Ugh...

I went to weigh in at Weight Watcher's yesterday. I gained 1.6 pounds in the past 2 weeks. Actually, I was kind of relieved. I anticipated much worse. Today when I got the mail I found an encouragement card from my meeting leader. It helps to know people care. Now that Thanksgiving is behind me, I hope i can lose at least 5 more pounds before Christmas. Its so hard for me not to eat sometimes. Food is my drug. I'm addicted to it, I think. Oh well. There's nothing I can do except forget about it and move on.

Firsts

Jordan's had several firsts lately. Some of them are:

His first hair cut. He had been needing to have his hair trimmed for quite some time. On a whim, I took him to have it done. The only thing I regret is that I didn't have my camera. He sat so still and was very cooperative, and I was pleased with the end result. He looks so different without his "mohawk" sticking up.

His first big boy bed. He'd been climbing out of the crib for several weeks, so we finally broke down and switched out the beds. He had a great time jumping up and down on it, and I started to worry that he'd never get to sleep. But that night, he went right to sleep all by himself. He also fell out a couple of times, so we had to prop tons of pillows up all around him. He does great at night, always going right to sleep. Naps are a different story. He hasn't taken a nap all week and I'm open to any suggestions on how to get a toddler to nap in his own bed!

His first head wound. This happened yesterday at my mom's. He pulled a stocking holder off of the edge of the stairs and knocked a hole in his head. Thankfully, it wasnt serious and just needed a band-aid. Pretty scary, though.

His first "thank you". When I brought him his lunch today he looked up at me and said "thank you". Too sweet!

These are just a few. He's doing more and more every day. I know I sound like an old grandma saying this, but he really is growing up too fast!

Here are some pictures...

Sleeping in his new bed

Enjoying his Thanksgiving meal

Doing his homework

Thanksgiving

We've had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We started off on Thursday with finger foods at my sister-in-law Mandy's house. Everything was delicious. We found out Jordan has taken a liking to my sister-in-law's fiancee, Rob. He was pretty content to sit in Rob's lap and watch football most of the time while we were there. For anyone who knows Jordan, getting him to be still is no small task! Chris was disappointed/relieved that his parents didn't show up. On one hand, he was hoping to make ammends with his father since they haven't spoken in almost a year now. On the other hand, there is always lots of drama then they're around. We love them. We're praying for them. There are just a lot of issues with them.

Anyway, we left Mandy's house and drove back home to Murrayville. I had just enough time to get my food into serving dishes and herd everyone into the car to go to my aunt's house. We had a good time, there. It was crowded, crazy, and fun. I kept thinking that this could be my grandmother's last Thanksgiving with us, so I was sad, too. Other than that, we had a blast. We ate and ate, traditional food this time. We laughed. We looked at all the sale papers for deals on Friday's shopping. We took lots of pictures. We ate some more. Finally, we went home. Jordan had not had a nap all day and was getting extremely cranky. We got home and Shaun went right to bed. Jordan, however, preceeded to stay up until midnight and then wake up all night. No one got much sleep.

Friday morning my mom watched the boys while my sister and I went shopping. I purchased lots of Elmo stuff for Jordan and Pirates of the Caribbean stuff for Shaun. Friday shopping was not as crazy in years past. We didn't get started until around 11:00, so most of the "early birds" had already gone home. It was nice to get away without my children.

Tonight was the final installment of the Thanksgiving Holiday. We had dinner at my Granny's. We ate and ate again. I feel so terribly bloated and disgusting right now. I don't even want to know how much weight I've gained. I'm going back to weigh in at Weight Watchers on Saturday. I hope that gives me enough time to at least lose what I've gained this weekend.

After dinner tonight I went shopping again with my mom and sister. I've lost weight and have no clothes that fit me anymore, so my mom bought me some new jeans. I got a smaller size, and they were kind of snug. I put them on when I got home to stretch them out some. When I went to button them, the button popped off! No, it didn't pop off because my jeans were too tight. I don't know what happened. I know that I'm taking them back tomorrow, though. Oh well. We have another busy day tomorrow with church and cleaning. I'll be glad to get back to church. We layed out Wednesday and I missed it!

