than this weather! its wonderful out here! i'm sitting on the porch with geoff. we are discussing how each of our days'have been (well, i'm typing now .... he's still talking and i'm listening. yes, i can multi-task!) there has been a steady flow of golfers passing by. there is a slight breeze and things are just good! (you'd never know i had a pretty rough day with the girls .... hee hee!).
its been a little while since i updated, so i wanted to let everyone know what is new with us. actually not much! can you say r-e-l-i-e-f after getting the results from my mammogram??!! i feel so much better to have that behind me!
easter was GREAT!! we had out-of-town family in for the weekend. geoff's sister and brother-in-law came in late friday night and stayed until sunday. we always enjoy their visits and this time was no different! we had an easter lunch saturday with them complete with honeybaked ham, great sides and amazing desserts - homemade cheesecake and lamby the cake. joyce made lamby and brought him with. i'm sad to say he did not endure the 6 hour car ride! his head kind of detached from the rest of his body, but, no worries! we reassembled him and all was good! the girls never knew the difference. geoff's dad and our niece and her fiance came up too. it was such a good time. sunday we woke to the goodies the easter bunny brought: a peter pan movie, easter bunny themed potato heads, the easter bunny obviously raided the $1 section at target because there was a lot of that, and then some candy .....jelly bean filled eggs, cadbury eggs, reeses bunnies, etc. nana and z.o. brought a plate, bowl, and cup set from pottery barn kids (so cute!), and an adorable little jumper! after soaking in all that we had going on sunday morning, it was off to church with my sister, jeff and chandler and my dad came too. the service was amazing ... as always! our pastor is great! ...... our church as a whole is great. i know it is a choice to go to church there, but i feel SO blessed to have a church home such as the one we have. after church, we headed to my aunt and uncles house for lunch. i thought lunch was going to be a ham and few sides. ha! i get there to find lunch is not only a ham that was soooo good, but homemade chicken and dressing (oh sooooooooooooooo good! its a family recipe that has been handed down!), all kind of wonderful sides, a few desserts, sweet tea, and the list goes on. it was just shy of being christmas dinner, which is always HUGE. it was truly that good! we had an easter egg hunt after eating and that was probably my favorite part of the day. the girls had such a good time. it was so neat watching the kids hunt for easter eggs. i grew up in a pretty large family (my mom's side). while my mom was an only child, she had many cousins. well, they have kids and their kids have had kids now, my sister and i included obviously. so, we have a whole new generation coming along that enjoy the things that we all used to enjoy growing up as kids. i felt as if i were going back in time and watching my generation of cousins on sunday. it was pretty neat! i LOVE spending time with my family! although we don't see each other as often as i'd like (i'd like to see everyone every week, and actually, we used to), we are still very close!
that wraps up our easter weekend in a nutshell. it was grand! i look forward to each holiday as the girls are more and more fun each time one rolls around.
i hope each of you had a great easter as well. it was most importantly a time to reflect back on what christ did for us. it truly is why we are able to live and celebrate today! to god be the glory!!!!
blessings to each of you! i hope you are having a great week!
julie
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
mammogram results :o)
(from friday ....)
PRAISE THE LORD FOR GOOD RESULTS!!
PRAISE THE LORD FOR GOOD RESULTS!!
THANK YOU JESUS!
everything came back NORMAL!!!
i know i've said it so many times in the last 2 weeks, but i'm going to say it again ..... i am so thankful for each and everyone of you. thank you for lifting me up in prayer. thank you for the phone calls and messages this morning. i am truly blessed with amazing family and friends!
as i drove to the hospital this morning, i was literally overcome with emotion. as i drive down 575, crying like no other, i say to myself, "it is so awesome to have the support i have had, and to have the encouragement and surrounding of prayer that has carried me these last two weeks". i was singing and thanking God for all of you. it is nothing i want to have to go through again, but all of you have definitely made it a lot easier to "handle". i pray blessings over each and everyone of you. may the lord bless you and keep you. may he make his face to SHINE upon you!
i had so many that wanted to know the results of my day, so i figured an email would be the best way to get the news to everyone quickly. plus, i'm emotionally SPENT. i'm going to try and catch a little bit of a nap while the girls are down.
i love you with all of my heart!
julie
(in keeping with breast cancer awareness, i figured i'd post in pink!)
everything came back NORMAL!!!
i know i've said it so many times in the last 2 weeks, but i'm going to say it again ..... i am so thankful for each and everyone of you. thank you for lifting me up in prayer. thank you for the phone calls and messages this morning. i am truly blessed with amazing family and friends!
as i drove to the hospital this morning, i was literally overcome with emotion. as i drive down 575, crying like no other, i say to myself, "it is so awesome to have the support i have had, and to have the encouragement and surrounding of prayer that has carried me these last two weeks". i was singing and thanking God for all of you. it is nothing i want to have to go through again, but all of you have definitely made it a lot easier to "handle". i pray blessings over each and everyone of you. may the lord bless you and keep you. may he make his face to SHINE upon you!
i had so many that wanted to know the results of my day, so i figured an email would be the best way to get the news to everyone quickly. plus, i'm emotionally SPENT. i'm going to try and catch a little bit of a nap while the girls are down.
i love you with all of my heart!
julie
Thursday, March 13, 2008
mammogram tomorrow
i'm still so humbled by all the phone calls, emails, and in-person conversations i have had/received from all of yall! if i haven't expressed it enough yet ..... thank you! it truly does mean so much!
i've actually had a great week as far as not letting this get to me. i've continued to surround myself with upbeat things .... in all areas of my life. no negativity allowed here! i heard something on the radio the other day that was great, not only in this instance, but for life in general ..... life is all about attitude. its not what happens to you in life that matters, its what you do with all those "things" that happen to you that matters. well, i have chosen to make this a positive thing. finding a lump, no doubt, scared me to death. and i don't in anyway discount the severity of it because of the history of breast cancer in my family. but, i'm not going to let that "rule" me and my everyday thoughts. i have a real feeling of peace about the whole situation. i truly do.
i do ask for your prayers as i will be going in for my mammogram tomorrow. this time tomorrow i will be getting smooshed and smashed in every way possible. i can imagine as i sit waiting to go back for the mam tomorrow i will get a little nervous, so remember me at 7:45 in the morning and lift up a little prayer for peace and of course GOOD RESULTS. i appreciate all of you standing in the gap with me. this has definitely added a new chapter to my testimony, which was already good and interesting! and if that's all i can say about it at the end of the day tomorrow ..... then i'll take that ALL DAY LONG!
