TN trip - part 1

181. 5 day trip to Jackson to visit with family.




182. sweet girlies who whined little on the drive to and from.
183. a husband who is more than willing to drive the entire car trip.
184. a birthday celebration at chuck-e-cheese. (somehow, the girls celebrated their birthdays yet again even though it was actually cousin Brodye's birthday week.)



185. Generous family whose gifts made packing our car to return home much more of a chore than it was to go up. Each girl received 3 Easter backets in TN plus alot more "stuff" - clothes, shoes, coloring books, etc.


Check back tomorrow for TN trip - part 2!

Top 10 TV

Here is a list of my favorite tv shows ever. Some of them I no longer watch, but my allegiance to them was at one time high enough for them to still make the grade.
**I reserve the right to rearrance/add to/delete from this list at any time!**

10/11. Monk/My Boys - I can't decide!
9. White Collar
8. Roseanne
7. The Bozo show (I've been told I loved it - don't really remember)
6. Everybody Loves Raymond
5. Saved By The Bell
4. Friends
3. Full House
2. House M.D.

and my favorite TV show ever (at least until I change my mind)

1. American Idol

I don't even watch Idol anymore, not a single minute of this season! But there's no denying my addiction to this popular reality show from 2003 - 2009. I heart Simon!

What are your top TV shows of all time?

Happy Easter

What a blessing (#171) that people from church put together a fun Easter celebration today. Another blessing (#172) is that neither Matt nor I had any responsibilities there other than to enjoy the games, food, egg hunt, etc. with our children.

I'd love to post pictures from the event, but I forgot to bring my camera with me. Actually, it wouldn't really matter if I'd brought my camera or not; you still would be seeing no pictures. Why? Because after returning Friday from our fun filled five days in TN with family (blessing 173) I've been unable to locate the cable to transfer pictures. Now, granted, I haven't actually unpacked my suitcase or any of the other bags we brought back (Hello, I've only been home 24 hours - suitcases sit around my house for alot longer than that!) so hopefully, the cable will make it's appearance soon. When it does, I'll show you the shots from our fun filled family week as well as pictures that I'm sure to take tomorrow.

174 - Julia confidently answering questions that were asked of the group during the "telling of the real Easter Story" part of the church Easter fun. My girlie knows her stuff!

175 - A cotton candy limit of 1 per person. Seriously, I needed this limit for myself. I hadn't had cotton candy in forever, and it sounded (and tasted) so good!

176 - A good Publix trip today! Spent $58.10, saved $104.43. We were out of alot of stuff, including Matt's beloved soft drinks. Instead of making a trip to Walmart, I decided to "splurge" and purchase the BOGO Pepsi's at Publix. It really wasn't that much more expensive anyways, and as I said... Matt was in need of carbonation! So, what do I see as I come upon the soft drink aisle?? Peelie, after peelie, after peelie. That's right coupons right there on the 2 liters for immediate use. I wound up getting 10 of those suckers for $.33 and $.34 each. I would have gotten more, but I was getting just the caff. free diet's (our fave of the Pepsi brand) and I didn't want to be a shelf clearer!

And that's enough of the coupon talk. I'm well aware most of you hate that!

177. crockpots - I've really gotten into using mine lately. Tonight's entree - frozen chicken breast with about half a bottle of BBQ sauce cooked on high while I went on the aforementioned grocery trip. so easy. why did it take me so long to see the fabulousness of this kitchen tool?

178. Time alone tonight to read, blog, prep for children's church, unpack (ha! -maybe), and in general enjoy the quiet of the next 2+ hours! The girls have just now fallen asleep, and Matt's up at church practicing for the service tomorrow. Yes, it is late at night. The band's practice is scheduled for 9-11 pm. 2 weeks ago it was Friday night from 10-1. I think the 30 somethings in this group are trying to relive some of their glory years. just saying

179. A safe trip to TN and back.

180. A Risen Saviour to Praise this Easter Weekend!

When I post pictures, I post pictures!

161. The fun these kids have painting - we were doing preschool makeup work at home (from the day Audrey was out sick)


162. access to a swimming pool that we don't have to clean
163. nice weather that has given a chance to swim 3 times this year already



Matt was asked to send a family picture to his high school for some alumni blurb in the school's quarterly magazine. Yeah, he's a private school kid - JCM doesn't have a magazine to mail out ;) So, since we do not have a recent family photo we brought the camera to church this past Sunday. What a blessing (#164) to have a patient photographer (actually 2) that were willing to take shot after shot. Here's a sample:





Blessing 165 - cropping, zoom features that make so-so pictures look almost good! The pictures I posted are as is, but Matt said he made 1 of the dozen or so we took look pretty good.

Easter Egg Hunt at preschool!
#166 - the most perfect day, weatherwise, for outside play! So sunny and mid 70's!




