FIREPROOF

If you have not already seen the movie FIREPROOF, I highly recommend you go see it as soon as possible. It is only supposed to be in theaters until Thursday, unless something happens (i.e. ticket sales) which causes the theaters to keep it longer! I personally think every person over the age of 12 should see this movie, particularly married couples and single adults who hope to get married some day. Some of the scenes are a little too intense for young children (nothing inappropriate, just intense emotional stuff), so if you have young or immature children, I suggest you get a babysitter.

David and I went with our Bible and Life Group (also known as BLG and Sunday School) today and it was amazing. Kirk Cameron plays the lead role - a firefighter who risks his life to save strangers, but isn't willing to put forth much effort to save his marriage. That is, until he embarks on a "Love Dare" from his father. This is one of those movies that takes you through the whole range of emotions! Be sure to bring your tissues, but also be ready to laugh. One of my favorite lines from Steel Magnolias says it best, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." There will definately be tears, laughter, and even some intense action drama for the guys!

This movie was made by the same people who made Facing The Giants. I haven't seen that movie, but I've heard great things about it, and if this movie is any indication, then I plan to see it first chance I get!

If you are interested in finding out more, you can click on a link in the "widget" above. You can see a trailer of the movie, or learn more about it. And if you get the chance, please take the time to see this while it's still in the theaters. I know, money is tight for everyone (we haven't seen a movie in the theaters since...hmmm, I don't know when - it's been that long!)...but this one is definately a must-see! :)

My Favorite Sound in the World

My absolute favorite sound in the whole world (without question or hesitation) is the sound of Christopher laughing. I've always loved the sound of children's laughter - perhaps that's because of the doll my grandmother gave me that would laugh when I threw her up in the air...or maybe just because that's how God made me. But, it's been something I've always enjoyed. And I don't know if it's because I have the joy and priviledge of being Christopher's mommy...but I find something extra special about his laughter. There's just such pure joy in it - no matter whether he's running and playing with his friends or being tickled by his Mommy & Daddy (which is exactly what I did for the sole purpose of getting his laughter on video)! Maybe you just have to hear it for yourself (click the arrow below):

Yes, he's still sucking his thumb...but mostly when he's tired or watching TV. Unfortunately, we can't throw his thumb away like a pacifier...but we're working on eliminating this habit of his. We even tried that stuff you put on the nails to keep him from sucking it - didn't work. Oh well...we'll keep working, and with any luck, he'll be free of this habit before he goes to college! Ha! Ha!

ebay - America's Online Garage Sale

Well, I'm back in the world of ebay...that great online garage sale! I sold some things on there about a year ago...I thought that I was going to make a full-time income from it. I'm figuring out that I'm either too honest or not smart enough to do that. But that's ok, I found AVON to help me with that! Now I'm working from home most of the time (except when I step in as a substitute teacher) and LOVING IT!

ANYWAY...David and I decided it was time to get rid of some stuff we've got around the house. So, I'm trying my hand at this ebay thing again! I took some pictures (except of most of David's hardback books...those I could get stock photos & info through ebay) and then started setting up my listings. If you are interested at all in seeing what I might have for sale, you can click here to view all my listings.

I'll be adding things over the coming days, too - so check back if you feel so inclined! :)

Biggest Loser Wannabe

First of all, I LOVE this show! I have watched every episode since the very first season! We are now into Season 6 and I'm still hooked (which is unusual for me with Reality-type shows)! It's the one show I'm faithful to make it home to watch (or tape it if there's any chance I might be even 5 minutes late)! I think I just love to watch lives being transformed. There's something about watching people not only transform on the outside, but also gain confidence and self-respect on the inside...some of them for the first time in their lives!

