HAPPY FALL FESTIVAL DAY!

I know today is a day full of evil and scary things, but in the midst of the evil, I want to encourage you with God's Word:
"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Isn't that awesome?! How humbling to know that He delights in me...the Lord of the universe! Not only does He delight in me, He is rejoicing over me with singing!!! WOW! He delights in you too. Is that cool or what?!
So whenever you see those scary things everywhere (and boy have I seen some awful things this morning!), just reflect on God's Word and know that He is with you and your kids (if you have kids).
Like Rachael said, we want to teach our kids to stand on God's word and to resist the devil. Today is an especially important time to cover them with the Word of God and much prayer.
Tonight we'll go to our fall festivals and rejoice in all the Lord is doing! Tristan is so excited!!!
The big Methodist church in town had a "Hallelujah Festival" on Sunday. Isn't that neat?! I've heard fall festival and trunk or treat but not the Hallelujah Festival. That's really cool! I love it!!!
I hope today is an especially great day for you!!!

Be Blessed

I just read Morningsong's blog, and she had a poem from Beth Moore. It was incredible! So I decided to share something from Beth Moore that was sent to me from a great friend...

Beloved, in the name of Jesus
I commission you
To rejoice in the Lord always
And again I say rejoice.
Stop worrying about everything!
Dump your anxiety
And start praying like mad.
Start thinking about
What you're thinking about!
Start feeding your spirit
And stop feeding your flesh.
Never forget the true Secret:
Christ in you, the Hope of Glory!
You, Dear One, have the supernatural CAN DO!
Now, believe God
and turn your CAN DO
Into WILL DO!
You are not a wimp
You are a warrior
In the Name and power of Christ.
God out there and act like one.

This is SO powerful to me. I really struggle with approval addiction, and for what?! God is who I should be out to please...not people. I have the supernatural can do, so now I plan to turn it into WILL DO!!! I am not a wimp but a warrior in the Name and power of Christ!!!
Thanks, Morningsong, for sharing Beth's poem. I have had stuff I've wanted to share from my Beth Moore Bible study but kept forgetting. Thanks for that amazing reminder!!!

I'm feelin' kinda shaky!

So the season started like this... everyone had low expectations. We were coming off another coaching change, probation, and a fifth loss to our #1 rival. You may have guessed...I'm talking about Alabama football. I tried to start the season with low expectations. You know, we probably won't win many, but this is a year of rebuilding. We've got a great coach and a lot of promise on our team. We'll be better next year, and the year after that, everyone better watch out! And you know, I was content with that. But did things work out that way? NOOOOOOOOOOOO! They had to go and win some games and look pretty good doing it. So I start getting excited! Maybe this is our year! Then along comes the Georgia game. I was there! I had to watch them go down in a blaze of glory (ok, maybe not, but it sounded good) in overtime. Oh my aching heart! What happened to my winning team?!
It was ok, though because there was always next week. I mean Georgia was a good team (or so I thought at the time). It was just a fluke, one game. Then along came Florida State the very next weekend. They beat us 14-21. I mean, it was FLORIDA STATE! They have stunk all year! Ok, so at this point I became resolved to the fact that this just isn't our year. And I was ok with that. Again, it's a year of rebuilding. We've got a great coach and a lot of promise on our team. We'll be better next year, and the year after that, everyone better watch out! Did it stay that way? It would have been easier if it would have, but no...it didn't!
Along came Houston (ok, easy team...should win anyway) and Ole Miss (no offense Ole Miss Mom, but this just isn't their year, so I wasn't worried about them. I felt we should have beat them by more, but we didn't, we stunk!). We won both games, and I started to get a little excitement back. Then came the big one...TENNESSEE!!! For those of you who follow SEC college football, you know the air between UT and UA isn't good. They have always been a heated rivalry and the fact that many UA fans blame Coach Phil Folmar for some of the trouble we got into a few years back hasn't helped matters much.
Well what happened? We ended up winning, and not just winning, we wiped the mat with UT!!! UA beat them 41-17!!! What a great feeling! Well, yes and no.
Now we get ready to face LSU, definitely a formidable opponent. Before the last three games, I said that there was NO way we could beat LSU. No way! Of course, I started the season believing LSU would not lose a game and that Alabama would lose many. So far, I was wrong about both. Now I enter this weekend with excitement, dread, and extreme nervousness. What will happen when the corn dogs (ha! ha! morningsong. That was just for you!) come to town? It is known that the LSU fans really despise Nick Saban right now ( which I'm kind of confused on. I mean, he left LSU to pursue what he thought was his dream...to coach in the NFL. He got there, realized it wasn't what he thought it would be, LSU had Les Miles, and UA offered him lots of dough. Where's the controversy? I know he wasn't very forthright with Miami about leaving, but how does that affect LSU. I don't get it.), so I'm sure it will be a game filled with tension. I'm just glad my kids and I won't be there. At these kinds of games: where they're late afternoon or evening, there is a lot of tension and bad feelings, and it's such a huge game for both teams, there are sure to be lots of yelling, cursing, and fighting. I love football, but I can do without all of that.
In closing, I say...ROLLLLLLLLL TIDE! I believe in you, Bama! You can do this!!!

