Thanks to our pastor's wife, we ended up with a family picture from Easter. It was taken during our churchwide brunch, between the two morning services. Thanks Cheryl!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Our only family pic from Easter
Thanks to our pastor's wife, we ended up with a family picture from Easter. It was taken during our churchwide brunch, between the two morning services. Thanks Cheryl!
Little Man
Here are a few pictures from our Easter! Cayson wasn't too keen on taking pictures, he just wanted to play with his ball!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The Borrowed Tomb
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On Sunday, March 16, 2008, our Worship Choir and drama team presented "The Borrowed Tomb". It was a very powerful, moving presentation of the last days of the life of Jesus. It was taken from the perspective of Nicodemus and Joseph of Aramethea, whose tomb was "borrowed" for Jesus. I played Mary Magdalene. We inserted the Lord's Supper into it, first having Jesus and His disciples pantomime the last supper and then our pastor came forward and we all participated. It was so powerful.
Since I was in it, and my husband directed it, we don't have anymore pictures yet, but several church members took some so hopefully I'll have more to share soon!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Playing
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Pics from the Razorback game!
Playing the guitar with Daddy before we left for the game!
Me and Cayson at the game
Cheering for those Razorbacks!
Calling those Hogs!
Patrick Beverley dunking the ball!There you go! We had such a good time! Cayson was so much more excited about this game, mainly because it wasn't during his naptime like the last one was! Shaun's parents were supposed to go with us, but they both got sick and couldn't make it. So we invited our Sound Techie from church and his wife to go with us. We ate at Famous Dave's BBQ and shopped at Target! Much fun, since we don't have a Target here in Fort Smith. (However, they are building one that is supposed to open this summer sometime!!!)
All in all, it was a great day of fun and fellowship! And the Hogs won!!!
All in all, it was a great day of fun and fellowship! And the Hogs won!!!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
My Day Ahead
As I'm typing this, it is 9:11 AM and we are watching Little Einsteins on the Disney Channel. Cayson is sitting on the couch with me, drinking his milk and playing with my hair. (That's what he does when he drinks something, especially when he's sleepy.) But this morning bliss is not to last for too much longer. Because after lunch, we're heading to Fayetteville. We're gonna do some shopping and go see the Hogs play Auburn tonight! I am so excited! I love going to the basketball games because they're cheaper and we take Cayson with us (because it's cheaper!). Also they are a little shorter than football games, too.
On the way to the game...they're already pooped! (That's my dad and Cayson, by the way!)
Cayson didn't like the mascots very much! Hopefully this time he won't cry when he sees them!
Look at that baby bump!
We recently took my family to the Arkansas-Florida game. That's what we gave them for Christmas. We had such a good time then that I know we'll have a good time today! Here's some pics from that game:
Before we left for the game!
Before we left for the game!
On the way to the game...they're already pooped! (That's my dad and Cayson, by the way!)
Cayson didn't like the mascots very much! Hopefully this time he won't cry when he sees them!
(left to right) My mom (or Mimi as Cayson calls her), the mascot (I can't remember her name), my grandma, and me!
Look at that baby bump!Friday, March 7, 2008
The Things He's Learned
Cayson has learned so much recently! Here are just a few things:
How to pray
Shaun and I have always held hands while praying with each other, especially at mealtime. We started this with Cayson a little while back and now when we say, "Let's pray", he gives us his hands. He hasn't quite learned to close his eyes or bow his head yet, but he definitely is recognizing that we pray and he is learning what to do. Oh, another thing Shaun and I have always done is we give each other a kiss and Cayson does that too!
How to wash his hands
Cayson can just barely see above the bathroom counter now. And when he steps on his stool, he can reach the water, so I'm teaching him how to wash his hands. He gets the biggest kick out of it!
How to climb into his highchair
He just tried this one day and was able to. I always make sure I'm right there, though.
How to play the Wii
Yes, he has his own Mii and he plays tennis all by himself on the Wii. He can actually hit the ball pretty well.
How to throw things in the trash
He learned this a while back, but my blogging has been so sporadic I wasn't sure if I'd posted it or not. After he finishes with a snack that has a wrapper, he likes to go throw it in the trash!
How to blow his nose
Again, he learned how to do this over Christmas, but I couldn't remember if I'd posted it. We weren't really trying to teach him this one, he just copied me! He really hated the bulb thing, too, so it's a good thing he can blow his nose now!