I also think I live vicariously through them...as if watching the show alone would make me lose weight! ;) Actually, I have many, many times thought about signing up for the show (even printed and filled out the application a couple times)...but there's just a few things that hold me back:

1. I couldn't be away from David and Christopher that long (especially without talking to them - though that actually might be harder).
2. There's no way I'd want to get on a scale where the whole world could see what I actually weigh...I don't even like getting on the bathroom scale with just me looking!
3. I'd never survive a Bob or Jillian workout - I'm too big of a wimp. Even though I know that's exactly what I need (someone urging me along - though I respond better to loving encouragement than the yelling and name calling Bob & Jillian do - especially Jillian!)...and though I might rise to the occasion with a quarter mil on the line...chances are higher that I'd break down and cry like a big fat baby! Which leads me to...
4. I hate crying in front of people, so crying in front of the world on national TV would be total humiliation for me (maybe not in the moment, but certainly when I saw myself on TV later)!

That said, as I watched the people this past Tuesday night get up on the scale and weigh in for he first time, I realized that I would fit right in there with them. That is certainly not something I'm proud of...and something I can't believe I'm putting up here on the blog. But, God has really been speaking to my heart a lot lately about pride and humbling myself. Our women's Bible study at church (RefresHer) is doing a study on praying God's way...and guess what one of the blockers is to our prayers being heard...yep, PRIDE! In some of my conversations this week...what came up? Yep, PRIDE again! Then tonight in church, our pastor talked about...what else? PRIDE! And we're not talking about a group of lions here, either! It's that nasty stuff that comes before a fall (according to the Bible)!

Now, I never really thought about myself as a prideful person...but then again, I guess no prideful person really does. But, God has really been teaching me some lessons in humility lately. And I need to humbly admit that I need to lose weight. I know that's no big shocker for anyone who knows me...but it's a hard thing for me to admit...and even harder for me to deal with. My weight has always been a touchy subject for me. I have been overweight most of my life. I think the last time I was really thin was when I was 4 years old...and that was an odd year, I guess. I was a big baby (9 pounder), chunky toddler, husky child, overweight teen...well, you get the picture. There was one time in my life where I lost about 80 pounds and actually achieved the weight my driver's license said I weighed (closest I ever came to thin in my adult life)...unfortunately, those pounds quickly found me again and even invited their friends along...and being the nasty guests that they are, those friends moved right on in!

I'm not asking you to be my food police...I've had way too many of those in my life and I know that only leads to resentment and unhealthy habits on my part. What I am asking is that you pray with me about this issue and ask God to heal the parts of me that cause me to overeat and for Him to give me a desire for healthier foods (and less of them)! I have literally tried every diet known to man (including the sour kraut juice diet and even starvation) and I know that's not God's plan...that was ME trying to correct the problem in my own strength...otherwise known as PRIDE! I realize that I can only overcome this by the grace of God and I need your prayer support to get through it! :) Thank you for taking the time to read through my ramblings and for your prayers! That means a lot to me! God bless you!!!! :)

P.S. Amanda, if you're reading this...sorry for all the !!!'s! ;)

The Blessing of MOPS

No, I'm not talking about those stringy dirty things we use to clean our floors (or did before the era of the Swiffer)! MOPS stands for Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers...and was such a blessing for me!

I joined the most amazing group of women yesterday morning at my church - women who are, for the most part, in the same stage of mothering that I am! There are two women who no longer have preschoolers at home...their children are all grown up and they now have grandchildren...they are our Mentor Moms. One of these Mentor Moms was also my teaching mentor my first year of teaching. Dee Todor is one of the most amazing women I know. When I moved here and started my first year of teaching with a tough group of kids and their parents, Dee took me under her wing and guided me through my journey. She never once made me feel foolish...but always guided me with love to help me become a better teacher. I still have a note she wrote to me after observing my class one day...it became a part of my teaching portfolio! So, I'm thrilled to know that now I have the opportunity to tuck myself beneath her wing again and this time learn how to be a better mom!

The group is lead by my friend Jennifer P., whom I've known as long as I've lived here. We both started teaching the same year at FBA and our lives have been intertwined in one way or another since that day...something for which I am very grateful! We have shared both joy, uncertainty, and sorrow together...always willing to pray for one another.

Another precious friend, Jennifer G., is also one of the leaders in this group. She has a sweet little boy named Andrew who is one of the cutest little guys I've ever seen!

My dear friend Terri also gets to be a part of this group this year. We were both teaching up until this year, so this is a first for both of us. Terri's oldest son Hunter is one of Christopher's best buddies, she also has a precious little baby boy, Nathanael.

