Puppy and Prayer

So I stink at blogging.  I said I was going to try and post one a day.  Well, Life happens!  This has been such a busy week...mentally, especially.  We got a new puppy Monday (has it really only been a week?).  Needless to say, it's almost been like having a newborn baby in the house again, without the nursing every 3 hours!  It's not really that physically demanding, although the whining at night and waking up at 6:30 to go potty is tough!  The hardest part is during my kids' awake hours, especially my 1 year old.  They love Tad and want to pet him and hold him all the time!  Trying to keep Bryce from even stepping on him is mentally exhausting!  And watching for the telltale sign of sniffing! 

Saying all that, we love him so much!  He is a Yorkshire Terrier, or a Yorkie and like I said, we named him Tad.  As the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, would say, he's a medium energy dog. It's funny, when my blog buddy Mandy first started her dog training business, she mentioned the Dog Whisperer a lot.  I had only heard of the show, never watched it, and honestly thought he was some sort of dog psychic.  Now, because of her blog, I'm hooked!  My hubby even bought me Cesar's book How to Raise the Perfect Dog for my Kindle app on my iPod Touch.  It's been so helpful!  I can already tell it's working.  And housebreaking is going well, too. If you live in Southeast Arkansas and you need some help with your dog, or just a great place to board your dog, go check out Mandy's Canine Corrections.

Now for the real reason why I'm blogging today.  I wanted to share a little bit about what's going on in our church.  This month, we've been focusing on the Holy Spirit.  Just trying to get back to a place where we see Him as Holy.  A lot of the time, the Holy Spirit is seen as the "red-headed step-child" of the Trinity.  So in order for us to focus on the Holy Spirit more, we have to pray more.  Each week in January has been dedicated to a different type of praying.  The first week, we were given detailed questions that we were to pray through every day designed to really make us evaluate where we are spiritually.  The second week, we fasted for one day as a church.  The third week, which was this week, we had a prayer journey.  This was amazing!  Kudos to Rodney, our student pastor, for doing most of the prep.  This was held this past Thursday night.  We simply came to the church at different times and went into the sanctuary.  There were different tables, or stations, set up all over the sanctuary.  Each station had a different activity to do which was designed to help direct your prayers.  For example, one station was set up with Play-doh.  We were to examine ourselves and see if we'd made any idols in our lives.  Then, make an image of that idol with the play-doh.  And then smash it!  Another station had scrabble letters laid out.  We were to create words that show what God has been in our life.  And you could build off of other people's words!  One of my favorites was a station that simply held 2 bowls.  One with a lot of water and the other started out empty.  As you prayed at that station, you filled a ladle with water and poured it into the other bowl, symbolizing how our prayers mix together.  This was a very reverent time.  No words were spoken, except to our God.  If you'd like any more info on this event, leave me a comment!

This Sunday is our last Sunday in this series.  Hopefully, it is going to be a very special day in the life of our church.  I can't really go into the details yet, but I can say that we're only having only 1 service and no Bible study that morning.  Everyone is being told to come in expectation.  I cannot wait to see what God does!  I'll give an update next week.

Be in prayer for our church this Sunday.  Pray that lives will be changed.  Pray that hearts will be focused on Him, and not on superficial things.  And be in prayer for our family. 

Twitter vs. Facebook

I've heard this argument so much lately!  I have a lot of friends who just don't get the purpose of Twitter.  "Isn't that just like Facebook?"  they always say.  So I thought I'd write a post on my personal feelings about each social network and why I use them.

Facebook
I've been on Facebook since 2005, I believe.  Back when only college kids could use it.  It has become the site that I go to everyday.  Even if I don't get to another site, I always check Facebook.  Why?  It has enabled me to keep track of my friends.  There are a lot of friends that I just don't see very often that I keep up with on Facebook.  And I've gotten closer with people from high school that I never talked to much then.

Also, I've used Facebook on several occasions as a problem-solver.  If I have a problem, whether it be a tech problem or parenting, sometimes I'll post it on Facebook and I generally get a lot of responses.  Sometimes I don't get an answer that I need, but often I do!