There's so many more things that I know I'm missing, but you get the idea. I love watching him learn new things; it's so fulfilling!
How to pray
Shaun and I have always held hands while praying with each other, especially at mealtime. We started this with Cayson a little while back and now when we say, "Let's pray", he gives us his hands. He hasn't quite learned to close his eyes or bow his head yet, but he definitely is recognizing that we pray and he is learning what to do. Oh, another thing Shaun and I have always done is we give each other a kiss and Cayson does that too!
How to wash his hands
Cayson can just barely see above the bathroom counter now. And when he steps on his stool, he can reach the water, so I'm teaching him how to wash his hands. He gets the biggest kick out of it!
How to climb into his highchair
He just tried this one day and was able to. I always make sure I'm right there, though.
How to play the Wii
Yes, he has his own Mii and he plays tennis all by himself on the Wii. He can actually hit the ball pretty well.
How to throw things in the trash
He learned this a while back, but my blogging has been so sporadic I wasn't sure if I'd posted it or not. After he finishes with a snack that has a wrapper, he likes to go throw it in the trash!
How to blow his nose
Again, he learned how to do this over Christmas, but I couldn't remember if I'd posted it. We weren't really trying to teach him this one, he just copied me! He really hated the bulb thing, too, so it's a good thing he can blow his nose now!
There's so many more things that I know I'm missing, but you get the idea. I love watching him learn new things; it's so fulfilling!
Snow!!!
It snowed at our house for the second time in one week...in March! How crazy is that???!! Earlier this week, the snow was all at night and by mid-morning, it was gone. But this time it started after lunch and didn't quit until well into the night.
I got to bundle Cayson up and take him out to play! Then when Shaun got home from work, they built a snowman, Cayson's first!
Friday, February 22, 2008
My Week in Review
Well it's the weekend again. Here are some updates on life in the Martin household:
Still no laptop. However, my hubby surprised me on valentine's day with an incredible gift: an itouch. We can't get an iphone because we're on Alltel (I know, I know, it just makes the most sense for us...all of our family is on Alltel and with the my circle plan we hardly ever use any minutes. I just wish they had rollover!). So he knew how much I wanted an ipod to listen to music, etc while cleaning, walking (eventually, when it gets warmer), etc. And since the computer debacle I hadn't been able to get on the internet during the week, unless I used my cell phone, he got me the itouch. I gotta tell ya...I have enjoyed it immensely. I had never tapped into podcasts before and I now have subscribed to a few. I can't wait until my favorite shows start coming back so I can download a few of them! If anybody has a suggestion of an incredible-you-can't-miss-out-on-this type podcast, let me know!
Lights are now installed at the church. Theatrical-type lighting. Shaun's not quite finished, a couple of the dimmer packs were broken so he had to send them back, but they are all installed and the finish work is done on 2 sections. We are actually going to get to use half of them on Sunday. The choir's gonna have a fit...lol. But it looks so much better. Before, the regular lights cast so many shadows that it just looked bad. And they will be a huge benefit come Easter and Christmas for our musicals.
We bought a potty chair. Just to get him used to it. Every night before he takes his bath we let him sit on it. I don't think he understands yet what it's for, but he sure does like it! I guess I'm just going to take my time with it and see what happens. I don't want to push him before he's ready, even though he has shown several signs of being ready.
His vocabulary has grown so much! He's just growing up so fast; he turns 18 months next week.
Our church is growing. We had 2 more couples join this Sunday. I think there have been maybe one or two Sundays this year that someone hasn't joined. And I know of at least one more couple who will be joining soon. It's incredible what God is doing in our midst! Our discipleship university classes are going so well, too. I know mine is just awesome.
The puppies are growing, too. They are getting so big! I still have 3 available, by the way. They'll be ready around Easter.
I guess that's it for now. Maybe this weekend I'll get a chance to blog more and have some interesting posts. No promises though! Now I'm off to go take a long bath and pamper myself, since hubby and son are still asleep!
Still no laptop. However, my hubby surprised me on valentine's day with an incredible gift: an itouch. We can't get an iphone because we're on Alltel (I know, I know, it just makes the most sense for us...all of our family is on Alltel and with the my circle plan we hardly ever use any minutes. I just wish they had rollover!). So he knew how much I wanted an ipod to listen to music, etc while cleaning, walking (eventually, when it gets warmer), etc. And since the computer debacle I hadn't been able to get on the internet during the week, unless I used my cell phone, he got me the itouch. I gotta tell ya...I have enjoyed it immensely. I had never tapped into podcasts before and I now have subscribed to a few. I can't wait until my favorite shows start coming back so I can download a few of them! If anybody has a suggestion of an incredible-you-can't-miss-out-on-this type podcast, let me know!
