10 Things I Learned This Week

1. Ethan had his first BIG BOY prayer at dinner ... and mama had tears flowing down her cheeks, as usual.  He usually does his go-to "God our Father..." prayer but this time he asked to pray and did an actual prayer thanking God for his parents , and jumping on the bed.
2. I am obsessed with consignment shopping. Is it sad when I come home from getting deals and I'm ready to turn around and try to find more?
3. We are going camping in November with my family in Tennessee!  So excited to expose Eli to his first camping trip (don't worry - we're staying in a camping cabin - a step above tent camping) and take Ethan again.
4. Sometimes God calls us to do something we don't want to do and certainly do not understand.  It's so hard to put all our trust in Him sometimes.  Man it's just hard.
5. Man this fall weather has me ready to pull out the jeans and long sleeve shirts.
6. Pumpkin Spice Latte.  That's all I need to say.
7. Ethan has one awesome preschool teacher.  I LOVE Miss Mellen.
8. My mom is one traveling fool.  She is off to Russia for two weeks.
9. There is nothing more manly than an man who has a heart and deep love for Christ.  God - thank you for my husband.
10. Pray for us - we officially start our Journey Group tomorrow!

Home Sweet Home

Our awesome hubby and daddy stayed up until the wee hours of the morning making an indoor playhouse for the boys!  When they awoke the next morning they were thrilled and have played in it every day ever since.  I need to capture pictures of all the crazy things they do in there!  They certainly feel right at home.

 

Ethan's First Day of 4K Preschool

 

Today was Ethan's first day back at school, and boy was he ready to go!  He cooperated well with me in getting ready, ate all his breakfast and immediately got his bookbag on.  He had it on for litererally 30 minutes before it was time to go because he was so ready!  We got to school early but everyone was already heading on in, plus he saw two buddies so we just HAD to go in.  It was a great first day back!

 Buddies Lael and Quinn

 Signing In

 He does so well writing his name!  So proud!

Training for the Upscale Weesale

 

 

Y'all remember this commercial last Christmas? I remember when I first saw it I laughed my butt off ... but mostly because that's how I feel about getting ready for the Upscale Weesale consignment sale. When the time comes around for us consignors to log-on and begin tagging our items, I am giddy!  Literally chomping at the bit and giddy.  Ohh but then comes the washing, ironing, hanging, bagging, batterying (yes I just made that up - ya know putting new batteries in), tagging and then I'm officially done.  As in I'm DONE and ready to throw in the towel.  But then I remember all the benefits that come from all that hard work.  A check in the end .. and all this stuff out of my house. I'm motivated once again to make it to the finish line and drop off day.

 

  Then comes the BIG day - an hour before the sale begins I'm fueled up, hydrated, got my comfortable gear on, in line waiting for them to open the door and then I'm ready to roll. I mean get my roll on - my rolling laundry basket that is.  That's what I have to put all my goodies in, and two of them to boot.  Man - do I look like a dork.  But hey, it pays off . I've got a wardrobe for both my boys that they can be stylish and comfortable in, and even some other things, and I didn't pay anything close to what I would've spent if I was buying it directly from the store.

If you're wondering what in the heck the Upscale Weesale is, well it's only the BEST of the best of children's consignment sales here in the Rock Hill or York county area.  I've been to quite a few sales and this is by far my very favorite.  I'm so lucky it's right here in my hometown!  A few years ago when I first discovered consignment sales I literally went to all the ones in the area including as far as Huntersville, NC and Weddingon, NC.  As the seasons came, I started to narrow down which ones I spent my time driving to and I finally just narrowed it down to one.  The Upscale Weesale!  It is the most organized, has the best quality and selections, has a friendly staff, has the easiest and quickest check-out and offers incentives to those who volunteer.  Moi!  It truly is a pleasure to shop at and I can't wait for tomorrow to come!

 

Disney Update

We have officially booked our Disney trip!  Yay!  After what seemed like weeks and weeks of planning, questions, advice, pricing and researching this is what we've come up with so far ...

