Random Pictures

It's been a while since I've blogged, and I'm always amazed how time flies so fast!  Time seems to always get away from me.  (I'm sure that NEVER happens to anyone else...)  I'm so far behind, I haven't done my December meal plan yet.  I have the next couple days done, but I need to finish it by Friday.  This is always a very busy time of year!  But, we are enjoying our time with family and friends.  Can't wait for some snow, too!  (I could live without the cold, though...)

I don't have much time right now, gotta get Levi in the bath tub, clean a little, do some laundry, work on my meal plan and grocery list, finish up Christmas gifts, tidy up around the house, and (if time permits) work on some crafts I've started.  See what I mean?  And all of this has to happen while entertaining a two-year-old!  And so goes our life...

I'll try to actually put together a "real" blog very soon.  Hope you are enjoying this time of year!  It is definitely our favorite time of year!  Merry Christmas (a little early)!!

(Explanation of the photos:  Two pictures are from our back yard, playing in the leaves.  Levi falls asleep with his hands folded like praying - So Cute!  Chris and Paula gave Levi a cute little apron with race cars on it, since he LOVES to help Mommy cook!  We took a picture of Levi with Mamaw and Papaw in front of our Christmas tree a couple weeks ago.  (Mom actually didn't blink in this one...)

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

I know, it's only November 8th.  And we're actually having an INDIAN SUMMER this weekend.  (Yay!  70 degrees again!)  But, last week, my husband came home from work one evening and told me that he wanted to put up the CHRISTMAS tree.  Sure, why not?  So, we put up our CHRISTMAS tree and lights.  I'm waiting to put up the snowman decorations around the house.  Still too early for snow, so I'm going to wait a few weeks.  But, I love to turn off the lights in the house and watch the CHRISTMAS lights.  So relaxing and serene!  And, of course, like I mentioned a few weeks ago, we are listening to our CHRISTMAS cds.  We love this time of year!  You really should try it!  :)  (Of course, your neighbors might think you're a little weird...)

HaPpY bIrThDaY!!!

This is a special post for my friend who is having a BIRTHDAY!  I have known SHELLEE for 33 of her 34 birthdays...  (Sorry, Shellee, I just gave your age away.)  We spent several SUMMERS together, went to SCHOOL together, went to CHURCH together, CHEERed, SANG, etc.  Now, she is living on the other side of the world (Japan) faithfully SERVING the Lord in a foreign country.  Since pride is a sin, I won't say that I am proud of her.  But, I am very HaPpY to see her doing the Lord's work with her husband and eight boys.  Her mama, PAM, would be so HaPpY, too!  (She is, I'm sure!)  

So, as she celebrates her birthday, I am praying that Shellee is able to enjoy a special day.  She deserves it!!  Wish I could be with her to give her a hug!  For those of you who know her, if you have her email or phone number, let her know you are thinking about her.  She would LOVE to hear from you!

Thank you, Shellee, for all that you've done for me!  LOVE YOU!

Just Levi

I LOVE BIG TRAINS!!

Franklin Library had trains set up last weekend.  Rob was working, so Levi and I jumped in the car and took a ride to see the choo-choos.  He loved them!

Special Day with Maw Maw and Paw Paw

Train Expo at the Fairgrounds

I'M DREAMING......

Can you believe it's October already?  It sure felt like it today!   A little bit too cool...

Made me get a CHRISTMAS cd out!  And, oh, did it sound good!  I sure LOVE that time of year, so I thought I'd get a little taste beforehand...

When Rob got in the car and heard what I was listening to, he couldn't believe it.  But, what's funny is, when we got home, he took the cd in the house and we LiStEnEd to it some more...

LOVE it!  (And, him, too, of course)   :)

Where have I been?

Wow, it has been a loooonnnngggg time since I've posted something here.  Where have I been?  Well, I guess I've been busy...  Time just seems to fly by!  Everyday, there seems to be something going on around here.  For example, here is last weekend's schedule:  Saturday was a cook-out with the college class at church which took most of the day;  Sunday was church, college lunch, nursing home, church, and church fellowship afterwards.  Busy, busy, busy.  I know I'm not the only one.  Those of you with more than one child certainly have your hands full!  Don't know how you do it!

