I got my ticket!

So I finally got my ticket to Germany :) I'm really really excited. To top it off I'll fly from Memphis to Minneapolis and then in Minneapolis I'll get on a plane with my sisters, my brother in law and my nephew! We'll all be flying together. I was really excited that we managed it because Ju had bought her ticket weeks ago and I didn't think there was a chance any of us could get on her flight. Plus, the girl that helped me on the phone was SO nice and she even got us all seats together. Woo hoo! You know...I didn't think to pray that I could get on my sister's flight but God worked it all out anyway. I wish my husband and kids could come...I know I'll miss them a lot, but I'm still thankful for this chance to be there for my brother and to see a country I've always wanted to see.


We had Phoenix's appointment with the asthma and allergy specialist yesterday. I guess it went pretty well. Basically they did allergy testing and found out that Phoenix isn't really allergic to anything (which is good news). He's just prone to sinus infections. The dr. think it's just because he's young that he's been getting bronchitis and stuff so much recently...and he thinks that eventually as he gets older he'll probably grow out of the asthma. Meanwhile we keep him on the nebulizer steroids twice a day...and we're also going to keep him on some zyrtec throughout the summer. It's an allergy medicine, but has actually been proven to help prevent wheezing. I've noticed for myself that if I skip a day of my zyrtec I'm wheezing by dinner time. Hopefully it will help Phoenix too.


Ok, I've got a grumpy little boy begging for food so I better get going. Hope you are all good today!

Well, I still haven't gotten my ticket to Germany. I tried to get on the same flight as my sister, Julia so that I could help with her baby (he'll be 1), but the tickets were like $3500! Ug. that's what I get for waiting so long. So now my sister Liz and I are trying to get our flights together. She's in Nebraska and I'm in Arkansas so we'll have to figure out how to work that. We're supposed to try to get the tickets tonight after she's had a chance to talk to her hubby about it. I'm SO excited about the trip, but also nervous. First of all I HATE flying, so flying over the ocean for 9+ hours doesn't sit to well with me. Plus, I've never left the kids for this long before (a week to 10 days). They'll be with their dad so it's not like it's that big of a deal...but I'm a worrier, and I'll miss them.

It's been HOT here. Yesterday I think it was 94 degrees in the shade. You know, I don't really mind the heat, but the humidity is awful. Out in Colorado it would get this hot, but it didn't feel bad at all because the air was so dry. Here, it's so humid that the air is thick. You start sweating as soon as you go outside.

Our garden is doing good! At least, I think it's doing good for a first attempt! :D Tonight for dinner I'm going to pick some of our squash and grill it. We've got corn, okra, green beans, squash, tomatoes, green peppers, onions and watermelon. I can see the green peppers and tomatoes already, although they are not ripe yet...and some squash is ready. YUM!

Had to take the pup to the vet yesterday. I thought that he had fleas real bad...his skin is raw and red and he has been scratching a lot. I've tried two different types of flea medication on him and just though it wasn't working for some reason. Turns out he has skin mites. Oh my goodness. I wish it HAD been fleas...at least that would have been easy to take care of! So now he's on antibiotics for 2 weeks, medicated baths twice a week for like 6 weeks and an oral medication for 6 to 8 weeks. Oh man...I can hardly remember to take my own medicine much less give that much to a dog! I'm going to have to write out a schedule on our calender or something to keep track of it...

For Memorial day we drove down to Brett's grandma's house (Memaw). She lives way out in the country. The kids loved it. One of Brett's aunts brought a few puppies that she was trying to wean and Zadie was in LOVE with them! She spent hours playing with those 3 pups out in the yard. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Papaw gave the kids rides through the creek (don't worry, I made him go slow)...


The kids...on top of the mountain where Brett and I got engaged.

random thoughts

My little brother is getting married. In Germany!! ...and guess what? I just got my passport this week! :D I don't actually have a ticket yet, but I'm so excited. I just wish that Brett and the kids could come too...it's so expensive though.

For the last year I've been growing my hair back out. it's not very long yet, which is discouraging. I found this old picture of me (and Zadie and Polo!!) and I think this is one of my favorite ways that I've had my hair. Maybe I can get back to this length and color in the next few years.

I've had a bad time of it this weekend. I am not sure if it's my Lyme, but I tend to think that it is. Sunday night I was so dizzy...sick to my stomach, throwing up, hot and cold sweats and had the shakes. I haven't been sick like that in awhile and it kind of freaked me out. More than anything it made me worry that my Lyme is getting bad again. I guess it stresses me out mostly because with two little kids I really can't afford to be sick all the time. I havent' felt good since then, but not as bad as Sunday...so, prayers would be appreciated.
I think we are going to start tackling potty training full time with Phoenix. Up until now I haven't really worked on it with him partly because it's been so nice outside and I don't want to stay inside just because we are potty training. Secondly...well, I really hate potty training. So I've procrastinated. But today he's in undies. I waited until he had his morning poop...I figured we'd start with the easy stuff...ha ha.
I'm also going to be turning off the computer and the tv first thing in the morning...and then after Brett gets home from work and the kids are in bed we'll plug stuff back in. I've just been feeling lately like I need to spend more time in the Word and more time with my kids. A lot of times I'm on the computer because I don't feel good and I let the kids watch cartoons for the same reason. I guess I'm going to have to start not feeling good someplace other than online :) If nothing else I can lay on the floor in the kids room and let them climb on me :)
I guess that's about it for now...nothing really exciting going on...just wanted to post a quick update.