One of my favorite Facebook activities is Mafia Wars.  I know, a lot of my real life friends laugh, but I love this game!  Check it out and ask me to be in your Mafia!  ;)

Twitter
Why do I use Twitter?  Yes, it's just a bunch of status updates that I can just put on Facebook.  Or can I?  Status updates are only one part of Facebook.  Status updates ARE Twitter.  There are things that I say on Twitter that I don't say on Facebook.

My favorite thing about Twitter is "following people".  You can follow anyone from friends to celebrities.  And yes, I do both!  My husband laughs at me because I follow my fair share of celebs, but I like getting that glimpse into their culture.  I don't follow just *any* celeb.  I pick those that are on my favorite shows or movies, usually.  And I followed Ashton Kutcher because of his Twitter contest with Cnn.

I also follow a good many Christian singers, bands, and preachers.  I love getting words of wisdom every day from Max Lucado, Rick Warren, Tony Nolan, and others.  I love hearing how awesome MercyMe's last concert was...or better yet Bart's (Millard of MercyMe) latest rant against AT&T!  I love getting a sneak peek into Mark Hall's (of Casting Crowns) journal via twitpic.

I've also found a couple of new people to follow.  Terrace Crawford followed me one day, trying to get more followers, I guess.  Usually I don't follow too many back, but I checked out who he was and checked out his blog.  He seemed like a neat person to follow so I did.  He's a pretty funny guy!

Something else I've discovered about Twitter is that it almost makes my bloglines obsolete.  Most everyone that has a blog I read will post on Twitter that they have a new blog post up.  So I'll end up following the link from there, instead of waiting to look at bloglines.

So who's the winner in the Twitter vs. Facebook debate?  Neither!  I love them both!  So, if you find yourself wondering if you should get a Twitter, then yes, do so!  Just don't use it like you do Facebook.

Follow me on Twitter.

Lazy Day

So I didn't post yesterday like I said I was going to.  But I do have a good excuse!  Yesterday, our pastor had called our church to a day of prayer and fasting.  So, during naptime--which is my normal internet time--I prayed instead of getting on the internet.  I really think God is about to do something amazing in the life of our church!

So today was a lazy day for the Martins.  It snowed all day long!  We spent all day playing with the boys and relaxing!

There's Gonna Be Some Changes 'Round Here

Ok guys, if anyone out there still reads...I have some news. For the past year or 2, really, I haven't had a home computer set up. We've always used my hubby's laptop from church. Well, my dear hubby has now set me up with a decent home desktop (really only good for internet and basic word processing stuff and not much else lol) so now I'm back to blogging! I never blogged much with my hubby's laptop because, frankly, by the time I had access to it, usually, all I really felt like doing was checking on Facebook, email, and Twitter. And read my favorite blogs. And don't get me wrong, my hubby's not the bad guy! He wasn't "restricting" my use of his laptop or anything.
With his job (minister) he often brings a lot of work home, like working on various graphic design-type-things. And, believe it or not, he doesn't sit in his office all day and play on Facebook! So that's his time, too, to relax and do some 'net surfing.

So, what to expect from me now? No promises, but in order to try and get back in the swing of things I'm going to try and blog every day. What will I blog about? More than likely, it will be family stuff. Just what's going on in my life. You can also probably expect some parenting stuff thrown in there, you know, because being a mother of a 3 year old and 1 year old makes me an expert. Ha! More than likely, it will be a plea for help! Double Ha!

Thanks for sticking with me!

Contest

My friend Suzanne over at TheJoyfulChaos has started reviewing products for BlogHer. Her first review was for the Sonicare kids toothbrush. You can read all about it here. There's also a contest, so if you comment, you could win a $100 Visa card!

And now for the rest of the story

I guess I'll just lump updates on Shaun, myself, and the church all in one blog. There's not much to tell!

Shaun is doing well. Well, not at the moment. He doesn't feel well right now. I'm praying he feels better tomorrow morning because....we start 2 services tomorrow! This is a big move in the life of our church. Our hope is to be able to reach more people, twice as many in fact. Currently, we were about 80% full on Sunday mornings. And that's with the chairs packed in TIGHT. And there's some stat that says it's hard to for a church to grow if their worship time is 80% full. Or something like that. Plus, we have an incredibly diverse church, as far as likes/dislikes go. So the first service will be still be a blended service, but more on the traditional side. The second service will be blended, but more on the contemporary side. Right now, we will have choir in the 1st service and a praise team in the second. If there are enough people, we will eventually have a choir in the second service as well.