Lights are now installed at the church. Theatrical-type lighting. Shaun's not quite finished, a couple of the dimmer packs were broken so he had to send them back, but they are all installed and the finish work is done on 2 sections. We are actually going to get to use half of them on Sunday. The choir's gonna have a fit...lol. But it looks so much better. Before, the regular lights cast so many shadows that it just looked bad. And they will be a huge benefit come Easter and Christmas for our musicals.
We bought a potty chair. Just to get him used to it. Every night before he takes his bath we let him sit on it. I don't think he understands yet what it's for, but he sure does like it! I guess I'm just going to take my time with it and see what happens. I don't want to push him before he's ready, even though he has shown several signs of being ready.
His vocabulary has grown so much! He's just growing up so fast; he turns 18 months next week.
Our church is growing. We had 2 more couples join this Sunday. I think there have been maybe one or two Sundays this year that someone hasn't joined. And I know of at least one more couple who will be joining soon. It's incredible what God is doing in our midst! Our discipleship university classes are going so well, too. I know mine is just awesome.
The puppies are growing, too. They are getting so big! I still have 3 available, by the way. They'll be ready around Easter.
I guess that's it for now. Maybe this weekend I'll get a chance to blog more and have some interesting posts. No promises though! Now I'm off to go take a long bath and pamper myself, since hubby and son are still asleep!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Last post for a few days
Before I forget, here's a group pic of my new "babies". And that's my maternity clothes they are sleeping on! Batgirl opened the box herself and nested in there.
The weekend is almost over and that means the 'puter is goin' back to the church. And unless Shaun brings it home during the week, I probably won't get to blog again until the weekend. I'll be so glad when his laptop either gets fixed or he gets a new one.
So, here's the summary of my weekend:
Friday night I got to go shopping! I bought a couple new maternity dresses and some clothes for Cayson.
Saturday night we had our Valentine's Banquet at the church. It was so much fun. We had a skit with a parody of a dating game like love connection. The "contestants" were characters like "Whitney Fears", "Zsa Zsa Galore", "G Diddy", "Nerkul", a parody of the superstar girl from SNL, and a parody of Larry the Cable guy. The lucky bachelor and bachelorette looking for love were normal and they ended up running off together at the end. It was so funny!
Today we had an awesome worship service, with 3 people joining the church. Tonight we started our Discipleship University. I'm taking a class called "The Next Step". It was written by a guy in our church who is also teaching it. It's good stuff, I tell you. Tonight's lesson was all about getting out of your comfort zone and giving God your absolute best. The Scripture was from 1 Kings 18, the story about Elijah challenging the followers of Baal to have Baal send fire down to light the altar. When it didn't, Elijah wet the altar with a ton of water and God not only sent down fire, but burned it all up and the flames licked up the water too! That's the incredibly short version, but it's an awesome story about the faith of Elijah and the awesomeness of the God I serve. At the end, David, our teacher, challenged us to do something to get out of our comfort zones this week. Something that the only way we won't make a fool of ourselves is if God does it. And then to help someone else to do the same thing. There are 24 people in our class. Can you imagine if every person in our class did that? That's a possible 48 instances of God-sized happenings! In one week! I'm very excited about this...and at the same time, terrified! But I guess that's where God likes us to be because then He can use us. I have no idea what I'm going to do yet, I still need to pray about it. Hopefully I'll have something amazing to post next week!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
A few changes
I realized that a lot of my links were old, so I updated and added a few. Also, while I was playing I noticed that there's a new poll option. So I created a poll. For what? What else...baby names. We have our girl name and our boy first name. We just need a middle name. We've only come up with 2 that we like so far, but if you come up with another one, just comment.
Bath time
Tonight's bath time brought back memories of an earlier time with Cayson. Back when you had to be quick changing his diaper or you might get a shower! After I undressed him for his bath, I suddenly had to go to the bathroom (pg bladder LoL). He was standing by the bathtub and I let him start putting his toys in. He picked up his fish...that squirts water...and suddenly I see a stream of liquid shooting onto the floor. In that first split second I thought it was the fish. But no, it was worse. It was Cayson! All over the floor! We got a good laugh, cleaned up, and he got his bath. Parenting is never dull!!!