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as i read your word this morning, i'm reminded you are a God of promises (1 kings 8), and i thank you for that. when man makes promises, they are often broken .... but not you! to be in relationship with the ultimate promise keeper ... there's nothing better! i can't humbly thank you enough for sending people down my path the past 2 weeks to minister to me. little things, comforting things that were said, emails, people i don't even know, people i do know, people who have been through something similar, people who have been through the same thing with not so good results and are fighting today - right now, people who have prayed with me, people who have even pulled their cars over on the side of the road because they felt led at that very moment to pray with me, the little testimonial book about a breast cancer survivor that goes to our church that i "just so happened" to pick up at church sunday. whatever the case may be, a lot of people have ministered to me since finding this lump. its been a great experience; an eye opening experience. and for whatever reason you were trying to get my attention, you've got it. i pray for everyone reading this blog. may my experience minister to them in some way, some form. thank you for choosing me. in your precious name....
i've actually had a great week as far as not letting this get to me. i've continued to surround myself with upbeat things .... in all areas of my life. no negativity allowed here! i heard something on the radio the other day that was great, not only in this instance, but for life in general ..... life is all about attitude. its not what happens to you in life that matters, its what you do with all those "things" that happen to you that matters. well, i have chosen to make this a positive thing. finding a lump, no doubt, scared me to death. and i don't in anyway discount the severity of it because of the history of breast cancer in my family. but, i'm not going to let that "rule" me and my everyday thoughts. i have a real feeling of peace about the whole situation. i truly do.
i do ask for your prayers as i will be going in for my mammogram tomorrow. this time tomorrow i will be getting smooshed and smashed in every way possible. i can imagine as i sit waiting to go back for the mam tomorrow i will get a little nervous, so remember me at 7:45 in the morning and lift up a little prayer for peace and of course GOOD RESULTS. i appreciate all of you standing in the gap with me. this has definitely added a new chapter to my testimony, which was already good and interesting! and if that's all i can say about it at the end of the day tomorrow ..... then i'll take that ALL DAY LONG!
-------------
as i read your word this morning, i'm reminded you are a God of promises (1 kings 8), and i thank you for that. when man makes promises, they are often broken .... but not you! to be in relationship with the ultimate promise keeper ... there's nothing better! i can't humbly thank you enough for sending people down my path the past 2 weeks to minister to me. little things, comforting things that were said, emails, people i don't even know, people i do know, people who have been through something similar, people who have been through the same thing with not so good results and are fighting today - right now, people who have prayed with me, people who have even pulled their cars over on the side of the road because they felt led at that very moment to pray with me, the little testimonial book about a breast cancer survivor that goes to our church that i "just so happened" to pick up at church sunday. whatever the case may be, a lot of people have ministered to me since finding this lump. its been a great experience; an eye opening experience. and for whatever reason you were trying to get my attention, you've got it. i pray for everyone reading this blog. may my experience minister to them in some way, some form. thank you for choosing me. in your precious name....
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
drained
first, i want to thank everyone for your prayers, emails, phone calls, etc. it means SO much to be loved by all of you! i could truly feel your prayers throughout the day. i surrounded myself with prayer, praise and worship music, and scriptures of promise up until the minute i walked in the door at the doctors office and it definitely helped me to keep a positive attitude about this little bump in the road.
my doctor did an examination himself and did feel the area of suspicion that i had felt on friday. he also felt another area, same breast on the opposite side, closer to my armpit. he DOES NOT feel either lumps are abnormal - he feels both are normal, healthy breast tissue. PRAISE THE LORD!!! he did say, however, anytime you feel anything out of the ordinary, and with having a family history of breast cancer, it definitely doesn't need to be ignored. he ordered a mammogram and an ultrasound of my left breast. my mammogram is scheduled for next friday. after all i've been through with him, he said a clean bill of health and peace of mind are far more important to him than chancing it (he's the doctor who had to make the decision to do my emergency hysterectomy).
please continue to be in prayer for us this weekend and next week. as i said above, it truly makes a difference - i can feel it!
i'm mentally, physically, and emotionally DRAINED. i'm so glad today is over. i must get some sleep now.
good night friends and family,
love,
julie
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Lord i lift your name on high! you are so true and so real and i am thankful to have witnessed that first hand today. i praise you for good reports. i thank you for this "bump in the road" as it has done nothing but allow me to grow closer to you. my peace, my comforter, my all in all .... you are simply amazing! "i can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" ..... and i thank you for giving me strength today!
my doctor did an examination himself and did feel the area of suspicion that i had felt on friday. he also felt another area, same breast on the opposite side, closer to my armpit. he DOES NOT feel either lumps are abnormal - he feels both are normal, healthy breast tissue. PRAISE THE LORD!!! he did say, however, anytime you feel anything out of the ordinary, and with having a family history of breast cancer, it definitely doesn't need to be ignored. he ordered a mammogram and an ultrasound of my left breast. my mammogram is scheduled for next friday. after all i've been through with him, he said a clean bill of health and peace of mind are far more important to him than chancing it (he's the doctor who had to make the decision to do my emergency hysterectomy).