Also, we are in the beginning stages of a building project at church. We're building a new multi-purpose building to have more education space and a fellowship hall. I think they are getting ready to pour the foundation soon.

Now for me. I'm good, as well. Staying healthy for now. Still lovin' my van! It's so nice to be able to go when I need to! Also, I'm going through a period where God is just a'teachin' away. I guess that's what you'd call it. Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to get where I need to be. I feel like He's constantly pouring my life through a colander. The first one was one of those colanders with the big holes that will still let smaller things through, if you're not careful. Now I feel like He's gone and gotten one with smaller holes. A lot of that stuff just isn't making it through anymore. And I'll admit, most of it has to do with attitude. Ugh! It's not fun, but I know this refining process is so important in my journey to BECOMING more like Him. So y'all say a prayer for me, that I won't let those little impurities back in my life, just so they can go through the colander again. It's not a fun process! What is God sifting out of your life?

So much to talk about-Bryce

Bryce is doing really well. He's grown so much just in the last couple of months. On his birthday he didn't quite weigh 20 lbs. Now he's up to 21. You'd think he'd weigh more, the way he likes to eat. The boy will eat ANYTHING!!! And you have to make him stop! And he's very demanding about it too. If lunch or dinner time rolls around and we haven't fed him when he's used to, he gets VERY fussy. And he knows what he wants, too!

He can say several words, including: dink (drink), tank you (thank you), momma and daddy (of course), yeah, no no no no no (he's heard that a lot!), more (along with the sign for more), Bagurl (Batgirl, our dog), and Behya (Bella, our other dog). He can also sign please. He loves to give 5's too!

He's a pretty good sleeper. He usually goes down at 8:15 pm and sleeps all night most nights. He just recently started sleeping till 9 am!!! But now we're trying to figure out naptime during the day. The first day he slept to 9 I kept him up until after lunch and let him go down with Cayson. But he didn't sleep any longer than he normally does and by dinner time he was ready to drop. So the next day I let him take his morning nap. But then he wouldn't go to sleep for his afternoon nap. I may have to start waking him up earlier in the morning. :(

He's still nursing, too. I think he could go on for a while! We're down to right before bed and first thing in the morning.

He's definitely walking now. He took his sweet time with this. I thought he would be an early walker, but he didn't agree. He took his first step at around 10 months, but just didn't want to keep going. It was faster to crawl! By his 1st birthday, he could walk for 3 or 4 steps at a time, but he just didn't want to very often. Finally, a few weeks ago he decided he was ready and gradually worked his way up to walking all the time.

He's into EVERYTHING!

He loves the stairs! I have to get a gate. I just haven't done it yet. So I end up barricading.

He also loves to play ball. Just like his brother. He loves to throw and try to catch it. And I think he may be a lefty. He always throws with his left hand, unless he's holding something with that hand.

The boy will NOT keep shoes on his feet!

He's getting curls...probably time for a hair cut for him too.

He swims like a fish! Well, obviously he doesn't really swim, but he thinks he can! He gets mad when we're swimming because he doesn't want to be held or in his swim contraption thingy.

He just doesn't want to be help PERIOD. He doesn't even like his carseat. He's not a good traveler. Where Cayson would automatically fall asleep on a trip, no matter the time, Bryce stays wide awake unless it's nap time or bed time. Even then it takes a while for him to nod off.

He loves stuffed animals. Well, certain ones anyway. His favorite is his sock monkey. He always sleeps with Mr. Monkey. A very close second is a new one. His Papaw bought him a beanie baby-type red bear with a razorback on the chest. He LOVES it!

He gives open mouth kisses!