FSBC Website
Our church is finally joining the 21st century. We now have a website. Well, actually we just have the name and a temporary page. But soon we will have a bona fide website. It's www.firstsbc.com. I'm really surprised we don't already have one, considering a major part of our communication is email. But it truly was God's perfect timing, the way all the details worked out. I'll let everyone know when it officially launches.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Whew...what a week!
This week has been crazy! Here's the rundown:
Tuesday there was a massive fire in the Barling/Central City area. Shaun called me about noon that day to say that he was stuck at the church, they weren't letting anyone on hwy 22 (runs into Ft. Smith). The church is right on the highway. He knew it was some sort of fire, but didn't know where. I turned on the news and found out it was Ft. Chaffee. I could see the smoke from my house. It was incredibly bad. Shaun was stuck at the church for about 3 hours because the fire had jumped across the highway. Our pastor was one of the last ones they let through and he said the fire was practically at his truck. The visibility was about 10 feet. It ended up burning up almost 200 barracks. It's so sad to see the place now, with all the history behind it. We also had record winds on Tuesday, which didn't help with the fire any. We have to get a new roof on the church now.
Thursday it snowed!!! It didn't stay long, but it was so pretty! Cayson didn't know what to think. We had just enough to cover our yard.
Friday the snow was gone, the temperature in the 50s, I think. We were supposed to take the youth to Little Rock to Winter Jam that night. It's a concert with several Christian artists and only costs $10 at the door. Well, by the time we got there, they wouldn't let us in...they were at capacity. We were very disappointed, to say the least. We missed out on Barlow Girl, MercyMe, Skillet, Mandisa, and some others. However, we took the kids to the mall and they were fairly pacified. My parents and my grandma also came up to our house Friday night. They beat us there! We didn't get home until 1 am.
Saturday we all woke up and had breakfast. We were welcomed with a surprise. We noticed that Batgirl wasn't as fat as she was. And she looked like she'd been nursing. So we walked out to the shed and, sure enough, there were SEVEN little puppies!!! 5 black ones and 2 grayish ones. They are so cute!
After that excitement, we got ready and headed to Fayetteville to Bud Walton Arena to watch the Hogs beat Florida. It was so awesome! We decked Cayson out in a Razorback track suit. He was so cute. Maybe I can get some pics on here soon. After the game we ate at Famous Dave's BBQ and shopped at the Promenade in Rogers. I found some incredible deals for Cayson! Pants for $3.99!
Today we went to church and one of my 1st grade girls accepted Christ this morning! It was incredible! We also had a baptism. I think we've baptized someone just about every Sunday this year so far. It was a fantastic day of worship and praise! Tonight we were going to have a church-wide super bowl party, but something happened with the satellite so anyone who had Dish network or used an antennae couldn't get the game. So we moved it to a church member's house. We ended up just going home because Shaun's brother and sister-in-law stopped by on their way back to OK City. He just got home from Iraq a week or two ago.
Well, that's my crazy week. Our puter is still messed up, so I might be a weekend blogger for a while. So until next weekend, or whenever, have fun and be blessed!
Friday the snow was
Tuesday there was a massive fire in the Barling/Central City area. Shaun called me about noon that day to say that he was stuck at the church, they weren't letting anyone on hwy 22 (runs into Ft. Smith). The church is right on the highway. He knew it was some sort of fire, but didn't know where. I turned on the news and found out it was Ft. Chaffee. I could see the smoke from my house. It was incredibly bad. Shaun was stuck at the church for about 3 hours because the fire had jumped across the highway. Our pastor was one of the last ones they let through and he said the fire was practically at his truck. The visibility was about 10 feet. It ended up burning up almost 200 barracks. It's so sad to see the place now, with all the history behind it. We also had record winds on Tuesday, which didn't help with the fire any. We have to get a new roof on the church now.
Thursday it snowed!!! It didn't stay long, but it was so pretty! Cayson didn't know what to think. We had just enough to cover our yard.
Friday the snow was gone, the temperature in the 50s, I think. We were supposed to take the youth to Little Rock to Winter Jam that night. It's a concert with several Christian artists and only costs $10 at the door. Well, by the time we got there, they wouldn't let us in...they were at capacity. We were very disappointed, to say the least. We missed out on Barlow Girl, MercyMe, Skillet, Mandisa, and some others. However, we took the kids to the mall and they were fairly pacified. My parents and my grandma also came up to our house Friday night. They beat us there! We didn't get home until 1 am.