please continue to be in prayer for us this weekend and next week. as i said above, it truly makes a difference - i can feel it!
i'm mentally, physically, and emotionally DRAINED. i'm so glad today is over. i must get some sleep now.
good night friends and family,
love,
julie
----------------
Lord i lift your name on high! you are so true and so real and i am thankful to have witnessed that first hand today. i praise you for good reports. i thank you for this "bump in the road" as it has done nothing but allow me to grow closer to you. my peace, my comforter, my all in all .... you are simply amazing! "i can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" ..... and i thank you for giving me strength today!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
prayers please ....
psalm 55 - cast your cares upon the Lord
and he will sustain you ....
in doing a self breast exam friday, i felt something that doesn't feel quite right. i have an appointment scheduled tomorrow with my ob/gyn so they can do an evaluation themselves. if they feel its necessary, they'll write an order for a mammogram then.
please pray for not only good results on wednesday, but also for God to pour his peace over geoff and myself.
i'll update after my appointment.
thank you for your prayers,
love and hugs to everyone,
julie :o)
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father, i love you and i glorify your name. in the good times i'm going to praise you. in times of sorrow, i'm going to praise you. in times of need, i'm going to praise you. in times of uncertainty, i'm going to praise you. you have every hair on my head numbered and you knew this day was coming to fruition before i was ever brought into this world. as you already know the outcome of my appointment tomorrow, i ask that you act as the extended hand of my doctor giving him your wisdom during my examination.... let your mind be his mind, let your decisions be his decisions. i thank you for loving me and loving my family. i ask that you give geoff a peace that passes all understanding and give me that same peace as well. you are God and above you there is no other! Lord, we cast our cares upon you. we know you will sustain us. guide us and keep us safe. in your precious name.....
and he will sustain you ....
in doing a self breast exam friday, i felt something that doesn't feel quite right. i have an appointment scheduled tomorrow with my ob/gyn so they can do an evaluation themselves. if they feel its necessary, they'll write an order for a mammogram then.
please pray for not only good results on wednesday, but also for God to pour his peace over geoff and myself.
i'll update after my appointment.
thank you for your prayers,
love and hugs to everyone,
julie :o)
------------------------
father, i love you and i glorify your name. in the good times i'm going to praise you. in times of sorrow, i'm going to praise you. in times of need, i'm going to praise you. in times of uncertainty, i'm going to praise you. you have every hair on my head numbered and you knew this day was coming to fruition before i was ever brought into this world. as you already know the outcome of my appointment tomorrow, i ask that you act as the extended hand of my doctor giving him your wisdom during my examination.... let your mind be his mind, let your decisions be his decisions. i thank you for loving me and loving my family. i ask that you give geoff a peace that passes all understanding and give me that same peace as well. you are God and above you there is no other! Lord, we cast our cares upon you. we know you will sustain us. guide us and keep us safe. in your precious name.....
Sunday, March 2, 2008
it's a BEAUTIFUL day! :o)
you know .... that u2 song .... yeah, that one! i wish i had it blaring in the background as you read this! it truly is a beautiful day!! light breeze, sunny blue sky with not a cloud in sight, (toilet paper draping from the weeping willow in our front yard, which is starting to show signs of spring growth ..... um, yeah! i'll get to that in a minute!) anyway, its basically a picture perfect day! we've inhaled lots of fresh air today! and obviously pollen too because i feel covered in pollen. isn't it a little early for the showers of yellow?
so, back to the weeping willow with tp .... around midnight last night i woke to the sound of what i thought, no, actually knew, was our doorbell. frantic, i shake geoff and say, "honey! honey! wake up! someone just rang our doorbell!" he replies, " are you sure?" i say, "yes. positive". he looks at me, i look at him (like a frozen eskimo because i'm so scared) and he obviously thinks not too much about it and dozes off to sleep. i shake him again and ask him, "what should we do?" to which he replies, "do you want me to go down there?" most people would probably say yes. i said no! i didn't want someone to get him. remember, one of my "random" things was i get spooked easily. well, in my defense, i was told of a breaking and entering incident that happened one neighborhood over just a few weeks ago that has left me thinking, since hearing about it, "that was a little too close to home"! the incident i'm speaking of started the same way, with a ring of the doorbell, then progressed to an all out beating on the door, to breaking the glass on the door to reaching in and unlocking the door to entering the house, and on and on and on. without going into all the details, it was a pretty scary situation - one that i'd never, ever, ever care to be a part of. so with that being said, i'm thinking, " oh no! we are those people. we're about to go through everything they went through that night." one other thing i mentioned on my list was that i over analyze things, and of course, last night was no different. i will save the details of my analysis, otherwise yall might think i'm some crazy person! geoff wasn't too bothered (until he told me this morning he was a "little" spooked by the whole thing too), but i was still freaking out. i always sleep with a fan on for noise - well, i turned that off - i wanted to be able to hear everything. i kept the tv on (muted), and i slept with the lamp on that's on my nightstand....my thought pattern being the more light, the better. i woke up off and on from 1:30am (when i finally fell asleep) until 4:45 when geoff got up to go downstairs. i guess it finally got the best of him (lol!) i heard the door open and close and then open back up about 10 minutes later. he comes upstairs with the verdict .....we've been ROLLED!! ....... WHAT?!! are you kidding me? who have we ticked off? by all means we've got 2 year olds .... our kids aren't even old enough to make someone mad or be on the receiving end of a prank! and i don't think i've made anyone mad. geoff never has a cross word to say to anyone....surely he hasn't ticked anybody off. basically we chalked it up to a prank - or that someone got the "wrong house" - yeah right! i think it was a just a prank. but who the heck rings the doorbell and runs? i never did. i was the biggest chicken anyway and the 2 times i did go rolling - once was with my youth pastor as a joke on one of his friends and the other was with my next door neighbors' dad to roll the youth pastor and get him back. it was all in good fun, i was only in 4th or 5th grade, barely old enough to know better. i guess since i was with the youth pastor i felt "safe" and the other time, since i was with my neighbor, i knew he would protect me too. back to the story though, geoff attempted to get down all the toilet paper that he could. it is still a total eye sore though and a little bit embarrassing for whatever reason. everyone that drives by looks at it. and since it has been so nice out today, me and the girls have spent a lot of time out there and everyone who walks by makes a comment. the kids, or whoever it was, must have nerves of steel. we live right off the main street in our neighborhood, and just out of fear that someone would drive by right in the middle of tossing the 25th roll of TP (yes, they got us pretty good!), i can't believe they got us. oh well, another one for the story books as the girls have gotten a real BIG kick out of it ....."look, mommy. toil paper!" i've probably heard that no less than 500 times today between the 2 of them. its all good! not sure what kind of good it does for the FOR~SALE sign in the yard. i guess it doesn't matter to people too much ..... several have stopped to pick up flyer's today. yeah! :o)