I was so blessed to know so many of the women in the group - I was so afraid I wouldn't know that many people (and the only ones I knew would be there were all leaders). If you know me, doing anything new, no matter how much I want to, is always hard for me. I'm just so uncertain, not sure if I fit in, that sometimes I hold back and miss out on so much. But, as I walked in the room, I saw some ladies from a Creative Correction class I took a few months ago through our Ladies Ministry and they invited me to join them at our table.

We had some time to get to know each other, heard the beautiful testimony of one of the members, and listened to a message from MOPS International. I am so looking forward to going back in a couple weeks! I've always longed to do "Mommy-things" like this and I enjoyed every single minute of it! If you have the option to join a group like this, I hope you will! Words alone are not adequate to tell you how much my heart was blessed by attending this group...you may just have to experience it yourself!

The Highs and Lows of Pre-K4

We are now 4 weeks into the school year and Christopher came home today with his very first Take-home book from school! When I took it out of his backpack, he said, "I can read that to you!" Believe it or not, he did! Here's a video of him reading his book!

Ok...so it's not exactly Gone with the Wind or even Charlotte's Web...but it's a start! What I love is that he's so excited to read! He read it to me several times, then he read it to Daddy when he came home! We've always known he would be a reader...he has held books and studied the markings in them (we know those markings as words) since he was an infant! I have always been amazed at how he would just hold a book (even one without pictures) and look at it for hours, turning pages...if you didn't know any better, you would have sworn the boy was reading! Below, you can see an actual page from the book he read above:

As you can see, his High Frequency Word this week was "MY" - all other words had a picture to help him figure out the words. One step at a time!

Unfortunately, all is not gold in the world of Pre-K4! Each day, the kids come home with a ticket that tells the parent what kind of behavior they had that day. Green is the best, Yellow is not so good, and Red is the worst (and results in a visit to the Pre-K Director and a call home). Thankfully, we haven't experienced any red tickets (and if Christopher knows what's good for him, we never will)...but, sadly, we have seen a few yellow tickets. These are not acceptable...and David and I both believe in the philosophy that if you get in trouble at school, you also get in trouble at home! Having been a teacher, I know how important it is for teacher and parent to work together to correct behavior. Thankfully, Christopher has a wonderful teaher this year and we are most certainly working together! Please pray that God will give us wisdom to know how to handle each situation that arises as we seek to guide Christopher to be the man God wants him to be.

This week, I had the blessing of talking with the mom of a child who was in my Kindergarten class eight years ago. This child also had some behavior issues that his mom and I worked very closely to correct. As I talked with his mom at a Homeroom Mom's meeting this week, she shared with me that this child had no more behavior problems since that time and is now a straight-A student in 8th grade. It blessed my heart not only to get the update on C.A. but it also gave me hope with Christopher!

School Is Downright Exhausting!

Christopher has ALWAYS been a night owl (just like Mommy) - so getting him to go to sleep at night has been somewhat of a challenge...that is, until he started school! It's the most amazing thing...we tell him at 7pm that it's time for "Bath and Bed" and there's (usually) not even the slightest fuss about the sun still being up! He takes his bath, makes sure to remind us to "read just one story," and then goes on to bed. Sometimes, he likes to "read" the book for a little while in his bed after Daddy or I have read it to him. Before school started, I would go in his room before going to bed myself and find multiple books in his bed that he had "read" before falling asleep...or sometimes, still find him up reading! But, not anymore! Sometimes he doesn't even ask to "read" the book himself. I keep putting "read" in quotation marks because he can't really read yet...but if you didn't know that and just saw him with a book, you'd believe he really was reading! He's been like that since he was old enough to hold a book! He'll even pick up books without pictures and "read" them for the longest time (turning pages, and all)!

Anyway, one night David read a story to Christopher and then left him with the book. He went back to check on him a few minutes later, then came and asked me for my camera. Then he brought this picture back to me!

Christopher had fallen asleep on top of his book & didn't move...even when I removed the book from under him! I'm lovin' it!