Saturday we all woke up and had breakfast. We were welcomed with a surprise. We noticed that Batgirl wasn't as fat as she was. And she looked like she'd been nursing. So we walked out to the shed and, sure enough, there were SEVEN little puppies!!! 5 black ones and 2 grayish ones. They are so cute!
After that excitement, we got ready and headed to Fayetteville to Bud Walton Arena to watch the Hogs beat Florida. It was so awesome! We decked Cayson out in a Razorback track suit. He was so cute. Maybe I can get some pics on here soon. After the game we ate at Famous Dave's BBQ and shopped at the Promenade in Rogers. I found some incredible deals for Cayson! Pants for $3.99!
Today we went to church and one of my 1st grade girls accepted Christ this morning! It was incredible! We also had a baptism. I think we've baptized someone just about every Sunday this year so far. It was a fantastic day of worship and praise! Tonight we were going to have a church-wide super bowl party, but something happened with the satellite so anyone who had Dish network or used an antennae couldn't get the game. So we moved it to a church member's house. We ended up just going home because Shaun's brother and sister-in-law stopped by on their way back to OK City. He just got home from Iraq a week or two ago.
Well, that's my crazy week. Our puter is still messed up, so I might be a weekend blogger for a while. So until next weekend, or whenever, have fun and be blessed!
Friday the snow was
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Sickness this week
I know I promised more posts, but like my blog friends here and here, we've been sick this week. We as in Cayson. It started Tuesday night when he didn't want to go to sleep. He just screamed and screamed. Finally, we decided to just let him sleep with us. He seemed ok with that (of course) until about 1:30 in the morning. He woke us up by throwing up on us. We changed the sheets and cleaned him up and got settled back in. About 10 minutes later, he threw up again on Shaun. Shaun went and showered and I changed the sheets and cleaned Cayson up again. We decided that it would be best if Shaun sleep with Cayson on the couch. So we all 3 piled on the couch and tried to sleep. He only threw up once more, but it was such a long night.
The next day, was a typical getting over the stomach bug day. We skipped church so as not to contaminate anyone else. Wednesday night, he did better, but still wanted to sleep with us.
Thursday he seemed much better. However, he threw up again a couple times that night. Then last night he was having trouble having a bowel movement. Finally today he really seems a lot better. He had his bm this morning and everything. We'll see how tonight goes, though. It's always worse at night.
I hope everyone else stays healthy!
The next day, was a typical getting over the stomach bug day. We skipped church so as not to contaminate anyone else. Wednesday night, he did better, but still wanted to sleep with us.
Thursday he seemed much better. However, he threw up again a couple times that night. Then last night he was having trouble having a bowel movement. Finally today he really seems a lot better. He had his bm this morning and everything. We'll see how tonight goes, though. It's always worse at night.
I hope everyone else stays healthy!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Questions
Just when I think I've got this parenting thing down, things change! So I've got some questions for you seasoned moms. I've been blogging these in my head all week, but as I'm typing I can only remember 2. Maybe they will come back to me as I go!
1. My son (16 months) has woken up in the middle of the night every night this week, ending up in our bed. He is getting over a nasty cold, so we've been pretty lenient. Are we doing the right thing? Or have we created a bad habit?
2. When did you let your kids start sleeping in a toddler bed? With the new baby coming in July, we are going to have to get Cayson a bed soon...well not too soon. The baby will sleep in our room for a while. We had thought about getting him bunk beds and let him sleep on the bottom. That way when family visits someone could sleep on the top. Or would it be better to just get a small toddler bed first?
3. Cayson is starting to show a few signs of toilet training readiness. He gets a diaper out of his bag and brings it to us if he needs changed. He also can say "tee tee" and "stinky", just not at the appropriate times yet. My question is: should I begin the process of toilet training any time soon...or should I wait a while after the baby is born? It would be great if he was out of diapers by then, but I don't want him to regress after the baby gets here. He will be 23 months when the baby comes.
Well, that's all I can think of. Here are a few updates:
Cayson is talking up a storm! He has a vocabulary of about 25 to 30 words. He started at Christmas and hasn't stopped since! My favorites are "stinky", "trash", "please" (sounds like pease), "sweet tea", and "love you". I'm not sure how he learned trash...I guess just from observing us. He was eating a package of fruit gummies and when the bag was empty I said "All gone, trash." He then takes the bag and runs off to his room. Then a moment later he came bag empty handed. He looked like he wanted me to come to his room and I was curious as to where the bag ended up. Once in his room, he points to the trash and says "trash" and the bag is in there! I was a very proud mama!
