Praise God!

We have beend praying and some of you have been praying for 8 months for Todd & our family. Todd got the call on Thursday the 18th that we have been waiting for. He was offered a job position and he accepted! He will starting his new job on Monday, December 29th! Praise God for this wonderful blessing!

30!!!!!!!!

It is official, I am 30! It hasn't been too bad so far. I had a minicure & pedicure, out to Hickory Falls for appetizers with Todd, and saw 2 movies (1 in the Roxy and 1 when we got home from the RedBox). I think 30 might be fun!

Opryland Hotel

SNOW!!!

We headed outside for some late night snow fun.

Todd didn't wear a hat so he had a head full of snow.

The neighbors joined us for some fun and built the snowman.

We had some hot cocoa with marshmallows to help us warm up.

Men at Work...

My boys hard at work on Todd's remote control car. Collin loves "helping" his daddy. He looks like such a big boy!

Happy Fall!

The family headed outside Sunday afternoon for some good old fashioned leaf jumpin'. Collin had so much fun playing in the leaves. Mommy & daddy even had to jump in a few times!

Happy Halloween!

I could not wait to share Collin's Trick-or-Treating photos. I was so proud of him! He carried his own bag & kept the entire outfit on until bath time! He was such a big boy tonight. We hope you had fun, too!

YEAH!!!

I finally figured out how to fix my blog! THANKS MOM!!!!

HELP!!!

I am trying to change my background on my blog to one I found on The Cutest Blog. If you have a background from them, can you tell me how to upload it?? When I try to load it on my blog, I loose my posts. I know I am not doing it right, but I don't know what I am doing wrong.

Collin's Gift

We all were at Todd's parents house last weekend sitting around the bonfire. Collin was playing in the playhouse near where we were sitting. He came out and handed me what he called a "bee". I knew it wasn't a bee, but he has been trying to catch a moth all night, so I thought he had a moth. He handed it too me and I was shocked to find it was a spider!!! I quickly flung it off my hand! I will be careful next time I accept a gift from Collin next time.

Walden Farm

Todd and I took Collin to the farm today. We all loved it and had so much fun. Collin was so cute pulling his wagon and his pumpkin. We will definately be making this a yearly tradition!

Collin really enjoyed the tractor

Picking out his pumkin

Collin had so much fun feeding the lambs. Everytime they ate from his hand, he giggled!

Both boys had fun in the maze!

My silly boys

Todd and Collin picking on mom

Collin's First day of Pre-school

My baby is getting so big! He started pre-school at the begining of September. He was is a Summer pre-school class, but this class is an "official" pre-school class.

(Sienna is the little girl next to Collin. They have become prety good buddies.)

Catch up...

It has been 2 months since I last posted. Life has been very stressful and busy the last few months. I will try to catch you up without taking too long!

I taught a day camp class for 5-7 years olds 4 days a week from June until last week. It was a lot of fun! I had helped out with this same type of class while I was in college, but this was the first time I was the lead teacher. Collin had a blast! He was in a toddler class the days I was teaching. He made several new friends and LOVED his teacher! I was a little worried about how he would react to me being so close to him, but not able to pick him up and play with him, but he did wonderfully! We were able to pass each other in the hall and it didn't bother him at all. I am very proud of my little man!

Todd is still interviewing for a job, no luck so far. He has had SEVERAL good interviews, but the companies have chosen someone else. He is really feeling the stress. We are going on 4 months since the official lay-off. (Just to re-cap, his job has brought him back for contract work, but that includes no benefits and we are having to ask for checks.) Please keep us in your prayers, especially Todd. It makes me sad to see him this stressed.

Also, this Summer, our upstairs air unit went out. It went out in May and we just now got it fixed last week. YEAH!!!! Now we don't have to sweat while we watch TV or check our email. My car has also given us some fits. We have to replace the tires one weekend, and the next weekend the alternator went out. (This all happened with in the last few weeks.)

