Such a rarity....

Today was a good day!  We celebrated the union of marriage between our friend/babysitter Heather Miller and her (now) hubby Lonnie Schmidt and we saw a precious new life...my new niece, Kimberly Grace Morris.  I think A LOT of Heather...I loved her as a middle schooler in my Middle School Bible Studies..I loved her when she started babysitting for us when Emily was a baby and I love her and wish her worlds of happiness in her new venture as a wife.  She has been babysitting for us now for 8 years!  She is the type of babysitter that I leave my children with and have no worries.  Its like having a younger sister that just knows you..knows when you would want to be called...knows when you don't mind letting the baby cry, etc.  She knew my house, knew my kids, and knew what to do....And I actually think she really loved my kids.  She seemed to always enjoy them.  She seemed to really like being around them.  Heather is quiet...doesn't say much.  She is poised, graceful, gifted, sweet, and polite.  Maybe she was being nice, but she told me once that if she had not have had a niece of her own, Emily would have been her flower girl.  She loved the things that J.D. would say to her when babysitting and it made me feel good today when her husband, whom I've never met (because he lives in Montana), said "Oh, your baby Molly's mom."  Anyways, Heather is a very beautiful young woman on the inside as well as on the outside (I must say she was rockin it in that mermaid gown today...she has the perfect figure for such a gown!).  It has taken me quite some time to get to know her even though I have known her for a very long time.  She is kind of like a flower that buds very slowly...there is a sense of honesty, confidence, elegance, and dignity about her.  Can you tell I really respect her?  There is a book that a good friend of mine gave Emily called (I think)..The Princess Kiss.  It tells about a treasure...a kiss...that the parents give the princess when she is born and she is not to give it to anyone unless they are worthy...you get the picture...Well today, I saw Heather as that Princess...it seemed as if she could be in that book. 

I have to admit that when I was younger and an early twenty something myself, I thought the Miller family was a little strange....they homeschooled, Mrs. Miller was a spunky lady and not afraid to speak and they just seemed different....but they produced a wonderful young lady in my opinion.  I know Heather has a great relationship with her Dad.  I would often see them out having lunch together...just the two of them..I didn't understand that then but now I do.  She has lived with her parents until now except when she went away to school for a semester or so.  Tomorrow she leaves on her honeymoon and then moves to Montana with the love of her life.  I got to speak with her candidly about some personal things...she was asking my opinion because I was a nurse/friend/etc...although she did not come out and say it in so many words...I got from our conversation that she and her future husband were virgins...such a rarity in this day (yes, I sound like an old woman) and I believe that it is also such a rarity in the "christian" cirlces as well.

O.K....so the next part of my post is a little PG rated...not for the weak in the stomach type or those that don't want to hear/read me talk about sex...ie my dad :)

Yes, John and I were virgins when we got married.  We dated for 5 long years before we tied the knot and we had plenty of time to "get busy" but didn't...We came home from school together to empty houses...I lived by myself for over a year an half...we went on trips together...I lived in our first home by myself for 4 months before our wedding.. so no one can say it was because our watchful parents were looking over us 24/7.  I have had MANY people ask me how and why we waited...I had a crowd of four nurses at work one day standing around me in disbelief after I mentioned that I had never been with anyone else...after they sat there bashing their husbands and their sex life for 30 minutes.  I know, I know...even marriages where people waited and have been faithful fail but I will attest to this....I have never been so proud, grateful, and thankful for waiting until my wedding night.  I am so thankful that my Mom told me that God said in the Bible to wait and that is what you should do....I am a rule follower so I guess the fear of my parents, fear of failure and fear of God is what made me NOT cross that line....not saying that I didn't want to.  We were two young teenagers in love, full of passion, and very attracted to each other...but we just didn't go there for whatever reason.  I have no idea what it would be like to be with another man and I am so happy about that.  Now...I guess it seems like I am bragging a bit...but I will without a doubt tell my daughters about my relationship with their Daddy and show them in the Bible what it says...
I truly believe that God has blessed John and I and our sex life because we waited.  I cannot tell you how special that gift was...without going into the details...it is something I treasure (and could cry about at the drop of a hat) to this day....John and I do not fight about sex..we love to have each others company...I still look at my husband with love and passion...and still want to be with him.  I believe God blessed us with three easy conceptions even though we were not suppose to be able to get pregnant easily because we waited.  We learned about each other together, we learned about sex together, we have a bond and something that we have shared that no one else on this earth knows about either of us.  I can't really put into words what I mean but that book "The princess Kiss" captures it....it is a gift!  And can you tell I am slightly the romantic, fairytale type?!?!?!