On another subject, has anyone else noticed how fall snuck up on us?  It is here!  But where did summer go?  I do love fall, but it just seems too early for it.  I'm not quite ready.  Oh well, can't go back, so I'd better just enjoy it!  I do love to have the windows open and let the fall breezes blow through the house, but these last few days have been too chilly and windy to do that.  The temperature in the house with all of the windows closed has been in the low to mid 60's.  Hoping it warms up a little bit soon!  Looks like tomorrow will be very nice, then rain on Friday and Saturday.  We still need the rain, so I'm not complaining about that.  My tomato plants have new blooms on them; not sure if they will make it, but I'll wait and see.  My strawberry plants are still growing, blooming, and producing.  They are spreading everywhere.  I'll have to try to contain them, so I can have other things, too, in my garden next year.

It is time to pick apples!  What will I be making this year when I get some apples???  Hmmm....  Gotta look at my recipes and choose.  I need to get over to the orchard.  We were heading there this morning in Grandma's car when Levi threw up all over the place!  So, needless to say, we turned around and came back home.  Had to give him a bath, wash clothes, etc.  (You know the drill, Moms.)  Grandma had to clean out her car, too.  Fun, fun!  (Glad we weren't driving my car...  lol)  Levi isn't showing any other symptoms of illness, so hopefully this too shall pass.  I hope he doesn't get sick!  I was really looking forward to taking him to the orchard to pick apples!  And he was really wanting to go, too.  For the last two days, he's been talking about going to the "farm, pick apples".  I'm hoping we are able to go tomorrow afternoon (if Levi doesn't get sick).

Tomorrow evening ~ DAVE RAMSEY!!  We have been looking forward to this for several months now.  We have had our tickets for about 6 months!  Dave Ramsey will be at the State Fairgrounds for a seminar.  We have been working on getting out of debt for a while now.  Still have a little ways to go, but we are getting somewhere.  We just have my car loan left, and the house, of course.  Dave Ramsey has given us some great ideas on how to budget, pay off debt, stay out of debt, pay with cash/debit, NO CREDIT, etc.  Of course, all of this is common sense, but sometimes you need someone to smack you in the face with it!  He doesn't hold back, that's for sure.  He says it like it is!  Can't wait to hear him live.  Maybe it will give us another little push...  Looking forward to it!  Several families from our church will be there, as well, so it will be a good time.

We have an appointment on Friday to get Levi's two-year pictures taken at Penney's.  I know I'm a couple months late, but... (I think I lost another couple months somewhere.)  I'm hoping he will be more cooperative than last year.  He wasn't happy at all last time, but they still managed to get some great shots.  We'll see...

I have some pictures that I need to post from Saturday.  (When we went to the cook-out at church, Levi went to a train expo with my parents.  Levi LOVES trains, of course!)  Also, since October starts tomorrow, I probably need to work on my monthly meal plan today...  I'll try to get that posted soon, as well.  

Hope everyone has an enjoyable day!

Old Friends, New Friends

I was able to spend an hour on Monday morning with a friend from the past.  Stacey flew in from Texas for a few days to visit with family.  She has twin girls that are about to turn two.  It worked out for us to spend a little time together for a "play date".  We met at a playground where the girls and Levi could play together.  What's funny is that they had way more fun playing with the rocks than the playground equipment!  Oh, the simple things in life...

Stacey is the cousin of a dear friend that is a missionary in Japan.  So, I am glad that I had the opportunity to spend time with her in Shellee's absence.  

Ice Cream!

Yes, Levi loves ice cream, just like his mommy!!

Levi has a truck book that has a picture of an ice cream truck in it.  Well, his Daddy decided to teach him the name of that truck.  He calls it "Mommy's truck".  Funny, Rob.  Real funny...

I LOVE BIG TRAINS!!

Another train-centered getaway!  We went to Metamora, 1 1/2 hour drive east of Indy.  It is an 1838 canal town located along the 

Whitewater Valley Railroad.  It's been maybe 25 years since I've been there (wow, am I that old???).  I went there with my family and my friend, Shellee, and her mom, Pam.  Oh, the memories...

The reason we went this past weekend was because they had an old steam train there.  And, since Levi is so obsessed with trains, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to see a train up close.  We didn't ride it, for one reason, because it was so expensive.  But, I also thought that Levi would have much more fun watching it from the outside.  We were able to walk around in it while it was parked at the train station; that was pretty exciting!  Then we watched it leave and return for two of its trips.  It was VERY LOUD, which had two different effects on Levi:  screaming in fear or holding his ears.  