And, on a final note, my grandmother passed away on July 20th. It has been a very surreal few weeks. I was extremely close to her (she's my mom's mom). I was the 1st grandchild and I was the only one she had for 5 years. I stayed with Nanny while mom worked until I was about 2-3 yrs (and until I called Nanny "mom" and mom got jealous! ;) ) She raised me like her own. She always said to me, "You know whose you are, don't you? You have always been my baby." I could not have loved her more if she was my mom. I had her to myself for 5 years, and I was spoiled accordingly! She is already greatly missed. I am sad that Collin won't get to know her better as he gets older. I am so grateful that he is old enough to know her picture and know her when he saw her. My Papaw is still living and he has not stayed at his house at night yet. He has been staying at my mother's house. We are not sure what he would like to do as time goes by.

So, I am sorry that I have published a "novel" about my life. Our lives have been busy and stressful the last several months, especially the last month. I am praying that there will be a calm very soon. We are tired and ready for things to settle down. Todd is ready to have a new career. I am ready to have my husband back to normal and our lives more stable. Please continue to pray for us and our job situation. I will try to keep up with my posts so I am not posting novels every time! ;)

HOW RUDE!!!

Let me just tell you how rude people can be.

I was at the grocery store today and had my usual fountain drink in hand while I was pushing Collin in the "green monster" shopping cart. (If you have ever used the green shopping carts at Publix, you know they are impossible to maneuver, at least for me they are, but I get them to emtertain Collin!) I was at the produce section and my drink spilled onto the floor. Being that I was in an upper-end grocery store, I thought, "don't worry, I am sure someone will tell the employees or they will come help." Let's face it, there are different groups of people that GENERALLY shop in certain stores. I shop everywhere from Goodwill to Belk, so I am in no way trying to bad mouth any stores or anyone, but you know what I am trying to say. Well, you should know 10 customers (YES 10!!!!!!) walked right past me, one literally stepped over the spill and me!!!!!!!!! When the drink spilled, there were 5 PEOPLE STANDING AROUND just looking at me frantically trying to find something the clean the spill. NEVER ONCE DID ANYONE OFFER TO HELP!!!! After running back and forth to get paper napkins from the fountain drink station, someone FINALLY told an employee that there was a spill.

I am so disappointed with all those people that just looked and walked on by and even stepped over me! Have we come so far in society that we can't stop for 30 seconds and help someone out. I had by child with me!!! You would think that the grandmothers & mothers that walked past would have had pity and would have grabbed some napkins or told an employee. I have, on several occasions, stopped in my very busy shopping trip, running late for the next errand, stopped and at least told the person, "I will get an employee to come and help" or have actually helped them myself. Am I in the minority?? Are people really that rude and out of touch with others. Doesn't anyone have empathy anymore????????????

Pool's Open!

Collin LOVES his splash pad! Here are some pics.

God is good!

God is Good!!! GOD IS GOOD!!!!
I can't say it enough. We are so blessed! It's been 7 weeks since Todd lost his job and God has been faithful everyday. In Matthew 6:25-34 He promises to take care of every need. "Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things." Everyone says, "God will take care of you," "Don't worry," "You'll be fine." But how many of us 100%, honestly believe that. We are doubters and do not trust inGod like we need to. I certainly will admit to not trusting like I should, and not believing in His abilities. At this point in our lives, God is still working on our patience and our faith. I still catch my self saying, "Okay, God, what about this time. Can you take care of this? I know it's a big task, so I will understand if you can't." WHY can't I just accept that God is bigger than this!! God has placed us in a perfect situation to listen and grow in Him. He is in control of everything going on.

Todd has still not got a call about a job, yet, but we are still hopeful and still looking. His interviews have been great, he just wishes he didn't have to go to another one. Dressing for an interview in 95 degree weather is NOT fun!

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us.

Blessings!

Still searching...

This has been the longest 2 1/2 weeks!