on to the next story, geoff is out riding today. yes, since he totally took care of me and the girls friday (i had a horrible stomach virus), i gave him a pass (hee hee!) to get out of the house today. he went and picked up my dads harley and he is out riding with tray. of course, this is still somewhat new to me (and him), so i insist that he calls me when he gets to each destination. i'm such the motherly type, i know. it gives me peace of mind, and he's fine with it. whenever he rides dad's harley, that will more than likely be my request until who knows when! i don't particularly like motorcycles just for the record! geoff does though, so i guess i can "allow" it every now and then - lol! when he comes to me wanting his own, now that will be another story :o)
well, the girls are down for a nap and i must get caught up on some laundry. being out of commission on friday put me waaaaay behind!
i hope each of you are enjoying this beautiful day too! how can you not, right?!
----------------
today has been another day about family, and i thank you, Father, for the precious time you have given me with my girls and my husband....my family. i am so glad to be your child, what a privilege to be a part of your family. i pray that i care for and meet the needs of my family a tenth of the way you care for me and meet my needs. i thank you that even though i might not always seek you, you always seek me. you never leave me or forsake me! i pray blessings of health and happiness over each person reading this. may they find rest and comfort in you this week. amen!
so, back to the weeping willow with tp .... around midnight last night i woke to the sound of what i thought, no, actually knew, was our doorbell. frantic, i shake geoff and say, "honey! honey! wake up! someone just rang our doorbell!" he replies, " are you sure?" i say, "yes. positive". he looks at me, i look at him (like a frozen eskimo because i'm so scared) and he obviously thinks not too much about it and dozes off to sleep. i shake him again and ask him, "what should we do?" to which he replies, "do you want me to go down there?" most people would probably say yes. i said no! i didn't want someone to get him. remember, one of my "random" things was i get spooked easily. well, in my defense, i was told of a breaking and entering incident that happened one neighborhood over just a few weeks ago that has left me thinking, since hearing about it, "that was a little too close to home"! the incident i'm speaking of started the same way, with a ring of the doorbell, then progressed to an all out beating on the door, to breaking the glass on the door to reaching in and unlocking the door to entering the house, and on and on and on. without going into all the details, it was a pretty scary situation - one that i'd never, ever, ever care to be a part of. so with that being said, i'm thinking, " oh no! we are those people. we're about to go through everything they went through that night." one other thing i mentioned on my list was that i over analyze things, and of course, last night was no different. i will save the details of my analysis, otherwise yall might think i'm some crazy person! geoff wasn't too bothered (until he told me this morning he was a "little" spooked by the whole thing too), but i was still freaking out. i always sleep with a fan on for noise - well, i turned that off - i wanted to be able to hear everything. i kept the tv on (muted), and i slept with the lamp on that's on my nightstand....my thought pattern being the more light, the better. i woke up off and on from 1:30am (when i finally fell asleep) until 4:45 when geoff got up to go downstairs. i guess it finally got the best of him (lol!) i heard the door open and close and then open back up about 10 minutes later. he comes upstairs with the verdict .....we've been ROLLED!! ....... WHAT?!! are you kidding me? who have we ticked off? by all means we've got 2 year olds .... our kids aren't even old enough to make someone mad or be on the receiving end of a prank! and i don't think i've made anyone mad. geoff never has a cross word to say to anyone....surely he hasn't ticked anybody off. basically we chalked it up to a prank - or that someone got the "wrong house" - yeah right! i think it was a just a prank. but who the heck rings the doorbell and runs? i never did. i was the biggest chicken anyway and the 2 times i did go rolling - once was with my youth pastor as a joke on one of his friends and the other was with my next door neighbors' dad to roll the youth pastor and get him back. it was all in good fun, i was only in 4th or 5th grade, barely old enough to know better. i guess since i was with the youth pastor i felt "safe" and the other time, since i was with my neighbor, i knew he would protect me too. back to the story though, geoff attempted to get down all the toilet paper that he could. it is still a total eye sore though and a little bit embarrassing for whatever reason. everyone that drives by looks at it. and since it has been so nice out today, me and the girls have spent a lot of time out there and everyone who walks by makes a comment. the kids, or whoever it was, must have nerves of steel. we live right off the main street in our neighborhood, and just out of fear that someone would drive by right in the middle of tossing the 25th roll of TP (yes, they got us pretty good!), i can't believe they got us. oh well, another one for the story books as the girls have gotten a real BIG kick out of it ....."look, mommy. toil paper!" i've probably heard that no less than 500 times today between the 2 of them. its all good! not sure what kind of good it does for the FOR~SALE sign in the yard. i guess it doesn't matter to people too much ..... several have stopped to pick up flyer's today. yeah! :o)
on to the next story, geoff is out riding today. yes, since he totally took care of me and the girls friday (i had a horrible stomach virus), i gave him a pass (hee hee!) to get out of the house today. he went and picked up my dads harley and he is out riding with tray. of course, this is still somewhat new to me (and him), so i insist that he calls me when he gets to each destination. i'm such the motherly type, i know. it gives me peace of mind, and he's fine with it. whenever he rides dad's harley, that will more than likely be my request until who knows when! i don't particularly like motorcycles just for the record! geoff does though, so i guess i can "allow" it every now and then - lol! when he comes to me wanting his own, now that will be another story :o)
well, the girls are down for a nap and i must get caught up on some laundry. being out of commission on friday put me waaaaay behind!
