I'm back!!! :o)

So why is it that my life seems to be more interesting when I don’t have a lot of people to share it with? Maybe now that I’m back on facebook, things will slow down! LOL

The past few weeks have been pretty much non-stop. For starters, Shannon’s grandfather passed away. We were very sad to see him go, but also relieved that he is no longer in pain. He had spent the last month and a half of his life in the hospital alternating between being knocked out unconscious, awake and saying random confusing stuff, and being perfectly fine. The emotional rollercoaster for the family was horrible. BUT he is in a better place, perfectly whole, no longer in pain, and happy. God is good. <3

On a lighter note, the charger cord on my laptop caught fire and burnt in two. No, really. When I say “fire” I literally mean smoke and flame. And all this happened while my laptop was sitting in my lap. So needless to say, I was pretty shocked about that. I spent about a week waiting for my new charger cord to come in. It was probably the longest week of my life. I had given up Facebook, not the computer in general, so I had to find alternate ways of entertaining myself. (Unless I was able to sneak onto Shannon’s computer while he wasn’t looking. Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone!)

Another great thing that happened was that I decided to start up my PartyLite business again! So if any of you need some great candles (or warmers, or reed diffusers, or air sprays, or….) feel free to hit up my website (www.partylite.biz/kayrule) or give me a call/text/Facebook message and I’ll see what I can do for you! (Btw, PartyLite has, by far, the best Hostess rewards of any direct-sales company I’ve seen, so if you’re interested in free stuff be sure to let me know!)

And something I’m bummed about…4 babies were born while I was MIA from the Facebook world! While I’m sooo excited about this, it really sucked that I had to wait to see pictures! Haha! Especially when 2 of those babies were family!

Speaking of family, a huge praise that Shannon’s grandmother, who was also in the hospital, was finally able to come home!!! She spent 43 days in the hospital with everything from a broken foot, to discovering she is diabetic. It’s been a long, hard road for her and we’re all glad to see her come home.

Speaking of family again… Ryger has informed me that he wants a sister! And brings it up quite often. "Mommy, where's my sister?" "Mommy, I have a bubba...I need a sister!" Uhm…let’s wait on that a bit, kiddo. LOL

One thing that I love….Braylen turned 11 months old….and started WALKING full time! He went from maybe taking 2 steps to walking all over the house in the space of about 3 days. It’s like he just decided one day that he’s tired of crawling. He’s so cute.

We took Ryger and Braylen to see the circus! Braylen didn’t pay it much mind, but he got his first taste of cotton candy! The look on his face was priceless. I don’t think he cared for it much. Ryger, on the other hand, ate half a bag of the fluffy stuff all by himself! He kept asking where the “upalents” were and when the elephants finally showed up he could hardly contain himself. He loved the clowns, too. (My favorite part was the big, white lion! He was gorgeous!) We will definitely take the kids back the next time we get a chance. Maybe by then, Braylen will be big enough to enjoy it.

It was time to register Ryger for preschool. OMG what happened to my baby? :'( He suddenly looks like a little boy instead of a baby! I really miss those days of holding him when he fit right into the bend of my arm. But then I look at the sweet little boy he’s become… He’s just precious. He did really well on the preschool evaluation and impressed the teachers with his vocabulary. YAY!

Oh! And how could I forget Ryger quotes?

Me: “Ryger, tell Bubba you’re sorry for knocking him down.”
Ryger: “I already did!”
Me: *thinking, I didn’t hear him say it….* “Well, I’m not sure if Bubba heard you. Can you tell him again so he can hear you say it?
Ryger; “He did hear me! I was in the bathroom and said “I sorry bubba!” and Bubba said, “AHHH!!!”
Me: *tries to cover laughter*

Shannon: “I think someone….*looks at Ryger* …needs a B-A-T-H tonight.”
Ryger: “Yeah, ME!”
Me and Shannon: “Uhhh….”

Ryger: “Cows go doo-doo so they have room to eat more food!”
(Well, yeah…but where on earth does this child come up with this stuff?)

Ryger: “I’m the boss, Mommy! Daddy said so!”
(For anyone who doesn’t know, Shannon usually refers to Ryger as “The Boss.” I think it’s time to stop doing that…lol)

So that was my crazy, wonderful life these past few weeks. Yay!

Lent

I've never participated in giving something up (or doing something extra) for Lent, but this year I decided to try it out. So I gave up facebook!

*gasp*

So, from March 9 until April 24, facebook is off-limits. No stalking people's pictures, checking out new babies, wedding pictures, Spring Break pictures, etc. No reading statuses, no updating my own status. No nothing. If I want to talk to someone, I have to CALL or TEXT them! Omg, right?

Really, though, it's not that bad. I mean, I have a ton of pictures of my cute boys that I'm dying to share with the world and I still find myself wanting to post song lyrics or quotes from Ryger as my status. But I'm okay with this. Honestly, I figured I'd be rocking back and forth in the corner with my thumb in my mouth before the weekend hit. But I surprised myself.

Instead, I've found extra time for my husband and kids, and have spent more time doing daily devotionals through www.crosswalk.com.

So, facebook friends, I'll be back in a few weeks! :-)

A "wow" moment...

