Snow Days!

It's 10 pm and I've successfully showered and changed my pj's!  Yes, you read that right,I changed my pj's.  Such is the life on a snow day.  In fact, we all bathed and changed our pj's this evening.  I told John earlier we MUST get out of the house tomorrow!  I've been indoors since early Sunday morning, when I fell down the steps.

Do you know how much concrete can hurt the back of the head!  I now do!  I have no idea that the front steps were covered in ice.  We weren't expecting ice and snow for another 16 hours or so! Wheeler saw me fall, started hollering at John, and bless his heart, ran to get ice packs.  We called the ER, they told us what to watch out for, told me to keep ice on it, and to take it easy.  So I sat in the recliner with ice on the back of my head for the morning.  Now.  I'm sore!  All over.  And I keep finding random bruises.  I'm sure there's a doozy of a bruise on the back of my head, though you can't see it for all the hair!

There's your randomness from me.  I have no idea what we will do tomorrow, but we will do something!

If you're still snowed/iced over, watch those steps!

My One Word For The Year

As I've said in previous posts, I've just been down in the dumps lately.  I've not really been able to pinpoint why, until lately.   I've prayed and really thought about this, and I've realized that even though I've been praying for God's will over our family, I've not let Him be in control.  As is our nature (and mine more so lately than in the past) I've tried to be in control.  I've tried to make sure things went the way I thought God wanted them to go, instead of just letting Him take the reins.

I started really feeling this urge last week to listen.  To just shut up and listen!!! I wasn't sure what I was supposed to listen to but I decided I just needed to let things be, and listen.

I let there be silence in the truck as I was driving.  I tried to shut out the distractions around the house (as much as you can with a five year old, a one year old, and a thirty-nine year old around.)  I started reading some faith based blogs, especially those of some moms out there.  I started looking up passages in the Bible.  I turned the radio over to KLOVE.  And I listened.

The first thing I heard was God telling me to give it ALL up.  There is not one thing to give up, it's everything.  I can't control it.  I finally realized this on New Year's Day, in my classroom (I had left a HUGE mess the last day) with Mandisa Radio playing on Pandora.  There in the middle of my classroom, I worshipped! I heard God tell me to give up control.  I felt such a huge wave of relief!  Like there was a burden lifted from me that was not only weighing me down, but pushing me into the ground!

Through reading of blogs this week, I came across My One Word.  Instead of resolutions for the year (which most of us break by the end of the first week of the new year), how about picking a word and live that word for the year.  Have you tried to come up with ONE WORD!  There are many good words I mulled over.  Trust- because I need to trust in Him more.  Faith- because I need to have the faith in Him that will move mountains.  Grow- because I need to grow in so many facets of my life.  Focus- because I've allowed my life to be focused on the wrong things.  Intentional- because I need to be intentional in my walk each day.  See, it's hard!

I finally settled on a word:

Surrender

I need to surrender to Him, The Almighty!  The One who is in control!  I need to let go of control, not just talk about letting go.


James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

I need to give all my problems to Him and He will help me through.

I must always remember to call upon Him in my day of trouble, for He will deliver me, and I will glorify Him!  Psalms 50:15

I went ahead and bought the book My One Word and read it in two days (for those of you who know me, you know reading anything in two days is an accomplishment for me!)  It put into perspective this whole One Word concept.  I didn't want to do this and then be following some cult or something.

So for this year I am going to surrender!

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13

I want to search and seek.  He will listen.

Catching Up- Christmas in Pictures

Well, mostly pictures.

Only Caroline noticed Santa outside

Putting out the reindeer food.

He's gonna kill me!

Nope, still not liking Santa.

Catching Up-December Fun

Every weekend in December was full!  The first weekend we celebrated the first birthday of our baby girl.  The second weekend, my sister and I had a cookie swap.  Oh the yumminess!

The next week was busy.  It was the last week of school before break, so I was exhausted from that. Our friends, the Friends came in town.  We met up with them one night for a trolley ride through Gatlinburg to see the lights.

All of us

Oh how I miss this girl!

With my honey

Nick and Caroline

On Friday night our little guy tested up for his yellow belt!  He doesn't look it in this picture, but he really was excited!!!

And both kiddos were in the Christmas program at church!

By the end of the week I was spent!  