You can't see it well in this picture, but Julia has a new Easter basket. One of her classmates' mom had these personalized buckets made for the class. They're just a sand pail (complete with shovel) but she had their names painted on them as well as some cutesy polka dots. Those kids were so excited! #167 - generous preschool parents






The girls and I had fun playing beauty shop yesterday. We all curled our hair and the 2 of them got into makeup. Audrey is just too cute when she asks, "Do I look beau-di-tul?" (beautiful) Let's hear it for blessing 168 - cheap, girly play beauty shop fun!



169. lots of delicious food samples at Sam's that make shopping there almost (I said almost) as enjoyable as shopping at my dear Publix
170. Having such an abundance of toys that we were able to donate some gently used toys to the church's thrift store. We most definitely could (and should) have donated much more, but we'll save that for another day.

152. The start of our spring break!!!!!!!!
153. A foursome family day at home!
154. First by the pool picnic of the year.

155. Julia learning her bible verse for preschool graduation very easily. "Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Noone comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

156. Audrey doing her very best to recite Julia's graduation verse. "Jesus said, I am the way, the truth. No one comes except through me. John 14:16" She also makes sure to point to herself at "through me."

157. Audrey's insistance that she can say her class Bible verse all by herself (even though she knows Julia's verse much better than her own.) Audrey's class verse is: "Every good and perfect gift comes from up above." James 1:17

158. No tears when I refused Audrey (but not Julia) a piece of candy for dessert tonight. AKB didn't eat her dinner!
159. A mailbox with a full size product sample (Ocean Spray juice) AND a free product coupon (Bic Lighter)! I heart freebies :)
160. Matt helping me conquer a mountain of clean laundry this evening. Thanks, honey!

141-150

So blessed with...

- beautiful days to go running (let's hope I take advantage of it more!)
- a husband to watch the kids while I go running
- time for pretty regular afternoon naps
- a stable childhood. Stuff might have gotten crazy at home when I was in college (wink, wink) but knowing some of the trials the preschoolers around me face, man, I've had it so easy.
- my kids growing up with a stable environment
- a friend that's willing to share alot of coupons with me
- a life with the perfect amount of "busyness" for me and my girls
- God's providence and comfort in stressful financial situations
- God's providence in other stressful sitations
- God's reminders to me of His providence

Don't start worrying about these stressful situations I've mentioned. Nothing is new for the better or for the worse. I've just had my moments lately of really being reminded how we've been taken care of from our Union days when neither of us had a full time job, to us welcoming kids and me deciding to stay home, to Matt's resignation, to our house still being on the market 11 months later. I worry, worry, worry all the time, but He always provides.

For instance... (if you've heard this before, sorry!)
When we moved last summer, I was worried about money, about not being able to afford preschool for Julia, and I was growing a little crazier every day from staying home all the time. What did God throw in my lap? (I didn't have to fill out an application or even interview - see, in my lap!) He threw me a part time job at a preschool where the girls could attend with me. I got Julia into preschool like I wanted, have been able to absorb a little of the added cost of rent+mortgage, have gotten OUT OF THE HOUSE, and was able to do it without the guilt I would have felt if I'd had to put Audrey in daycare. PROVIDENCE! I'd be remiss to also mention that one way God' provided is by blessing us with family that have always been generous with their time and gifts. (blessing 151!) We appreciate it.

It's amazing that I worry and fear so much when my day to day life is nothing short of perfect for me. 151 blessings down, 849 to go!

better late than never!

131. an April full of contemporary music at church (actual contemporary music, not the typical Baptist "might have been considered contemporary in 1982" stuff)

132. seeing Matt's enjoyment in rocking along in the church praise band

133. getting to jump on stage and sing one of the songs too - I was rather excited to lead "Revelation Song"

134. I made it through the song before hoarseness started taking over. Too bad I was supposed to sing it again during the invitation. I croaked enough then to make Matt initially think I was crying. Oh well, it only got worse throughout Sunday and singing is still not an option right now!

135. Hearing both Audrey and Julia sing these worship songs. They sat in on a couple of rehearsals and enjoy singing along.

Oh, did I mention that Audrey woke up sick (coughing like crazy) late Saturday night/early Sunday morning? She did. We wound up sleeping on the couch together b/c I just couldn't get her comfortable in a bed. Neither of us slept well, and she was still coughing, but I took her to church anyways. She didn't do so well the first hour, so I wound up bringing her into the service with us. I just knew this was a bad experience waiting to happen. Both Matt and I were supposed to be onstage, and Audrey was NOT going to react well to that!

136. Blessing - Audrey fell asleep on the front row and slept throughout the first 45 minutes of the service. Yay!

137. When Audrey did wake up, she woke up in a great mood. She was also pretty quiet and I didn't have to take her out of the service.

moving on from church stuff...

138. Comforting little ones during the night. I'm typing this with a 5 year old asleep across me. Her head is on my arm. There will be no pictures this post because of her.

139. free movie monday at redbox! Matt grabbed "Life as We Know It" for me! I love chick flicks!

140. Cooler weather for a few days. I'm dreading those 100 degree days!