He has the cutest baby feet! And he still gets mistaken as a girl. As recently as today! We were at Office Depot today and he needed a diaper. I took him to the bathroom and this lady was in the handicapped stall. There was no diaper changing station in sight so I figured it was in the handicapped stall. So we waited. When she was through, we noticed there was no diaper changing station (FAIL). The lady told me to just change HER on the sink. I declined. We would just go somewhere else. We saw the lady in the store later and she realized he was a boy. I told her it was no big deal, it happens a lot! (It really does.) She said, "That's alright! That means he's handsome!" So true, if I do say so myself!!! ha ha

Well, I guess that's it for now. The next post should be an update about Shaun, me, and church life. Notice I said should...

So much to talk about

Where do I start??? I haven't been a very good blogger for...well probably the last year, if I'm honest. I just can't make it a habit when I get a limited time with my hubby's laptop. We have a desktop that still hasn't been set up yet because we have no where to put it! I had to use the computer armoire for a pantry/microwave cabinet since our kitchen space is limited. We're working on it, but it just takes time!

Now that that's out of the way...what to talk about? I guess I'll just give updates on each of the kids and go from there!

Cayson
Cayson just celebrated his 3rd birthday!!!! Where in the WORLD did the time go??? I honestly feel like I blinked and he grew up on me. In the last month alone he has become such a polite, older-acting little boy! His hair has gotten ridiculously long, but I'm still working up the courage to get it cut. We really like a longer style on him, but it's time for a trim! I'm just afraid of the fiasco that happened this time last year when he freaked out and we left the salon with his hair lookin' a hot mess! With family pictures the NEXT day! I think he's grown up enough that he'll be much better, but still...

He's learning so fast right now. He knows all of his alphabet, the sounds they make, and is working on writing them. He can already write a letter H, A, i, and G. And probably more I don't know about. He can count to at least 20. He knows his shapes and colors. He can put together puzzles fairly well. He's learning the names and shapes of the states. (Courtesy of an old board puzzle of the USA.) He wants to be able to read pretty badly. He's always looking at words asking, "What's that say, Mommy?" And some words he can recognize. He's learning Bible verses as well. I taught him "Don't be afraid. I will trust in You Lord" because he was afraid of a bear at night. (Thanks to Suzanne at TheJoyfulChaos for helping me out in that department. I'm not even sure where that verse is, and I think we've paraphrased it even more, but he says it every night before he goes to bed. And it works!) He started Cubbies at the Awana program at our church. He had to learn 3 verses and a motto to be able to get his uniform. He passed those off last night!

He also loves to sing and play instruments. I think the time is coming soon when we will enroll him in guitar lessons. Shaun says he's not quite ready because he gets the terminology confused. (E chord with the letter E, for example.) Plus his little hands aren't quite big enough. But it won't be long!! And then there's baseball. The love of his young life. He could play baseball from sun up to sun down. He. Never. Gets. Tired. Of. It. He alternates between someone pitching it to him and him pitching it for someone else to bat. And let me tell you, he can flat out throw that ball. He has the windup down and everything! And he's pretty good batting, too, when he has a good pitcher. But, unfortunately, he's stuck with his mommy most of the time!!!

I think the last thing worth mentioning for Cayson is probably the thing we've been looking forward to since his birth: he's potty trained!!! It was a year-long process, but it's done. Even at night, most of the time. Looking back, I probably started too early, plus we had a lot of changes in the past year. The thing that really got him going was the sticker system and giving him some undies that looked just like his daddy's. I'll give daddy some dignity and not tell the world what that looks like! Anyway, Cayson's doing so well with it! And now, Shaun's ready to get the other one trained so we won't have any diapers for a while. But it'll be a while before he's ready to even start! He's only 14 months!

Well, I didn't realize there was so much to tell about Cayson. And I think I could keep going. But I'll spare you! I guess I'll make this one post and give Bryce his own post!

Happy Birthday Cayson!

My firstborn son is 3 years old today. Where in the world did the time go? It really does seem like yesterday that I was snuggling his little baby body close. And now he's getting so big and smart! Here's a couple of pictures of him in his brand new Razorback jersey that a church member gave him for his birthday.

Gotta Give Up the Praise!