I was fixing supper tonight while Ryger and Braylen played in the living room. (Before anyone freaks out and thinks I was neglecting the boys, the living room is open to the kitchen...) All of a sudden, I heard Braylen let out this high-pitched squeal/cry. I whirled around, thinking that Ryger had gotten a little too vigorous with his affection for his brother, as he often does. Actually, Ryger wasn't even in the room, and Braylen was wedged between the couch and the plastic bin that holds some of their toys. I use that bin to block off the end table that holds everything from old magazines to candles, to other random stuff that no 9 month old baby needs. So I go over and lift Braylen up, set him down next to his toys, and go back to dinner.

After the incident, I was zoned out in the kitchen thinking about what had just happened and it occurred to me, yet again, that God blesses us with parenthood in order to allow us to understand our relationship with Him a bit more. There are so many parallels between the parent/child relationship and the God/Christian relationship that sometimes I am utterly amazed...

Braylen, who had been placed in a safe spot and given all that he needed to entertain himself for a few minutes, decided that wasn't good enough for him. He wanted to explore. During the course of this exploration, he found himself stuck in a situation that he couldn't get out of. So what did he do? He called for his mommy. And his mommy promptly came and pulled him out of his sticky situation. Now, I'm sure, since I had to walk in from the kitchen, that I didn't get to him quite as soon as he would have liked. I'm pretty sure there was a few seconds where he wondered if I was coming, since I didn't say anything while I was on my way. But, I did rescued him. And when I rescued him, I lifted him up, gave him a big hug, and lots of little kisses on his nose, set him back where he needed to be, and we both went about our business.

How often do we, as Children of God, become bored with the blessings that He gave us? How often do we go around looking for something "more" or "better" than what He has provided? How often do we find ourselves in a situation that is unpleasant, and end up begging Him to "fix" it?

Pretty often. Hey, we're only human, right?

But the point to all of this is that He is faithful to forgive us and set things right. (1 John 1:9) He hears our calls of desperation and, even thought it may not be as soon as we think it should be, He rescues us and sets us back on the right path. How awesome is that?!?!

I want to finish this with a youtube video of a song by Lifehouse performed by a church youth group. This skit makes me cry every time I see it. I'm talking big, crocodile tears of joy and amazement that there is a God who loves me THAT MUCH! I don't deserve it and Heaven knows that I've done plenty to make myself UN-deserving of it. But that doesn't matter to God. All He sees is his daughter....someone he loves so much that He sent His only Son to die for me. (That concept amazes me in and of itself. I certainly don't love anyone enough to willingly send one of my kids to die for them. But that's a whole new blog. I digress.) Anyway, enjoy the skit. And have a blessed day. <3

*GAG*

If you have a weak stomach, or have just eaten, or are simply not in the mood to be grossed out, there is a little red button on the top right of your screen with a white X in it. Click it.

Tonight, Shannon and I decided to steal a couple of minutes sitting together on the couch. The boys were happily playing in Ryger's bedroom (a normal activity in this house) so we were good....we thought.

After about 5 minutes of silence, I decided to go check on them. (Every mom knows that silence=not good unless the kids are asleep.)

In this case, things were definitely not good.
Ryger, being the potty trained boy that he is, pooped in the potty.
Braylen, being the curious, I'm-going-to-get-into-everything-that's-less-than-2-feet-from-the-floor 8 month old boy that he is, decided to play in it.

*gag*

I called for Shannon, handed Braylen to him with strict instructions to not let him put his hands in his mouth. (Yes, I figured it was already too late for this precaution and judging by the smears on his cheek....ew. Moving on.) His hands were clutching little brown chunks and his long sleeved tee shirt was soaked up to his elbows.

*gag*

I started cleaning up the floor, and emptying the potty while Shannon stripped Braylen down to his diaper. Then, I gave the little stinker (no pun intended...okay, it totally was intended...) a bath, in which he sat and splashed and chewed on plastic bath toys...and peppered me with smiles and giggles.

Rotten child.

It's hard to be mad at someone who's so cute.

So, soon he was warm and cozy in his pj's and smelling like Johnson's new Shea Butter baby wash. (That stuff is heavenly, I tell you!) I gave him extra cuddles tonight when putting him to bed.

Soooo...my lesson is learned. From now on, the babygate will be put up in the doorway between Ryger's bedroom and the bathroom.

Happy New Year!

2011!!!

There's just something about the first day of a new year.
It makes things seem so fresh and new and clean and...well, promising.
Everyone talks about making resolutions and wanting to change this
or stop doing that or start doing this....and this is all well and good.
At least until January 7th, when all these ideas go down the drain
and 98% of people go back to doing what they were doing on December 31st.

So, instead of a New Years resolution, I'm going to make goals for myself.

First, I want to lose at least 15 pounds.
I was doing well at weight-loss until the holidays hit,
so I'm pretty sure that once I get back on track things will go well in that department.
My goal is to lose the 15 lbs by the end of March.
That's 12 weeks to lose 15 lbs, totally doable.

Secondly, I want to commit myself to spending at least 30 minutes a day
in prayer and/or reading the Bible.
I have fallen away from the closeness I used to have with God
and I am desperately wanting that back.

Thirdly, and this kinda goes along with the weight loss,
but I am going to strive to fix healthier meals and
keep away from a lot of processed/fast foods.
I feel that my family deserves the best, and so I want to give them the best.
I already puree Braylen's baby food myself instead of buying the jarred baby food,
so there's a start. This goal will be healthier for the whole family,
as well as help me manage our budget since I'll be making meal plans
and won't have to buy a bunch of random stuff at the grocery,
only to find that I STILL have nothing in the house to fix for dinner!

So, here's to hoping that 2011 is a great year!