Monday, May 23, 2011
School is out...almost!
The boys' last day of school is Friday and I am very glad. This will give me a little extra time in the mornings and a whole lot less stress of trying to get Zachary (definitely not a morning child) up and out the door! I have been trying to prepare them for their responsibilities this summer....things that involve more than eating junk, watching tv and sleeping all day....I'll let you know how much of their chores that they actually get done. Happy summer everyone!
Monday, May 09, 2011
The Rest of NYC
I had every intention of writing about NY everyday but after Tuesday things just became a blur! Tuesday night we ended up at the Empire State Building. I am so glad we decided to go at night (even though I am sure that during the day it is just as beautiful).....I don't even know how far you can see but it seems almost as far as Tennessee!!
Wednesday we got up and headed to Central Park where I got into an argument with a street vendor who tried to charge Joseph $7 for a hot dog....it was not a pretty sight but we did end up with a snow cone and a hot dog for $7. Thankfully all of the other street vendors only charged $1 or $2 for a hot dog. Since that is the only thing that Zach wanted to eat while we were there it ended up pretty good for me....that is the least expensive thing that I bought the whole time. After Central Park we walked and walked and walked looking for the "Hello Deli" that David Letterman talks about on his show....we wanted to eat there but found that it is a tiny little place with hardly any seating and was packed at lunch time....we settled for another little restaurant around the corner from there...we then took the subway down to Ground Zero. I was surprised at the amount of construction...there really wasn't much to see except a lot of equipment. There was still a feeling to it...just being there, I'm not really sure how to describe it. After that we hopped on a bus and went down to the ferry....we took a ride over to Stanton (is that right??) Island and got a great view of the Statue of Liberty and great pictures of the city from across the river. Then back to Times Square.....after we got back to the hotel we prayed for our family and friends in the path of those horrible storms....I even called Granny at 11:15 because I was worried when the weather channel said a tornado touched down east of Knoxville (which is where Sevier County is...where I live)....Thankfully she, Woody and Patches were OK but it had been scary!
Thursday we headed out to Macy's where you really need an entire day! It is 10 floors (I think the map said) and has everything that you can think of! Zachary made friends with the women in the children's department and kept picking things up for them....it drove me crazy because I had to keep chasing him all over the place instead of shopping but the ladies LOVED him and offered him a job ;o) Actually, Zach made A LOT of friends in NY....he talked to everyone and they all entered into a conversation with him....it was so funny, he cracked everybody up! Thursday afternoon Sherri and Jan got in line to buy tickets for a show and me, the boys and Uncle Clay took a trip to the Museum of Natural History...to our dissappointment, the museum closed 20 minutes after we arrived....I should have checked the hours before we hit the subway. But, we did get to see the dinosaurs which were really cool!
Joseph and Uncle Clay went to the movies Wednesday and Thursday nights. They weren't ready for bed when we were (11pm)....after Zach had been walking all day without a nap....we both needed to be put in timeout!
Friday morning we finished packing and made one last trip to Times Square and then headed to the airport. We were all sorry that our time had come to an end but glad that we might actually get to rest when we got home. What a fun trip...I'm so glad I decided to take the boys...I hope we get to go back soon!
Here are a few more pics.....there are lots more on Facebook.
Wednesday we got up and headed to Central Park where I got into an argument with a street vendor who tried to charge Joseph $7 for a hot dog....it was not a pretty sight but we did end up with a snow cone and a hot dog for $7. Thankfully all of the other street vendors only charged $1 or $2 for a hot dog. Since that is the only thing that Zach wanted to eat while we were there it ended up pretty good for me....that is the least expensive thing that I bought the whole time. After Central Park we walked and walked and walked looking for the "Hello Deli" that David Letterman talks about on his show....we wanted to eat there but found that it is a tiny little place with hardly any seating and was packed at lunch time....we settled for another little restaurant around the corner from there...we then took the subway down to Ground Zero. I was surprised at the amount of construction...there really wasn't much to see except a lot of equipment. There was still a feeling to it...just being there, I'm not really sure how to describe it. After that we hopped on a bus and went down to the ferry....we took a ride over to Stanton (is that right??) Island and got a great view of the Statue of Liberty and great pictures of the city from across the river. Then back to Times Square.....after we got back to the hotel we prayed for our family and friends in the path of those horrible storms....I even called Granny at 11:15 because I was worried when the weather channel said a tornado touched down east of Knoxville (which is where Sevier County is...where I live)....Thankfully she, Woody and Patches were OK but it had been scary!