I know it's been forever ago since I posted last, but I just had to take to the 'Net to publicly give my God some praise. If any of the people who used to read this know me, they know that we have mostly been a one car family for just about the duration of our marriage (5 years). I drove when I was in college and when I graduated, Shaun drove the car. Then we got a jeep, but just couldn't handle 2 car payments. Then we moved. Pay raise, insurance, the whole bit. We made the decision to go ahead and pay off our Jeep before we bought another vehicle. The Jeep will be paid off at the end of this year. So I've just been biding my time, waiting for the day when I will finally have my own vehicle again. It's a little cumbersome to be stuck at home with 2 little ones! We were going to buy a van, or something similar. Something with 7 seats so our whole family can ride with us when they visit. Dodge Caravan or Chrysler Town & Country or a Chrysler Pacifica were our picks.

Well, yesterday I got a call from Shaun. "Are you sitting down?" he asked. He had big news. One of our church members wanted to give us a van! It's a 2000 Dodge Caravan in great condition! They dropped it off last night! Man, what an awesome God I serve!

Now I just have to break the 3 year habit of just being home all the time! I've always heard that if you pen a dog in long enough, even when you take down the fences he still won't go anywhere. Hopefully, that won't be the case with me! LOL And hopefully I haven't forgotten how to drive! hahahaha Just kidding...Shaun lets me out every once in a while! ;)

Well, I better get off of here. Do me a favor and praise God this morning for His blessings!

Update on Bryce

Wow, Bryce turned 10 months this week! Where in the world has time gone??? Bryce is really starting to develop his personality. He's so sweet and laid back most of the time, but he does have a bit of a temper when I don't feed him fast enough! ;) He gave me the best Mother's Day gift I could ask for: He said "Mama" for the first time on Mother's Day! Twice! Granted it happened because I wasn't feeding him fast enough and he was mad...but it still happened! Then he wouldn't say it anymore until today!

Also, he's learning what he likes and dislikes to eat. He loves pizza crust! And french fries. And noodles. And of course most baby food, except for peas and anything with whole grains of rice. He doesn't seem to like the texture right now. And he doesn't really like Puffs or Cheerios anymore. He'd rather have the Gerber cheeto-like chips. And he likes Mum-Mums. (Rice wafers)

We're still breastfeeding. That's one thing he loves! He's mostly sleeping all night. He will go down at about 8:30 and maybe wake up at midnight or 1 and then he's out til about 8. Then I nurse him and he goes back down til about 9:30 or 10.

He's a very good baby, I hardly know he's there sometimes! He's got a pleasant personality and he's just an all-around joy to be around!

His Mimi (my mom) has taught him to show his muscles! It is the cutest thing! He will flex his arms and make this funny face! I'm going to try and video him doing it!

Well, I guess that's it for now. I can't believe I'm gonna have to start planning a 1 year old's birthday party soon!

Update on Cayson

Yeah, I've become a lousy blogger. I have no idea what my problem is. But I figured I'd give my many readers some updates. I know y'all have been on the edge of your seat waiting for the next chapter in the life of the Martins. (Did you notice the extreme sarcasm?)

Cayson

Cayson is growing up WAY too fast! We're still potty training. Ugh...it feels like he'll still be in pull-ups when he's in college!!! He's doing fairly well...there are still obstacles though. He does the best when he's in regular underwear, but I haven't gotten brave enough to try that when we're not at home. However, when he gets busy playing, he just doesn't make it. Also, I still put him in a pull-up when he's asleep or napping. He will actually stay dry about half the time. But he thinks when he wakes up dry that he's done his job. He doesn't want to try to go potty then because he says "I'm still dry!" Any ideas, moms? Also, we briefly tried the "let him stand up and shoot at fruit loops" trick. He did it twice and won't do it anymore! And he gets a sticker every time he goes in the toilet. That's actually working the best, but we still have accidents.

Funny things he's said:
"You have guitars on your pull-up, your underwear?"-when I had put on a pair of Shaun's guitar hero boxers because I couldn't find any other shorts!

"I cute, Mama"-just about every time he gets ready to go somewhere.

"Mama, I wanna talk"-the other day when he was trying to use every excuse he could think of to not take a nap.

"Miss Kenzie"-what he calls our student pastor's daughter Mckenzie, who is about 20 months or so.

"Miss Carriet"-referring to Miss Kenzie's mom, Carrie.