There is much more I could say about this subject...In my profession I see some very sad things.  I see girls giving their gift away to so many loosers when they haven't waited for their prince.  I use to live in a fairytale and believed that God made each of us a special person that we are suppose to marry but I know that there are probably many people on this earth that we can be compatible with....but saving yourself until marriage...well it really is a rarity that not many people seem to care about anymore.  I am serious when I say that I will talk to my daughters...I will tell them about their Daddy and me and tell them about special people like Miss. Heather and I will also show them pictures of genital warts and tell them about the green frothy smelly discharge I've seen coming from women with STDs and how a man/boy doesn't want to get to know you, love you, or put time into anything that he can get at the drop of a hat...I aint playing....I think it is so important and something that I want my girls to take very seriously! 

As I watched Heather walk down the aisle today....I was sooooo excited for her!  The anticipation and love in her groom's eyes...the realization that they get to finally be with one another.  I was excited that she will get to share her gift with an amazing man and have that special bond with him and only him!  I was so excited that she got to be the princess and she truly looked like she could have been in a fairlytale story book!  My friend (who has three girls) and I sat at the reception and watched as Heather and Lonnie had their first dance....we were both thinking and then said to one another..."How do you raise a daughter like that?"  Well hopefully we can and will....by the Grace of God!

cooking party

We had a fabulous cooking party with some of Emily's best friends!  It was a blast!  They made their very own pizzas with a variety of toppings, fruit and marshmallow kabobs, decorated aprons to take home and decorated cupcakes.  They ate and made a mess the whole time.  Emily decided this year to have her friends bring food pantry items for our church's food pantry intead of presents.  She collected over 60 items to the food pantry because of the generosity of her friends and grandmothers.  Thank goodness for her grandmothers.  I could not have done this party without them!  They were awesome!

Lesson learned and eyebrows waxed

On Valentines weekend I was out with Emily doing a little shopping and decided to go get my eyebrows waxed.  Yes, I am one of those...I like nice manicured eyebrows...don't like the catepillar look and I'm a hairy person!  So the lady was working hard and once she was done, she said with agony, "this has never happen to me before, I messed your brow up." And she had indeed!!...she took lots of hair off one of my eyebrows leaving it looking rather strange, like it had two naked lines in it.  She was mortified!  She kept apoligizing and saying it must have been because I have such light hair mixed in with the red and she put to much wax on...etc. etc.  Emily saw how upset she was and agreed once we got in the car, "Mommy, your eyebrow looks weird."  The lady didn't make me pay full price and I told her it was o.k.  She said she thought I was going to yell at her.  I thought that was funny b/c I cannot imagine yelling at someone in public like that...  I was going on a hot date that night with my hubby so I wondered how I was going to fix it.  I pulled my bangs over in front of the brow and that worked and then I worked on it with an eyebrow pencil which did the trick.  And the hair grew back in a matter of three days.  What a teachable moment for my little girl though.  She asked me in the car why I didn't get mad or if I was mad with the lady.  I honestly was not...  I told her it wasn't worth getting upset about.  I told her it was a mistake and an accident and I know Jesus would not have wanted me to yell.  I told her my eyebrow is not that important and the way I look or how funny I look wasn't worth a yelling match or making someone feel terrible.  It was a great moment and I am glad Emily was there to witness it.  Now I just need to remember these same principles when my loved ones accidently mess up......