i hope each of you are enjoying this beautiful day too! how can you not, right?!
----------------
today has been another day about family, and i thank you, Father, for the precious time you have given me with my girls and my husband....my family. i am so glad to be your child, what a privilege to be a part of your family. i pray that i care for and meet the needs of my family a tenth of the way you care for me and meet my needs. i thank you that even though i might not always seek you, you always seek me. you never leave me or forsake me! i pray blessings of health and happiness over each person reading this. may they find rest and comfort in you this week. amen!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
10 random things about me!!
so ..... i've been tagged by my sweet friend, heather. my assignment is to tell all the wonderful people who read my blog 10 random things about myself. for the first time in a loooooooong time, instead of thinking/talking about my husband or my girls, i will be thinking/talking all about me for a minute! enjoy! by the way, part of the deal is that i tag 2 more people, so at the end i will do just that. will it be YOU??!! :0) here goes nothing ........
1. i am a pack rat ..... mainly with decorating stuff (ok, ok. its not only limited to decorating stuff). for those of you who know me well and visit my home regularly, you recognize this! i can't help it and and as hard as i try to rid myself of this horrible habit, i haven't been able to yet. i guess in part, i can thank my granny! she was the same way.
2. i over ananlyze things. i'm MUCH better than i used to be. now it seems i waaaaaay over analyze things when mattie and/or grace is sick. they could have a slight fever and some way, some how, i automatically turn their sickness into a terminally ill condition. i must quit doing this before i drive myself, geoff, my sister, my mom, and anyone else who will listen, crazy!
3. i long for the day i can go on a missions trip. i think, unless the Lord has a different idea, i will probably wait atleast a couple of more years until the girls are a little older.
4. i'm well on my way to accomplishing my new years resolution of getting organized. kudos to me, right?! ha! i'm actually very excited!
5. i love to help/encourage people anonymously. it does my soul so good!
6. i 'm not a shy person whatsoever, but i absolutely do not like speaking in front of large crowds.
7. up until the age of 10 or 11 (? i think) i was a major tomboy. i lived in a relatively small neighborhood. us girls (3 of us) were way outnumbered by the boys. hence the reason i was a tomboy?
8. i'm easily spooked. i don't like to stay at home overnight by myself. as well, spiders and snakes scare the you know what out of me. as a matter of fact, every time before i put my shoes on, i shake them to make sure there isn't a spider in them.
9. i tend to get a little angry when people are driving slow in the left hand lane. actually i get a lot angry!
10. i started this blog thing a little over a year ago and honestly didn't know how well i would like it or how often i would update it. turns out i do like it, and as you can see, of late, i've really been trying hard to update it frequently. its sort of a diary for me too, so i hope i never give TMI (ha!) or offend anyone! thats never my intent!
ahhh! that was actually a little harder than i thought it would be. i'm sure when i'm not under pressure, i'll think of more randomness. if i do, i'll post it as it comes to me.
for my "tag your it", i'm going to bend the rules and choose more than 2 people. i tag my sister, laura; my best friend, bonnie; my husband, geoff; my cousin, julie hedden; and my friend christy - thats you mcnew! c. lauderdale i'd love to hear your list of random things too if you want to do this as well! for those of you i just tagged, if you don't have a blog, email me your list and i'll copy and paste it on my blog. if i didn't tag you and you want to give it a whirl, go for it.
have fun making your list :0)
love to all of you this night!
julie
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
ugh!!!
you ever just have one of those days?????!!!!! i'm having one today. up until 30 minutes ago, the girls had been wonderful all day ..... in fact, i didn't have to use the no no spoon at all, which is a rare occurence around here these days! let me give you a brief outline of how our day has gone ..... only a few incidents, i know, but each one has taken up enough time to to keep me quite busy from the time their little feet hit the floor running this morning.
first of all, " the storm" wakes me up in somewhat of a panic early this morning. i watch the news/weather pretty regularly. totally missed this forcast i guess. i lay in bed listening to the wind howling, at what seemed to be 100 mph, in fear that our roof was going to blow right off the top of our house or that a tree was going to come toppling down on us at any given moment. neither of those are good thoughts when you have babies one room over, or when you have your house on the market! we weathered the storm and an hour and a half later, the girls got up in a great mood! yeah for me! since the weather is yucky, we obviously won't be getting out today, so a good mood is imperative on days like today. otherwise, i'm in rare form/have cabin fever come noon time! so, we have breakfast, then we play with puzzles, our babies ("baby cohen" as they call them now! :0), etc. suddenly we feel the living room upstairs isn't good enough .... we want to go downstairs. ok, fine with me. afterall, it is a change of scenery, and that is good for me too once in a while! so downstairs we go. we're playing, dancing, singing, having a grand ole time when i decide to go up and get them a snack. i go bouncing up the stairs (excited that they're still in a good mood and its now 10am), get to the top, turn the handle only to find that the DOOR IS LOCKED!! oh no!! the door has an actual lock that requires a key - theres no credit card or license thats going to get this baby unlocked! thank goodness i had brought a phone down. i called geoff and again, thank goodness, he was relatively close to the house. he came home and freed us! so that never happens again, he hung a key beside the door so that we have one just incase!
