Girl Party

We met on Friday night for a girl party...

We ate junk food, caught up with each other's lives, and loved on each other's kids...

We played games ( I won't mention who won the first two:) ha ha...

We couldn't help but start laughing...and I mean "pee-your-pants" laughing...

What a priceless night!! Friends make life so much more fun:)!!

Max and I roughing it on our own...

Last night Gabe was was on a hunting trip, so Max and I were roughing it on our own. Here is how our night went:

9 p.m. - Max was overly tired, and ended up gagging and puking all over the floor because he was crying so hard over nothing at all.

9:02 p.m. - I'm cleaning puke off the floor

9:15 p.m. - Raylene (Gabe's mom) brought us our new puppy, a labradoodle. We named her Susie (after my mom's best friend who passed away a few years ago). She is a cutie, very playful and social. But it was her first night in the house, first night of potty training, etc.

9:25 p.m. - Susie peed on the floor and I cleaned it up

9:27 p.m. - As I'm cleaning up the pee I see Susie start to poop on the floor!! So I move on to cleaning up poop off the floor.

9:35 p.m. - We put Susie in the bathtub because she stinks like CRAZY!!!!

9:45 p.m. - I mop all the hardwood floors before heading to bed.

10:00 p.m. - We put Susie in her crate in the laundry room and she was very good all night...so we got some much needed sleep!:)

8 a.m. Sat. morning - we woke up and checked on Susie...who had pooped all over her crate, rolled in it, and smeared it all over everything. So it was back in the bathtub for Susie.

While we were giving Susie her second bath, Max sighed an

d said "Mom, it's HARD having a puppy!" I had to agree.

9 a.m. - Susie pooped in Max's room, but I cleaned it up before he could see it.

10 a.m. - We decided to put the puppy in the garage...I had HAD it!

So now we have a kitten and a new puppy in our new house - craziness! ha ha! But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

Stained glass windows...

I wish I would have taken a picture last night when I got home from my Master's class - Gabe had taken Max home for a bath and to settle him down for bed. When I walked in the door they were snuggled into our new chair in the living room, watching TV...so comfortable, clean, and snuggly. My heart could not be more filled with joy at this sight...

It made me think back to something Richard mentioned at church on Sunday. He was talking about people being broken. Being so emotionally upset, worn out, exasperated...just broken before God. But then he asked us to look at the stained glass window to his left. Look at the mosiac pattern - do you know how they had to make this window? It was all these tiny broken pieces of glass that they stained different colors and put back together - to make a breath-takingly beautiful pattern.

When we are shattered, broken people, God comes into our lives and picks up the broken pieces, adds color and meaning to each piece...he puts us all back together in a new way we never would have thought of and we become a new and beautiful individual.

I believe I had to be completely broken in order to be who I am today, in order to stop and appreciate the little things like my son and the amazing father figure he now has in his life snuggled up and loving each other. I had to be in my darkest days, I had to suffer the heartache, I had to surrender everything to Him so that I can revel in sunny days like this. So I can look inside myself and find change for the good, see meaning in the small things...

To my little man...

Maxwell Carter,
When I saw this quote in a book that Nana gave me several years ago about a mother and their child, I could not help but share it with you here, on my blog. I hope that one day you will read these words and know just how much I love you.



I wish for you warmth,
when it is cold outside.



I wish for you a star,
when the night is dark.



I wish for you courage,
when the world is afraid.



When I think of you, I wish for you
and I hope you know -
that here, there is a heart
and a home;
and here, there is someone
who loves you
more than any wish could ever give.



(Quote by Laura West Rosenthal)



May all your wishes come true...



Love,
Mommy

Finally HOME...

I feel like every dream I've ever had has come true...I have an amazing husband who I am madly in love with, a little boy who makes my heart sing, and we finally have our own home:) Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying my life is perfect, but I feel blessed beyond belief! I think that everything I have gone through has made me appreciate this time in my life even more! Here are a few pictures of our brand-new home:

View from the outside
Our living room

Gabe and I's bedroom
Max's bedroom

Our kitchen...still have to get some island stools, but you get the idea:)

We are settling in and getting used to our new home. Each evening we have two baby deer who come into the background to munch on clover. They are no longer scared of us...just curious. Max is absolutley loving his new bedroom and spends most of his time in there. It is adjustment for him to sleep on his own, but he's been doing a great job. I lay down with him each night until he falls asleep, then head to my bed. He will wake me up 1 to 2 times during the night and I go back in his room to lay down with him again until he falls asleep. It's been a lot easier than I thought it would be, so I'm not going to complain:)

Max has also started Preschool at Odon Christian Church and loves going twice a week! The teachers keep telling me that I have the most well-behaved little boy and that he does great with the other children. Last night as we laid in bed he started singing a song he learned yesterday at school - he really seems to enjoy learning, like his Mama!

