

2011-01-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

Well, technically this is not our first snow of the year, but it is our first snow that we're HOME to....."enjoy." Anyone who knows me knows I HATE snow, but I do love watching the kids have fun with it! Here are a couple of pictures of them playing outside today - they had so much fun!

My Laynie Girl

2011-01-06T12:02:00.001-08:00

Not too much to write about today, but Laynie said something funny yesterday I thought I'd share. I was sitting at the computer browsing through some pictures of some college friends of mine on Facebook, and she climbed up in my lap. She asked, "Who are those people, Mommy?" I replied, "Oh, just some friends of mine." She very innocently said, "You have friends?!!" Lol!! Just goes to show that her little 4 1/2 year old world doesn't extend much past herself at this point. Gotta love her!

Crazy!

2011-01-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

Of course I'm sure my life is no more crazy than anyone else's but that's my excuse for not updating my blog in 3 months....not that anyone really cares, but I do wish I could stay more on top of things.

How do moms do it all? I'm seriously trying to figure out how I'm supposed to get everything done, and I only have ONE kid home-schooling! I have to admit sometimes it's a bit overwhelming. Is it too much to ask to want a clean house, clean, well educated kids, and healthy meals on the table? If anyone has it all figured out, please let me in on the secret!!

We had a fantastic Christmas! Michael didn't get to have any extra vacation days (other than Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) so we had kind of a rushed trip home to MO but we did get to see both sets of parents, so that was good! The kids had such a good time. This year was Laynie's first year of getting to GIVE her own gifts, so she was super excited about that! At my parents' house we go around the family (youngest to oldest) taking turns giving one gift at a time. That way it's not all madness, and you can actually see the reaction each gift gets. We absolutely LOVE doing it this way! Laynie was so excited to give her gifts, she kept asking, "Is it my turn? Is it my turn?" It was sweet! :)

Anyway, we're home now and trying to settle back into a school/housework/baby schedule - haven't quite gotten there yet but we MAY be close. When I get a chance I'll post some pictures!

2010-10-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I wrote "update blog" on my to do list for today, and I won't feel like I've accomplished everything for the day until I can mark that off, so here goes!

Of course Levi is getting way too big way too fast! He has brought our family so much joy! You just can't help smiling when he's around. He's even cute when he cries! We love him so much! He's a good eater and already over 16 pounds - whew! He loves to smile and giggle and blow spit bubbles! :)

Jared is well into his 2nd grade year of A Beka video school. It's going very well. We still have him do additional reading assignments to keep him challenged, and he's doing great with those as well.

Our little Laynie girl is doing fabulous! Full of spunk and drama! We love it that she's such a girlie-girl!

We're gearing up for some crazy times schedule-wise. Michael got an assignment with the army that will require quite a bit of traveling, so we're looking forward to going with him as much as possible. (One of the countless benefits of home-schooling!)

I'm very excited about getting to go to the 2010 Christian Womanhood Spectacular in Hammond, IN. My pastor's wife is speaking at one of the mini-sessions, and I always look forward to hearing her speak! It's always such a treat to get to go!

Well, that's our life right now in a teeeeeny tiny little nutshell. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to elaborate a little more in the near future!

Oh my!!!

2010-08-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

So, obviously it's been way too long since I last posted here. I haven't neglected it intentionally, mind you - it just happened that way! Obviously MUCH has happened since mid-March (the last time I posted here.) To put it in a nutshell, I've had another niece born (Kyleigh Alyse), the fifth member of our family made his grand appearance (Levi Grant), and my best friend, Bethany had her 2nd baby girl - Claire Elizabeth! It's baby central around here! I also have 3 more friends who are expecting, as well as my sister! Add in there, VBS, and a trip to Missouri (Michael had a class at Ft. Leonard Wood, so the kids and I stayed w/my parents) and you have our summer! I have so many pictures I could post, but for now I think I'm going to limit them to our family's new arrival.

On June 25th, I began having relatively regular contractions - nothing too painful, just a bit uncomfortable. So Saturday morning we went to the hospital - around 9 a.m. the contractions began coming much closer together (about every 4-5 minutes) and they were definitely getting painful! At about 12:30 or so I was allowed to get into the tub to labor there for a while - I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone who is trying to give birth without an epidural. I really wish I could have been in it longer. The hospital where I gave birth is not approved for water births (bummer!), so the nurse was very clear with me that as soon as I started feeling pressure to push, that I needed to get out. Well, I'd only had about 3 contractions before I started feeling pressure, so I didn't get to stay in too long. At that point, they were telling me I was only dilated to a 7-8 which seriously upset me because I REALLY was ready to push! I breathed through a few more contractions then told the nurse she really needed to call the doctor because my body was pushing even though I was doing all I could to stop it. The doctor came running in basically in time to catch Levi! He was out in one big push (praise the Lord - good baby!). At 1:07 p.m. June 26th 2010 he was born - 9 lbs, 5 oz!!! I could not BELIEVE how big he was!! Jared and Laynie were 7 lb. 13 oz, and 7 lb. 9 oz., so I was NOT expecting anything much bigger than that. Also, I actually gained less weight with Levi than I did with either Jared or Laynie, so I had no reason to think he would be so big - I was just in shock! Needless to say it was love at first sight - he is absolutely precious beyond words. Something interesting - there was a "true knot" in his umbilical cord! The doctor said he must have been doing somersaults in there! Obviously it did not hinder his growth, thank goodness! Jared and Laynie just love their little baby brother - they're so sweet with him! He is by far my most laid back baby - very content! Here are a few pictures.

.
Headed out the door!

All ready to go!

He's here!

Levi Grant

Mommy and Baby Levi

Daddy with Levi

Levi and big brother Jared

Levi with big sister Laynie

Daddy with all 3 kids

Family pic!

Recent News

2010-03-15T08:39:00.001-07:00

Well, things have been crazy at our house as usual! First, my niece was born! Little Jasmine Celeste made her appearance on February 10th with a BEAUTIFUL head full of hair!! She is just the sweetest little thing! The week after that, Michael and I got to go to a marriage retreat sponsored by the Army - it was in Coronado, CA - completely beautiful! We had a great time, learned a few things, and truly enjoyed a short trip away, just the two of us. We got back from CA late on a Sunday night, then the following Wednesday afternoon, we headed out on a roadtrip with the kids. We went up to Indiana first - we got to see my.........PREGNANT!!!!! sister, Holly!! (Yippee!!!!! Soooooooooo excited that I get to be pregnant with my baby sister!!!!) She is due on October 16th, and gets to go to the same OB that I had with Jared and Laynie. Yay! :) We also got to visit some good friends while we were there, as well as visit our old church - First Baptist Church in Hammond. It was good to see everyone and get to hear a great message from one of our favorite preachers. While we were there, we got to see the 2 girls from our church here in GA who are up there for Bible College. It was so good to see them!

From Indiana, we went down to MO and got to spend a couple of days with my in-laws, and then a couple of days with my parents. We had a really great time, and I got to see my brand new niece, which was wonderful! She is even more beautiful in person than she is in the pictures I had seen!

On our way back, we got to stop just outside of Nashville, and meet up with Michaels VERY pregnant sister, Angel. She is due any day now! We cant wait to meet little baby Kyleigh! Hopefully I will have some news to report soon! :)

We got back from our trip and just a few short days later, the kids and I took Michael to SC for a training course he has to do for the Army. Thank God he only has to be gone for 2 weeks! We miss him a lot, and the kids and I are counting down the days! Thankfully for him, he said so far the material he is learning is pretty interesting, so I think that is helping the time go by a little faster for him.