"Roll the window up, Daddy!"-when we were heading to church and Cayson didn't want the wind to mess his hair up!

"Go slow Daddy!"- we live on a mountain and Shaun likes to drive down a little faster than we are comfortable with! ha ha

There are tons more, but I'm already afraid that these might be "You had to be there" type phrases!

He still loves his sports. Any time there is a sport on TV, he has to go get the corresponding equipment for the sport and play along! No matter if it's football, baseball, or bowling! And he's getting quite good at throwing and catching the football!

He's also getting a little jealous of Bryce. As Bryce gets older and is playing with more toys, Cayson doesn't want to share! We're working on it, though.

He knows his ABC's, but won't sing the traditional ABC song. It has to be the one from "Choo Choo Soul with Genevieve" on Disney.

He can also sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and a number of other songs by himself. Including "Love the Lord your God"! (I'm really not sure if that's the name of it or not)

I just realized that this post has gotten long and it's just Cayson, so I think I'll start a new post and talk about Bryce!

I'm on Twitter!

Follow me on Twitter!

He Loves Me

It's been awhile, I know. A lot has happened in the past 3 months or so. We've moved. We moved again. Easter preparation for the choir (which means working super hard to get a musical ready in about 6 weeks or so). And my grandpa passed away. On Monday, March 23 he was heading home from work and pulled over and had a heart attack. He was 68.

It was a pretty big shock. But what I wanted to write about is how God showed me just how much He loves me through all of this. Ok, don't get me wrong. I knew God loved me. But the things He did for me in the events surrounding my Grandpa's death just made it feel even more real. The big thing was he made it to where my husband would be home instead of in Mexico.

See, when we moved to Heber, he agreed to go with the students on a spring break mission trip to Mexico to lead worship for them. However, some events took place that made it difficult for him to go. First of all, we didn't get to move into the house we were supposed to, way back in February. So when we finally got to move into our current house, it was right before spring break. And he didn't feel right about leaving me to take care of the boys and having to unpack too. Plus, the week before we moved to this house, we both got a terrible stomach virus. Shaun was supposed to go that week and get his CDL so he could help drive the students. However that didn't happen. Also, the kids didn't go to Mexico. I don't know if you've been keeping up with the situation down there, but it was just a little too dangerous to take them so they went to Oklahoma City instead. Put all that together and he ended up being home when I needed him most. He was incredible that week. He was strong for me and my family. He even sang at the funeral and did an AWESOME job. God knew I needed my husband with me and He made it happen. Even though there was important work to be done in OKC. That just means so much to me that He loves me that much to care about the little details.

Here's another one: remember that stomach virus? Because of that, I called my mom to come and get Cayson because we were too sick to take care of him properly. So he spent Thursday through Monday with my family. And he got to see my Grandpa exactly one week before he died.

Also, speaking of spring break trips, both my mom and my brother had considered being gone that week as well, with the students from their church. But it didn't happen.

There's so many more little things, but my message is this: I've learned to have joy in all circumstances because only God can see the big picture. I will be forever thankful for that stomach virus because it meant my papaw got to see his peanut one more time. I know Shaun was disappointed that he didn't get to go on the trip, but God knew what He was doing. He loves us! He cares about us! A God like that deserves our complete devotion. He's worthy of worship and praise!

WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!

God is so good! Yes, we have a house. It's a 2000 sq. ft., 2 story, 4 bedroom, 2 bath house! And it's on a mountain! The view is breathtaking! Oh, and it has a jacuzzi bath tub! And a deck that extends from the upstairs master bedroom and another deck on the back of the house. GOD IS SO GOOD! Oh and for only $500 a month rent. This house could have easily rented for at least double that, but the man that's renting it to us is a church member and he felt led to give us a deal. I knew that God would provide for us. Isn't it amazing when God goes above and beyond your expectations? Thank you so much for your prayers! We get to move in the week of March 8-14.

