Happy New Year!!!!

We wish you and your family a very Happy New Year! 2007---what a year! I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. It was the most difficult year I have ever experienced. However, never in my life have I felt God's presence so strong. I am amazingly blessed and look forward to spending another year with my family/friends and enjoying the blessings and gifts that God has given me....namely Joseph Pablo!!! Thank you, God! I love You!

Busy

I envy my blog moms who are able to post such beautiful pictures of their children. Not me. Don't get me wrong, JP is absolutely beautiful (not that I'm bias) but in order to take pictures of him, he has to be watching either the DOODLEBOPS or the WIGGLES. Here, I believe he is watching the WIGGLES. That sounds terrible, but it is SERIOUSLY the only time he stands still. I tried so hard to get him to look at me. Nothing. So, to those of you who have patiently waited with us to get our Internet back...this is all you get. Pictures of my precious son watching t.v.! You must be so thrilled!

Today was a good day. I haven't said much about it, but Scott has just recently made a commitment to be the minister of students at a future church plant. We are in the beginning stages right now. Because we are not yet meeting together on Sunday mornings, we have been visiting around at other churches hoping to get ideas for praise and worship/children/youth etc. This morning we went to NewSpring in Anderson. God allowed me to be a part of the group who initially started the church. That was back when it was 12 to 15 people. 8 years later they have around 6,000 members. It's amazing.

After going to church, going to lunch, stopping by some friends' house, we finally came home. Once we were home, we made plans for dinner. I cleaned the house and did laundry, and I got JP in bed. Here I sit at 9:30 at night and I find myself wondering exactly where the day has gone. This is literally the first time I have sat down. It was such a busy day. Just like every other one. It made me think. What's the difference in JP not holding still for me and me not holding still for God?

Something to think about.

"Busy is what I see when I look at your life.

You run around crazy and misuse your time.

Each day is a gift, I wish you could see;

You have plenty of time, but spend little with Me.

If you would only hold still, it would be worth your while;

I just want to hold you. Remember...you're My child!"

Love, Jesus

5 Things I learned today at WalMart

1) Just because the fleece throw is $4.99 doesn't mean it's a good deal-YOU DON'T NEED IT!

2) Just pick a line. They are ALL the same. If you stumble on one that has fewer people, ONE person will have a problem with their total, OR the cashier will have to wander the store to find your same item that has a bar code on it. So, in the end you are better off standing in the long line!

3) Self check out?? Sounds easy enough. Until it's time to "place your item in the bag." You'll wind up "placing your item in the bag" about 8 times before the sensor picks it up. You'll just end up cussing. Why bother? But if you must go there, make sure you are not wearing your t'shirt with your church logo on it--it's bad publicity!

4) Don't waste your time making the grocery list. You won't stick to it. Within 30 seconds of walking through the door, you will have AT LEAST two items that were not written down.

5) If you NEED the big $6.00 box of goldfish like I do, it's not on the snack isle OR with the peanuts. It's in a much more logical place...in the back of the store where the milk is!! Go figure.

I just thought I would share this with you. I guess I will never learn. Maybe I should just do my major grocery shopping at Ingles....HMMM, I'll have to think about that!

Santa was WAY TOO GOOD to little JP!

Joseph's 1st Pony-he loves riding it at 3:00am while watching the "Bop Bops", aka DoodleBops! Yet ANOTHER basket full of toys! (these are just from Christmas!!)
New favorite stuffed animals!
1st Christmas Tree (it's been so long, I cannot remember if I posted this.)

That's all for tonight. It feels good to be back in blogland!

A Little Bit of Christmas

Scott and I live in a very old house. We are continuously updating and making changes. We just recently started on the bedroom. For Christmas, my mom and dad bought us a new bed w/ mattress and box springs. Our old bed had duct tape on the mattress and the puppy's teeth marks on the frame! No kidding! We still need to paint and get new blinds, but here is our new bed/bedding and curtains.


Also, I don't know why, but my pictures are not uploading correctly. It may be the new connection we have. Until I figure it out, I will have to make separate posts.

They say everyone has a twin somewhere.....

....maybe if I stand here long enough I'll meet mine when he comes down the chimney!

GUESS WHAT??????

You guessed it!!!! WE HAVE INTERNET SERVICE!!!! I will write/post more later. I am trying to set up another email account. Thanks for hanging in there with me! JP is great, and our Christmas was blessed.....pictures to follow!

JP's Debut

We were at our first Christmas party tonight. Can you say....KARAOKE??!!! We had an awesome time and JP discovered the microphone! We're starting him early!

Poem

I was going through some notebooks the other day and found a poem that I wrote while waiting on JP to come home. Truthfully, I do not even remember writing it. I thought I would share it with you. Nothing makes the wait any easier. Nothing will stop the tears that are shed each time you walk past the empty nursery. Nothing will make the holidays cheery when a part of your heart is so far away. HOWEVER, obviously with this poem, God was trying to remind me that He was with me throughout the whole thing.

Beauty is all around me

No matter how down I feel.

I sit here in my swing

And let the wind blow through my hair,

My heart and my soul are still

I am not too happy with God

But today, He is the only thing I see.

Sitting on my front porch

With all that He has created surrounding me.

The trees are tall and swaying back and forth

The air is cool and crisp.

With the flowers, the birds, the clouds and the sun

I know God is present, His beauty is hard to miss.

I want to be so angry.

It's easier to be bitter and sad!

But as I sit here in the quiet of the morning

God reminds me of all that I have.

I can't help but whisper, "thank you."

To the One who has provided for my every need.

And although my heart is not complete at this time

There is a place within me that still has a song to sing.

So, while I am here alone and sitting at His feet

I will lift my voice and sing to Him,

"Lord fill my heart with peace."

I am going to try and get some pictures of JP outside in the next few days. Continue to check in!

A Few Pictures From Today

These are a few pictures from the beach today. Don't let them fool you, JP cried just about the whole time. I'm not sure what's going on. From the moment he woke up, he's been ILL!!!! He did love the sand and the water.

We went to see the lights and were not even able to get in. The crowd was unbelievable! We are so disappointed. I guess we'll have to try again another time. We'll be leaving sometime tomorrow.

Day 2 in Charleston

Hey everyone! We are taking pics, but they are taking FOREVER to download for some reason. Everyone is sleeping right now. Afterwards, we are heading to the beach to take family pics! That should be fun....or interesting, I'll let you know. I will post everything else tonight and tomorrow. We are having a restful time. JP has been fever-free now for 24 hours!!! YIPPEE! (For those of you who do not know....we were in the ER the other night with a temp of 107!!!) It lingered around 103 to 105 for days. Thanks to God, he is back to his normal self. We are very thankful. My parents came here for the day. We are going to James Island tonight to see the lights/Santa etc.... (sorry, Erin, don't mean to make it worse!)

Check back later for pictures of the "kissing cousins!" That's their new nickname!

Me and my girl! Awww!

Which camera am I suppose to look at, Mommy?!
Bubba and KiKi playing football.

Pics From Charleston

The upstairs living room. There are rocking chairs on the front porch that overlooks the ocean! YUMMY!!
Our bedroom (Scott is sleeping w/ JP and I have a bed ALL TO MYSELF!)

EXTRA, EXTRA....READ ALL ABOUT IT!!

I have internet for the weekend. We are in Charleston. I will post more later.