When the train was gone on its trips, we walked around and looked in some of the shops, ate lunch, walked through the mill, rode on the horse-drawn canal boat, and ate an ice cream cone.  What a long, but WONDERFUL day!!  Lots of memories!

Friday Night Boredom :)

No surprise here ~ 

Levi found the John Deere tractors first thing.

We went south to the booming metropolis of Edinburgh to the "Heartnut Festival"...

Pretty interesting.  We saw some tractor pulls (really just souped-up lawn mowers), Levi rode a little carousel ride (thanks to Paw-Paw), we found a swing set, and we found the little trains.  These trains are small; you actually ride on top of them.  They are only $2 a ride, but they weren't giving rides that night.  We will hopefully go back on the third Saturday of October to ride.  I'm sure Levi would thoroughly enjoy it.  Hopefully, Daddy can go with us then.  (He was in Chicago for a business trip for the weekend.)

CIRCUS!

Today's expedition was a last-minute trip downtown to the CIRCUS PARADE.  The Ringling Bros. Circus is in town, and they had a parade around the Circle.  I found out a little late, so we were driving around looking for a parking space at a meter when we saw the elephants walking down the street.  We were a block away, but Levi could still see them.  I finally found a place, and we ran over to the circle.  We missed the elephants and the marching band there, but we did see some miniature horses and acrobats.  They gave out free circus hats, and Levi got one.  It's a little big, but he likes it!  Trying to get as much summer in as we can before it's gone...

"A Christmas Carol" Train Tour

Levi, Grandma, and I went on a little excursion on Wednesday.  (I love these free field trips!)  We drove down to Bargersville, which is about 20 minutes from our house, to see the Disney "A Christmas Carol" Train Tour.  We didn't go because it was Disney; we went because it was a train that Levi could see up close and walk on.

The exhibit was supposed to open at 9:00 a.m., so I decided we should leave my house at 8:00 to beat the crowds.  When we arrived, there was probably about 100 people there, so the line was pretty short and quick to tour the train.  The train cars had memorabilia, pictures, and videos about the making of the new Disney animated "Christmas Carol" coming out in November.  It was pretty neat to see, although it was more geared towards the older "kids" like me.  Levi was just happy to be on a train. 

It took probably 20 minutes to get through the train.  When we got off the train, there was a huge line already forming at 9:15.  I would say maybe 1,000 people were there by then.  We walked around the town looking at the booths for a while, then headed home.  By the 5:00 news, they said there was a 5 1/2 hour wait for the exhibit.  (There's NO WAY I would wait that long!!)  Crazy!

Another Trip to the Zoo

We took another trip to the ZOO last week.  Since we have the family membership, I've been trying to get a lot of use out of it.  It really has been worth it!  The weather was very nice last week, so we decided to go on Friday morning.  My mom went with us.  When we arrived at 9:30, there was hardly anyone there, so it was even much more enjoyable!  (Maybe we will go that early all of the time...)  

The baby giraffe was out; it was only three weeks old, I believe.  So cute!  

We also decided to ride the zoo train.  It was not very affordable, but Grandma wanted Levi to ride it, since he loves trains so much.  The train at the zoo is a neat little train; the tour, however, not so much...  It takes you around the outskirts of the zoo where you see the administration building, Washington Street, the 

medical building, and the back of some of the animal exhibits.  Not very exciting, but Levi loved the train ride nonetheless.  

The dolphin show was not very crowded, either, so we got good seats this time.  (Maybe one of these times we'll sit in the splash area.)  We had a great little excursion.  And, when we exited the zoo at around 12:00, the parking lot was almost full and the lines were long.  Guess it pays to get there early!

Ride Like the Wind...

So, back in the spring, I came across a garage sale where I purchased a little basketball goal for Levi for $4.00.  I went through that neighborhood the next day looking for more sales, and when I drove by that same house, they had a bicycle with training wheels on it.  This is one of those bikes that is for 18 months to 3 years old.  Of course, Levi, being a little on the short side, couldn't even reach the pedals when I got it for him.  He still was able to sit on it and push himself around.  Well, a couple weeks ago, I noticed that he could finally reach the pedals.  And over the course of the last couple weeks, he has conquered the bike!  He loves to ride his bike.  In the house, on the back porch, on the front sidewalk, around the court...  This is now all he wants to do.  Good thing we are having a great week of weather!  We are spending all of our time outside, and loving it!!!