A huge blessing for our family is that my very close friend, Joanna, has been able to move in with us. Michael is going to be gone a LOT over the next several months :( :( :( - and with me being pregnant, then over the summer, gaining a newborn, Michael didn't want me to be completely alone. The timing worked out perfectly for her to just move in here and stay with us for a while. She is a huge help and of course it helps me not feel quite so lonely too!

For now Ive been working on getting the house all cleaned out (I suppose its the closest thing to spring cleaning that I do!). I think it may be early nesting! I just like for things to look nice, and be CLEAN!! Since we have been gone so much over the past few weeks, things have gotten kinda crazy with my housekeeping. I can make things look pretty presentable, but I know what is behind closed doors, and under rugs - lol!! Of course it doesnt help that I dont really have the stamina that I normally have, plus I get really severe back pain and simply canNOT keep moving! Slowly but surely things are getting put back in order though!

Drum roll please..........................................................

2010-02-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

It's a....................BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly, I wasn't necessarily hoping for one or the other, I was just so so excited to FIND OUT!! Lol!! I was just itching to buy some baby stuff! (We have gotten rid of EVERYTHING!) We're not ones to do "gender neutral" things, so I wanted to wait till we knew the gender before we bought anything. I got some super cute little outfits at the consignment stores this weekend - OH! Also, I got an ADORABLE maternity dress (extremely comfy too!) for just $6.00!!!!

I did end up having to have 3 LOOOOOOOOOONG ultrasounds this past Friday. The first ultrasound showed some fluid on the baby's kidneys, so I had to go to a perinatal specialist (at least I think that was her title - lol!) to have an additional ultrasound done. The sonographer there couldn't get him to move the way she needed him to, so the actual doctor had to come in and do the 3rd and final ultrasound. They were all very long ultrasounds, but I wasn't complaining!! We got to watch our little baby the whole time, and it was amazing!!

They did confirm that he has fluid on both of his kidneys. Apparently this occasionally happens to little boys - the doctor is not overly concerned at this point. I will have to have a few additional ultrasounds so they can monitor it (darn! - hehehe!). I guess sometimes this problem fixes itself, but if it doesn't fix itself by the time he is born, he will have to go on antibiotics for the first week of his life, and that will fix it. We're praying that we don't have to do that - I'm not too keen on the idea of him having to be on antibiotics so soon. I'm not completely against them, I believe at times they're necessary, but it just seems so soon!! Anyway, the Lord knows, and in the meantime, I'll be doing some research of my own to make sure I'm educated about it.

Well, I think that's about it for now!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T13:34:00.001-08:00

I noticed these last few months that there are a LOT of people saying things like, "When is 2009 going to be over?!?" And boo-hooing about how awful their year has been. Now don't get me wrong - I understand that a few people truly did have horrible years. But for MOST people, it could have been so much worse! I just hate all of the negativity!! We had a tough 2009, but it was far from "horrible" or our "worst year ever." Goodness!! Just goes to show that people (myself included) need to count their blessings more often!

Anyway...off of that soapbox now! For those who are interested, the pregnancy is going fine. I've definitely been sicker w/this one than w/the other 3 pregnancies combined. I'm just now, at 16 weeks, starting to feel like "normal" again. (Normal for me anyway - lol!) Honestly though, I can't complain - I do realize that there are many many pregnant ladies who are very sick during the entire pregnancy, and it has not been THAT bad for me - definitely bearable! I am glad to be feeling a bit better though! We should be able to find out the gender in the next month or so, so we're excited about that.

We just got the FANTASTIC news that my best friend, Bethany is expecting their 2nd baby!! So my adorable little Chloe girl will have a baby brother or sister not long after our baby is born! Beth and I have been best friends since we were tiny (our moms were best friends before we were even born, so we've literally grown up together since day one!), and we've always done everything together. We went to the same Bible college, got married the same summer, bought our first houses within weeks of each other, but when it came to having babies, God had other plans! I thought sure we'd get to be pregnant together MUCH sooner than this! I was just thinking that in a total of 7 pregnancies (including a miscarriage for each of us) this is the FIRST time we've gotten to be pregnant together! So exciting!!

In other baby news...my sister-in-law, Jacqueline is due in just 5 1/2 short weeks!!! They know they are having a baby girl, and we're VERY excited about it!! Since she is an identical twin, and there are several sets of twins in our extended family, we were definitely hoping for twins (at least, *I* was!), but it is definitely just one baby! :)

Also, Michael's sister, Angel, is due in about 10 1/2 more weeks! They're also having a baby girl, and are pretty sure they've decided on the name Kyleigh - I think that's so pretty!! Of course, my two nieces, Kaitlin and Kinsey, are very excited about having a new baby sister soon!!

I'm hoping to get to see both babies not too long after they're born - I'll be needing to get brushed up!! :)

Our Christmas was fantastic. Our church's program was great - such an awesome Christ themed message to it (it was Majesty Music's "Christmas at Home"). We also got to be at my parents' church for their Christmas program. Bethany headed it up and was able to include every child in the church in some way or another - even the babies! It was so cute! They told the entire Christmas story with several songs incorporated into it! It was precious!

Of course, the kids got spoiled rotten! I was pleased this year that Laynie is finally old enough to somewhat understand the concept of GIVING gifts, and not just receiving. Jared was so excited to give the gifts he had picked out for everyone! We take turns at our big family Christmas w/my side of the family, starting from youngest to oldest, GIVING gifts one at a time - he kept asking, "Is it my turn yet mommy?" He was so eager to give his gifts! I won't lie though - they both enjoyed GETTING gifts too - lol!!

With our little family Christmas (Michael, me and the kids), I tried my hand at making cinnamon rolls for breakfast - uh....they turned out OK..but definitely room for improvement! I'm going to try out Jessica's recipe next time, and hopefully they'll turn out better. One of the things I think could have been better is MORE butter (that you spread on the rolled-out dough, before you sprinkle on the cinnamon/sugar) and MORE cinnamon/sugar. They weren't "cinnamony" enough. Also, there wasn't nearly enough glaze. So, lessons learned - hopefully the next batch will turn out better!

Well, I think that's all for now. Hopefully all is well with everyone!

Feelin' good!

2009-12-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

Yikes! My last post was over a month ago! And I was doing so good there for a while! Ugh....typical of me!

In my defense, I did have a couple of weeks where I was pretty miserable feeling, and didn't do much of anything. Praise the Lord for a fantastic husband who's ready and willing to jump in and do what needs to be done when Mommy is out of commission!

So far, the pregnancy is going great - we've already gotten to see the baby once (nice strong heartbeat - yay!), and we'll get to see it again in a little over a week. For my first doctor's appointment, Michael was gone on overnight drill, so he didn't get to go, BUT, my sister was here visiting so SHE got to go! It went really well, and I really like my doctor. :)

We had a great Thanksgiving - we thought it was just going to be the 4 of us, and when it's just the 4 of us, we go to Golden Corral and let them do the cooking and clean-up! A few days before Thanksgiving though, we had some friends of ours invite us over to their house, and we had such a wonderful time! We're so thankful for great friends.

Right now the next big thing we're gearing up for is Christmas! I have about 1/2 of my Christmas shopping done (maybe a little over 1/2), but I haven't even STARTED doing my Christmas cards yet, and to be honest, that's stressing me out more than my shopping is - lol! We got our tree this past Friday night, so I think we're going to decorate it today. We were going to decorate it a couple of days ago, but Laynie fell asleep really early that night, and we didn't want to do it without her, so we waited. I'm excited the kids are big enough to have fun with decorating the tree this year - they're so excited!