We are still without a job, but Todd has been trying to get something quick. A few good things have happened, recently. Todd's job did pay him for the full week he worked when he was laid off. We never thought we would see that weeks pay. It was very nice to get that deposit in our account! We are still keeping hopeful and trying to be patient, but it so hard. Todd and I are getting anxious for this to be the job search end. I have to keep reminding myself that it has only been a little over 2 weeks and God is completely taking care of all our needs, like he promises.

More good news, Todd has a 2nd, more in depth interview with a company this Friday around 12:30. His first interview with them was a telephone interview, and this one will be in person. Please keep him on your hearts & minds during that time. It would be great if he got that job because they are in Lavergne! NO more Nashville commute (hopefully)!!

If you would, please continue to pray for our situation. We can see a slight glimmer of light at the end of a very long and narrow tunnel, but there is light.

God bless!

Thank you!

I want to thank everyone for your prayers and thoughts for us during the past week. We are blessed to have so many friends & family behind us praying for our situation.

Todd has a few interviews set up for this week, and he is working on scheduling more. We are shocked that he already has interviews and it has only been a week! What a HUGE blessing!

I will continue to keep you up to date on what is going on. Again, thank you so much. We have felt every prayer.

Our fear realized...

(Another long one...)

If you read the previous post you kinda know what has been going on in our lives. Well, it happened Thursday, Todd no longer has a job, nor will he be receiving a paycheck for his work last week. He is trying to get as many resumes out as he possibly can. The upside is, he hasn't touched but 1/2 of his list of possible jobs. Usually, it is a pretty short list of contacts, but this time the list keeps growing, thanks to the people in our lives!

I am still really nervous and not sure of things to come in the very near future. Bills come due and there is no more income from his job. I am very excited as to where he will be working. I want him to be happy at the new job. I didn't realize until he mentioned it the other night, but he had been at his current job for 8 years. Of those 8 years, he has liked his job approximately 3 months (accumulative!). I hope and pray that we will be blessed with a job that he enjoys going to and will benefit our family. (Side note: I have never once been able to be added to his insurance since we have been married; the Premiums were 2x higher than me on a individual plan. Since Collin was born, he has been on my insurance because it was cheaper, still. The insurance we did have was AWFUL! It didn't pay hardly anything out to cover well visits or other services like shots. I loathed writing the check every month to the ins. company because I knew we would never get it back. We were just throwing our money away!) All that being said, I am really hoping for great benefits, too!

We are still in desperate need of prayer. Since we have no income coming in, we are pulling savings and a few other resources to pay bills. Pray that this will keep our heads above the rushing waters until he gets his new job. Please pray for our strength and patience during this time. When things like this happen, you want it resolved yesterday. We will need every bit of patience we have to get through this. Please pray for us as a family. I don't want the stress of this situation to overcome our relationships with one another. Satan is trying to weasel his way in, and I don't want him to gain an inch. God is in control. He knows our situation and he knows the outcome.

I was at the store yesterday grocery shopping. My mom, bless her heart (& sore back), met up with me to help me out with the bill. I was standing talking to a friend I had happened to run into, and a random stranger walked past. She was going through her coupons and walked up to me and handed me a $5 coupon off my total grocery bill! That might not sound like much to you, and it normally wouldn't to me, but that was very meaningful to me in that moment. Little did she know she had just "blessed the socks off of me"! In that moment God said, "See, I am taking care of you! Don't worry." It is so hard in the good times to listen to God and pay attention to His blessings. It is in the hard times you stop and realize he is walking right beside you and holding your hand the entire ride. That $5, by no means, covered my grocery bill, but that moment was the best encouragement anyone could have given me at this point in our lives.

Moral of the story: Bless others! You NEVER know how much someone needs a blessing.

I am sorry for the long posts lately, but there is a lot I have had on my heart!

Please pray!

(This is a LONG post)

For those of you in our small group at church, you know the situation we are going through, but I will explain it to the rest of you.

Friday night after dinner, I found out from Todd that his company is going through some major financial issues. So serious, that they might not be making payroll for the employees. This would include us! I am panicked, but Todd seems to be taking it well, which is rare. Usually, he tends to stress about these things and I tend to be calm. We have struggled this past year on and off. The difference now is, we don't know if we will be getting a check every other week.