We're staying at the Art of Animation in a Cars Themed Family Suite.  The boys are going to LOVE what they've done with the place!  We've watched every video on disneyparks.com regarding the resort and we just fell in love.  We were back and forth with staying at the Camp Wilderness Campground in a cabin but we finally landed on this and I'm so glad we did!

 

 

We've worked out an itinerary of which days we are going to which parks.  We've made reservations for dining, including some with characters such as Winnie the Pooh at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom, Chef Mickey and all his buddies at Contemporary Resort and all the Disney Jr. characters at Hollywood Studios.  I think the boys are certainly going to get a kick out of eating with these guys.  We even made a reservation for me and Chris.  My choice was Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom ...

I am SO beyond excited about this!  Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney classic movie and I can't wait to feel like I'm Belle in the ballroom!   Luckily I got online and made a reservation just in time, although our reservation time is 4:35 for dinner!  I got back online to recheck if there were any later times and they are completely booked ... THE ENTIRE WEEK!  Whew!  So thankful I got this!  Chris choose a Hawaiian luau themed dinner called Ohana at the Polynesian Resort...

We are so excited and January cannot come soon enough. I've got to cool it with the Disney talk however because Ethan is now talking about it non-stop.  It's supposed to be a birthday present so shhhhh if he asks you about Disney. 

 

 

10 Things I Learned This Week

1. The only reason I would want anything to do with the medical field is being able to wear scrubs.  They look really comfortable! Ya know - it's not about helping people.  It's about looking cute.  lol
2. The West Nile virus is making me totally scared!  I don't even want to go outside.
3. In about two weeks our family is going to be in serious overload.
4. Your mother will tell you the Gods honest truth...and its not pretty.
5. Weesale is in 5 days!!!!
6. Listening to Christian songs with Ethan is so cool.  He was actually picking out songs he wanted to download and knew them and was singing along.  It certainly pays off to listen to 91.9 in the car everyday!
7. Dollar Generals are built in the middle of nowhere.  Why is that? 
8. Ethan starts school on 6 days.  Thank God.  One restless boy = one anxious mommy.
9. Two sleeping boys on a road trip makes for a peaceful and relaxing drive.
10. Sure is good pulling into my driveway.  That never grows old.

**+

One Smart Cookie

I have to brag on my little Eli just a little.  While giving him a bath tonight he got to playing with these plastic alphabet letter bath toys that you can stick on the side of the tub.  They're great for learning ABC's or how to spell.  Well, of course Eli can't do that quite yet but he certainly has his favorite letter picked out - O.  In the entire set there is probably four O's, along with letters that look similar like D or Q.  He searched the entire tub for all the O's and had them neatly stacked in his hand.  In watching him and figuring out what he was doing I was curious to see what he was going to do next. Then a Q floated by and I was sure he was going to pick it up and stack it up. He picked up the Q, took a long hard look at it, back at the O's in his stack then tossed it aside. Same thing with the D or any other letter for that matter.  Once I figured out what he was doing, I was so excited for him!  He's so smart!  Coincidence ... I think not!

Tap, Tap, Tap

Do you ever feel like there's a tap on your shoulder from God and you just keep resisting, when you know you should really just listen and do what He says?  For the past few months or so Chris and I have been wondering where God is trying to lead us by moving us into this new neighborhood, and more so, within our church.  Our Journey Group leaders, the fantastic Andrew and Kathleen Cope, have been throwing hints for quite some time about us starting our own group.  Well, of course I'm thinking, NO WAY JOSE!  I'm just not ready spiritually.  The thought of leading a group when I myself don't have all the answers scares the crap out of me.  Here I am thinking, I can't do this.  I'm not a leader.  I'm not brave enough.  But soon I realized it's not about me ... God has other plans.  God makes all things possible.  And he reminds me of that constantly with messages, worship and especially with the song we sang yesterday morning at church. 

You are always with us.  Gracious to forgive us.

By your power we've been set free.

Lord we stand amazed in your presence.

Astounded by your mercy and love.

Our hands are lifted high in surrender.

Your grace for me is always enough.

There is no one higher than our God.

There is no one greater than you.