Emily's Birth Day

February 19, 2002!  I won't go into the whole story because I have done that before but I remember it like it was yesterday....she got to come three weeks early because I was having some swelling and high blood pressure.  We stayed in triage all night long and then finally got a room on the 19th to start the real induction.  It took about 7 hours and she was born at about 4:20 in the afternoon.  All of our friends and family were there to greet her.  Daddy got to deliver her (forced by the midwife...I'm not sure he was so sure about it at first) and it was pretty much a wonderful, very easy delivery.  I had THE BEST doctor and nurses!  My Emily was beautful and perfect.  She really was a really pretty baby!  She has been a joy ever since!!  Yesterday, on Emily's actual birthday...at breakfast, I was telling her birth story (very G-rated of course) and telling how I sat on a big bouncy ball when it started to hurt really bad...John Daniel said shaking his head, "Oh my goodness, I cannot hear this!"  We all died laughing...he says the funniest things sometimes!  Emily had a great 8th birthday day ...complete with cookie cake at school, chick-fil-a delivered by her whole family, cheerleading game in the evening, and then she picked Firehouse for dinner...and today was her big COOKING party with her friends...what a big weekend!!!  I love my big girl so much and thank God for such a beautiful young lady!

Emily's 1st birthday party!

You all probably know by now that I love throwing parties...Emily's first of four was Monday night!  My Dad has been making fun of us all week...."What!  FOUR parties!!!"  We had grandparents over for dinner on Monday night, I am taking a treat to her class on Friday for lunch, we are having a few girls spend the night on Friday night and then having a Cooking party with more friends on Saturday...!!!!  Fun Fun!!  Our special Grandparent dinner was super nice.  It was nice just having Emily's special Grandparents over for some personal time.  She felt very honored!  Emily decided a while back that she would have a food pantry drive at her birthday party instead of having her friends bring presents.  She wanted to collect food for our food pantry at church that serves over 200 people every other week.  I thought it was a fabulous idea!  I assured her that her mommy and daddy and grandparents would not forget about it being her birthday.  We all "hooked" her up so to speak.  I made her favorite foods.  She requested lasagna, poppy seed chicken and noodles.  I added green beans and a grilled romaine salad to it.  We had strawberry shortcake as dessert and then she got to open up all of her presents.  She got some really pretty clothes, a diamond cross necklace, jewelry box, zhu zhu pet boat attachment for the zhu zhu house, some art supplies, a webkinz, and an IPOD shuffle.  She was so excited and very grateful.  I love me big girl!  She is so precious to me!

Our Hike

I have said before, John and I love to take the kids outdoors.  I cannot imagine a life without running, playing, and exploring the outdoors.  One of our favorite things has become hiking...it doesn't matter where really, we just love it!  One of my favorite memories over the past 6 months has been hiking in the mountains with the family....down to see some beautiful waterfalls and beautiful scenery.  Well, right down the road from us we have some beautiful scenery as well!  A totally pristeen lake sits inside Maclay Gardens.  No boats, no fishing, no dogs, no people...Pristeen.  It is lake overstreet.  On Monday, we took a 5.4 mile hike around lake Overstreet.  It was a rainy, overcast day but we headed out after lunch and had a great time.  Both big kids packed some snacks, rain gear, and a drink in their own backpack.  I did the same for John, Molly, and I.  John carried Molly in our 8 year old backpack carrier and I carried our gear bag.  We saw lots of trees, birds, a dead bobcat (about scared me to death), the lake, horse and bike tracks, vegetation, etc.  The kids did awesome and walked the entire time without complaining.  We talked about plateaus, what pristeen means, fungi, poison ivy, hollow trees, woodpeckers, berries, trailheads, clay, horse poop, what horses eat, and much much more.  You know when you are out in the woods, with no distractions, it is amazing what comes up in conversation....I love it!!!

P.S.

I forgot to post a funny on the Race blog.....John had made pancakes for the kids and during our 5K...Molly, tucked snuggly behind the weather barrier in the stroller, munched on pancakes the whole time as the rest of us ran/jogged/walked!  What a life!