LSU...news to me

Ok, I just read this and it was news to me. Do LSU fans smell like corn dogs? I have to say, I've never been to their stadium so I wouldn't know. Is it true? ;)

Pumpkin Patch

Asher was totally fixated on the grass, and Tristan was more interested in picking a pumpkin than in having his picture taken.

A Day of Beginnings and Endings

Whew! What a busy day Saturday was. My mom and sister were in town to see Tristan's last soccer game of the season. They picked the perfect game to come to. He played so well! All season, he has kind of held back, a little unsure of himself and the other kids. He was often afraid to take the ball away from other kids (the whole "sharing" concept) and while he sometimes scored a goal here and there, it usually happened when he started the ball. Well this past Saturday was different. He aggressively went after the ball and helped his teammates score goals. I was so proud of him!!! He seemed to have no fear. Before every release of the ball, he was a like a bull getting ready to be let out of his pen. As soon as the ball hit the ground, he took off.
Since it was the last game of the season, the kids had their trophy ceremony at the end. As you can see from the picture, Tristan was thrilled with his!
Saying goodbye to soccer will be hard for me. I loved watching my little man run up and down the field. It was so much fun! Only time will tell what's next...baseball, soccer again... I do know it won't be football. Channing says no. I guess that's what happens when your daddy's a chiropractor! ;)
As for a day of beginnings, you need only to look at the following picture:

Yes, that is my little Asher gnawing on a piece of pizza crust. Now with Tristan, I never would have even allowed the pizza to come within a foot of his mouth. However, Asher is just so interested in food and what we're eating. I just had to let him have a tiny taste! I'm so bad!!!

Shiny Teeth

Friday started off like no other day for Tristan. He had an appointment with the dentist! He was so excited. I mean, it only took his parents three years to get him there! I say we were just waiting for the right dentist (well, he's been there for a year or two!). He had so much fun playing in the bus in the waiting area.
Then we went back for the cleaning. Tristan thought it was really cool that he could watch the Backyardigans on the ceiling. He noticed the t.v. on the ceiling right away!
The hygenist cleaned his teeth, and he held his mouth open like a pro. Then Dr. Massey came in and checked his "big giant teeth with his little bitty mirror" (Tristan's words), did some other work on his chompers, and complimented the great care his mommy and daddy have taken with his teeth (props to us!).

During all of this, Asher was being so great!

Since Tristan did so great while having his teeth cleaned, he got to pick a prize! Of course, the one he wanted happened to be out of order (kids just sense these things, don't they?).

And finally, here he is sharing his shiny teeth!!!

Today's Bible Lesson

I picked up Tristan from his Sunday school class today, and he was so excited to share what he learned. He pulled out his Lil' K and asked if he could read it to me. Of course, I enthusiastically told him yes. This is what he "read":

There was a thousand of people. They were very hungry. The cycles were very hungry. Their tummies were about to burp. The cycles told Jesus everyone needed to go home, but a little boy said he would share his lunch. Jesus was very proud of the little boy and was happy. Jesus shared the food and everyone was happy.

I thought it was so cute! Let me decode his story: When he said a thousand of people, what he meant was thousands of people. When he said the cycles were very hungry, he meant to say disciples. When he said their tummies were about to burp, he meant their tummies were about to growl. And of course the story he was sharing was the story out of John 6:1-14 where Jesus used a little boys five loaves of bread and two fish to share and feed thousands.
I love to hear his take on things!

I found this and thought it was cool:

The Pumpkin

A woman was asked by a co-worker, "What is it like to be a Christian"?

The co-worker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin.

God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., and then! He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