Let my life forever praise the glory of your name.

There is no one higher than you.



Listen to it here:
http://northpointmusic.org/no-one-higher/

It's phenomenal.  If it doesn't move you, well, I don't know what will. 
So last night, we officially started the JG training.  So it's on like Donkey Kong now.  We will continue to pray about how God will use us to move, both ourselves and others, and make disciples.  I'm actually looking forward to how God will use leading a group to help US grow as well.  We are excited, scared and overwhelmed at the amount of support we've received so far.  And we've already gotten names of at least two or three couples to boot!

To further encourage me today I read this from a friend who posted this on her facebook and it rings true for me today.

"May today there be peace within; may you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.  May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.  May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.  May you be content with yourself just the way you are.  Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.  It is there for each and every one of us."
- Mother Theresa

 

Amen.

10 Things I Learned This Week

1. I love the look, feel and smell of a clean wood floor!
2. Keeping that floor clean is a battle I'll constantly be fighting.
3. Watching airplanes take off and land is now a favorite pastime of mine.
4. I love love love seeing someone on fire for God. 
5. Nothing like an amazing song to move your spirit and make you one hot mess - listen to No One Higher and see if God doesn't stir something inside you.  http://northpointmusic.org/no-one-higher/
6. Pray for Chris this week.  He has a knee scope on Friday ... while under anesthesia. And I'll be nursing him back to health this weekend.
7. I love my hubbys heart.  There is nothing more attractive than a man who has a heart for loving God and others. 
8. Being off from the gym for 4 weeks hurts. 
9. I am enjoying the first signs of fall on some of the trees in the backyard!!!
10. Going to bed at 8:30 makes you feel old, but you sure do feel better the next day.

Gone Baby Gone ...

Here are more pictures of the backyard and tree that was removed.  Chris and his dad hauled off all the wood from the demolished fence and old doghouse this morning.  You can see how it opens up the space and now we have to actually decide what is going to go there. But it's getting there!

Date Night With Ethan - Carowinds Style

This summer we've focused on trying to have regular date nights with Ethan to be able to spend time with him and just him.  In June we took him to dinner and a movie - Madagascar 3 and Sonic (his choice even though we didn't eat because we ate so much popcorn at the movies).  In July we were supposed to go to a Charlotte Knights game but mama and dada got the stomach flu.  :(  So this month we went big and went to Carowinds!  Every time we drive past Carowinds all he talked about was wanting to ride the roller coasters so now was his chance!

At the gate we had to get a measurement of how tall he is now.  Wow how he's grown!  44 1/2" tall!

Of course we had to get a picture on the NC/SC border.

As soon as we got to Planet Snoopy he was all about meeting the characters.  Ohhh man we're in for it whenever we go to Disney.  I have a feeling we'll just be clicky clicky with the camera.  He was bummed that Snoopy wasn't around today.  I mean, how do you have Charlie Brown and Woodstock but no Snoopy, and it's Planet Snoopy.  Bummer.

Then it was off to ride!

 Scared to ride the Nighthawk!  :)

Then we headed over to Whitewater Falls to check out the splash bridge.  I have to admit mommy did a really sneaky thing - I made Ethan stand on the bridge with me to "check out" the splash that the ride made.  Well, I sorta moved out of the way as soon as the ride was coming down the falls ...

and this was after ...

I was DYING laughing!  He kept saying "I'm soaking wet!"  I think he was in shock from the amount of water that came over the bridge!  So we attempted to dry off in this rip off of a warmer...

Total waste of money.  Anyways, then we walked around and had more fun.

Ethan was obsessed with looking at the map to make sure we were going in the right direction and what ride was coming up.

At one point the clouds and wind rolled in and we thought it was going to storm but it didn't!  But it did give us a really pretty rainbow that we got to see on top of the skytower!  Gorgeous!

On our way out Ethan stood at the measuring stick once again to give his wahhh wahhh face - that's the face we got every time he was too short to ride the fun rides.  Maybe next summer buddy!  He said he'll keep drinking his milk!  :)

 It was a fun trip!  See ya next summer!