We are Christ followers and believe that God WILL take care of us and provide for us, but it is so hard to keep thinking positively when the numbers DO NOT work out. If you don't have the money, you don't have the money. I am really struggling with trusting Him and how this is going to work out. I am terrified as to what will happen between now and the conclusion of this not so fun trial.

I said all this to beg for your prayers! Todd really needs a better job/career change. We are in desperate need to be in a more stable job environment. Todd & I both need prayer in trusting God and what changes he is making on our lives. We are being tested in our faith. It seems as though Satan has stepped into our home a few too many times this year trying to crush us. My stability is in my home and family. Satan knows that if he disrupts that, our faith will be tested and we will doubt God and His power.

I am not perfect. I do doubt God's power, but He always takes care of us and we end up stronger than we were before the trial. I have been praying for a while for my faith to be stronger, to become closer to God, and to trust Him more. Well, I got my wish! We are having to trust God more than we have in a long time.

We would really appreciate your prayers. Please pray for our situation and for our faith in God's power over it.

Happy Easter!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter Celebration. We had a day filled with fun & family. Even though this was Collin's 2nd Easter, it was his 1st to actually to participate in all the traditional festivities. He went through all 3, yes, I said 3, Easter Baskets. One from us, one from my parents, and one from Todd's parents. Kinda makes me wish I was a kid again!

There were Peeps...

He had an Easter Egg Hunt (or rather, an Easter Egg "Scatter")...

He was so proud that he found his eggs!

Wake-up!

I know every parent has one of these shots, but I just couldn't resist sharing these with you. I guess Collin thought his nap was more important than his lunch.

1 1/2 hours later...

O-kay, I didn't realize 1 1/2 hours ago that I would just now be selecting a new background. I knew there were several designs to choose from, but that is crazy!

I am a free woman...

...at least until tomorrow night!

Collin is staying with my parents tonight. Todd and I went to dinner and visited the new Target. Very uneventful, but we have had a fun & relaxing evening. I plan on sleeping in tomorrow! I am hoping that I will get some scrapbooking done. Todd wants to get some stuff in garage taken care of. I love my breaks, but I will be glad to see Collin tomorrow.

"Snow" much fun!

I thought I would share some pics of Collin playing in the snow. Todd took him outside to play in the snow while I was in Jamestown.

He really seemed to enjoy being out in all the white stuff. I hope you had a chance to enjoy it, too.

I'm Back!

I just got back from a weekend away from Todd and Collin. This was only the 2nd time I had been away from Collin overnight, and the 1st time for a whole weekend. He did great & Todd handled it very well.

I went with some girls from my small group at church. There were 10 of us staying at a cabin in Jamestown. We selected Jamestown because there is NOTHING to do there, so I brought my scrapbooking.
Yes, I am one of THOSE PEOPLE!!!

On Friday night, after we arrived, it started to sleet and it snowed until Saturday afternoon. We ended up getting about 6"-8" total. It was beautiful looking at the surrounding scenery with snow covering the trees and ground! I have not seen that kind of snowfall in a very long time.

Needless to say, I had a wonderful & relaxing weekend. It was great to visit with my small group friends and take a break from my many daily tasks.

I am ready for another weekend!

Super Target

Today is a wonderful day in Smyrna!!! SUPER TARGET IS OPEN!!!! I have waited for months for this day. I have imagined what it would look like and the variety of items they would have.

I LOVE TARGET! (can you tell!) I went my sister today and shopped. She loves Target as much as I do! (Note to self, Sarah is not the best accountablilty partner, she is as bad as you are!)

I hope you "Targetians" enjoy your first shopping days, I did!

I have a blog!

I fugured the since I am reading other blogs, I needed to start my own. I really fought the desire to have one until a few days ago. Tonight I FINALLY decided it was time. If you have any suggestions, please share them. My next entry will be a little moreinteresting, hopfully. I figured I would take it a little slow to start out.
I hope you check it out often!