soon enough its time for lunch, which today, was PB &J complete with dorritos. don't know why i do that to myself (the dorritos). you can't cheat a child out of dorritos, but man they always end up covered in sticky cheesy dorrito seasoning from head to toe! complete with orange stained fingers, we get cleaned up and play some more. i wanted to call bonnie to see how her night was last night, so i thought, perfect. they're bellies are full, they're content. i'll call her now. wouldn't you know as soon as i get on the phone they start their screaming, fighting, look at me, all out fits. mind you, they were being fine up until i got on the phone. i go upstairs for just a minute to grab a pair of panties for grace (she had an "as'dent") to come back down and find them soaking wet!!! oh, was i mad! they had gotten josie's water bowl and attempted to get her some more water - shes not even here today - shes with geoff - they evidently thought she needed some water though. the sink is way out of their reach, and the bowl was FULL of water already, so water ended up ALL over the floor, ALL over them. did i happen to mention i was pretty upset???!!!! so, one roll of paper towels later and a change of clothes for the 2 of them, we're back in business. little did they know this time, business is a nap! its beddy bye time! time for a little shut eye! see ya in a couple of hours (hopefully!) p.s. as i sit here typing this, nearly one hour after putting them down, they're still up there playing, talking, doing God knows what else! i'm scared to find out!
so, thats my day so far in a nutshell. just a day in the life of a mom with 2 two year olds! isn't life grand! actually it is! and as i've had a minute to sit here and unwind, i remind myself of this ...... from psalm 127 ... "children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him."
thank you, Lord for my children! even though they do make me angry at times, i love them with every ounce of my being and will care for them as you have entrusted me to do!
so, i have to ask, whats going on in your life today?? whatever it might be, i hope you are having a FABULOUS tuesday as well! :0)
love to all!
julie
first of all, " the storm" wakes me up in somewhat of a panic early this morning. i watch the news/weather pretty regularly. totally missed this forcast i guess. i lay in bed listening to the wind howling, at what seemed to be 100 mph, in fear that our roof was going to blow right off the top of our house or that a tree was going to come toppling down on us at any given moment. neither of those are good thoughts when you have babies one room over, or when you have your house on the market! we weathered the storm and an hour and a half later, the girls got up in a great mood! yeah for me! since the weather is yucky, we obviously won't be getting out today, so a good mood is imperative on days like today. otherwise, i'm in rare form/have cabin fever come noon time! so, we have breakfast, then we play with puzzles, our babies ("baby cohen" as they call them now! :0), etc. suddenly we feel the living room upstairs isn't good enough .... we want to go downstairs. ok, fine with me. afterall, it is a change of scenery, and that is good for me too once in a while! so downstairs we go. we're playing, dancing, singing, having a grand ole time when i decide to go up and get them a snack. i go bouncing up the stairs (excited that they're still in a good mood and its now 10am), get to the top, turn the handle only to find that the DOOR IS LOCKED!! oh no!! the door has an actual lock that requires a key - theres no credit card or license thats going to get this baby unlocked! thank goodness i had brought a phone down. i called geoff and again, thank goodness, he was relatively close to the house. he came home and freed us! so that never happens again, he hung a key beside the door so that we have one just incase!
soon enough its time for lunch, which today, was PB &J complete with dorritos. don't know why i do that to myself (the dorritos). you can't cheat a child out of dorritos, but man they always end up covered in sticky cheesy dorrito seasoning from head to toe! complete with orange stained fingers, we get cleaned up and play some more. i wanted to call bonnie to see how her night was last night, so i thought, perfect. they're bellies are full, they're content. i'll call her now. wouldn't you know as soon as i get on the phone they start their screaming, fighting, look at me, all out fits. mind you, they were being fine up until i got on the phone. i go upstairs for just a minute to grab a pair of panties for grace (she had an "as'dent") to come back down and find them soaking wet!!! oh, was i mad! they had gotten josie's water bowl and attempted to get her some more water - shes not even here today - shes with geoff - they evidently thought she needed some water though. the sink is way out of their reach, and the bowl was FULL of water already, so water ended up ALL over the floor, ALL over them. did i happen to mention i was pretty upset???!!!! so, one roll of paper towels later and a change of clothes for the 2 of them, we're back in business. little did they know this time, business is a nap! its beddy bye time! time for a little shut eye! see ya in a couple of hours (hopefully!) p.s. as i sit here typing this, nearly one hour after putting them down, they're still up there playing, talking, doing God knows what else! i'm scared to find out!
so, thats my day so far in a nutshell. just a day in the life of a mom with 2 two year olds! isn't life grand! actually it is! and as i've had a minute to sit here and unwind, i remind myself of this ...... from psalm 127 ... "children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him."
thank you, Lord for my children! even though they do make me angry at times, i love them with every ounce of my being and will care for them as you have entrusted me to do!
so, i have to ask, whats going on in your life today?? whatever it might be, i hope you are having a FABULOUS tuesday as well! :0)
love to all!
julie
Sunday, February 24, 2008
sunday, sunday
as the weekend is winding down, i think of all the things i have to be thankful for ..... especially the gift of family! we hosted an engagement party for our niece and her fiance, matt, here at our house last night. i'm glad to say it went off without a hitch (atleast i thought so!) we probably had close to 30 people here to show their love and support of the union that will take place august 16th between carol and matt. his parents, who live in ohio, came in for the party and the evening was just complete! there wasn't much we could have done to make it better.
the highlight of the evening though came when everyone had left .... carol asked not only mattie and grace to be flower girls, but also asked me to be a bridesmaid. flattered, honored and teary eyed, i said, "of course i'll stand up for you"! ....... thank you carol! it means the world to me that you asked!
we said goodbye to everyone this morning and we have just been lounging around since. going non-stop since friday morning, it kind of feels good to still have my pj's on at noon!