As for me, I haven't been feeling well at all for about a week now. I thought that I was getting out of the morning sickness phase; I hadn't felt bad since before Christmas. But I have had some upset stomach problems this week. Plus, I haven't gotten a good night's sleep yet this week. With Cayson ending up in our bed, he kicks and flips and flops and makes my stomach queasier. And 1 night he woke up at 1:30 ready to get up. We couldn't get him back to sleep until 5. I broke down Thursday morning and cried because Cayson wouldn't eat his banana, which is his favorite food and had asked for it. I'm starting to feel a little better, though. This is my last week in the first trimester so hopefully the sickness ends soon.
Shaun is doing well, putting up with me and Cayson. He's had a rough week between the 2 of us! Plus, we're getting ready to start Discipleship University at our church and he has to design all of the graphics and stuff for that. With his computer messed up. It all has to be done by Sunday, because everyone is signing up then. He's done a terrific job, though!
Well I guess that's it. I'll be looking forward to some answers to my questions, moms!
1. My son (16 months) has woken up in the middle of the night every night this week, ending up in our bed. He is getting over a nasty cold, so we've been pretty lenient. Are we doing the right thing? Or have we created a bad habit?
2. When did you let your kids start sleeping in a toddler bed? With the new baby coming in July, we are going to have to get Cayson a bed soon...well not too soon. The baby will sleep in our room for a while. We had thought about getting him bunk beds and let him sleep on the bottom. That way when family visits someone could sleep on the top. Or would it be better to just get a small toddler bed first?
3. Cayson is starting to show a few signs of toilet training readiness. He gets a diaper out of his bag and brings it to us if he needs changed. He also can say "tee tee" and "stinky", just not at the appropriate times yet. My question is: should I begin the process of toilet training any time soon...or should I wait a while after the baby is born? It would be great if he was out of diapers by then, but I don't want him to regress after the baby gets here. He will be 23 months when the baby comes.
Well, that's all I can think of. Here are a few updates:
Cayson is talking up a storm! He has a vocabulary of about 25 to 30 words. He started at Christmas and hasn't stopped since! My favorites are "stinky", "trash", "please" (sounds like pease), "sweet tea", and "love you". I'm not sure how he learned trash...I guess just from observing us. He was eating a package of fruit gummies and when the bag was empty I said "All gone, trash." He then takes the bag and runs off to his room. Then a moment later he came bag empty handed. He looked like he wanted me to come to his room and I was curious as to where the bag ended up. Once in his room, he points to the trash and says "trash" and the bag is in there! I was a very proud mama!
As for me, I haven't been feeling well at all for about a week now. I thought that I was getting out of the morning sickness phase; I hadn't felt bad since before Christmas. But I have had some upset stomach problems this week. Plus, I haven't gotten a good night's sleep yet this week. With Cayson ending up in our bed, he kicks and flips and flops and makes my stomach queasier. And 1 night he woke up at 1:30 ready to get up. We couldn't get him back to sleep until 5. I broke down Thursday morning and cried because Cayson wouldn't eat his banana, which is his favorite food and had asked for it. I'm starting to feel a little better, though. This is my last week in the first trimester so hopefully the sickness ends soon.
Shaun is doing well, putting up with me and Cayson. He's had a rough week between the 2 of us! Plus, we're getting ready to start Discipleship University at our church and he has to design all of the graphics and stuff for that. With his computer messed up. It all has to be done by Sunday, because everyone is signing up then. He's done a terrific job, though!
Well I guess that's it. I'll be looking forward to some answers to my questions, moms!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
I'm still here
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still here. Shaun's laptop that he uses for church work is the one that I use to get on the internet at home. Unfortunately, the screen went out over the holidays and then it wouldn't charge...again. We just had that repaired 3 months ago. It's the church's laptop and we can't get it fixed right now, so he brought our (old) desktop to the church to use. It's basically the one I bought my freshman year of college...in 2001. It has a newer case and a new hard drive and I'm not sure what else, but it doesn't have much RAM. Which makes it very slow. Plus, it's a desktop so it's not that portable. He is being a dear and bringing it home on the weekends so that I can get on the internet. I do have internet on my phone so I'm able to check my email and read my favorite blogs...thank you Bloglines...but it's kinda hard to post on my own blog. So I wanted to let everyone know I am here, I'm still readin', and I've got some posts a comin'. Just not tonight. I'm pooped.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
2007 Year in Review
Fellow bloggers, I'm leaving for South Arkansas in 1 day, so this will more than likely be my last post for a couple of weeks. A week, at least. We are coming home on January 2. So, I thought I'd post a review of this year's happenings with my family and our church work.
