Announcement!

Well life has taken a big change. In my last post I talked about my interview at Monterey. Well last week I had another job interview that I hadn't told anyone about. I was hoping that it would work out that Monterey would be looking for someone pretty soon, but that's just not the time table they're working on. So yesterday I was offered a job at Coldwell Banker: MegAmerica Mortgage as a loan processor. I am working with Zach Galbraith. I started today. Some of you are probably thinking, "what?" Well this wasn't an offer that I could refuse right now. Life will be harder and I will miss all the time I spend with my kids, but Nathan and I both feel that this is a very good decision for us right now. I really am so at peace with our decision. That is why in my last post I mentioned that I knew it was all up to God. I knew this was a pending decision and so I just knew that this would be something that God would work out for us for the best!!!!

In some ways it is harder for me, b/c I don't feel that I have many in my "circle of influence" that work full time with kids, and I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, b/c I don't feel sorry for myself. I am so wonderfully blessed. I have a great husband, great kids, and a great life that God has given me. When I worked at Carillon for 4 days in February I was miserable. They gave me the most insane hours, horrible pay, and a crappy boss. Fortunately at Coldwell Banker I am surrounded by Christians who support each other and support family life. They have a devo every Tuesday morning and when I was having my interview with Rick Canup (the owner of Coldwell Banker) he wanted to know how involved I was in church. I was so shocked that he even asked!

I really like my job. Basically I am Zach and Gina's assistant. They originate the loans, and I put them together. If you're a home owner you know how much paper work goes into a loan. Well I'm in charge of getting all that and basically being extra anal. When I was in college I worked at Wells Fargo Financial and got experience doing loan processing there. I have to admit I am very rusty. But eventually I will get back into the swing of things.

Nathan stayed home with the kids today. He cleaned the WHOLE house and made dinner. I was able to come home and eat lunch with them and be back at 5p.m. Kyle didn't even act like he missed me! I know this will be a change for us, but I have to admit....I really enjoyed the day. I know it can be easy to get into "mommy wars" about if you should stay home or work, and I have been blessed with 4 wonderful years at home. I would never ever trade that! God loves my children more than I do and that is hard for me to imagine, but it's true! I know he will always keep watch over them. I am going to have someone come to our house to watch the kids, and Nathan's mom is going to keep them for a while when they get here. (in 1 week!)

Okay that was a really long story...I wanted to add a prayer request in. Chrissy's mom isn't doing very well. For those of you who don't know she has a brain tumor and they've know about it for some time. The other day her mom started having vision problems and went to the doctor and she has a new tumor. At first the old tumor had started shrinking but now it is causing problems. She is having brain surgery this Wednesday. Chrissy and Brian's baby is due May 1st. That is a hard situation to deal with by itself, but I can't even imagine with all those pregnancy hormones what it is doing to her. I would be a basketcase. Please pray for their whole family and that they may all have some peace about the situation.

I apologize for how long this was, I hope you made it through to the end!

Monterey Update...

Okay, so I had to post again, b/c I had my interview with Monterey this afternoon. It was with the 2 children's ministers and 3 people who help with recruiting for various age groups. I found out that there are 7 of us who have applied and after today they will make recomendations to the elders for further interviews. I asked when they were looking to fill the position and it's not until June or July, but the absolute lastest by this November. I was thinking did you mean this November or last November. (Obviously they mean this November...I'm just being sarcastic) I would obviously like to know a little bit sooner, but hey God's working and I have complete faith in that, so it's okay.

The interview itself I thought went really well. I had done a little research before I went in there and I read an exerpt from a book that said that research shows that by the age of 13 the Christian influences, or lack of really decide what path children choose to take. Well the author that wrote that book just happened to be their favorite Christian author, and they love that book that this came from. So I think I got some brownie points there. I don't think I could have presented myself any better, so now it's just up to the Lord.

Tomorrow is dress up day at Greenlawn. The kids are supposed to dress up in outfits that reflect what they want to be when they grow up. We're going to go to my mom's house in a little bit and get some "doctor" stuff for Madi. Of the many aliases that Madi goes by, one is Dr. Grace. (Her middle name is Grace) She is a very good physician. In fact sometimes I wonder why we even go to the doctor so often, and don't just go to her office. She thinks that lotion and shots "that will probably hurt a little" heal everything. I think Kyle will probably be a Tech football player tomorrow. He has a jersey, so that will probably be the easiest thing for him. I don't know if he wants to be a football player, but his daddy wants him too. I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them.

I hope everyone has a good week!!!!

I tell you I have been a bloggin' fool lately! But ya know it's free and there's not much left in this world that isn't, so who cares, right??? I wanted to say thanks for all the response in my last post. I loved reading your comments, but what I love most of all is that you know what I mean! And you too understand how great our God is. I know at some point in all of our lives we went through some tough times, but I love that we are all still connected through Christ and we will always have that connection. It's great to see people that you went to school with and went through some "maturing" events together, and to see now that God has worked in all our lives in so many different ways is just so encouraging. My mother in law emailed me today after reading my last post and was afraid that someone was being mean to me. Bless her heart, but no...no one was mean to me. I am actually great and very blessed.