--------------------------------------------------
father, thank you for the gift of family, as this weekend has been ALL about family..... from the precious child you blessed us with on friday, cohen william, to celebrating the two families that will be brought together on august 16th with carol and matt's unity. i pray blessings over them. as well, father, i pray blessings over bonnie, bo and cohen as they start life together as a family. shower them with your indescribable love! thank you ..... you are truly amazing!
the highlight of the evening though came when everyone had left .... carol asked not only mattie and grace to be flower girls, but also asked me to be a bridesmaid. flattered, honored and teary eyed, i said, "of course i'll stand up for you"! ....... thank you carol! it means the world to me that you asked!
we said goodbye to everyone this morning and we have just been lounging around since. going non-stop since friday morning, it kind of feels good to still have my pj's on at noon!
--------------------------------------------------
father, thank you for the gift of family, as this weekend has been ALL about family..... from the precious child you blessed us with on friday, cohen william, to celebrating the two families that will be brought together on august 16th with carol and matt's unity. i pray blessings over them. as well, father, i pray blessings over bonnie, bo and cohen as they start life together as a family. shower them with your indescribable love! thank you ..... you are truly amazing!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
a baby is born!!
thats right! yesterday at 1:02 pm bonnie delivered cohen william. he was 7# 2oz, 18 inches long. he is soooooooo precious! they are both doing great! she had such an awesome delivery (and pregnancy for that matter) ...... so awesome she will be the envy of every expectant mommy!
i love you bonnie! i'm so proud for you and bo!
Psalm 127:3
Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.
i love you bonnie! i'm so proud for you and bo!
Psalm 127:3
Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!
wow! how times flies. i haven't posted since november!! so much has happened since then ..... how in the world will i get everyone caught up??!! here goes .........
well, christmas was grand!! the girls really had fun this year. they had truly fallen in love with "san claus" by the end of the christmas season. in fact, they were so mesmerized by him, i just knew the trip to see santa would be a breeze, in fact, quite enjoyable. ha! think again! ends up that i procrastinated until late, not the last possible minute, but pretty close. so, with that being said, laura and i decided to go one morning - a kind of spur of the moment decision..... a.k.a. catastrophe in the making :0) we get to the mall and the line is, of course, extremely long. the worker elves came around to update us every once in a while and not too long after we started standing in line, we were told the wait was an hour to an hour and a half. oh boy! so, the waiting began! well, much to our surprise, the kids were GREAT! they honestly were. they got a little restless in the end, but overall, they were wonderful. the "sitting in santas lap" part was not so enjoyable. recall, i did say we waited in line for an hour to an hour and a half, all for what??!! all for our kiddos to act as if someone was chasing them around with a huge ax. they were absolutely terrified of "san" (aka santa). my girls wouldn't let me even think about putting them down, much less put them down and walk 5 ft away so the elves could snap a quick picture. even "san" was saying, " oh my!" i should also add that during the entire waiting period of an hour and a half, not one time did we see a child act the way ours did. i'm sure we were the butt of many jokes! good times! ....... so, for our precious daughters 3rd visit with santa, the picture is complete with mommy sitting on santas lap and mattie and grace sitting/laying on me. quite humorous! still gotta love it! its framed of course and i'm sure laura and i will have great memories of that day for years to come.
christmas was here and gone in a flash! we fought some sickness between thanksgiving and christmas, which was no fun. by christmas they were good to go and so we were able to join the arnolds family gathering late christmas eve after lunch with my family earlier in the day. this is something we started a few years back before we had the girls and i was so glad to be able to pick it back up this year. we go over after they get home from christmas eve service. despite it being late, the girls had a great time playing with nani grace. we got to visit with miss katherine - sweet little thing! she looks amazing!!! shes doing very well! and i am thanking our God for his graciousness everyday. she walks in faith knowing that this is just a season. she enjoyed the girls, and i enjoyed her enjoying he girls. shes just so sweet! :0)
next, we rang in new year and from there time has just flown by! today is february 14th - valentines day - and i can hardly believe we are already
well on our way to being a quarter of the way through this year. geoff continues to plug away at selling brick. as we all know, the housing market is pretty much horrible right now, but God has blessed us with new business leads nearly everyday! he is soooooooo good! we continue to press forward, taking one day at a time and try not to listen too much to the gloom and doom the media has to offer. we're just holding on!
we attempted potty training back in january and i'm pleased to announce that one of the 2 took to it very well! ya hoo! i took advice from my friend christy, and tackled "3 day potty training". basically you put them in big girl panties, make a HUGE deal about that, and continuously give them liquids so that they have to go potty. needless to say, i had to be just as ready to do this as them because first of all, it is/was very exhausting, and second of all, you must stay at home for THREE WHOLE DAYS!!!(unless, of course, you want to be cleaning up p p and poopy in the middle of target - no thank you!) i spent the first 2 days on my hands and knees with paper towels and a bottle of clorox anywhere .... literally, i probably spent more time on my knees cleaning up pee pee than i did doing anything else. i was warned though that it would be that way. by saturday, grace pretty much had it, while accident by accident, mattie was getting a little bit more rebelious! by monday grace was potty trained and mattie was back in diapers :0( shes obviously not ready and i've been told by many people not to push her; she'll do it in her "own time". mattie tends to do a lot of things in her own time (whatever that means! ha!) she is my bull-headed one, although i must say, grace is catching up rather quickly. so, to bring you up to date, grace is doing well. she does have an accident here and there, but overall shes doing great! mattie is still in diapers but showing more and more interest in going potty. we shall see!