Well, I'll sign off for now - hopefully it won't be another month before my next post - we'll see!

Eventful week!!

2009-10-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

Since my last post I had a relatively eventful week. It started out Tuesday morning with a positive pregnancy test! Yahoo!!!!!!! Since losing the baby last year, we have wanted to get pregnant again, and haven't been able to, so we are thankful the Lord finally answered our prayers! AND I get to be pregnant with two of my sisters-in-law! Also, there's a girl at my church who's only a few weeks ahead of me, so we get to be "pregnancy buddies." I'm so thrilled!! I'm already feeling the nausea and extreme tiredness, BUT - I'm THRILLED to have these symptoms!! Lol!! You will not hear me complain!! :)

When we told Jared, I asked him what he thought. He thought about it for a minute, then said, "Well Mommy, I'm very excited....buuuuut.....you KNOW this is going to be a very big responsibility!" Lol!! Such a deep thinker!! He also told me that if the baby is a girl we should name her Alice (after Alice in Wonderland), and if the baby is a boy we should name him Jared 2. Not Jared the Second, just Jared 2. So creative! Laynie was excited too - we let Jared tell her (mainly because we love to hear him explain things). He did a great job, and when he was done, I asked her if she had any questions. She quite innocently asked, "When the baby gets out of your tummy, may I please have a baby in MY tummy?" Hehehe....we told her she had to get MUCH older, and get married first, THEN she can have a baby in her tummy! So she went around telling people at church that when she gets bigger she's going to marry daddy so she can have a baby too! So sweet!

Tuesday afternoon, two ladies from my church and I left for Hammond, Indiana for the Christian Womanhood Spectacular. We had a wonderful trip - the drive there and back was just beautiful - all of the leaves are turning, and we saw such beauty!! The conference itself was amazing - as usual! My preacher's wife got to speak at one of the sessions, and as usual, she was awesome - absolutely hilarious! Usually I walk away from conferences like that under conviction about being a better wife, but this time I was more under conviction about being a better mother. One lady who spoke had lost her 17 year old son in a car accident a little over a year ago. It just really opened my eyes to the fact that you just never know how much time you're going to have with your children. I was reminded more than once (by different speakers) that you never get to have the child rearing years back - once they're gone, they're gone. I decided to make a concentrated effort to spend more QUALITY time with my kids, and I'm already having fun!!

Happy Monday!

2009-10-19T13:13:00.001-07:00

Well, today I have a huge "to do" list, but I've already got a big part of it nailed! So far, I've cleaned the dining room and kitchen top to bottom, I've cleaned both bathrooms, 2 of our 3 bedrooms (it's pointless to clean Laynie's before she goes to bed at night - it'll just get messy again!), and the living room. I'm on fire today! I also got caught up on grading Jared's school papers, and he corrected all of them that needed corrections. I still have to file them, and have him do today's sheets, but that shouldn't take too long. I'm wanting to get the house completely cleaned, and some goodies baked up, because I'm going out of town this week for a ladies' conference. I'm super excited, because I'll be seeing my mom and my sister!! Yay!! Michael was able to take vacation days for the rest of the week so he's got some fun activities planned with the kids. I'm not away from my kids overnight very often, so I'm a bit apprehensive about that, but I'm definitely looking forward to this meeting. Anyway, short post for today, but I've got lots to do, so I can't sit here too long! Have a great day!

Company!

2009-10-13T20:57:00.001-07:00

Well, last Friday I got a call from some good friends of ours in Indiana (Tom and Anita), and low and behold, Tom is being sent down here to Atlanta for some training for his job! THIS WEEK!! Lol!! It was kinda last minute, but we're so excited to have them staying with us for just a few days. Yesterday was great - Tom went to training, and Anita and I just relaxed and visited all day - it was so nice! Then today we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese to play games (we don't eat there - makes me sick every time!), and they had SO much fun!! I had a coupon to get 180 tokens for $25.oo, then they gave us a bonus 20 tokens, just "because" so we got 200 tokens for the kiddos to split! We ended up with over 700 tickets to spend on useless junk - AWESOME!! The kids had such a good time - and to be quite honest, so did Anita and I!! I hit the jackpot on Skee Ball (sp?). Come to find out - I'm really awesome at it! Lol!! And it's addictive! Luckily, there was a game right beside it that Laynie was completely enthralled in, so I got to play for a while while she threw bouncy baseballs at a target! (It was great - she couldn't throw hard enough to hit the target, so the game kept giving the balls back to her to try again - kept her occupied for quite a while! Lol!!) Jared had a great time too - he did really awesome at the basket ball games! He loves anything that involves sports, so that didn't surprise me at all!

In other family news...I found out that we are expecting a new baby...NIECE!!!! Yay!! Justin and Jacqueline found out that they are having a little girl in February - so exciting! In about a week we will be finding out if Angel and Kenny are having a boy or a girl - we can't wait! Of course, we're kinda hoping for a little boy for them, but another girl would be so much fun too!! I'll keep everyone posted!

Coupons!

2009-10-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if anyone who reads this uses coupons, but I just got some really good ones today.

I'm registered with a site called Mypoints (check it out!), and they send you e-mails with different offers where you can earn points that you can cash in for merchandise. I was a bit skeptical at first, but so far I've earned 3 $10 Wal-Mart giftcards, and I'm about to cash in my points for another $50 gift card to TJ Maxx!

You get 5 points just for clicking on the link in the e-mails they send you, then you get extra points if you actually participate in the offer. (I RARELY do this - actually, I pretty much NEVER do this - I just click on the link and get my 5 points!) Occasionally they send you an e-mail where you can earn extra points for taking a survey - I usually do those and get a few extra points that way.

Anyway - what does this have to do with coupons you ask? On their site, there is a section you can go to that has several pages of coupons you can print off. You get points for redeeming them, PLUS the good deal that the coupon offers. Some of them are REALLY good - lots of "$1.00 off" ones! It's free to register with the site - just make sure to put my name down as the person who referred you! (If you do that, I get extra points!) :)

Fall Cleaning!

2009-10-02T12:23:00.001-07:00

I started to type "spring cleaning" but obviously, it's not spring, so I improvised! :) Lately we've been working extra hard at getting the church spic and span (I'm sure the pastor's daughter's upcoming wedding has NOTHING to do with it! *wink wink*). Normally I clean the church myself - occasionally someone helps out here and there, but I do most of it. Well, a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine from church came to me and said she'd like to start helping me with it! What a blessing!!! So we met there today and got TONS done! We did all of the normal stuff, plus a bunch of extra things that needed to be done before the wedding. It was so nice to have someone there to work with!

We still don't have a working washing machine (long story), so I've been taking our laundry to different places (church, laundromat, friends' houses, etc.) to wash it, then bringing it home to dry. Well, I decided to start cleaning out the janitor's closet at church, and throw in all of the nasty mildewy rags with my whites, since they needed to be bleached. Well, dummy me - one of the rags was a dark red color, so guess what color my whites are! Yep - a beautiful shade of PINK!! Lovely! For the most part it didn't ruin anything important - mostly socks and undershirts. I think the only thing I'm going to have to replace is Jared's Patch Club polo shirt. I don't think he's going to want to wear a pink shirt...call me crazy! Lol!! Thankfully, they're only about $7 at Wal-Mart, so the damage wasn't too horrible. Of course, I have to endure the teasing from my husband, but I'm used to that, so no biggie! ;) Hehehe....

Doctor's office here we come!