Cayson
Boy, what a year this has been! Cayson will turn 16 months in just a few days. He's had so many milestones this past year! It was around this time last year that he first started eating a little rice cereal and now he's eating everything we do. Well, almost anything. Just not most veggies! Especially if they're green! He's got his daddy in him there! Also, he's learned to crawl, pull up, cruise, and walk. He has 8 teeth, with 1 breaking through now. He's had 2 haircuts, the first one on his birthday and the 2nd one just on Wednesday. He's growing out of a size 4 shoe and in between 12 and 18 months size clothes. He weighs about 23 pounds. This year he's been on several trips with us: to Minneapolis to the Mall of America, to Fort Worth for a youth ministry conference, and to Stuart, OK for youth camp at Camp WOW. He's got several people in our church wrapped around his little finger! If he decides he doesn't want to be in the nursery and starts crying, usually someone will come and get him out and walk around with him! We never have to want for babysitters, either! He has been such a good baby and toddler. He hasn't been very sick at all, with the exception of a couple of viruses. He's a joy to be around and I'm very thankful that God gave him to us!
Shaun
This past year Shaun has had a few milestones, himself. He turned 29 in April and celebrated his first Father's Day in June. He will celebrate his 2 year anniversary at First Southern in just a couple months. Also, this was the year of weddings for him. He sang at 3 weddings, served as best man for his brother's, and actually got to marry his first and second couple this year. I'm so proud of him and his willingness to be used by God!
Me
Well, I turned 24 in June, which means I've been out of high school for 6 years and out of college for 3. Crazy how time flies! I've experienced another move, just to a different house this time. I took on teaching the 1st and 2nd grade Sunday school class in June and I love it! Also, I taught a junior high girls Bible study this summer. I played Mary Magdalene in our Easter cantata and Lisa/Elizabeth in our Christmas musical. I found out in November, just before Thanksgiving that we're going to have another baby! Also, Shaun and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary this month and 6 years together in all in October.
First Southern
This has been an amazing year at First Southern. Our theme for this year was "Go". In the student ministry, we've grown a little bit, even seeing 3 of our kids come to know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. We took the students to Minneapolis for spring break and Camp WOW for summer camp. We finished up our student worship area early this year and it looks awesome. We saw 2 of our students graduate from high school in May.
In the worship ministry area, we have grown so much! We presented "The Borrowed Tomb" on Palm Sunday. It was a huge success. We began preparing a worship cantata, "God for Us", soon after Easter. We presented it in August. It was such an awesome time of worship and reflection on what God has done for us. We had Christmas in August to reveal to the choir what musical we would be doing for Christmas. We had so much fun with that! We added several members to the choir, including a couple of teenage girls. Also, we saw one of our longtime accompanists "retire" from playing so she could sing in the choir and be free to travel. It's taking 3 ladies, including me, to fill her shoes! And we could never completely do that! She's a tiny woman, but those are some big shoes to fill, so to speak. But Shaun put us on a rotation basis so we could all still sing in the choir, too. We also add a guitarist to our worship time, which brings our instruments to piano, keyboard, and guitar. We are adding congas tomorrow!!!! We just presented our Christmas musical, "Be Not Afraid", this past Sunday and Wednesday night. This was the first time we attempted to present a musical twice and it was a success. We had over 100 people there on Wednesday night and almost half of those were guests! Tomorrow, we are having a "Homecoming Christmas". We are using 2 guitars, congas, and a praise team to lead in worship. We are also taking the Lord's Supper and singing by candlelight. I'm very excited.
We added a women's ministry this year. Our Women's Ministry Coordinator is doing a fantastic job. Last February she organized a Beth Moore simulcast conference for all the women in the River Valley. It was a huge success with many decisions made. We had a women's Bible study this fall with over 30 women taking part.
We've had 11 additions this year, some by baptism, some by letter. In our GROW ministry, we seen at least 2 salvations. For Thanksgiving, we provided Blessing Baskets for people who needed food for Thanksgiving. There was at least one salvation as a result.
Our church really stepped it up ministry-wise this year. I am so excited to see what God is going to do in 2008!