- Author Unknown

Lesson Learned

So I've shared with you some about my sweet (ok, mostly sweet) little boys who mean the world to me. Now let me share a funny story about my husband and one of the many lessons I've learned since being with him.
Back in the day, Channing and I used to enjoy a little show by the name of Felicity. Remember it? It was a show based on the life of a girl who followed her high school crush to college. Anyway, in the show there was a guy named Ben (look to the right, and you'll see his picture). Ben was Felicity's crush and was an attractive guy (ok, he was really cute!). I used to tease Channing about having a crush on him, and it was kind of a joke in our house.
Our first Christmas together as a married couple, we decided to go buy a Christmas tree...a real one. On the way to the Christmas tree place (for the lack of a better name), we stopped at Sonic for a Route 44 strawberry limeade (delish!). So I'm slurping my strawberry limeade the rest of the way there. It was fantastic.
We get to the tree place, and a guy comes over to help us. As surely as I'm typing this, that guy looked like Ben's clone! Channing thought so too. Of course, in my mind this was the perfect opportunity to tease Channing. So I start talking about how he looks like Ben, and this and that. Then I had some conversation with "Ben". I was chatting him up, having a good 'ole time (do you see where I'm going with this?).
He gets the tree cut, ties it to our roof, Channing tips him (a really small tip; he had no idea about tipping Christmas tree guys, but that's a whole 'nother blog).
With our tree securely tied to our roof and "Ben" in the fumes of our truck, I decide to give myself a glance in the visor mirror. Guess what I saw? A huge (and when I say huge, I mean HUGE) piece of strawberry was stuck in my teeth...right up front! I mean, you would have had to be totally blind to have missed it!!! And guess who is NOT blind? Yep! My hubby! I said, "Channing! I cannot believe you didn't tell me I had a huge strawberry in my teeth!" Of course, he thought it was hilarious.
Teasing my husband about cute guys...not a good idea. Got it! Lesson learned. :)

We fell off the wagon.

So remember how I told you everything was going well with my three year old. Remember? He was happy, obedient, helpful, the tantrums had stopped. Sound familiar? Well all came CRASHING DOWN! I saw it coming. It came slowly, but it came. Let me catch you up.
Monday night, Tristan was in bed at 8:30. He slept great, woke up the next morning a new child, a child who quickly obeyed my instruction, no whining, no complaining, no meltdowns. He was mannerly and thankful. Ok, well on Tuesday night he got to bed around 8:40 (do you see the slip, the decline). Due to his excitement about the slumber party with Mommy and Daddy, he had some trouble falling asleep. He actually fell asleep around 9. The result on Wednesday was a pretty happy child. Still no meltdowns and tantrums. His obedience was not as great as Tuesday but was still going well (I guess you could say it was "First-time and twenty seconds obedience". ~If you've taken GKGW, you know what I'm talking about). Then there was last night. Last night was church night, and despite my best efforts, we were there FOREVER!
I kept the nursery, and it usually takes a while to get out of there, but not last night. Things were going well. The babies were picked up quickly, the room was cleaned in a snap, I had both boys, and we were ready to go. So we go out to our normal wait spot, and there's no Channing. From the safety of my wait spot, I searched the hall in hopes of finding Channing and Lance (someone we were giving a ride home) so that we could head home while we still had a chance of getting Tristan in bed before 10 (10...do you see the BIG decline?!). They were nowhere to be found. AAAAGH! My heart rate is rising. The lack of sleep from the night before is really starting to affect me, and I'm thinking I might have a melt down. Finally after about 15 minutes, someone directs me to my husband. We clear up the misunderstanding (that's a whole 'nother blog) ;), wait a few more minutes for Lance, and head out.
After the puddle jumping (yes, Tristan thought it would be a good idea to jump in puddles, in the cold weather, in his jammies!), stops on the way home, unloading of the car, changing of jammies, brushing of teeth, and inevitable meltdown (Tristan's), we finally got our three year old into bed. Time? AFTER 11!!! AAAAGH!
Result? This morning, I had a whiny, tantrum-throwing three year old who demanded, yes demanded, to watch a witch on t.v. (we don't do the witch thing), to stay home and skip school, to pull his brothers legs until he cried, and to lolly-gag on the way to the car (as we were running late for school).
This morning was complete confirmation that he needs his sleep. Tonight, that boy will be in bed EARLY!!!
As you can see in the picture above (a picture taken a few months back), he is a boy that konks out. He only needs parents who are willing to make his sleep habits a priority. Sleep is so important and affects so many aspects of health and well-being. Pray for me as I strive to put his needs as a top priority! Maybe if I get that going, Asher will decide to sleep too! ;)

Just when you think you've got parenting figured out...

