New Hope Church

We have visited New Hope Church for 2 Wedensday night Bible Studies and 1 Sunday morning Worship Service and so far we like it. Joseph is really enjoying their Children's ministries and I think that Zachary gets accustomed to the nursery (well, after much crying and screaming when I drop him off) even though Sunday we knocked the gate over when I was trying to put him inside the door!!!! Yikes! we both almost landed flat on our faces. That's a pretty embarrassing thing to do on your first Sunday visit, but what can you do...things happen! And Zach had a pretty good grip around my neck!!! On Wednesday nights they have a meal before service and we went to that. It was really good. The Pastor is a good teacher and I enjoy listening to him, and the praise and worship is great. They have a great music team, too. This last Sunday was "Friend Day" which was appropriate (I thought) for our first Sunday. They had food after service, games for the kids and prizes. Joseph and Zach both won things! I think that we will keep going there. I do miss my church family in SC, though, and am a little sad as I walk through the church buildings and no familiar faces speak to me or call my name. I know that will come in time, but I hope all you in SC know how much I truely love and miss you!

Riding the Four Wheeler

Riding on the 4-wheeler is about all that my boys have in common (well, other than the fact that they are boys)! I always heard that your second child would be completely different than the first, and that made me a little nervous because Joseph was the baby of every mother's dream! He slept all night pretty much from the time he got here, he never cried and didn't need constant attention! As he got older, he entertained himself, didn't open cabinets and get into things...he even left the stairs alone! Of course Zachary proved that the saying was true! He is a child who demands constant attention! He woke every two hours for the first year of his life, wanted to be held, and gets into absolutely everything! One thing is for sure, life is definitely not boring with him! He keeps us all on our toes!!!! Now that he is almost two he has gotten more confident! He thinks that he can beat up Joseph and will often run and jump on him and push him over in the floor. Poor Joseph doesn't stand a chance. Joseph must have had a preminition about Zach because when I was pregnant he laid alot of ground rules for Zachary (of course none of them held up). He wasn't going to let the baby play with his toys, cuddle with Mommy or Daddy and he certainly wasn't going to like him. He actually sold him to my parents for $100. I'm not sure if Joseph decided that he liked Zach and tossed the rules or if Zach just took over and did whatever he wanted. I think that it has been a combination of the two! Even with all of thier differences I love them dearly and they have certainly made my life more enjoyable and interesting!

My Birthday

My birthday was Sunday (9/10) and I was a little sad that no one I knew (and that cared about it being my birthday) was here to help me celebrate. I cried to my friend Sonya that I was mad at my husband because he didn't come up that day! Our kids were in SC with him and I was meeting him in Franklin to pick them up. I know that he has had a lot on him lately....it is hard to support two households and a business (I don't get my first paycheck until 9/20!) But still it was my birthday...don't I have a right to feel a little sulky???? So after I cried to Sonya and then felt sorry for myself all the way to Franklin, Dan surprised me with three cards. One from him that was really sweet, one from my boys (Joseph and Zach) and one from my friends at church. He had bought a card and then took it to church and had my friends sign it. Any of you that know him will know that that took a lot of effort for him. Needless to say I felt bad about being upset after that. It was a reminder that I should try to be more thankful and to not always think the worst (like he forgot my birthday). Then my friend Rhonda "sang" Happy Birthday to me through an email. She said for me to imagine her singing it! I am so blessed to have so many friends and people that care about me. I am going to try to start celebrating everyday more instead of saving it all for the special occasions. I may put a stop to birthdays soon anyway! What is the age that we stop celebrating???? Sometime before 40 for sure. Maybe I will just embrace getting older although sometimes while I'm driving around I feel like I should be just running errands for my mom and have a curfew!!!

First Day on the Job

I feel at ease with my new job. Some things are coming naturally but others I have to rack my brain about! It actually is nice to be back to doing what I enjoy. Not that I didn't LOVE the time I got to spend with my children, it's just that I had become a bit out of sorts. I didn't realize until I went back to work how much I had missed it. Of course there will be times when I wonder what I was thinking but over all I feel like it's a good thing. As always, God knows what He has in store for each of us and I believe He has some good things planned for this stage of my life.