Well, that was pretty long. I think this was just as much, if not more for me as it was for you. It is so good for me to go back and remember what God has done in the life of our family and church. God is so good! I pray that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Cayson
Boy, what a year this has been! Cayson will turn 16 months in just a few days. He's had so many milestones this past year! It was around this time last year that he first started eating a little rice cereal and now he's eating everything we do. Well, almost anything. Just not most veggies! Especially if they're green! He's got his daddy in him there! Also, he's learned to crawl, pull up, cruise, and walk. He has 8 teeth, with 1 breaking through now. He's had 2 haircuts, the first one on his birthday and the 2nd one just on Wednesday. He's growing out of a size 4 shoe and in between 12 and 18 months size clothes. He weighs about 23 pounds. This year he's been on several trips with us: to Minneapolis to the Mall of America, to Fort Worth for a youth ministry conference, and to Stuart, OK for youth camp at Camp WOW. He's got several people in our church wrapped around his little finger! If he decides he doesn't want to be in the nursery and starts crying, usually someone will come and get him out and walk around with him! We never have to want for babysitters, either! He has been such a good baby and toddler. He hasn't been very sick at all, with the exception of a couple of viruses. He's a joy to be around and I'm very thankful that God gave him to us!
Shaun
This past year Shaun has had a few milestones, himself. He turned 29 in April and celebrated his first Father's Day in June. He will celebrate his 2 year anniversary at First Southern in just a couple months. Also, this was the year of weddings for him. He sang at 3 weddings, served as best man for his brother's, and actually got to marry his first and second couple this year. I'm so proud of him and his willingness to be used by God!
Me
Well, I turned 24 in June, which means I've been out of high school for 6 years and out of college for 3. Crazy how time flies! I've experienced another move, just to a different house this time. I took on teaching the 1st and 2nd grade Sunday school class in June and I love it! Also, I taught a junior high girls Bible study this summer. I played Mary Magdalene in our Easter cantata and Lisa/Elizabeth in our Christmas musical. I found out in November, just before Thanksgiving that we're going to have another baby! Also, Shaun and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary this month and 6 years together in all in October.
First Southern
This has been an amazing year at First Southern. Our theme for this year was "Go". In the student ministry, we've grown a little bit, even seeing 3 of our kids come to know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. We took the students to Minneapolis for spring break and Camp WOW for summer camp. We finished up our student worship area early this year and it looks awesome. We saw 2 of our students graduate from high school in May.
In the worship ministry area, we have grown so much! We presented "The Borrowed Tomb" on Palm Sunday. It was a huge success. We began preparing a worship cantata, "God for Us", soon after Easter. We presented it in August. It was such an awesome time of worship and reflection on what God has done for us. We had Christmas in August to reveal to the choir what musical we would be doing for Christmas. We had so much fun with that! We added several members to the choir, including a couple of teenage girls. Also, we saw one of our longtime accompanists "retire" from playing so she could sing in the choir and be free to travel. It's taking 3 ladies, including me, to fill her shoes! And we could never completely do that! She's a tiny woman, but those are some big shoes to fill, so to speak. But Shaun put us on a rotation basis so we could all still sing in the choir, too. We also add a guitarist to our worship time, which brings our instruments to piano, keyboard, and guitar. We are adding congas tomorrow!!!! We just presented our Christmas musical, "Be Not Afraid", this past Sunday and Wednesday night. This was the first time we attempted to present a musical twice and it was a success. We had over 100 people there on Wednesday night and almost half of those were guests! Tomorrow, we are having a "Homecoming Christmas". We are using 2 guitars, congas, and a praise team to lead in worship. We are also taking the Lord's Supper and singing by candlelight. I'm very excited.
We added a women's ministry this year. Our Women's Ministry Coordinator is doing a fantastic job. Last February she organized a Beth Moore simulcast conference for all the women in the River Valley. It was a huge success with many decisions made. We had a women's Bible study this fall with over 30 women taking part.
We've had 11 additions this year, some by baptism, some by letter. In our GROW ministry, we seen at least 2 salvations. For Thanksgiving, we provided Blessing Baskets for people who needed food for Thanksgiving. There was at least one salvation as a result.
Our church really stepped it up ministry-wise this year. I am so excited to see what God is going to do in 2008!
Well, that was pretty long. I think this was just as much, if not more for me as it was for you. It is so good for me to go back and remember what God has done in the life of our family and church. God is so good! I pray that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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