Yesterday was a GREAT day, let me tell you why. Well, over the past few weeks, my husband and I have been dealing with some pretty difficult behavior from our three year old son, Tristan. Each morning, we have been greeted with hugs followed by whiny requests/demands for everything from milk to pull-ups to permission to stand outside in the pouring rain. I mean, it's been CONSTANT, and it's driven us crazy (ok, it's driven me crazy and has annoyed Channing).
When facing this behavior, Channing and I sometimes have different ideas on how to handle and diffuse the situations. Channing almost always reverts to what we learned in Growing Kids God's Way and chooses to handle the disobedience quickly and have it quashed. I, on the other hand, look at the contributing factors for his behavior (can sometimes be viewed as making excuses for the behavior, which bothers me when other people do it, but it's ok for me, right?). In doing this, I have noted that despite our best efforts (or medial efforts anyway), Tristan has been getting to bed late every night and has even been missing his afternoon naps on some days. So I think...I can be a really moody person, and when I'm tired, I don't feel like doing what everyone else wants me to do either....and I'm an ADULT! So, I told Channing that until we get Tristan on a proper schedule, I will not strictly discipline him. To me, it's not fair. Because of our poor parenting (and that's what it is. He's three. He needs sleep!), he is acting out. So on Monday, we tested it out. Guess what the results were???
A GREAT day! On Monday night, I had a Mom's Night Out. Before I left, I had Tristan fed, bathed and ready for bed. Channing had instructions to put him to bed NO LATER THAN 8:30 (working my way to 8). He did, and the result on Monday was a happy, sweet, mannerly, and obedient child. I didn't have to tell him one time not to whine or to say please or thank you, and I didn't have to argue with him to follow my directions. I told him it was time for school. He quickly got up and got ready. I told him to turn off his DVD, he did it...without complaining! At nap time, I told him he had two minutes. He timed it, turned the t.v. off all on his own, and went to bed. WOW! Who is this kid?! AMAZING!
As a reward for his outstanding behavior, his daddy told him that he could have a slumber party with us (which means he could sleep in our bed and is always a special treat for him). He was so excited!
So, after all this I'm feeling pretty good about my skills as a parent. I mean, I've got an obedient three year old who loves life and his family, and I've got the happiest six month old I know. Well....if you refer back to my previous blog, you will see that Asher, my six month old, decided it would be a good idea to mix things up a bit. I did get him in bed and asleep by 1:15 a.m.; however, he woke up every two hours! Whoa! That was a major shock to my system! Today, I am exhausted. I'm wondering how I thought I could have it all figured out one minute and clueless the next. I have some ideas as to why Asher was waking up (I'm really thinking, hoping, and praying it's teeth): teething, his room was cold (did anyone turn on their heat last night? I didn't, but I really thought about it), he was off his normal schedule. I don't know. I'm hoping for a better night tonight. Of course, tonight is a church night and will throw both my boys off their schedule, so I may lose my sweet three year old tomorrow as well as my happy six month old.
Only time will tell....

I know you can see.

I don't know what the problem is with my font, but I know you're not blind. I put it on "normal" font, and it comes out HUGE! I can't fix it. HELP!

Midnight is not Playtime

It's 12:40 a.m.,and I'm up. Ok, so I'm normally a night owl; however, by midnight, I'm usually going to sleep.
Why am I awake tonight, or this morning rather, you might ask? Well for some unknown reason, Asher (my 6 month old) thought it would be a good idea to wake up at 11:30 and get up for playtime. He never does this!
I fed him, put him back to bed, and went back downstairs. Ten minutes later, I hear him whining. I go to his room, and he's in his bed rolling around and starts smiling at me. I quickly looked away, patted him on the back,
and tried to pretend I didn't notice him looking at me. It didn't work. He kept smiling. Being the type of mother I am (a wimpy one), I couldn't leave him in there to suffer in boredom all alone. No way! I had to pick him up. So I picked him up and tried to rock him (did I mention he doesn't like to be rocked?). Didn't work. Where did he end up? In the playroom, with me...playing! I am a glutton for punishment!
After 30 minutes of playtime, I put him back to bed. He's still whining (no screaming, just whining). I really hope he'll go to sleep soon. If he gets super upset, I don't have it in me to let him scream for very long, especially since I thing he's working on his first tooth (he's showing all the signs: yucky diapers, gnawing on fingers, erratic sleeping patterns, runny nose...).
During these exhausting times, I try to remind myself that one day I'll look at my teenager who asks me to drop him off a block from his school and wish that I could be up at one o'clock in the morning with him, rocking him and cuddling my little baby.

Blog: Take 2, or Maybe 3...hmmmm.....

Ok, so at some point last year I created a blog and then in typical "Annie fashion", I stopped blogging and completely forgot how to access my blog. I mean, between the info I needed to remember for my ebay account, email, pottery barn website, myspace, facebook, and all the other random websites and passwords, I just lost my blog into the big black hole. Since I lost my original blog, I have posted a few blogs on my myspace page.
Recently, I've had some friends start blogging on this site, and I always read them and want to leave comments, but as I stated earlier I had forgotten how to access my blog. I tried several passwords and sign in names, but they didn't work. Well, somehow today...guess what?! I found one that worked! Wow! So now I can leave comments and actually have a name. It's a miracle!
I do not intend to be a "real" blogger. It would just become an even larger distraction for myself (I already find so many other reasons not to clean). too, I have one of those prehistoric computers from 1997 that doesn't allow me to upload pictures. So, in order to be a great blogger with cute photos, I would have to jump through huge hoops to get new pictures on every day. And as those of you who know me know...I'm not in the best shape right now and am not ready to be jumping through hoops! ;)
Right now, I'm just super excited not to be labeled as anonymous anymore. :)