Valentines Day

John planned a nice evening out for us on Saturday to celebrate Valentines Day even though that is not something we usually make a huge deal about...I got the sitter and he planned everything else.  He told me to go buy a new dress.  Emily and I went to target that day (because it was close and I was short on time) and we picked out a pretty dress...It was hilarious getting Emily's opinion on the dress.  I put this black one on at one point in the dressing room, and she said, "Oh no, you look like a maid!"  He drove me to Andrews 228 downtown.  We had never been before.  It was a nice eclectic restaurant and the food was amazing.  We enjoyed some wine, a crab cake, salad...I had grouper over artichoke risoto, and John had a New York Strip.  Then we had an espresso chocolate torte for dessert.  It was yummy.  We had some awesome uninterrupted conversation about all kinds of stuff.  Afterwards, we went to Target and bought Emily's IPOD for her birthday, rented a movie and bought a bottle of wine.  We went home, paid the sitter, and lounged on the couch in front of a fire and watched a movie!  Perfect night!!!!

The Run

It was freezing and wet and Harriet and I decided Friday that we would not run in the "Run for the Cookies" race as we had planned.  Laying in bed Friday night though, John encouraged me and said, "It's not going to be that cold, you can do it and I will do it with you!"  We discussed whether to take the kids or bug the grandparents or take a few of them but John decided to just take them all.  He said he would push two of them in the jogging stroller.  We woke up late on Saturday and everything in me said not to go.  It was cold and windy and I so wanted to sleep.  All the kids were alseep and it was so snuggly in our house but I got myself up and John fixed me breakfast and a water bottle and off I went.  There were a lot of people there considering the weather!  The race started at 9 am sharp.  The route was a 3.2 mile route around and behind TCC.  I run really slow...like someone walking fast could walk beside me and keep up but I have been told to just keep the running motion in play even if it is slow.  The sun came out a little and it really wasn't that bad.  I ran for a whole mile and then walked up a hill, ran some more, walked up another hill, and ran some more, walked a little and then ran to the finish line.  That is probably the most I have run at one time....the first mile is so hard, after that it gets easier for some reason, at least for me.  I did the race in 46 minutes.  John ran with me the whole time pushing 2 sometimes 3 in the jogging stroller.  At one time he had the girls in the stroller and J.D. was sitting on top.  It was a site and he got lots of comments from other runners like, "can I hop on too?"  My hubby is so encouraging!  He is amazing!  When I left that morning, he got all three kids up, fed them, dressed them all warmly, gathered all the stuff we needed...snacks, drink, etc. and got them all there in time to run with me....!  I am so glad I did the race...I felt accomplished and am already looking at another one in March that I can do...

P.S.  For completing the race, I got a box of Samoa Girl Scout Cookies...Emily and John Daniel ate 2 each and after we got home J.D. broke out in hives all over his body.  We ended up having to take him to Urgent Care the next day because even on Benadryl they were getting worse....turns out he is most likely allergic to Coconut!!!!  Now he is on prednisone and zyrtec and NO MORE Samoas for him!!!

Some stuff we have planned

Today John is riding his off road bike 55 miles in THE CROOM (a race somewhere near tampa).  My Dad is also with him and a couple other guys they know.  Next weekend I am running (hopefully running but maybe just slowly jogging or walking :) the RUN for The COOKIES with my friend, Harriet.  You get a box of girl scout cookies in the end!  It is a 5K.  John and I are then going out for a Valentines Day dinner and race celebration that evening.  I am very excited about this.  I love our dates together!!!  The kids are out of school on Presidents day and John and I decided that we'd take the family hiking.  We may go somewhere in town (a greenway) or we may even go over to the Suwannee River.  That night we want to have Emily's grandparents over to celebrate her birthday with her and have her favorite meal together.  The next weekend is Emily's birthday weekend.  We are having a small spend the night party (like 4 girls) and then the next day a few more of her friends are coming over to celebrate at a Cooking Party!  Mommy and the girls will make personal pizzas, fruit kabobs, decorate cupcakes, and aprons together.  Our long time babysitter, Miss Heather is getting married the next weekend...we are very sad she is leaving us for the love of her life and moving to Montana :(  Then it is MARCH...cannot believe it!!!!  Our tentative plan is go to to Disney World the second weekend in March.  I am probably the most excited!!  The kids do not know and I think we will just surprise them and start driving and not tell them where we are going.  Tickets right now through May are $99 for adults for 4 days and $89 for kids for 4 days. You can go to all the parks and don't have to use the 4 days all at once.  We will just stay in a very cheap hotel and take our food in the park...maybe splurge once...but you can't beat the deal....4 days, 4 parks, and 4 people for < $400!  Then on March 19th we are headed over to Jacksonville to watch John run the Jacksonville Mud Run...it is a 6 mile combat/obstacle course type run in the mud!!!  The pictures online look hilarious and extremely hard.  He is on a team of 5 and they have to wear camo and combat boots..we cannot wait to watch!  We will stay with my Aunt and Uncle and they will go with us to watch.  March 20th is Molly's 1st birthday.  I'm trying to ignore it hoping that she will not turn one...wish I could keep her little!  You know me and birthdays..I love to make them big and special and spectacular although this February/March birthday thing is kind of crazy!  I think we might have a cupcake themed party for Molly out at Maclay Gardens on March 21st...grill out..have family and friends...and let the kids just run around out there......Come on and enjoy the fun...Our little Cupcake is turning 1!!!!! 