2009-10-01T08:54:00.001-07:00

We're headed over to the doc's office today for our Laynie girl. She's had this odd rash for a few days now, so I figured we'd better have it looked at. Thank goodness it doesn't seem to be anything serious - I'm just so glad that we get to keep our old pediatrician. We love love love Dr. Benson!! She is just great with the kids, and when we switched to Tricare, I was afraid we may have to switch, but hallelujah - she's in our network, so we get to keep her! Yay!!

I also have to swing by the mall out there to pick up Jared's shoes for April's wedding. Have I mentioned that Jared and Laynie are going to be the ring bearer/flower girl in a wedding next Friday night? I can't wait! I think they'll do great - they did awesome in Holly's wedding (which I JUST posted pictures of - woops!), so they should be fine in this one. I ended up buying Jared's tuxedo (or as HE says "TEXedo). Waaaay more economical! I can rent one for over $100, OOORRR I can BUY one for right around $60, then resell it on E-Bay and get a good portion of that back. Hmmm.....what should I do??? Lol!! Needless to say, I didn't have to think on that one long! The only downside is that it doesn't come with shoes. That's ok though, I'll just buy a pair then sell them with the tuxedo more than likely.

We got Laynie's flower girl dress for $25!! Brand new on E-Bay - I'll post pics of it when I get some - it is absolutely ADORABLE! She calls it her princess dress, and she can't wait to wear it!

Pictures of Holly's wedding

2009-10-01T07:47:00.001-07:00

I realized I didn't post any pictures of Holly's wedding, so here are a few!

Laynie decided after she got to the front, that she needed to pick up all of the flower petals she had dropped!

Laynie and Haley

The two most adorable kids in the whole world! :)

The happy couple! (Who had not kissed before this day!)

So cute! :)

Laynie and Haley

My handsome lil man

The bride with the two flower girls

Off season clothing...UGH!!

2009-09-30T10:31:00.001-07:00

This was always a time I absolutely DREADED when I was a kid! When the weather started cooling off, my mom would pull out the huge bins of winter clothes, and we'd have to try EVERYTHING on to see what still fit and what needed to go to Goodwill, so we could figure out what we had to buy for the season. Now it's time to do it with my kids, and I still hate it!!! I pulled out everything today, and the good thing is that I have nice winter coats for the kids that fit great, so that is one thing I won't have to buy this year - yay!!! I was able to find several outfits for Laynie when I was out shopping yesterday, so I shouldn't have to buy too much for her, they're both set for winter jammies, and I think Jared is good to go. He may need a couple of new pairs of jeans, but I think that's all - shew! This year looks like it will be pretty easy in this department.

Well, I'd better scoot. Church is tonight, so I need to get J's Patch Club outfit ironed, and figure out what Laynie and I are going to wear to see if anything else needs to be ironed! Maybe...just MAYBE, I'll have time to squeeze in a little nap today!

Homeschooling has begun!!

2009-09-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally got school started for Jared - yay!! He's doing well with 1st grade, and enjoying his new teacher. We still feel like he isn't being challenged enough in the reading part of his videos, so I decided to remedy the problem! I called my mom (who is a teacher at a Christian school), and got the reading list for their 4th graders, and we're going to start working through it. Right now he's reading Charlotte's Web, and it's going great. This is definitely more of a healthy challenge for him, and we feel like he is learning more this way.

I just started today teaching Laynie to read. I'm using a book that worked really well with Jared, called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." The first few lessons are super easy, so we did the first 3 today, and she absolutely loved it! She's a little on the young side (not quite 3 1/2), so we'll probably go pretty slow, but since we are starting so early, we have plenty of time!

We also did some "Mommy/Daughter" shopping today - it was a lot of fun! Laynie is in desperate need of shoes (I swear the child's feet NEVER stop growing - she grows out of shoes so fast!!). So we hit 2 children's consignment stores and Payless. I ended up finding 3 pairs of shoes for her, plus several wintery outfits (since her legs also seem to never stop growing, and her dresses get too short before I can even blink my eyes!). She did get a little frustrated that I wouldn't let her buy flip flops at Payless. Crazy kid - she has such an obsession with flip flops! She couldn't understand that pretty soon it would be too chilly to wear them - they were pink and sparkly, so she thought she needed them!

Speaking of shopping, I NEED to go shopping for some things for myself. Seriously...my wardrobe is seriously lacking...the thing that stinks is that my absolute FAVORITE clothing store - CATO, doesn't have any branches close to me. Well, there is one that is 40 minutes away, so I'll probably just have to bite the bullet and make the drive out there. They have such cute things for so cheap!! If anyone knows of any other good clothing stores, let me know! I like stores that have cute modest clothes at reasonable prices. I'm NOT one to spend $20 on one shirt - I know that doesn't sound like a lot to some people, but it is to me, and I just can't spend that. So any suggestions would be great!!

Oh! We also found out yesterday that we will be having a baby NIECE in February!! We are so excited! Justin and Jacqueline went in yesterday to have the gender ultrasound, and from what they could see (or rather, COULDN'T see, hehehe...) they predict that the baby is a girl! I can't wait to meet her - I just love love LOVE babies!!!

Ok, enough babbling for now! Hope everyone is having a great week! :)

Homeless no More - praise the Lord!!!

2009-09-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Shew! We now have a home! The Lord gave us an absolutely AWESOME house - yes, I said HOUSE!! Not an apartment - wonderful! Also, since our church is in a pretty nice area, we had pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that in order to be close to church, we'd have to go w/a 2 bedroom in order to find something in our price range. Miraculously, we found a THREE BEDROOM house with a huuuuuuuuuuuge yard and tons and tons of storage in our price range!! Granted, it was at the tippy top of our price range, but when we went to sign the lease papers, our landlord told us, that he and his wife had decided to drop the rent to lower than what they originally told us! Can you believe that?!?! We hadn't even asked if they'd be willing to take less - we were just so thankful to find something so wonderful that was w/in the price range. God is so good to us!

The last couple of weeks we have gone about furnishing our house. The only furniture we had was a dining room table (no chairs), a mattress and box springs for the master bedroom, and a bed for each of the kids (though no mattresses for them). We had pretty much gotten rid of everything when we moved out of our apartment back in January, because we had decided to use Michael's signing bonus to treat ourselves to some new furniture. (Something we've never had in 9+ yrs of marriage!) Over the last couple of weeks, we've hit Craigslist and yardsales, and gotten some AWESOME stuff!! I'm telling you - the stuff we have found may as well be brand new, and we've gotten it for a FRACTION of the cost! I am just amazed at the wonderful deals the Lord has dropped in our laps! I tallied up everything - figured out how much it would have cost to buy everything we have brand new from the furniture store - it came up to just under $6000 - we have spent only $675!!! We have a beeeeeeautiful armoire entertainment center (the kind that has doors you can close, which is what I've always wanted!), a beige microfiber dual reclining love seat, a beige microfiber couch, a burgundy rocker recliner (something else I've always wanted and never had before!), an antique desk that we are using for a computer desk, as well as two freestanding islands and a very nice solid wood (heavy!) toy chest for Jared's room! I'll try to take pics in the next couple of days and post them!

So that has been our lives the last couple of weeks. I finally got Jared's school stuff ordered, and it all came in yesterday, so we will be starting school on Monday! Not too bad - just about a week behind when I wanted to start, so I'm pretty pleased w/that.

Homeless!

2009-08-17T22:12:00.001-07:00

Yep, it's true - we are officially homeless! Lol!! Michael is officially done with AIT, and is awaiting orders for the next part of his schooling. They've told him pretty certainly that no more schooling will be done before the start of 2010, so we're in the process of finding a place to live - preferably close to church. (Any prayers regarding this matter would be HUGELY appreciated!)