other happenings include our niece, carol, getting engaged :0)!! and one of my very best friends, bonnie, expecting her sweet little baby boy any day now! can't wait to see baby cohen!
well, lets see .... i think thats it, atleast all i can think of now. its late, very late for me, and i think i'll hit the hay. i just wanted to blog and bring everyone up to speed because its been so long. i might add more tomorrow morning when i have a clear mind, but until then, good night and thanks for checking on us!
we love each and everyone of you reading this blog!
the truan's
-------------------------------------------------
my God! my God! thank you for being so constant in a day in time and market that is not so constant. thank you for loving us and meeting our every need and more. please help me to remember that you are the market. not the numbers, not the projections, not the media, but YOU! thank you for the soft reminders and the many people you have used as vessels in my life in the past couple of months. i will bless your name forevermore! i ask that you bless every single person who reads this blog as we are all in need of something. amen.
well, christmas was grand!! the girls really had fun this year. they had truly fallen in love with "san claus" by the end of the christmas season. in fact, they were so mesmerized by him, i just knew the trip to see santa would be a breeze, in fact, quite enjoyable. ha! think again! ends up that i procrastinated until late, not the last possible minute, but pretty close. so, with that being said, laura and i decided to go one morning - a kind of spur of the moment decision..... a.k.a. catastrophe in the making :0) we get to the mall and the line is, of course, extremely long. the worker elves came around to update us every once in a while and not too long after we started standing in line, we were told the wait was an hour to an hour and a half. oh boy! so, the waiting began! well, much to our surprise, the kids were GREAT! they honestly were. they got a little restless in the end, but overall, they were wonderful. the "sitting in santas lap" part was not so enjoyable. recall, i did say we waited in line for an hour to an hour and a half, all for what??!! all for our kiddos to act as if someone was chasing them around with a huge ax. they were absolutely terrified of "san" (aka santa). my girls wouldn't let me even think about putting them down, much less put them down and walk 5 ft away so the elves could snap a quick picture. even "san" was saying, " oh my!" i should also add that during the entire waiting period of an hour and a half, not one time did we see a child act the way ours did. i'm sure we were the butt of many jokes! good times! ....... so, for our precious daughters 3rd visit with santa, the picture is complete with mommy sitting on santas lap and mattie and grace sitting/laying on me. quite humorous! still gotta love it! its framed of course and i'm sure laura and i will have great memories of that day for years to come.
christmas was here and gone in a flash! we fought some sickness between thanksgiving and christmas, which was no fun. by christmas they were good to go and so we were able to join the arnolds family gathering late christmas eve after lunch with my family earlier in the day. this is something we started a few years back before we had the girls and i was so glad to be able to pick it back up this year. we go over after they get home from christmas eve service. despite it being late, the girls had a great time playing with nani grace. we got to visit with miss katherine - sweet little thing! she looks amazing!!! shes doing very well! and i am thanking our God for his graciousness everyday. she walks in faith knowing that this is just a season. she enjoyed the girls, and i enjoyed her enjoying he girls. shes just so sweet! :0)
next, we rang in new year and from there time has just flown by! today is february 14th - valentines day - and i can hardly believe we are already
well on our way to being a quarter of the way through this year. geoff continues to plug away at selling brick. as we all know, the housing market is pretty much horrible right now, but God has blessed us with new business leads nearly everyday! he is soooooooo good! we continue to press forward, taking one day at a time and try not to listen too much to the gloom and doom the media has to offer. we're just holding on!
we attempted potty training back in january and i'm pleased to announce that one of the 2 took to it very well! ya hoo! i took advice from my friend christy, and tackled "3 day potty training". basically you put them in big girl panties, make a HUGE deal about that, and continuously give them liquids so that they have to go potty. needless to say, i had to be just as ready to do this as them because first of all, it is/was very exhausting, and second of all, you must stay at home for THREE WHOLE DAYS!!!(unless, of course, you want to be cleaning up p p and poopy in the middle of target - no thank you!) i spent the first 2 days on my hands and knees with paper towels and a bottle of clorox anywhere .... literally, i probably spent more time on my knees cleaning up pee pee than i did doing anything else. i was warned though that it would be that way. by saturday, grace pretty much had it, while accident by accident, mattie was getting a little bit more rebelious! by monday grace was potty trained and mattie was back in diapers :0( shes obviously not ready and i've been told by many people not to push her; she'll do it in her "own time". mattie tends to do a lot of things in her own time (whatever that means! ha!) she is my bull-headed one, although i must say, grace is catching up rather quickly. so, to bring you up to date, grace is doing well. she does have an accident here and there, but overall shes doing great! mattie is still in diapers but showing more and more interest in going potty. we shall see!
other happenings include our niece, carol, getting engaged :0)!! and one of my very best friends, bonnie, expecting her sweet little baby boy any day now! can't wait to see baby cohen!
well, lets see .... i think thats it, atleast all i can think of now. its late, very late for me, and i think i'll hit the hay. i just wanted to blog and bring everyone up to speed because its been so long. i might add more tomorrow morning when i have a clear mind, but until then, good night and thanks for checking on us!
we love each and everyone of you reading this blog!
the truan's
-------------------------------------------------
my God! my God! thank you for being so constant in a day in time and market that is not so constant. thank you for loving us and meeting our every need and more. please help me to remember that you are the market. not the numbers, not the projections, not the media, but YOU! thank you for the soft reminders and the many people you have used as vessels in my life in the past couple of months. i will bless your name forevermore! i ask that you bless every single person who reads this blog as we are all in need of something. amen.
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