Dave Ramsey, Michael Pearl, and the Flylady for President!

Besides Jesus of course, the persons named above have become regular self help leaders in this home.  I am not too fond of self help books or people that get on TV and try to solve people's woes.  I don't watch OPRAH, can't stand Dr. Phil and the ladies on the VIEW make my skin crawl....But I do like to get advice from people who seem to get it right and make sense.  In my opinion, the above could basically do a better job leading our country than any Democrat or Republican.  America's debt would not be skyrocketing, our homes, marriages and children would be set straight and the Flylady would declutter, destress, and organize us all....Since I know that ain't happening, we will concentrate on this home and a few others that I know of.  Something is a changing in my home...life is better (not that is was horrible), decisions are being made, money is being spent wisely, the TV is OFF for the majority of the day, we are all reading more, the house seems to be cleaner, the kids are cleaning their rooms, we are all outside, we are all exercising, the Bible is being read, God is speaking to us, we are saving money where we haven't before, we are decluttering, etc. etc. etc.  BUT it is hard work.  I am exhausted some days from just trying to get it all done!  And it is all good stuff!  The book I spoke of before...Crazy LOVE..speaks of being in AWE of God.  It speaks of his omniprescence and how God IS, God was, and God will be...nothing we can do or will do (America too) can change that....it speaks of how little we all are and I started thinking about it....stress that I put on myself and stress that my friends are putting on themselves is unnecesary in that it just means that we are putting all that stuff in front of God, even if it is good stuff...if we let it wear us down, make us tired, make us crazy, cranky, unpleasant mothers and wives then that is not right either....I do let the ideas and notions of Dave Ramsey, Micheal Pearl, Flylady, and others put pressure on me..but today as I was running in the rain, listening to the sounds of the rain hit the trees and leaves and pavement....I realized something...we all need to relax a little...We are not ALL THAT, we are small, a bleep on the radar screen, a notch on a long long timeline in the history of the world...and if my sink gets shined and if my coupons get clipped and if my kids say please and thank you that is great but I want to stand in AWE of God!  The God that makes the rain fall from the sky, the God that creates catepillars, the God that makes our heart pumps, the God that created the universe, the God that does so much but still loves little ol me....!!! My prayer is that we can stop and smell the roses, listen to the rain and stand in awe of God and then go inside and shine our sink with a smile on our face and a joyful heart and if the 6 stacks of laundry in the garage don't get done...well there is always tomorrow or maybe not :)

Molly

Molly has quite the personality.  I realized last night that I had not taken pictures in awhile so I got out the camera.  It is soooo hard getting a picture of that girl because she is on the GO!!!  She doesn't stop for much and she wants to hold the camera so some of these pictures are a little fuzzy but it was the best I could do last night.  We have a play stethoscope that came with a kid's doctor set.  She likes the stethoscope a lot.  She carries it around.  She actually (no lie) puts it around her neck and then gets up and walks around with her little walker toy...it is hilarious.  The big kids think it is fabulous!  Maybe she is going to be our little doctor!  I just love her to pieces!!!!