Life...it happens!

Sometimes I feel like my life is like the zebra above - completely unraveling! This is certainly not what I thought my life would look like at this point in my life. We all have dreams of what the future would hold. Mine was that I would be living in a nice home, pool in the back yard, wrap-around porch on the front, and a house full of children! But, that's so not where we are right now.

Don't get me wrong...I'm thankful for the things I do have! I am so thankful for my wonderful husband who loves me so much I can't even begin to understand his love for me! He's one of the few people in my life who love me just the way I am...not what I can do for him, not for the way I look (obviously!), but just because I'm his wife! I can't even begin to put into words how much that means to me! :)

I'm also thankful beyond words for the precious son that God gave us! What an amazing blessing that child is to us! And if you don't know the story, go back and read my very first blog. There is no doubt in my mind that God orchestrated every single event to bring sweet precious Christopher into our family!

I'm also thankful for some pretty amazing friends in my life who are faithful to pray for me and lift me up when I'm feeling down! You all know who you are...and I can't begin to thank you enough!

Lately, life has been really rough - one of the toughest in my life. We are in the position of having to either do a short-sale or lose our home. Either way, we'll be moving soon. We don't yet know where...but it won't be too far from where we are now, as we'll want to stay close to church (which is also Christopher's school) and David's work. We looked at a couple of places today. They were almost identical townhomes...except one had a pool & the balcony was more open. We both like them...the only thing is the garage is not attached and it will be a little bit of a drive for church, school, & work. We will continue to look, though.

The good news is that we finally have a realtor for our house. She is experienced in short-sales and as David was talking with her today, she said she had some clients who might be interested. This, of course, is great news...and also means we will have to get serious about packing up our home!

So...I'll be a little busy for the next few weeks between packing and keeping up with my AVON business (including the recently aquired customers from my upline who is moving to South Carolina)! But, as I was looking for an appropriate picture for my unraveling life, I came across this video, which reminded me of something very important...that God is the glue that holds me together!

So, even though my life seems like it is completely falling apart right now, it's not. God is NOT surprised by the events in my life right now. I'm sure there's a lesson I need to learn in them...and maybe, just maybe, a blessing I can't even imagine yet that will be waiting for us when we come out on the other side of these trials! God has a way of doing that...sending me through some pretty tough times...then blessing me beyond anything I could ever imagine! It's what keeps me going every day! And for that, I can be thankful...even in the midst of the storm!

A WHOLE bunch to Update...so hang in there!

I have been such a HORRIBLE blogger lately! I have all these great ideas of what I want to write about, but being disciplined enough to actually sit down and write it...well, I just can't seem to find the time...yet for some odd reason, I seem to have plenty of time to keep up with everyone on Facebook! Hmmm....somethings wrong with that picture! ;) Anyway, rather than try to do a bunch of little blogs or skip some very important things that's gone on in our lives, I'm just going to do one big MEGA BLOG! ;)

Last month, my parents came down from Montgomery, Alabama to visit us and to attend Christopher's Pre-K End of the Year program. While they were here, Pop and Christopher made a special stepping stone to join the ones Jackson & Brody (my nephews) made at Gran & Pop's house. Christopher wrote his name and decorated the stone with shells from our yard!

Christopher also talked Gran into play Legos with him just about every day after school! Pop supervised this particular building project! :)

On the last day of school, we ended the year the same as we began...by going to school as a family! Mrs. Dever, the assistant in Christopher's class, took the picture below for us. Gran bought Christopher the outfit he wore for his last day of school/program.

These precious children put on the sweetest little show you've ever seen! What a blessing to have Christopher in a school where he learns about Jesus and worshipping God while he learns how to read, write, and count! We are so thankful! And for those of you who have been keeping up with our saga about where Christopher will go to Kindergarten, he will be staying at FBA! We had a meeting with the school administrator & he feels confident that he can offer me 5 sub jobs per month, which will pretty much cover Christopher's tuition for next year! Praise God!

A final picture with Mrs. Walker before we leave Pre-K4 behind us and start our summer!

Putting together a Veggie Tales puzzle with Gran - Christopher just adored having Gran and Pop down here to play with him! We hope it won't be so long before they come again! :)

We celebrated Christopher's graduation from PK4 by having a family dinner at Cracklin' Jacks! It's one of our favorite places to eat! They have good home-style cooking and they serve the endless veggies "family-style"...meaning they just bring out bowls for everyone to share & keep refilling as long as you like! We were so glad that my cousin Karen & her family were able to join us for dinner! Pictured above are (left to right) Gran (my mom), Pop (my dad), Forrest (my cousin-in-love), Karen (my cousin), David (my sweet hubby), and my empty cair.