Thursday we headed out to Macy's where you really need an entire day! It is 10 floors (I think the map said) and has everything that you can think of! Zachary made friends with the women in the children's department and kept picking things up for them....it drove me crazy because I had to keep chasing him all over the place instead of shopping but the ladies LOVED him and offered him a job ;o) Actually, Zach made A LOT of friends in NY....he talked to everyone and they all entered into a conversation with him....it was so funny, he cracked everybody up! Thursday afternoon Sherri and Jan got in line to buy tickets for a show and me, the boys and Uncle Clay took a trip to the Museum of Natural History...to our dissappointment, the museum closed 20 minutes after we arrived....I should have checked the hours before we hit the subway. But, we did get to see the dinosaurs which were really cool!
Joseph and Uncle Clay went to the movies Wednesday and Thursday nights. They weren't ready for bed when we were (11pm)....after Zach had been walking all day without a nap....we both needed to be put in timeout!
Friday morning we finished packing and made one last trip to Times Square and then headed to the airport. We were all sorry that our time had come to an end but glad that we might actually get to rest when we got home. What a fun trip...I'm so glad I decided to take the boys...I hope we get to go back soon!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Chinatown
Today we ventured onto the subway and into Chinatown. It was an experience to say the least. When we got off the subway and started walking down the street a girl asked us if we were interested in purses. Sherri told her yes and we started walking....we stopped where a couple of other girls were and they handed us laminated cards with pictures of purses (think Coach, Prada, etc...). They kept asking us what we liked and when we didn't seem interested, they asked us if we wanted to see the store. We said yes. Well, we followed the first girl a couple of blocks down where she handed us off to another girl who took us down a street that was getting a little creepy looking. We finally got to this dark little store and went inside (all seven of us, not just Sherri and me). After we went in she opened the "wall" and led us to the back room where there were rows of "name brand" purses and wallets.....I'm not kidding.....we ended up buying two "Coach" purses and a "Coach" wallet. I have two Coach purses that I bought at the Coach store....I can't tell the difference.....only instead of hundreds of dollars, these were $30.....lest you think we spent all of our time in the "dark", there were shops in broad daylight which we bought items from :o) However, people running one of the stores where we declined to purchase sunglasses told us to "get lost"..LOL....they really did....we are still laughing about it. Anyway, we have been to Chinatown and survived.....
Monday, April 25, 2011
Our First Day in NY
Thursday, April 07, 2011
What is up with that?
Today when we were on our way to a ball game Zach starts lecturing me on how his dad and I should learn how to get along and not fight and that God tells us to love each other. I told him (at least a dozen times since our divorce) that his dad and me are not married anymore and he said, "but you still love each other". I finally just agreed that yes, God expects us to love each other and that we should get along. This had gone on for about 5 minutes. What makes this really surprising is that I hardly talk to Dan in front of the boys (actually, I hardly talk to him at all). I guess he just remembers that we used to fight.
I'm not sure what prompted Zach's thoughts today, but today was not the best day (for me) for him to bring that up. Two nights in a row I have dreamed that Dan and me were still married and today has been one of those days where the whole 17 years that we spent together (mostly bad, but some really good times) played all through my head. Of course this leads to other thoughts about whether or not I should have stayed married and a replay of everything that I did wrong (yes, I admit it wasn't all Dan's fault) during our marriage.
I realize that all of this is probably compounded because of my tired, over scheduled and usually hormonally out-of-balanced life. I'm not sure why I wrote this, I guess I just wanted to talk about it. Don't worry friends and family who aren't fans of Dan, I'm not running out to get back together with him.....it's just been a weird few days.
I'm not sure what prompted Zach's thoughts today, but today was not the best day (for me) for him to bring that up. Two nights in a row I have dreamed that Dan and me were still married and today has been one of those days where the whole 17 years that we spent together (mostly bad, but some really good times) played all through my head. Of course this leads to other thoughts about whether or not I should have stayed married and a replay of everything that I did wrong (yes, I admit it wasn't all Dan's fault) during our marriage.
I realize that all of this is probably compounded because of my tired, over scheduled and usually hormonally out-of-balanced life. I'm not sure why I wrote this, I guess I just wanted to talk about it. Don't worry friends and family who aren't fans of Dan, I'm not running out to get back together with him.....it's just been a weird few days.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
The Strong Willed Child
If there ever was a strong willed child, his name is Zachary. I don't mean that he is a bad child, but he is just the one that is going to test every boundary and definitely try to do things his way. Somedays it is all I can do to have enough energy to keep him somewhat obedient. But I love him with all my heart. I wouldn't trade the chaos and craziness for anything else. Even though I know he is hard to deal with at times, it makes me sad that others night not like him or think bad about him. Because I know who he really is.
Don't you think that's how our Father sees us? He knows that most of the time we are out of control and set on doing things our way, but He loves us anyway. He sees the REAL us. The person that He knows we are and no matter what we think about ourselves or anyone else thinks about us, we are His! He is jealous for us. He wants our time, talents, hearts. Not just so he can control us or extort His authority but so that He can make us the best person we can be. Just like with Zach, I don't keep him reigned in because I want to control him, but because I know he must learn certain things to become a compasionate, responsible and hopefully godly man.