The House Situation

Well, our house fell through. Before we had our "interview" the lady called last Friday to tell us that she gave it to the first people to fill out an application. However, we were told we didn't have to fill one out. So we're back at square one. I'm not worried, though. I know that God has a house for us. We moved here on faith and I'm trusting Him to provide for us. I'm just thankful that we have somewhere to stay in the meantime. Right now it looks like our options are leaning toward buying. There just isn't very much rental property here. And what little there is, is very small. For our price range anyway. We could pay $1900 a month and have a house today, but that's not likely to happen!!! And that's not for a huge house either. We could buy it for much cheaper! Anyway, we've never bought a house before and we really don't have a down payment so God is going to have to pave the way. Plus, it's kind of scary buying a house right now in this time of economic recession. Especially with the nature of my husband's job. We're not planning on moving anytime soon, but who knows what God has in store for us. So please keep us in your prayers!

Just Catchin' Everyone Up

I know my blogging has been sporadic, but like I've explained in the past few posts, my internet time is sporadic. Now that we're in Heber Springs, we're still in a transition time and our desktop computer is in storage. So I depend on my hubby's laptop (and my phone) for internet access. And by the time I get the laptop, I usually just want to check a few things and spend the rest of the time before bed with him. Tonight he's playing Guitar Hero on the Wii so I figured I'd share what's been going on in our world.

The House Situation
We are still waiting for a house. When we moved, one of our new church members had found us a house to rent that seemed like a Godsend. It was bigger than our house in Barling and it was less money. A lot less. And it has a lake view. The only hitch was that there was a family still living in it. But they were sure that we could get in it after a couple weeks or so. So some gracious friends of ours from Warren just happened to have a vacation house in HS that they are letting us stay in until our house is ready for us to move in. Well, it's going on a month and we're not moved yet. The owners of the house had been overseas and the other tenets are still in the house. So Shaun finally talked to the landlord today and they want to meet with us on Sunday. So now we're a little nervous because this feels like an interview or something and we thought this was a done deal. Please pray for us in this situation! Pray that either this house will come through or that God has something even better waiting for us. Regardless, I'm getting a little tired of being "homeless", so to speak. If it was just Shaun and me, it would be different. But it has been really hard on our kids.

The Church
This church has been great so far! They are really spoiling us! Our first Sunday they gave us a huge reception and a pounding. Shaun has a secretary that brings him coffee every morning! And where in the past he's pretty much had to where more hats than just worship minister, he is able to focus on the worship and education ministries. And he's gotten healthier, believe it or not. Ever since I've known him, he's struggled with high blood pressure. He checked his blood pressure the other day and it was 3 points from beng normal! That's the lowest I've ever seen it. We started home groups this past week and Shaun is leading one. I think it's going to be a great time of getting to know some new people in the church. Aside from us, there's 5 other couples which is the maximum amount allowed in each home group. We're going through the study "Contagious Community". I'm really excited about the things God has in store for our ministry.

Me
I haven't really found my niche yet. I've always been the one to help Shaun with whatever he needed done...copying music, etc. But now he has secretaries that take care of all that. So I'm trying to figure out what my place is. I think I'm going to take over the library when we finally get settled. They don't have anybody to do it for now, except for the secretaries. And since I love to read so much Shaun figured I'd enjoy taking care of it. I've already read 6 books since I got here. Let's see...I've already been invited to participate in a women's Bible study on Wednesday mornings. I'm coming in a week late, but I've already caught up in the book they're studying..."Created to be a Help Meet" by Debi Pearl. And I've already gotten to be pretty good friends with the student pastor's wife Carrie.

The Kids
The kids are adjusting fairly well. Sleeping is still a problem sometimes, especially for Bryce. Cayson has mostly little girls in his Sunday school class, which is an adjustment for him. At our last church it was all boys! There is one little boy who is about 3 months younger than Cayson. The little boy was upset last week during Sunday school and they said Cayson wiped his tears and said, "It's okay, baby. It'll be okay." How sweet is that??? He has learned that he enjoys chasing the girls and being chased. So I think he'll be okay. ;) Bryce has charmed everyone. At our reception he got passed around so much! Everytime I looked for him someone else had him!

The Dog
Not much to report except for the fact that she had puppies! Again! However, they all died except for one. And I think we've already got it placed in a good home when it gets old enough.

I guess that's the jist of it. Please remember us in your prayers. We need a house! And soon!

I'm still here!