At this moment, we are at my parents' house - we've been in GA for the past couple of weeks, and TN (visiting Michael's sister, brother-in-law, and nieces) the week before that. We had to come back to MO to get some of our things, though we can't get all of it just yet, since we have nowhere to put anything! Lol!! I think for now, we'll be staying at an extended stay hotel (probably just for a week, maybe two at the most), until we find the home where we will live. We've been searching diligently. Even from here in MO, we're still checking listings online, and making calls left and right! I must say, I'll feel much better once we get all settled.

I haven't even ordered Jared's 1st grade school curriculum yet - ugh! I'd love to get started, but I'm afraid we'd get started, just to have to take a few days off to get moved, so I'm just going to wait until we're all settled in to our permanent home then start him. He's a sharp cookie - we'll get caught up in no time!

Oh, and I have MORE big news!! In my last post I announced that my sister-in-law (brother's wife) is expecting their first baby. Since that post, we've also found out that one of my OTHER sisters-in-law (hubby's sister) is also expecting!! Woo hoo!!!! This pregnancy is a particularly special blessing, as it was not planned by anyone other than God!! I just love surprise pregnancies!! Anyway, Angel and Ken are super excited, though somewhat shocked!! Their little bundle of joy is due at the end of March. I can't believe I'm going to get TWO little nieces and/or nephews in a period of 2 months!!! I can't wait!! Now, if Jen and James, and Holly and Jim could just get on the ball, we could up that number to 4 - hehehe!!!

2009-07-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I thought life was supposed to get LESS crazy once school let out for the summer! Lol!! Ok, I guess it has been a LITTLE less crazy - but not much! The kids and I go to Ft. Leonard Wood pretty much every weekend to see Michael - we miss him so much and are so thankful that the Lord allowed him to do his training close enough that seeing him on the weekends is even an option!

We've had a little change of plans (shock shock!) - we thought Michael's entire AIT was going to be done pretty much all at once. The first 1/2, then a short break (no more than 2 weeks or so), then the 2nd 1/2. Well, we've just found out that there may be a larger break than just 2 weeks between the 2 parts. In fact, he may not even get to complete the 2nd half until next year. We just have no idea at this point. We're just praying for the Lord's wisdom during these next few weeks, as there will be some relatively large decisions that need to be made.

Next week, the kids and I are going to Tennessee to visit Michael's sister, brother-in-law, and nieces! We can't wait! We always have so much fun, and the kids play so well together. I'll be sure to take lots of pics, so I can post them. After that, we'll be heading down to GA to visit for a few days, then pick up Michael from the airport! He finishes up AIT on August 10th, then they'll be flying him down to Atlanta to report to his unit. It works out perfectly for us to go get him, since we'll already be down there!

My absolute biggest news, as of late, is that............(drum roll please).....................I'M GONNA BE AN AUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so so so soooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!! I have been praying and praying and praying that the Lord would allow my brother and sister-in-law to have a baby, and He has finally answered that prayer!!! Justin and Jacqueline are expecting baby #1 on February 12, 2010!!! I've seen an ultrasound picture, and he/she is already absolutely adorable - of course!!! ;) ;) I just can't wait to see my sister-in-law w/a cute lil belly! Actually, it will probably end up looking big, since she's so teeny! We'll see!!

Anyway..that's all for now folks!

What's been happening since Graduation....

2009-07-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, seriously, I have GOT to get better about posting! Ugh!! Well, Michael is at Ft. Leonard Wood right now completing his AIT (advanced individual training). So far it is MUCH less rigorous than basic training, and two HUUUUUUUUUUGE plusses are that #1, he is allowed to have his cell phone, and #2, he is close enough that we can go see him every weekend! God was so good to us to allow Michael to do his schooling so close! Is He awesome, or what?!?!

Right now we are in the throes of remodeling! My mom and dad decided a while back that they'd like to put an addition onto their house that would put a master bedroom, full bathroom, and laundry room onto the main floor of the house. (There are no bedrooms, or full bathrooms on the main floor.) Basically they're thinking that eventually they will get to a point where they can't (or shouldn't) physically be able to climb the stairs, so they're just thinking ahead. In the meantime, that room will be a pool room/art gallery to display my dad's artwork.

Weeeellllll.....you'd think tacking on a quick addition to add a master suite and laundry room wouldn't be that complicated, right? Not so w/my parents! Lol!! The house they live in is almost 100 years old - it's a really pretty old, kind of Victorian-style house. My mom really didn't want an addition tacked onto the back of the house, where it would be highly noticeable that it was not part of the original house soooooooo..........they decided to take the addition all the way up - yep - they're adding a 3 story addition! It will be a total of 6 extra rooms, plus a HUGE storage area. They put new siding on the outside of the house, so you can't even tell where the "old" house ends and the "new" house starts! It looks great, and is going to be so wonderful when it's all done!

All that to say - we're at the point of PAINTING! Well, painting/wallpapering, you name it. Praise the Lord, it seems that there MIGHT be a light at the end of this tunnel! So last Monday Laynie spent the day w/Aunt Bebe, and tomorrow she'll be there too, so Mom and I can focus on getting the painting done. (It is sooooooooo much easier and FASTER w/o a 3 year old underfoot!!)

Jared has been busy losing teeth - 4 total now. This last one he lost, he almost swallowed! Crazy kid - he didn't even know it had come out! He's enjoying his treats from the Tooth Fairy. :) And Laynie keeps sadly reminding me that she still has all of her teeth. Hehehe....

Well, that's all for now - maybe I'll actually get another post up here sooner than several WEEKS from now! :)

BCT Graduation and AIT!

2009-06-10T20:10:00.000-07:00

Me and my suuuuuuuuuper handsome soldier!

Ugh...I've waited way too long between posts, but Jessica inspired me - lol!! Thanks Jessica! Hehe...ANYWAY........

Family day and Graduation went quite well. The ceremony was super cool, and my husband looks soooooooooo good! WOWSERS!! When I saw him for the first time (it had been 74 days since the last time I'd seen him) he looked deflated! Literally!! He looked pretty awesome when he left for BCT, but when he was DONE - he looked even better! I couldn't believe it! You can scroll through my blog to see "before" pictures, and I'll post some "after" pics with this post so everyone can see the difference.

It was so so soooooooo good to see him and be with him. I didn't take the kids with me - mostly for selfish reasons. I wanted him all to myself for the first couple of days! :) Family Day was on a Thursday, then graduation was on Friday, then we came home on Saturday - the kids were BEYOND excited to see Daddy - Laynie wouldn't take her eyes off him. It was so precious! We got to spend Sunday and Monday with him, then we had to take him to Ft. Leonard Wood (MO) so he can complete his AIT (advanced individual training). This will take approximately 19 weeks - he should be done around the end of November/beginning of December. It stinks because we can't be w/him during this time, BUT he does have free time on the weekends, and he's only about 2 hrs from my parents' house, so we can drive down on the weekends. Also, he's allowed to have his cell phone, so the kids and I can actually talk to him every single day, which is WONDERFUL!!!

AIT is definitely easier than basic training, but I must say that I'm ready for this to be over. The kids and I are having a great time w/my parents - all is going well - but I just love our little life we have together, just the 4 of us, and I'm ready for things to be back to "normal." I'm really hoping these next 6 months or so go by quickly. I miss our home in GA, our church in GA (though we have an AWESOME church to go to while we're here!), and most of all, our LIFE in GA - I'm so anxious to have it back! Hopefully I don't sound too whiney! Ok, off to post some pics....

Jared and Daddy

My handsome soldier counting cadence for his platoon.