Obedience, or lack of, can bring many good things even if being obedient makes us uncomfortable. Romans 19:1 says "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous". So the question is, do we want to be like Adam and not set the example for others, or do we want to be like Christ and bring light into this world?
Obedience is very hard for me. This is probably where Zach gets it from. But I know that obeying God has far more benefits that out weigh the discomfort of surrendering my will to His. Plus, it is just the RIGHT thing to do. I taught Zach Ephesians 6:1 in a moment of battle between us about learning scripture when he said, "I don't want that verse, I want another one". So I said ok, here is your verse, "children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right". Doesn't that apply to us to? Children (you and me (and Zach)) obey your parent (God) in the Lord (His ways, according to His word) because this is the right thing to do.
Be obedient today (pointing fingers at myself) ao that you can "eat the good of the land" (Isaiah 1:19)
Don't you think that's how our Father sees us? He knows that most of the time we are out of control and set on doing things our way, but He loves us anyway. He sees the REAL us. The person that He knows we are and no matter what we think about ourselves or anyone else thinks about us, we are His! He is jealous for us. He wants our time, talents, hearts. Not just so he can control us or extort His authority but so that He can make us the best person we can be. Just like with Zach, I don't keep him reigned in because I want to control him, but because I know he must learn certain things to become a compasionate, responsible and hopefully godly man.
Obedience, or lack of, can bring many good things even if being obedient makes us uncomfortable. Romans 19:1 says "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous". So the question is, do we want to be like Adam and not set the example for others, or do we want to be like Christ and bring light into this world?
Obedience is very hard for me. This is probably where Zach gets it from. But I know that obeying God has far more benefits that out weigh the discomfort of surrendering my will to His. Plus, it is just the RIGHT thing to do. I taught Zach Ephesians 6:1 in a moment of battle between us about learning scripture when he said, "I don't want that verse, I want another one". So I said ok, here is your verse, "children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right". Doesn't that apply to us to? Children (you and me (and Zach)) obey your parent (God) in the Lord (His ways, according to His word) because this is the right thing to do.
Be obedient today (pointing fingers at myself) ao that you can "eat the good of the land" (Isaiah 1:19)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Love
"Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so...", John 3:16, "for God so loved the world"....these are things we are taught from a young age about how God loves us, but do we really believe that He loves us?
For a lot of years I did not let the reality of God's love sink into my heart. I kept it at a distance thinking that it is for the "good people", not me. But, Paul gives us the truth in Romans 8:38-39 when he says,
"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
This means that God loves me when I am doing everything right....praying, Bible study, teaching my kids, being a positive influence and example, and any other thing that we would deem as good and "righteous". BUT, God also loves me when I mess up, when I yell at my kids, don't spend as much time in prayer as I should, neglect my Bible study, don't stand up for what I believe in, and the list goes on. We never reach perfection but not being perfect doesn't make God love us any less.
I used to think that when something bad happened or things were really tough that God was punishing me because I couldn't live up to His expectation, or that these things were happening in my life because God did not love me. Boy, was I wrong. I mean, yes, our choices and disobedience gets us into a world of trouble most of the time but it is not because God doesn't love us. He does love us enough to let us get taught a lesson. Just like we have to let our own children learn from their choices sometimes. God could fix everything for us, but would we learn anything or just keep walking around that same mountain, going through the same trials? Believe me, I have been there, too!
Thankfully, "Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning..." (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Believe that He loves you today, and that His love is unconditional!
For a lot of years I did not let the reality of God's love sink into my heart. I kept it at a distance thinking that it is for the "good people", not me. But, Paul gives us the truth in Romans 8:38-39 when he says,
"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
This means that God loves me when I am doing everything right....praying, Bible study, teaching my kids, being a positive influence and example, and any other thing that we would deem as good and "righteous". BUT, God also loves me when I mess up, when I yell at my kids, don't spend as much time in prayer as I should, neglect my Bible study, don't stand up for what I believe in, and the list goes on. We never reach perfection but not being perfect doesn't make God love us any less.
I used to think that when something bad happened or things were really tough that God was punishing me because I couldn't live up to His expectation, or that these things were happening in my life because God did not love me. Boy, was I wrong. I mean, yes, our choices and disobedience gets us into a world of trouble most of the time but it is not because God doesn't love us. He does love us enough to let us get taught a lesson. Just like we have to let our own children learn from their choices sometimes. God could fix everything for us, but would we learn anything or just keep walking around that same mountain, going through the same trials? Believe me, I have been there, too!
Thankfully, "Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning..." (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Believe that He loves you today, and that His love is unconditional!
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