This was the "kids table" at Cracklin Jacks (positioned right behind our table), & is where Karen & Fori's boys and C.Ray all sat together. This was the first time Christopher got to sit at a different table than us! Pictured above (starting with top left and going clockwise) are Daniel (17), Ben (15), Christopher (5), & Jonathan (10).

One of the reasons my mom didn't want me to move down here (aside from the 650 miles between us) was that there were gators down here! She was worried I might get eaten up...but we showed her who eats what down here! Pictured above is my mom taking her first bite of gator (an appetizer we all shared)...and she liked it so much, she ordered some more as part of her meal!
Then, the next day, we took off to Bass Pro Shops...a.k.a. my dad's toy store! ;) And lo and behold, we find another gator to tame! Above, Christopher's riding the big, bad gator...below, he goes gator-back surfing! :)

After some shopping at Bass Pro Shop for Dad and JoAnn's for Mom at Gulf Goast Town Center, we headed off for what Christopher considered the most important part of our trip that day...Pump It Up!

Montgomery has a Pump It Up where my mother takes my nephews (my brother's boys) who live near her and where she had an "Un-birthday party" for all 3 of her grandsons last November (since they don't get to spend their real birthdays together). Christopher loved it so much that he asked Gran if she would take him again...so we did a little research on the internet and found out there's one that's not too far away from us! So, we made a plan & took a trip!

While we were there, Christopher discovered a love for air hockey! He had a blast! He played with his Daddy first, then he took on Pop...then he decided he'd supervise Gran & Pop's game!

I just love this picture above...both Christopher and my dad are so into this game, it's funny...and precious, all at the same time!

And of course...we can't forget the wonderful slides Pump It Up has to offer! Christopher had an absolute BLAST while we were there! Now that we know one is close, we'll have to see about making another trip soon...but since there's a cost involved, it'll have to be a special trip! :)

Christopher, as you already know from previous blogs, has been struggling with feeling comfortable in the water...so my cousin Karen invited us over to swim in her pool a few days ago. She brought Christopher's buddy Jack over to swim with him, and little by little, Christopher became more comfrotable with the water. He's still not ready to let go and swim, but at least he's not clinging to me for dear life anymore! :)

I love the picture above for many reasons. First and formost, because it looks like Christopher's actually swimming (let me assure you, he's not)! Secondly, I just think Jonathan under the water is pretty cool! Thirdly, you can see how stinking long my hair is getting! LOL! :) Seriously, I'm ready for it to get to 10 inches past my shoulders already so I can donate it to Locks for Love!

This is such a precious picture of Christopher and his best buddy Jack! They are like two peas in a pod...if they were any closer, they'd be twins! =0)

Christopher and I discovered a new game that took his comfort in the water to a whole new level! He would hold my hands and jump off the side and I would twirl him around in circles. He called it "The Tornado" - I called it WONDERFUL...because, as you can see above, he actually leaned his head back into the water - something he's never done before! He kept asking to do it over and over again...to the point I was almost so dizzy I couldn't stand up anymore! But, I was willing to keep going because my precious son was enjoying the water as I always dreamed he would!

This is another one of those shots I love just because! Christopher's just hanging out on the edge of the hot tub like he's never had a fear of the water a day in his life! Warms a momma's heart just as much as that hot tub warmed their little bodies!

Christopher and Jack loved the hot tub...probably because it was just their size. Funny thing though, Jack (who is NOT afraid of the water) didn't like the bubbles...but Christopher did!

Seriously, I do have a reason for putting this random picture of a bunny in here! :) It's one of the things I'm going to miss when we sell our house. This is just one of the many little wild bunnies living in our yard and I just love watching them! I have no desire to own a bunny (or pretty much any animal, for that matter) as a pet...but I do so enjoy watching the wild bunnies in their natural habitat! There's something calming & relaxing about it.

Now, for those of you still caught on the second sentence of that last paragaph and going, "WHAT?!? You're selling your house?" Yes, we are in the process of getting ready to sell our house. No, we are not planning to leave the area...but we are planning to move to a place with less yard to take care of and a smaller mortgage/rent payment so we can breathe a little easier financially. No, it's not the best time to be selling our house...but it really must be done, and it really must be done now. Please pray for us during this process.

Now...back to Christopher's swimming lessons...in today's news, swimming lessons went much better! BIG thanks to "Aunt Karen" for sharing her pool with us earlier this week! Today in swimming lessons, they learned about the importance of wearing a life jacket when they go out in a boat. Yes, David still has to go in the water for Christopher to agree to go in...and yes, David also got to sport a life jacket. :)

Whew! That was quite an update! If you're still hanging in there with me, THANK YOU! Sorry it was so long...but I had a lot to catch you up on in our lives! I'll try to do better with keeping current so I don't have to do this again!

Oh...by the way, in the midst of all I updated you on here, I also had the opportunity to be a part of AVON's President's Club Luncheon and won an award there...but you can read all about that on my Naples Avon Lady blog. :)