CW4 Schnellbacher, and Specialist Schnellbacher

Michael's company

Marching out to the field through multi-colored smoke grenades - very cool effect!!

It's winding down........

2009-05-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we're down to the last few days of basic training!!!! I thought these days would never come! Jared and Laynie are sooooooo excited about seeing Daddy again. They miss him so much! Next Wednesday I'll be flying to South Carolina so I can be there first thing Thursday morning for Family Day, then graduation is on Friday! Then I get to have a nice looooooooong road trip with my Sweetie (and my in-laws, who will also be there for the graduation), back to Missouri. Hopefully things will stay super busy between now and then so the time will fly by quickly!

Nine more days!

2009-05-11T21:19:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm glad to report that a light at the end of the tunnel has been spotted! Praise the Lord! I was starting to wonder if this was EVER going to be over!! I haven't gotten to talk to Michael in over a week now (which isn't the longest we've had to go, but still a long time!), and I'm so excited to get to not only get to talk to him soon, but to SEE him!! Woo hoo!! :)

The kids are also very ready to see Daddy, of course. Laynie says to me every single day, "I want my Daddy!" Several times! And he was worried she would forget him!!! While he's been gone, Jared lost his first tooth, learned to ride a bike without training wheels, finished his Kindergarten year of school, he'll also have his graduation and first speaking part in a play before Daddy gets back. Thank goodness for video cameras!

This Friday is the last day of school, though J has been done with his work for a week now. He does still go to reading class with the first graders, art class (twice a week), and Bible class, but he's done with all of his videos. Sunday is Kindergarten graduation, awards ceremony, and elementary school play, then on Wednesday is when I fly out to SC! It's coming up quickly!

I want to thank everyone who has prayed for us throughout this difficult time - I truly don't know how people make it through difficult situations without prayer! I hope everyone is doing well, and I'll post again soon! :)

He's half way done!!! Woo hoo!!!

2009-04-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday marked the official half way point of basic training - hallelujah!!! I couldn't believe it - on Tuesday afternoon Michael got to call me (totally unexpected since the other times he's called, it's been on Sundays), then later on that evening, he got to call AGAIN! The second time, we got to talk for a little over THIRTEEN minutes!! I think if you combine all of the times I'd talked to him before that, it wouldn't have added up to thirteen minutes! What a treat it was to hear his voice.

He was just getting over a cold, but sounded in good spirits. He said he's really been enjoying target practice (w/his M16) - he said he's surprisingly good at it! I think he picks and chooses what he tells me about - he doesn't want me to worry, but he just sounded so good, I was so thankful that I got to talk to him! Also, he was able to tell me several things he needed that I AM allowed to send him (there's not much I'm allowed to send at this point!), so I was super excited to be able to send him a package with some things he needs.

Again, if there is anyone at all who would like to send him a letter or card, please let me know - I know it would be such an encouragement to him to hear from anyone! I think the hardest thing for him at this point is being away from everyone. He's told me several times, he's taking things one day at a time, and even then - he kind of breaks the days down further. He focuses from making it from breakfast time to lunch time, to supper time, then to bed time. It seems to help him to have smaller goals - even though he is kept very busy, the days are really crawling by slowly for him. (For us too!!!) Anyway - I want to thank everyone for their prayers - we truly do appreciate it. At times, I feel like, "Wow - I can't believe we've already made it half way!" Other times, I feel like, "Ugh..we still have another half to go!" Lol!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! I'll update again soon!

I got to talk to Michael today!!! Woo hoo!!!

2009-03-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

Well, as the title of this post says - I got to talk to my sweetie today! :) :) :) He actually sounded pretty good. I get worried about him not getting enough sleep, but he said he's getting about 6 hours a night, so I was very glad to hear that! He did get a bit choked up when he talked to the kids - I know he misses them so much. We got to talk for 3 minutes and 44 seconds, so it was short, but very sweet. If anyone would like to write him a letter, please let me know. I know it would be such an encouragement for him to know people are thinking of him and praying for him.

He told me in a letter that right now he is going through what is called the "Red Phase." It lasts 3 weeks (though we are already a full week into that - yay!) and it is by far the hardest part of basic training. He said he'll have to ask permission to do EVERYTHING. After that he will have the "White Phase" which of course will still be hard, but not quite as hard as "Red Phase." It is also 3 weeks long. The last 3 weeks are called "Blue Phase" and are the easiest - though still hard, of course! His graduation will be on May 22nd, and I'm planning a little surprise for him. I'm not telling though - don't want anyone to spill the beans! Lol!!

As far as me and the kids go - we're busy with the same ol' same ol'!! Mom has a horrible abcess (sp?) tooth right now, and will be getting that taken care of tomorrow, so I will be teaching her class tomorrow! Exciting! I'll take Jared with me and he'll do his videos so he doesn't get behind. Laynie will be staying with Aunt Holly, as she likes to do! Oh, and a big announcement! Jared will receive his first visit from the tooth fairy tonight! He is sooooooooooooo excited! Lol!! He has had a loose tooth for several days now, and today it pretty much just fell out - I was so disgusted! Lol!!! I was so glad my mom was here to do the deed. She basically just took it out of his mouth - there was no pulling involved - it was completely ready to come out! He giggled, and thought it was the greatest thing! (I don't do pulling teeth! It completely grosses me out - in fact, I almost couldn't finish my lunch, it grossed me out so bad - and for those of you who know how much I love food, you KNOW what a big deal that is - lol!!)

I appreciate all who read this - it means a lot to me that people care to keep up with the happenings in our life. I truly appreciate all of the prayers - thank you all so much!

He's gone - waaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

Well, my Sweetie is officially gone. We're now at the mercy of the Army (drill sergeants, perhaps?) as to when we get to talk. I'm not counting on anything any time soon. We've been apart before, but NEVER for this long, and never w/o the ability to talk on the phone several times a day. The kids are already asking for him (ugh!), I can tell this is going to be a long road! So....9 weeks, 4 days and counting! Just thought I'd post an update! :) If anyone is interested in sending him notes of encouragement, please let me know, and I'll e-mail you the address.

What we're doing now!

2009-02-18T17:48:00.000-08:00

Well, as I believe I stated in a previous post, Michael is going to be "shipping out" (this is the term they use, even though I don't believe there is any actual ship involved) ;) on March 10th. Since we thought he was going to be leaving mid-January, he took me and the kids to my parents' house and got us all settled in right around New Years. Perfect timing, right? No such thing w/the military - lol!! A couple weeks after Michael took us to my parents' house is when he was told that he would be leaving March 10th, not mid-January! Grrr..... Anyway, after spending the rest of January w/my parents, we decided it was stupid for us to be separated when we didn't HAVE to be, so the kids and I came back down here to GA to enjoy some quality family time until he leaves. We've been having such a good time, and it is so good to see everyone down here again!

Michael absolutely spoiled me rotten for Valentine's Day!! He arranged for a sitter for the kids, and booked us a great hotel room w/a jacuzzi in the room! Fun fun!!! He took me to Provino's - an Italian restaurant that is ABSOLUTELY deeeeeeelicious!!!!!!! My mouth starts watering just thinking of their food!! He also let me go shopping for some new clothes and shoes, which I was REALLY needing! Oh, and I got to get a manicure! Is he awesome, or what?!?!

Ok, we finally know something!

2009-01-15T07:56:00.001-08:00

Yay! Anyone who knows me, knows I HATE not knowing what's going on. (Though I have gotten a bit better over the last few years.) So, while I have mixed feelings about the way our lives are going to be this year, I'm at least glad to know SOMETHING! Lol!!