Narnian Thoughts...

I had a thought the other day. You know how in the cartoons someone will have a significant thought pop up in a bubble above their heads? It was kind of one of those moments. Those of you that know me know that I read a lot. I don't just read a lot, but I usually read several books at the same time.

One of the series that I'm reading through right now is The Chronicles of Narnia. I was reading 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' and I started thinking about how it's always obvious to me, the reader, when someone is getting ready to do something they shouldn't.

The one instance that stands out in my mind is when Lucy is in the Magician's house...she's upstairs in a room and she is reading through his Magic Book, trying to find a spell to make the Dufflepuds visible again. She comes across a spell that will let you know what your friends think about you and even though she knows she shouldn't say it, she does. And of course she doesn't like what she hears. And of course we, as the readers, are silently shouting at her just not to do it. Don't do it Lucy. Don't hear things that are not meant for your ears because they'll only bring you grief. It will only displease Aslan.

In reality this is how sin is a lot of the time. We know we shouldn't indulge ourselves...but really, it's not THAT bad. We justify. I didn't do that 'really big thing' that I knew I shouldn't but really wanted to do. So I'll do this little thing instead. For us, the consequences of the two sins are probably really different. But in reality, they're the same in God's eyes. Aslan let Lucy suffer the consequence of her decision...He let her wonder if she had forever spoiled a friendship because she listened to something that wasn't meant for her ears. Keeping from sin is about pleasing a holy God. But it's also about consequences. By my choices and my decisions I can make my life harder or easier. I can choose to obey and follow God...who, let's face it, knows the consequences of my sin and hopes that I'll choose to follow Him instead. Or I can choose to do things my own way.

It's not always as easy to know between right and wrong. Lucy's choices seem clear to us...but to her it was more muddied. If we listen to that still small voice our choices become more clear. If we truly seek the Lord our choices become more clear. If we delve into his Word and spend time talking to him our choices become more clear.

I haven't written in awhile...sorry about that.
I had my 34th birthday on the 16th. Wow, that sounds older than it feels. I guess age is just a number :) Although I do have to admit that I'm feeling older in the way that my body aches. That comes along with my Lyme so it's hard for me to tell a lot of times if it's old injuries or Lyme that is making me hurt. The Chiropractor is my friend!

The kids are doing pretty good...Phoenix is sick right now with Bronchitis and possibly Whooping Cough. Yesterday I took him into the doctor because for the two nights before that we had basically been up all night with him coughing. He was coughing so hard that he was throwing up and even after breathing treatments and steaming him in the shower he was still having a hard time. I'm so glad I took him in...he's on an antibiotic and a really great cough medicine now. Last night was much better. He woke up at 2am...I guess after the cough meds had worn off so we gave him a breathing treatment and some more cough medicine and once he finally went back to sleep he stayed asleep the rest of the night.

It's also right in the middle of allergy season here...so all of us are sneezing and blowing our noses even with the daily allergy meds that we take.

In other new...my brother is getting married in Germany in July and I think I might be able to go! I'm working on passport stuff this week. They want me to bring Zadie too! Any tips for making a trans-Atlantic flight with a 3 year old??? I'm excited though...I've never been to Europe before and I am really looking forward to the trip. I'm nervous too though...I wish Brett was coming too.

Ok, I guess that's about it for now...I need to go get some stuff done around the house. I hear laundry calling my name, lol. Hope you all are good!

I love my life...

I really really love my life. My kids are little and a lot of days are ...well, hard. I don't always get a shower or get to eat on time. Shaving my legs is a once a week thing on a good week. Some days are filled with crying or fighting or both. Some days my kids are sick and that really makes life kind of miserable. I don't have a lot of free time. We can't be as involved in church as we want because, let's face it, having a 2 and a 3 year old means naps and early bedtimes and but plain'ol being BUSY at home. On some days I just get the clean laundry put away to realize that all the dirty hampers are full again. We don't get to travel much...and we rarely go out on dates. My house isn't often clean for more than 30 seconds at a time. And going to Barne's and Noble BY MYSELF makes me feel like a kid in a candy store.

But I wouldn't change one thing for even a second.

I treasure every moment of them being little. I was putting Phoenix down for his nap this morning and looking down into his sweet little face. Sometimes, in moments like this, waves of love and gratitude wash over me. I am so grateful that God chose me to be their mom. Yesterday Zadie picked me some red clover (you know, the raggedy little type of bouquet with all the roots hanging out below her clenched fist) and when she brought them to me she flung her arms around me and said "Mom..you're the best!" God chose me for them, and them for me... and I am so very grateful.

I bet God treasures the moments when we fling our arms around him and say "God...You're the best!!"