Tomorrow Madi and I are going to Post to help my aunts clean out my grandparent's house. It is going to be quite a chore. They are getting old and there has been question about putting them in the nursing home, but they're not ready. We're going to get the house clean, and then have someone come in everyday and make sure they have meals and their medicine. I think right now if they went into the nursing home it would make things worse, and they would probably go down hill a lot faster. But at some point it will be inevitable.

On the news tonight they were talking about the bird flu. I sure hope that this will be one of those things like Y2K was, and it's no big deal. I know we have to have people who are overly anal to take care of jobs like that, so "just in case"...but they were scaring me. It makes me want to become a hermit with my family in my home, until it all blows over.

Anyways, thanks for all the encouraging things everyone had to say. Jesus Rules!!!! That reminds me of that license plate that Celeste used to have...do yall remember that???

The past is exactly what it is.....the past

Do you ever have those moments or days when you think about the past and it really bothers you? I try to restrict them to moments, b/c I'm not going to let Satan use that as a tool against me to try to get me down. I know we all have our skeletons, for some of us they poked their ugly heads out of the closet and for others they have stayed in there. I'm not sure which is worse. Sometimes I think that keeping them in there is worse. Letting them out certainly provides a cleansing of sorts...and that's the nice way to put it! Whatever the case may be, we have all struggled and made mistakes in some form or fashion. I guess it's one of those moments for me, and the most wonderful consolation I have is that, although people may hold my past against me, my God doesn't. It can be so easy to get mad at people who judge you, when you know they have done wrong too, but that's not being Christian-like either. I am soooo thankful and grateful to a God who looks past everything I've done wrong and still blesses me beyond my wildest dreams. To be a Christian is the most special gift in the world. I am also so thankful and grateful for my friends who have truly been my friends. There are some of you that I have been friends with for so long and you have been my friends regardless of the things I have done. You've always loved me and always supported me and that is not something that you can easily find in people. I love you! I have also loved reconnecting with all you LCU bloggers! It has been great! Okay, now I feel like I just made an Oscar speech, but seriously I love my friends! Have a great weekend!

Ears

How is it that the two little things on the side of your head can cause so many problems?!?!?! Kyle had fever on Sunday, and so I thought it was his ears. That's the only problem he ever seems to have, so I thought for sure that is what it was. I stayed home from Greenlawn on Monday, b/c of it, but he had a great day...so I was very confused. Yesterday evening he broke out in a rash and I thought for sure he was getting the chicken pox. I was so nervous to open his bedroom door this morning, b/c I was so afraid of what he was going to look like. Well he still had the rash, but it hadn't grown or changed typically like the pox does, so I was confused again. We went to the doc this morning, and it's for sure not chicken pox, just a rash. However, he does have ANOTHER ear infection. This is the 4th one in a row. They put him on an antibiotic and then once he's done with that he will start another antibiotic for the next 3 months at night. I'll take him back to the dr. every month to check him. Hopefully by July this will have cleared up completely. If not then we're looking at tubes. I'm just glad that we at least have a plan now. I was getting really worried and worried that it was going to affect his speech and hearing. She said that his hearing is fine, b/c if he couldn't hear we wouldn't talk. He talks a lot, you may just not always understand what he's saying. And I am soooo relieved to hear it's not chicken pox. Cheri's little girl, Addy, was over here yesterday before he broke out and Kyle really liked Addy a lot. She's only 6 months and so she hasn't had the varicella vacination yet, so I was playing out in my head having to call Cheri to tell her that Addy would probably get it. I'm so glad I don't have to do that now. Anyways, I just hope we can get this little guy well. I hate seeing him like this.

Easter Pictures

Kyle lost interest hunting for eggs and started playing with his favorite toy... the pooper scooper.
Jenny riding Madi's bike.
Miss Priss

This was before church, and this was about as good as it was going to get trying to get them to hold still.

It was a good Easter. The kids had fun, and it was nice getting to be around family. And now a new week is here!

This picture reminds me of when I was little. Every Saturday night my mom would roll our hair in pink foam rollers for church on Sunday. I usually don't have to do anything to Madi's hair, b/c her hair has always been so curly. But when we had our unfortunate accident with the gum and had to cut 5 inches of her curly locks out, a lot of the curl was cut out too. It made me really sad, her hair was such a trademark for her, but it's starting to grow again and getting more curl in it. So we bought some curlers today. I can't wait for tomorrow. Easter Sunday was always so fun growing up. We always hunted eggs at my Grandmother and Granddad's house in Post. I loved getting a new dress every year and being so girly.

This year we're having Easter at our house. We're doing Easter dinner though, and I think I'm doing most of the cooking too. That's one funny thing about growing up. You have to take part in the cooking and cleaning. I always just liked just being the one who ate it and then went and took a nap.

My sister is 26 weeks pregnant. She having some problems with swelling. She had to soak her finger yesterday to get her wedding ring off and she has retired it until after the baby is born. She has already gained 35 pounds. It's hard for me not to laugh, b/c I've always been the "bigger" sister and I only gained 10 pounds with Kyle. I gained 20 with Madi. I didn't experience any of the problems that Suzanne has had, but I also spent a great deal of time on the bathroom floor hugging the toilet. So I guess it's just different for everyone! I'm just ready for the little guy to get here. I miss babies! They are naming him Jonathan Ryder Scott. They'll call him Ryder. I'm ready for my kids to have someone to play with!