Michael has officially sworn in! They gave him a start date of March 10th. We were definitely disappointed w/that date, as he would have loved to start MUCH sooner than that, but such is life with the Army! He will have a 9 week boot camp at Ft. Jackson, SC, then a few days off, then he'll start AIT. Unfortunately his AIT is a pretty long one (19 weeks!)...BUT he will only be about 2 hours away from me and the kids at that time, so we'll get to see him every weekend! Praise the Lord! I really thought it was going to be a huge prolonged time that we wouldn't get to see him at all, so to find out that we'll get to be together every single weekend is a huge blessing! He will be training as a Chemical Operations Specialist. He said it's also referred to as 74 Delta, or NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical). Makes him sound smart, huh? Well, he is! Lol!!!

So that's the latest update for Michael. The kids and I are doing pretty well, other than battling a pretty nasty flu bug that has been running rampant at church and school. Laynie got a pretty mild version of it, but poor Jared - he got hit pretty hard. It's so pitiful when they're sick! I think they're both on the mend now though, praise the Lord!

Teaching P.E. is going very well - I'm really enjoying it! I'm having a contest with the girls to get them exercising outside of P.E. time, and they are so motivated! I told them that I would take the person who got the most points from now to the end of the semester to go get a manicure and boy, that was all the motivation they needed! They're pumped! They're really great girls.

Anyway, I think that's about it for now. Hope all is well with everyone, I'll try to stay on top of things and keep this updated!

Quick update

2009-01-05T20:51:00.001-08:00

Just thought I'd post a quick update. The kids and I are now with my parents. Michael goes to sign this Saturday, and will leave within a few days of that. He took advantage of his days off around the New Year to bring us here and get us settled.

Right now the kids and I are trying to get settled into a new routine of going to school with Grammy (my mom) every day. She teaches at her church's Christian school, so we're tagging along! My schedule is filling up fast. I've already joined the choir and orchestra (didn't really have a choice about that one since my brother is the music director - lol!! - but I would have joined even if he wasn't!) . :) Also, I'm teaching the high school girls' P.E. class this semester! That is something new for me, but I'm super excited about it. I'm also temporarily working 10 hrs. a week for a friend of mine who has a home daycare. In addition to that, I'll be working probably one morning a week for yet ANOTHER friend of mine who has a home daycare! Needless to say, I just got myself a planner book so I can keep track of everything! I'm afraid I'm going to forget something w/all that's going on!

Jared is getting back into the swing of things with his home-schooling, and doing great. He gets to go to Bible class with "Uncle Mike" (my best friend Bethany's husband), then he does his A Beka videos for the rest of the school day. He also gets to take recess and snack breaks with the elementary class, which he is loving!

Laynie is doing great - just kind of tagging along wherever I go for the most part! She is talking more and more, and just says THE cutest things! I love it when they're this age and they have their cute little baby voices!

Michael is working hard, and we're trying to talk as often as possible. Obviously, when he leaves for boot camp, we won't be able to talk at all, pretty much. (I've heard there's a possibility of a couple of short phone calls towards the end of boot camp, but I'm not counting on anything at this point!) So we're trying to get in as many phone calls as possible! He talks to the kids several times a day as well. They sure do miss him!

Well, I'd better stop for now - I need to get to bed! 5:30 sure does come early! I hope all is well with everyone, and I'll try to keep this updated as much as possible!

Big changes ahead for our family!

2008-12-19T17:13:00.000-08:00

Well, for those who don't know, we have big changes ahead for our family! Michael decided a few months ago to aim for a lifelong goal: joining the Army! It has been a dream of his for his entire life. His original intent was to join the service right after he graduated high school. However, his parents asked him to consider going to Bible college for a year first, so he respected their wishes and went. While at Bible college, he felt the Lord leading him to finish and get his Bachelor's degree, so he respected His leading and graduated from Bible college! Fast forward a few years, and here we are!

It has not been easy - he has had to work hard to get back into shape, and he's done an AWESOME job! He's lost about 40 pounds, and gained lots of muscle! (Woohoo!!!) The plan is for him to start basic training (boot camp) sometime towards the beginning/middle part of January. (Though we do understand that w/the military, things do not always go according to plan!) The kids and I will be staying with my parents in MO during this time, which of course I have mixed emotions about. (I know I just ended a sentence w/a preposition, but I can't figure out how else to word it where it sounds normal. Sorry Mom!! Anyhoo....) I'm THRILLED for us to be able to spend extra time with our family, but I really am going to miss my "family" here in Georgia. I've truly come to love our home here, and our "family" here.

Below are our Christmas pictures. I try to get a good family picture at least once a year, and this one took quite a bit of work, but we finally got it - lol!! (All of those with active 5 1/2 year olds, and emotional 2 year olds can relate, I'm sure!)

I hope everyone has a blessed and safe Christmas, and I pray that no one gets so busy or stressed that they forget the true meaning of this time.

Yay for Christmas Shopping!!

2008-12-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad to say, that with the exception of just 2 gifts, I am totally done with our Christmas shopping! Woo hoooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is SUCH a good feeling! I took Jared with me today to pick up several items from several different stores, and he was such a good little boy. I even had 2 different people comment on his good behavior. That is in addition to the lady who stopped by our table at lunch today (Michael took us all out to Golden Corral - yummy!) - just to tell us how impressed she was with the kids' good behavior! Such sweet music to a mommy's ears. Makes me think that perhaps....just MAYBE......some of the stuff we're trying to teach them is actually sinking in! Lol!!

Pics from the last few months

2008-12-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

Daddy and Laynie

Mommy and Jared

Jared's famous silly face!

Michael's 30th birthday cake - triple chocolate!

Lion Jared!

Princess Laynie

My little cowgirl and cowboy on Roundup Sunday.

Michael and me at Disney on Ice - Michael surprised me w/tickets for the 10th anniversary of our first date! Awww!!!!

Getting ready for "Girls' Night Out" with Aunt Bebe and Coco.

Jared and Laynie sitting by the pond at Gram and Grandpa's house.

Bad Laura!

2008-12-01T16:06:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I pretty much knew when I started this that I'd be horrible at it. Since I haven't made an entry since July 22nd (4 long months ago!), obviously a lot has happened in our lives!

I'll start where I left off last time - we had a great visit w/my Mom, Dad, and sister (Holly) here in GA, then the kids and I went back to MO w/them for 2 weeks. While we were there I found out that what I had suspected for a couple of weeks was true - we were expecting Baby Schnellbacher #3!! Needless to say, I was thrilled! Michael was super excited when I called and told him, and it was so much fun getting to tell all of my family members! We all love babies!

In the month of August, my friend Amanda had a baby - Emily Marie - and we were so excited! Her arrival was hugely anticipated by the whole church! She is just as precious as can be and growing so fast! At the end of the month, Jared started school. He is doing the A Beka video program and doing so well! Of course, considering who his parents are, are you really surprised? Hehehe....

On the night of September 10th (late) every pregnant mama's worst fear started happening - I started spotting. Of course I completely panicked and called for Michael to come quickly (thank the Lord he was home at the time!). His first reaction (as was mine) was, "Call your mom!" So I did, and she calmly told me I needed to call my doctor right away. (It's a good thing she was calm, because I certainly wasn't!) I had no idea what to think - my first two pregnancies were beyond "normal" - no complications at all! This was totally unexpected for me. We ended up going to the ER (praise the Lord for my wonderful friend April who dropped everything and rushed over to stay with the kids while we were gone!). After some blood work and an ultrasound that seemed to last an eternity, the doctor came to us and gave us the news we were dreading to hear: Our baby was gone. Obviously it was a huge blow - so unexpected. I realize thousands, and probably even millions of women have gone through the same thing, but I've never felt so alone in my life. I'm so thankful for my Lord, for Heaven, for my wonderful husband, friends and family. Though I did feel alone, I felt very peaceful and so loved. I don't know why the Lord chose to take our baby to Heaven, but He did, and I'm ok with that. Sad, but ok, and hopefully He will bless us with another baby soon!