I know I've been a bad blogger. There are several factors. Mainly, as I've explained before, my internet access has been limited. We tether Shaun's phone to the laptop to get the internet at home right now and I just haven't been online very much. I just use my blackberry to keep updated with facebook, email, and bloglines. I know I can blog via email, but it's just too much use of my thumbs for me! Anyway, another factor is the fact that God's been doing a work in our lives that I just couldn't blog about, until it came to fruition. And since I really, really wanted to blog about it, I just stayed about from blogger! But I can talk about it now....

We're moving. To another city and another church. There's so much to tell about the whole story that I just don't want to go into it all for the time being. For now, just being able to tell that God is moving us is enough. This is going to be a hard move for us. First Southern has been home to us for almost 3 years. We love these people. They've been incredibly good to us. We've dedicated 2 precious boys here. We've seen so much growth during our time here. I'm especially going to miss my kids I teach in Sunday school. I LOVE those kiddos. I've had the priviledge of seeing 4 of them accept Christ and be baptized.

And then there's the little boys that Cayson has made friends with. His first friends. I know he'll make more, but...we'll miss them all the same.

So, where are we moving? To Heber Springs, AR. Greers Ferry Lake. Boy this is tough. ;) It is incredibly beautiful there. We are excited about the ministry opportunities there. But that's for another post. I just wanted to finally reveal what's going on in our lives. Our last Sunday is this upcoming Sunday, so keep us, First Southern, and Heber Springs Baptist Church in your prayers during this transition time.

Wii Fit

Mandy asked me about our Wii Fit, so I thought I'd share our experience with it so far.

We've had it about a month or so and we really like it. The "games" are divided up into 4 categories: yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance games. The yoga and strength training is pretty much self explanatory. I've never done yoga before, but I really enjoy the stretches. And the Wii Fit helps to make sure you do them correctly. (To a certain point, there are ways of "cheating", but that would defeat the purpose.) I hate working out, but the strength training exercises aren't bad. I get more motivated because I'm wanting to get a higher score. And to add minutes to my fit time bank.

The aerobics has a hula hoop, advanced hula hoop, basic step aerobics, advanced step aerobics, a long aerobics that you can actually change the channel and watch tv and just rely on the sound from your Wiimote to let you know when to step, a short run, long run, 2 player run, and rhythm boxing. I love doing the advanced step aerobics. It's pretty fun and takes a little bit of coordination. The rhythm boxing is pretty fun, too. You have to follow your instructor and perform the same moves as he does. And at the end you get about 10 seconds for a free-for-all, which is great for getting out stress!

The balance games are the most "game-like". There's a soccer game where you have to shift your body weight to the left, right, and center to hit the soccer balls with your head. But you also have to dodge cleats and panda heads! There's also a ski slalom, a ski jump, snowboard slalom, a tightrope game, and some others that are pretty fun.

I left out the body test part. At the beginning you can take a body test which measures your bmi and weight. Then you do a couple of balance exercises. Then the Wii takes your real age, bmi, weight, and your results on the balance exercises to determine your "Wii Fit age". This really doesn't mean much to me because from what I've seen, the major factor is your results on the balance games. It is nice being told I have a Wii Fit age of 20, though!

I haven't lost much weight yet; it seems to fluctuate. But I haven't really cut back on my calories and I haven't been very disciplined to consistantly work out everyday. But that's a goal. If you want to know more about the Wii Fit, just google it and I'm sure you can find a better review than this. But my opinion is it's a great way to get active and I'm sure weight loss can be achieved, but you have to do a lot of the "hard" stuff! You're not gonna lose weight by playing balance games for an hour!

By the way, Cayson absolutely LOVES it! Everyday he asks to "pay da wii". Or to "soboard". And most of the time he's content to stand on the floor and copy whatever I'm doing. As long as he has a wiimote in his hands! (We take the batteries out of his...shhh, don't tell!) He even likes to do "goga" (yoga). It's just so cute! He tries his best to do exactly like I'm doing! Even when I put my wiimote down to do strength training or whatever, he has to do the same.

So, if you have about $100 to spare, and can find one, I'd definitely recommend the Wii Fit!

Fall Festival 2008