Enjoying the remainder of the summer!  Can you believe it is September 1st already?  Where did the time go?  If you took it, will you please give it back?

Talk to you tomorrow (hopefully!)...  Have a great day!  

What Weekend????

Busy, busy weekend ~ I can't believe Monday is here already!  

It's funny how a weekend can be so busy, yet so uneventful.  Well, not really funny...  Here's what happened:  

Rob came home Friday night at 6:00 p.m. with the wonderful news that he would have to go back and work from midnight to noon Saturday.  (note the sarcasm)  Then for the next three hours, he was on the phone trying to take care of some issues/problems for work.  So, around 9:00 p.m., he was ours!  For half an hour!  Then, off to bed for Levi.  It took a while for Levi to get to sleep; Rob stayed in his room with him and they talked for a while, I guess.  Then they both fell asleep.  I woke him up around 10:30 p.m., and he showered, got dressed, and ran back off to work.

Saturday morning, I dropped off Levi at my parents' house for a couple hours so I could get my grocery shopping done.  Then, I picked him up and we took daddy lunch at work.  We had a picnic on the floor of the digital room where he was working.  That was pretty exciting for Levi; me, not so much...  After lunch, Levi and I went home, supposedly Rob would be home in an hour or so.  He finally arrived home at 4:00 p.m. (so much for noon).  He had been awake since 6:45 a.m. Friday morning, so he was wiped out!  He sat down on the chair just for a minute and he was out.  So, I decided to run down the street to the store with Levi so Rob could get a little rest.  (Of course, I was thinking that he would go to bed.  That way, when we got back home, I could keep Levi distracted while Rob was locked in the bedroom.)  When we got back, Rob hadn't quite made it to the bed; he had only made it about four steps from the chair to the couch.  IMPOSSIBLE to keep Levi off of daddy...  So, for the next three hours, he slept off and on, while Levi took turns laying on top of him, climbing on top of him, and telling him to "moof foot" so he could sit and watch his tractor video.  I did manage to fix dinner, and I even woke Rob up to see if he wanted to eat.  He sat up and said NO quite firmly several times.  It really was quite funny!  So, I let him sleep.  Levi and I ate dinner and I put Rob's dinner in the fridge.  About 7:30 p.m., Rob woke up from his coma and asked when we were going to eat.  Obviously he didn't remember me waking him up...  He ate dinner and played with Levi a little, then he went back to bed right after Levi got in bed.  

Church was wonderful on Sunday!  We had our 5th Sunday services.  Many churches have special 5th Sunday services, but ours is as follows:  morning services as usual, pitch-in lunch, then an afternoon service immediately following lunch.  The afternoon service consists of special requests for favorite hymns, a lot of special music, and all of the young preacher boys preaching for about 10 to 15 minutes each.  (This time, there were only three preachers.  Rob was so tired and hadn't had much time to prepare, so he passed on this one, and Jordan was out of town preaching at Rob's dad's church in Tennessee this weekend.)  This makes for a seemingly long day, but our family thoroughly enjoys this set-up.  We kind of wish we would do this every Sunday...  We even had choir practice for a little while afterwards, working on our Christmas cantata.

Well, after church, before cantata practice, would you believe that Rob got a phone call from work?  AHHHH!  So, when we got home and got everything carried in the house, Rob changed into his work clothes and off he went...  He worked from about 4:45 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.  He got home just in time to go to bed.  Then, up at 6:15 a.m. this morning and off to work again.  He literally got NO WEEKEND!!  No break.  No rest for Rob.  So, if you think about him, say a prayer for him...  He is really frustrated, as are we all!  Next Monday is a much-needed holiday, and hopefully a day off for him.  So, like I said, a busy, busy, busy weekend...

On a lighter note, Levi is learning new songs and loves to sing them.  We sing them a lot, but right now it seems we sing them the most while he is sitting on the potty.  HAHAHA

The songs he is singing are "Jesus Loves Me", "The B-I-B-L-E", "Ho-Ho-Ho-Hosanna", "Rejoice in the Lord Alway", and "The Hallelujah Chorus".  (We have been practicing our choir's Christmas cantata and it has this song in it.  Levi can say hallelujah pretty well, actually.)