Well have a great day. I'll post the Easter pics tomorrow!

Happy Easter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life has been pretty uneventful lately. I think we're all over our sickness, but I hate to even mention it in fear of bad luck! Chrissy had her baby shower last saturday, that was fun. I saw some old LCUers there. She has a blog now if you want to visit it. It's at http://bcrossfamily.blogspot.com I would add it as a link, but I think I messed all that up when I was trying to add other people.

My sister will be here late tonight. Her and Colt are staying here with us this weekend. We don't have any big Easter plans or anything. Just the usual church, hunt some eggs kind of thing. Usually me and my sisters hunt eggs too. At Madi's first Easter I have me and my sisters on video tape fighting in the front yard over the eggs and who found more. I found the big prize that year. And sadly enough Santa quit visiting me and Suzanne this year. He still visits Jenny, b/c she's younger. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being young at heart, or still believing in Santa at 28 and 30.

I really can't think of much else to say...so I thought I'd post something fun.

Firsts

1st Kiss: Jace Wilhite

1st prom date: Jason Young

1st roommate: Emma Lanier (ACU)

1st alcoholic beverage that you became intoxicated on: Zima (I've never been able to stomach the stuff again.)

1st job: Legacy (Children's clothing store)

1st car: 1987 White Chrysler NewYorker (The name is long, and sooooo was the car)

1st funeral: My Grandma Humphreys

How old you were when you first moved away from your home town: 3 years old

1st grade teacher: Mrs. McCook (she still teaches first grade in Post)

1st love: Jason...thank God for unanswered prayers.

1st best friend, are you still friends: Chelsey Dosher, no way!

1st person to send me flowers: besides my parents, Nathan.

Where did you live the first time you moved out of your parents house: Nelson Dorms @ACU

Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day: Nathan, of course!

1st wedding you were in: My uncle Vicki and Aunt Bob's wedding. I was 3 and I was the flower girl.

1st thing you do in the morning: Hit the snooze button a thousand times.

Not a whole lot is going on in Manweilerville...I am glad it's Friday! I think I'm going to be doing good to make it through the end of year subbing in Madi's class. They are great kids, it's just so tiring. By the end of the way, my voice is cracking, b/c you're constantly talking. Mostly saying things like: "Please use your words, please don't tattle on your friend, stop that, please be quiet, stop touching him!!!!!"

I have an update on Monterey. I have an interview on April 23rd. We will first meet with a committe made up of the ministry leaders, and then they will narrow those down and we will meet with the Elders. I am nervous, but very excited. Once again, I am trying not to get my hopes up, but what can I say? They already are! I was hoping they would start interviews this week, but it's not my time table we're going on here, so I will be patient. Anways, again I ask for prayers. I so hope and pray that this is something God wants for me, but I also understand full well that if it's not something God wants for me, then there is good reason for that.

Well I need to get some cleaning done. Have a good weekend!

Kyle...breakin' it down!
I don't know who these other children are, but they wanted to be in the picture. I thought it was funny.

The Cheese

Dorothy and Marli Kemp

Madi and Kyle dancing!
I thought this cake was really neat. And it was the best tasting cake I've ever had! I usually don't like Albertson's, but I'd buy a cake from there again!

Well Chuck E. Cheese was a lot of fun. It's so much better going on a weeknight, than the weekend. Madi got some really neat things. In addition to being passionate about Kelly Clarkson, she also loves "The Wizard of Oz". My mom gave her a pin of the ruby red slippers that she's had for over 10 years. She also bought her a Dorothy costume and Glenda shoes and wand. Now we just need a witch costume. Brad, Sara, and Marli came too! Kyle had so much fun. He thought the place was great, but he was such a handful!!!!! It was a great night. I'm so tired now!!!!!!!!!!

Madelyn's Birthday

Today is my girl's birthday! She woke up so excited this morning. She called her grandparents to tell them it was her birthday. As if they didn't know! I dropped her off at school in her new birthday dress and then Kyle and I went shopping for her. I took pizza back to school for her and her class. Tonight we're going to Chuck E. Cheese, her favorite place. (Yeah, more pizza!) Just family and a few family friends are coming. Last year we did a party there with kids and all, but there are so many to invite this year with 2 schools, so we decided to just keep it small with my parents. We did get a cake though. I can't wait to see it. It's a Dora cake and they scanned a picture of her and put it on there. I think it's been a really good birthday. She has really gotten into it this year. And this year I think it's really hit me that she's getting so big. She is starting to look like a little girl, and not a toddler. It makes me so happy to see her growing and maturing, but makes me sad, b/c the time has just flown by. Four just sounds so much older than three. It's great days like this that make me so proud of my children and so very happy to be a mom. Here are some pics from Sunset, I'll take more tonight at the Cheese and post them later.

Happy Birthday Madelyn Grace!!!!

I love you!