October was relatively uneventful here. We dressed up Laynie as a princess, and Jared as a lion for Fall Family Fun Night at church, and of course they were the cutest kids there! (In my own, unbiased opinion!) Laynie is talking more and more, and we're loving it! She has a hard time saying her "r's" which of course, I LOVE - it's too cute! Also, in October Jared got baptized (or "bathtized" as he says). This was a big step for him - he has been saved for about a year and a half, but did not want to get baptized. We've been talking to him about it, and letting him come in and watch when other people get baptized, without pressuring him at all. Finally he came to us and said he'd like to do it. We were so excited - he called Preacher himself and asked him about it. He did great! No chickening out or anything! :)

This year Thanksgiving was just the 4 of us and it was so nice! We love being with our families, but it just didn't work out this year, so we made the most of it. We ended up eating out for our Thanksgiving dinner - sooooooo delicious! And easy! Lol!! It was a very restful, relaxing day. Two days after Thanksgiving, we went over to my friend Leah's house and got to spend a wonderful day with her, and her family, and our other friend Carolyn - it was so much fun!

We're now in December, and gearing up for Christmas and Jared's 6th birthday! I can't believe my "baby" is going to be six years old! I'll get some pictures posted then we'll see if it's another 4 months before I post again! Lol!!

Some recent pictures

2008-07-22T06:26:00.001-07:00

Our van full of teenagers on our way to Youth Conference 2008!

At Navy Pier in Chicago

At the Rain Forest Cafe in Chicago
L-R - Michelle (great pose Michelley!), Ariel, Cortney, Ames, me, Stephanie, and Dani

Michelle getting ready to play her bass clarinet w/the Youth Conference Orchestra!

Laynie's self-given pedicure - beautiful!

My future pianist!

Laynie, Jared, Kaitlin and Kinsey

She put it on herself - can you tell?

Grammy and Papa with Jared and Laynie

At the Chattanooga Zoo

At a museum on the Chickamawga Battlefield.

The two cutest kids ever! :)

VBS 2008

She decided to give herself a manicure to match her pedicure. Nice!

May, June and July happenings

2008-07-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I totally knew this would happen when I started this blog. I knew that I'd do pretty good the first few days/weeks, but then it would taper off. My deepest apologies to the 2-3 people who actually read this!

We didn't have a lot that went on in May, aside from the girls' weekend I got to go on w/my pastor's wife, and a handful of other ladies from my church. That was WONDERFUL! One of the ladies in our church has a "cottage" in the mountains in North Carolina, so a bunch of us went out there for a "Jane Austin" marathon. It was sooooooooo beautiful (in spite of the snakes!) and I can't wait till we get to do it again!

Also in May, we went on a mini-vacation to Chattanooga, TN. Even though it was only about 24 hours, we really had a good time with the kids. We went to the zoo there, took them go-carting, and we also visited the Chickamauga Battle Site from the Civil War, which was very interesting.

Of course in May our little angel turned two. I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast. Oh, I don't think I've mentioned (or maybe I have and I just don't remember), but she is completely potty trained PRAISE THE LORD!! I started training right after we got back from Pastor's School in March, and she was almost trained in one week, and completely trained in 2 weeks. I am BEYOND thankful that she was so easy to train. I tell people that God knew I needed an easy one after training Jared (which was an 18 month process)!!

June was relatively uneventful other than our church's VBS. It was an incredible VBS with 32 children trusting Jesus as their Savior. Praise the Lord! We did a dinosaur detective theme and the kids just loved it!

This month has been exciting - Michael and I chaperoned our church's youth group on a trip up to Hammond, IN for First Baptist Church's annual Youth Conference. It was a looooooong drive but so well worth it! We had a fantastic trip and the kids were great! They made some awesome decisions for the Lord and we're so thankful that we made the long trek up there!

In case you're wondering what the kids did while we were in Indiana, my mom flew down here to Atlanta to stay here w/the kids the whole week. Is she great or what? :) She wouldn't even let me pay for part of her plane ticket. Of course the kids were THRILLED to see her and had a wonderful time playing, reading, and baking with Grammy all week!

Michael's sister, Angel, and our two nieces, Kaitlin and Kinsey came for a visit at the first of the month. We had a really good time, and needless to say, Jared was VERY sad to see them go! It was really a great time of visiting though and we can't wait to do it again!

Right now, my dad and Holly are here as well (they drove down the Monday after we got back from Youth Conference) and they'll be staying for about a week. When they drive back to Missouri, the kids and I will go back with them and we're going to stay for about 2 weeks. At that point, we will fly back here to Atlanta. Shew! It's gonna be a crazy few weeks! We're really looking forward to our visit though - I'm excited about seeing my brother and his wife, my other sister, my grandparents, and of course my best friend Bethany and her MOST adorable little baby girl Chloe!

So, that's my life for the last few weeks for those who are interested. :) I'll try to get some pictures posted soon. (As I know all 2 of you are just dying to see them!)

March Pictures

2008-04-07T13:32:00.001-07:00

From the top, the pictures are of Jared and Laynie on Easter, Laynie getting tossed in the air by Uncle Bubby, Laynie w/Aunt Holly and "Uncle Jim", coloring w/Grammy, and me w/one of my birthday cakes!

March

2008-04-07T13:20:00.001-07:00

Well, I didn't intend to let so much time go between posts, but here we are, several days into April and I'm just now posting for the first time in a month! Yikes! A lot has happened since my last post - yes, we're finally over the sickies - praise the Lord! It is just so pitiful to see your kids sick!! I hate it!
Laynie and I had a great trip up to Indiana for Pastor's school - in spite of the fact that neither one of us are pastors - lol! We got to spend a lot of time with my mom and sister (which is the whole reason we went!), and we got to see my brother as well. I'll post some pictures from that week in my next post.

We also had another big event in March - my 30th birthday! :) LOL!! Michael made it a wonderful "happening" by throwing several different parties, and I was spoiled rotten! I truly felt loved! Looking over my life, sure, there are things I'd change if I could (for instance - the fact that we live 12 hours from family waaaaaaah!!!!). BUT overall I really have a great life.

We also celebrated the rising of our Saviour this month! We had an AMAZING day at church that day with a record attendance and souls saved AND baptized. God is so good! Of course, the day couldn't go by without having some fun things for the kids. They had so much fun with the Easter egg hunt - even Laynie! I don't think she really understood what was going on, but she sure had fun!!

Sickies!!!

2008-03-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

Well, it's our turn now! I was REALLY hoping that the "bugs" would skip over our household, but we weren't so lucky! Michael has a sinus infection, I have Rota virus, Jared has a cough, and Laynie has pneumonia. We've all been to the doctor and gotten medicine, so hopefully we'll be good to go in a couple of days. Thankfully Michael has been working from home a lot, so that is a huge help. Well, that's all for now. I know this was a short entry, so I'll try to make up for it next time!

Jared's Revelation

2008-02-29T11:25:00.001-08:00

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!

2008-02-25T15:12:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2008-02-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-02-19T19:50:00.001-08:00

Me and my sweetie!

Our 2007 family picture.

2008-02-19T19:47:00.001-08:00

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!

2008-02-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

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.....