Yesterday, with our busy Sunday schedule, Levi didn't take a nap at church, or in the car on the way home, or when we got home.  I had given up on the hope of him taking a nap.  I fixed him something for dinner and put him in the high chair to eat.  He was watching his choo-choo video.  I was eating, also, but was on the computer checking mail, FB, and blogs.  I kept looking over at him and he was eating really well.  (He never eats very much at our church pitch-ins.  Too many distractions, I guess.)  After a few minutes, I looked over at him and he had fallen asleep!  Yay ~ Naptime!!  So, I tried to clean off his hands and face without waking him up, and I managed to carry him to his bed and lay him down.  He slept for an hour.  Did I say Yay already?  I was able to finish cleaning up the kitchen and got to sit down and rest before he woke up again.  I really cherish those times of peace and quiet!  They don't happen often.

Well, this week, we don't have very much planned, so hopefully we can catch up on our family time and rest...  

Hope you all are having a good Monday (Is that possible???)  and have a blessed week!

Count your blessings...

(Next post, I hope to have video of Levi's newest accomplishment.  Not the potty, something else...)

"Boom, Boom, Boom"

Yesterday, I went to Kohl's with my mom and Levi.  She needed to buy picture frames for all of the free pictures we've been getting from Walgreens this last week.  I needed a couple, too, but didn't find any affordable enough.  (Walmart, here I come!)  I didn't walk out of the store empty-handed, though.  She wanted to walk through the toy department.  Well, I found a water gun on clearance for $1.20, so I got it for Levi.  He held it the rest of the shopping trip and wanted to "buy it".  So, when we got to the register, I let him give it to the lady, and I let him pay for it, too.  He carried it out to the car and asked MawMaw to get it out of the package.  She then proceeded to pour some water in it from her water bottle.  Well, needless to say, he practically soaked the inside of her car.  Glad we were driving hers and not mine!  I think she learned her lesson from that one...  Anyway, he loves playing with it.  He runs around the backyard saying, "Boom, boom, boom"  when he is spraying it!  So cute!  Of course, sometimes he chases me and I can get quite wet.  He's not a bad shot!!  Fun, Fun, Fun!

What a beautiful day!  Did anyone else notice that August is almost over?!?!?!?!?

That means winter is almost here...  Here we go again!  (Sorry to those who live in more frigid time zones ~ like Nayoro, Japan.  Didn't your snow pile, I mean, mountain,  just melt?)

Enjoy the rest of your day and your church services tonight!

God bless!  Love you!

Wisdom

Just remembering Senior Bible class ~ Proverbs with Mr. Thomas

What wisdom was in that class about wisdom!  (No pun intended...)

Proverbs 4 (select verses):

5~Get wisdom, get understanding:  forget it not;

6~Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee:  love her, and she shall keep thee.

13~Take fast hold of instruction;  let her not go:  keep her;  for she is thy life.

14-15~Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.  Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

20~My son, attend to my words;  incline thine ear unto my sayings.

21~Let them not depart from thine eyes;  keep them in the midst of thine heart.

STAY IN THE WORD!!

22~For they are LIFE unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

23~Keep thy HEART with all DILIGENCE;  for out of it are the issues of life.

GUARD MY HEART, LORD!!

24~Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

GUARD MY MOUTH, LORD!!

25~Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

HELP ME KEEP MY EYES ON THEE!!

Thank you, Lord, for my salvation, for my family, for my Godly friends, for my possessions, for my health, for my needs, for my church, for my freedom in Christ to serve Thee, for my country, for my freedom...

"Happiness is to know the Saviour, living a life within His favour.

Real Joy is mine, no matter if the teardrops fall!"

They're GRRREAT!

Had to post this!  It made me laugh soooo hard tonight. 

Levi was sitting on the floor with his bowl of pretzel goldfish for snack.  I was at the sink washing dishes.  Rob was on the phone in the other room.  I turned around to check on Levi.  He was sitting there holding up his arm with his pointer finger straight up.  I looked at him and was trying to figure out why he was randomly holding his arm and finger up.  I finally asked him what he was doing.  He pointed to the top of the fridge where we keep our cereal boxes.  Guess what cereal box was there?  Frosted Flakes.  Apparently Levi wants to take Tony the Tiger's job...  It was so cute; I had to laugh!  Love these moments!  They're GRRREAT!!    :)