Catching Up- It's December- Caroline's Birthday

Actually, I am going to divide December up a bit.

We began the month celebrating this precious girl's birthday.  I got up that morning feeling so blessed and thankful, considering what all happened surrounding her birth.  (You can read about that here).

I knew I wanted to do a winter wonderland theme for her birthday, because, well, I figure I should do what I want while she can't tell me what we are doing! I really didn't do that much, though, due to the fact that time really ran out on me!

Her smash cake, I made.

Cupcakes and Smash Cake

The hit of the party.....the hot chocolate bar!  

The hot chocolate bar was definitely a hit.  We had dark and white hot cocoa.  The white cocoa I made by mixing six cups of whole milk, two cups of heavy cream, and a package of white chocolate chips.  I heated on the stove until the chips melted, and it was wonderful!  On the bar I had chocolate dipped candy canes, snowman marshmallows, Andes peppermint chips, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and whipped cream!  

The birthday girl!  She hates headbands on her head these days!

She was not really into smashing her cake.  Right after she was born my aunt described her as dainty, that's how I would describe her treatment of the smash cake.  In fact, I don't even think she got a really good bite of it.  She just wasn't interested.

This is probably the best pic of all four of us in a while!

Catching Up- November

So we're up to November on this first day of January!

The first part of the month was eventful, without being eventful.  We stayed busy and the month flew by, but it wasn't anything picture-worthy.  There was a lot of planning for a certain little girl's upcoming first birthday and Christmas.

We didn't get Dollywood passes this year so we took advantage of their Sevier County Days.  It was pretty warm the day we went.

The day before Thanksgiving was a snow day for us.  We were supposed to have half a day of school but it was called off, we had just enough snow to go out and make a muddy mess!!

That afternoon we decided to head up to Bass Pro to see Santa.  Mom ended up in the Santa pic because baby girl was having nothing to do with Santa this year!  Wheeler, who had been saying he was going to ask for an IPAD all along, asked Santa for........a reindeer!!!!  Luckily, Santa said he'd try to bring a stuffed reindeer because he needed all his.

As a side note, I will say, Bass Pro Shop's Santa Wonderland or whatever they call it....rocked!  Sure they do it to make a buck, but the kids saw Santa, shot air rifles, played with remote control cars and trains, and rode a carousel and we didn't spend a cent!

Wheeler being Wheeler

Her first carousel ride.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our wonderful family.  These are just a few pics.

 My mom and her sister.

 Making her shopping plan for Black Friday.

With her cousin.

As is tradition, my sis and I went shopping but there are no pictures as evidence.

Also, as I said a few days ago, I just wasn't into the holidays as I wanted to be.  I tried.  I knew we needed to see Santa so I insisted we go on that Wednesday.  I knew we wouldn't be able to go to Dollywood to see the lights unless we went during Sevier County Days, so I insisted we go on that Saturday.  I also knew the kids would enjoy these outings.  I was constantly searching for a feeling, and not finding it.  Don't get me wrong, I loved every second with my family and I cherish the memories we made, but I felt empty.  And rushed.  And pulled in so many directions, as all moms do.  

I'm on a roll!  Hopefully I get Decembers update out this week!

Catching up- October

So I was determined to make October fun!  We waited out the first couple of weeks, because we knew there was a possibility John would be laid off, and if we could do things with Daddy then we would wait for him.  Bless John's heart, that first weekend he was off I think I filled up!


At the beginning of the month it was beautiful out.

At a new playground we found when out one Saturday.

More birthday fun!

                                    

                                      We celebrated our cousin's birthday.

With my Papa

We carved some pumpkins.

I love this picture!

Making the same face as his pumpkin!

We did hit up a local pumpkin farm.  On recommendation from my sister, we went to Ballenger's in a neighboring county and it was FABULOUS!

About to pick our pumpkins!

We loved the slides.

We had to stay warm, it seemed it was chilly the weekend we were out and about.

It was also chilly for Boo at the Zoo!

My ninja and pumpkin

We also did some resting this month!

And this pic just because.  She is her brother's mini-me.

Like I said on the last post, I feel like I was just going through the motions.  I know Wheeler had a great time and we made wonderful memories, but I felt like I was getting farther and farther behind with work.  If I'm at home my mind is on work, if I'm working on schoolwork my mind is on my family and the time I should be spending with them.