Ok - that's enough updates for now! Hope everyone is having a great week!

Slowly recovering...

Last Wednesday Max had his tonsils and adenoids taken out at the Jasper Hospital. It was such a hard day for both of us, Gabe was the only one calm and collected (he had to take care of both of us). Any time a mother has to see her child in pain it is just incredibly hard! Max is a brave little boy, but surgery was a daunting idea for him. We were at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. - got registered and watched some cartoons. My great Uncle Gerald came to pray over Max, and ended up staying the entire time to support us! God is so good!

Max completely freaked about taking the medicine that would make him drowsy, because he knew if he went to sleep it would be time for surgery. But after that drama was over - he became very loopy and just plain funny:) At one point he asked me what this one speaker was on the wall (which had a few buttons next to it). I told him it was probably to call the nurse in case we needed something. With his words slurring, he said "I'm gonna press one of those buttons and tell them to cancel surgery!" It was super cute, especially with the funny grin on his face! He also became enthralled with the idea of warming the hospital blankets in the "oven," but that is a whole other story:) Ha ha!

Waking up for him was really horrible - he was confused, in pain, and agitated! They came to get me so I could calm him down - his first request was to go home and his second request was for Gabe. So sweet...

This is his 3rd surgery, the first 2 being on his ears. They also checked his ears during this surgery and found big holes in both eardrums. He will have to have surgery when he is 6 years old to repair these - the doc thinks the holes did not close up after his tubes fell out, and then because of the severity of his ear infections when he was young, the blood flow was not sufficient and began to tear even more. So this is not his last surgery as a child, and we are not happy about that - to say the least:(

My grandma Raber called the day after surgery and really lined me out for being so down and out about Max - she reminded me that lots of children go through much worse things...and she is right! This was only minor, and I'm thankful that God watched over my sweet son! He is slowly getting better, but there are moments when he is still in alot of pain. I just try to keep the medicine in him and keep him comfortable...but tomorrow is our last day of summer vacation and I will have to leave him on Tuesday. I'm not looking forward to that day:(

In church this morning we sang a song that I'm sure a lot of you have heard, but it washed over me and made me feel a calm assurance that Max WILL get better and God is always with us! Here are the lyrics that spoke to my heart:

All is well with my soul,

He is God in control...

I know not all his plans,

but I know, I'm in His hands.

I hope all is well with your soul this evening - love you all!

We have been spending most evenings at our home-in-progress, doing little things that will mean alot to us later (cause our own sweat and tears went into it). Last night we were putting a coat of polyurethane on the cathedral ceiling, which is covered in coffetree wood that Gabe cut in his sawmill, planed, and tongue-in-grooved - here is a picture of his pride and joy:

Here are a few more pictures from what has been done lately at the house:

Master bedroom and bath
Exterior with fireplace

Last night while we were working on the ceiling, we had lots of visitors and helpers:) At one point Gabe's aunt and uncle, Teresa and Nelson came to check things out. Teresa and I were standing in the garage talking, and she told me a story that really made me change my perspective on things. She was telling me about a friend that traveled to Belize on a mission trip. A little boy came up to her friend and tugged on his jeans, getting his attention for a few questions he had. The little boy asked if the man was rich. The man answered that it depends on what you consider rich. Here was the boy's response:

"Do you own a car?"

The man: "yes"

"Do you own two cars?"

The man: "yes"

"Then you are rich. Is it true that people in America build houses for their cars?"

The man was speechless, not sure how to respond.

So here I am standing in my brand-new garage, embarrassed to admit some of my actions lately.

I complain because it will be another week before we can move in, while others beg God for a shelter to sleep under tonight.

I think to myself that I need to call and get another layer of rock on the driveway, while others walk miles with bare feet to get water for the day.

I write down measurements for a mattress in Max's room, while others lay on dirt floors with no covers to keep them warm or no pillows to rest their heads.

I complain about the money I have had to spend on light fixtures and bulbs, while others have never had electricity in their home.

I whine because it seems to hot to work on our deck, while others look out their windows to a view of run-down shacks, starving children, and human desperation.

I ask God to forgive me for complaining, whining, worrying, and being unappreciative. I have everything I need and more - and one day when it is time for me to leave this world, THINGS will mean NOTHING. I'm so glad my perspective has changed - from one little boy's sweet questions about America.

“I would rather be able to appreciate things I can not have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.” ~ Elbert Hubbard