My son was the wildest "animal" at the zoo...

We went on another mini-vacation for the weekend - decided to take a trip to Evansville to visit the zoo. It poured on the way to Eville, but once we got to the zoo the sky cleared and it was a BEAUTIFUL day - so, so, so much fun with my very favorite people:) Max's favorite animal was the lion, although he could not understand why this lion didn't have a mane around its face. We saw monkeys, snakes, giraffes, zebras, fish, and all kinds of wonderful animals! Here is a picture of my two favorite animals at the zoo:) After the zoo we went to the mall and to Chuck-E-Cheese (Max's highlight of the day!) He got this cute build-a-bear at the mall:We then headed to our hotel where we had this wonderful jacuzzi room! Max was so excited that he was allowed to jump on the bed - and that there was a pool right outside our room!! For supper we walked over to Applebee's for some yummy, yummy food - then we all slept like rocks!

The next morning none of us wanted to leave...but I guess a good vacation always has to end, right? Reality really slapped me in the face when I realized I have to go to the dentist tomorrow...yuck!

Hope everyone has a great week...next weekend we have a Raber family mini-vacation planned, I'll update with pictures when we return:)!

Gym class...

Much to the embarrassment and dismay of my brothers - I enrolled Max in a "Mommy & Me" gymnastics class this summer. All summer we have been going to Hodgini in Jasper every Tuesday from 10:30 -11:30 (with two of my teacher friends and their little girls). My brothers were adamant that Max should NOT be going - they had many reasons:) ha ha...but I've tried to convince them that it bascially just stretching out, exercising, helping Max follow directions, listen to teachers, etc. And I got to interact with him in this setting too - which was so much fun!

We honestly had a blast and we were both sad when we had our last class this past Tuesday:(His teachers were AMAZING and I think they all had a sweet spot for Max since he was the only little boy most of the time:) I don't think there is anything to be ashamed of at all - and I'm so glad we took this class, Max was such a little man and acted sooooo grown up!! Also, he loved hanging out with his best buddies - Lydia and Kennedy! Here are some pictures from our last class: Max, Kennedy, and Lydia - the little gymnastics monkeys:)

After class, we all headed to Lydia's house for some yummy lunch, some splashing in the little pool, and playtime in the sandbox - while the mommy's got to spend some time catching up:) I just love days like these...with friends like these:

Perfect evening for putt-putt...

Last night Gabe and I took Max and Gabe's little brother, Elisha, putt-putt golfing! It was the perfect night for it, and it wasn' t crowded at all - so we got to take our time, snap some photos, and just be goofy (my fav. way to be:)!! We also took them to eat at McyD's, Wal-Mart to pick out a small toy each, and then Scoops for ice cream - spoiled boys:) Here are some pictures from our super-fun night:Also,last week my brother (Clay, also known as Uncle "Faye") surprised Max with a new kiddie pool. He was sooooo excited and couldn't wait to start splashing around - even though the water was FREEZING!! Ok - my pictures are messing up and I can't get them in order, but you get the idea:)

It's 1 a.m. and I can't sleep! Max is with his dad...which leaves me with an empty bed and an empty heart. The only way I can stop thinking about things is blogging and watching some T.V. - even though there is NOTHING on at 1 a.m. I also heard some upsetting news tonight about a fatal car accident, involving a boy who graduated from Barr-Reeve (where I teach) this past May. My heart breaks for the family...prayers keep running thru my head for them, wishing I could do more. Pray for parents tonight who have lost a child...in whatever way...I can't imagine the unbearable pain. But God knows their pain...feels their pain...and He is the only One who can heal our hearts. Be near, Lord.

Dramatic...

My little man is dramatic...to say the least;) There is no one to blame but me, I've babied him (just a little) for the past 3 years and I've created a monster!! Ha ha!

Tonight we were playing outside and Max was running in his baseball cleats - and he fell and skinned his knee. When I heard the screams I came running (my heart stopped!)...and found that he had a very little scrape on his knee with a tiny bit of blood.

He would not let me touch it, clean it off, or put a band-aide on it - and was sobbing uncontrollably. In his most tortured voice he cried "I won't ever be able to run again!"

O my, how dramatic! We ended up like this:

Being a rough little guy with skinned up knees is hard work:( He's now fast asleep, tucked in tight...I'm just savoring these little moments where mommy is the only one who can comfort him, because I know they will be over too soon!

Lavish me with Love...

Ok, so what does "lavish" mean? I looked it up in the dictionary and this is the official definition:

lavish: expended, bestowed, or occuring in profusion; using or giving in great amounts.

This is a good definition, but I like Richard's definition yesterday from his sermon when he was speaking about how God lavishes his love on us: spoils us rotten!

I loved, loved, loved Richard's sermon at church so much yesterday because he talked about how bad things happen...but that doesn't mean that God doesn't love us.

We can't comprehend how much He loves us, but He does. We don't understand all of His works, but they are ALWAYS good. He loves us. He loves me...even little me. And he doesn't just love us...he lavishes his love on us:)

It really hit home when Richard said you don't have to go thru life "proving' things to God, but just walk with Him and work alongside Him because He already made me RIGHT (if I've asked for forgivness of my sins). We don't have to beg for something He has already given us in Jesus!!

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." We can' t even fathom it...so just accept his LOVE and stop trying to earn it somehow, beg for it, or figure it out:)

This small patch of land...

No land seems to be as precious as a piece of land you can call your own. The dreams that have been bouncing around in my head for years are coming closer to being a reality - I had so much to celebrate this 4th of July!!

To think that we are free - free to choose where we live, free to worship our God, free to state our opinons - still amazes me. I take it for granted all the time, but this 4th of July I was reminded just how blessed I am and how exciting the future looks because I am FREE! So this past weekend I've been dreaming of house plans, grass that needs mowing, a backyard so huge Max would never run out of room to run, a kitchen to bake in, horseback riding, fishing, rhino riding, a porch to decorate, splashing in a creek...things I haven't let myself dream about for over a year now.

When you lose everything and find yourself in more debt than you can ever imagine (left to you from someone else) you don't allow yourself to look ahead. You fight thru each day as if it were your last and just hope you can feed the little mouth that relies on you . You pray that you can pay the next bill that comes in the mail, crying when you balance your checkbook. You can't depend on anyone except God - you have to be independent and strong for yourself and your child. This has been my life for the past year - I'm not saying this in search of pity, only to explain how my dreams were put on hold...

But now I feel as if I'm getting back on my feet, things are getting easier, dreams are being realized again...and it feels amazing:) I hope everyone else had a great 4th of July!!

Flashback FRIDAY!!

I've seen this idea on several blogs, and loved the idea of doing a "Flashback Friday!" First off, I LOVE looking at old pictures, making fun of all my old fashion and hair choices, and seeing how much people change! I have album after album of old pictures, boxes and boxes of random shots...but it's not my fault:) I know where I get it - my mom has more pictures then I could ever look at, she keeps pictures like it's no one's business! Ha ha, love ya, Mom:) And I'm glad you instilled the importance of picture taking/documenting/organizing in me!

Here is an old shot I found from Halloween 1988:

This is me, both of my brothers, and my cousin Chasity. I am just gonna be honest and say I have no clue what me and Chas were trying to dress up as...some sort of punk/rock stars or something. Let's just chalk this up as scary!! Ha ha - and to think I thought I looked "so rad" on this night! Goes to show just how fast time flies, and style changes:)

So....I'm dying to know: what was your most random, crazy, silly, or weird Halloween costume when you were a kid??? I can't wait to hear all your stories - but I'm not sure they can top my rock star look:)!! (ya don't get much weirder than that!!)

Leap of faith...

I took this picture of my brother, Clay, at the boat club recently - it seems like he is always the subject of my creative pictures:) I added a quote and here is what I came up with:

But then I played with the image a little more and this is how it turned out:

Which one do you like better? I can't decide!!