Here We Go Again

So, Jordan's left ear is infected. Again. He had tubes put in last January, after one continuous double ear infection which lasted from October until January. We went to see the allergist today because he's been wheezing and coughing for the past week or so, in spite of using the nebulizer and inhalers around the clock. The nurse practitioner discovered that one of the tubes has somehow turne sideways and, therefore, is unable to drain. So we're back on antibiotics and have an appointment with our ENT for the first week in December. I'm not sure what he'll want to do. Guess I'll have to wait and find out. The good news is that Jordan doesn't seem to be in any pain. He's been a little fussy lately, but he's cutting 2 more teeth. He's still sleeping pretty well and is active. At least he's not crying all night the way he did last year with the ear infections.

I'm home alone tonight. Chris got called back into work and I can't sleep. I keep hearing the dogs barking. My aunt, who lives next door, told me that she's been seeing coyotes. That makes me nervous. Not that they could get into the house or anything, but still. I'm not too crazy about wild animals being in my yard.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. Where has the year gone? I'm actually glad to see it go. This year has been horrible. 2008 can only be better!

The Sower and the Seeds

I was reading my Bible today and I came across the parable of the Sower and the Seeds. I'm actually not sure what this parable is officially called, but "the Sower and the Seeds" sounds fine to me. In this story, Jesus tells of a man who went out planting seeds. Some of his seeds fell on the side of the road, some on stony ground, some in thorns, etc. Lately, I feel like the seeds that fell on the stony ground. While the plants from these seeds sprouted quicky, the earth did not have adequate soil, so the roots of the plants were unable to grow. The plants did fine until the sun came out and they were scorched due to their lack of roots. The plants withered away. Jesus likened the plants from the seeds planted on rocky ground to us Christians who get ready to throw in the towel when things get rough. The Amplified Bible says, "They have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when persecution arises...they immediately are offended and stumble and fall away".

Wow. It was a total God Thing that I read that passage today. I have been so discouraged lately about Shaun and his school situation. This parable was a wake up call. I hope and pray that I never again "lack sufficient roots". My roots should be strong enough to get me through anything! God knows what he's doing, and I know he has wonderful plans for Shaun. My problem is that I'm such a control freak I want to see the end results NOW! I'm praying hard for patience in this area.

Speaking of Shaun, here's a picture of him I found today.

And one of Jordan, with our Dog Batman.

Weekend Praise

We've had an eventful weekend. First of all, Shaun was saved yesterday at church! Thank you God, for answering this prayer- and for allowing me to be there when it happened. My family and I have been praying for this for almost 2 years, so we are elated. It such a blessing to know that my son and I will get to be with each other in heaven forever. Shaun-- I am so proud of you for making this decision!

Chris and I finally joined our church yesterday. It feels good to belong somewhere again. We are also finding a new small group, which I am really excited about. We had joined a small group a while back, but something happened and we lost contact. Our church is so big, and it will be nice to have fellowship with other believers in a more intimate setting.

Let's see, what else? Jordan learned to climb out of his crib on Friday. He's only done it the one time, so we're keeping the crib for now. I think that's it. All in all, a great weekend!

Something in the Water

There are never any wash cloths in our house. I don't know why. They always seem to disappear and we end up having to cut up old towels to use when we bathe or shower. Sad, I know. The boys and I were in Target yesterday and I bought a gift set of 10 beautiful washcloths in all shades of green for only $2.99. I was so proud of myself- what a great deal! Then this morning, my bath water turned all green from the dye on the green washcloths! Ha, I guess I got what I paid for. What a great way to start the weekend!

I'm taking the kids to get their flu shots this afternoon. I wonder who will cry the most? It should make for a fabulous afternoon. Then, there's weapons class for Shaun, the grocery store, visiting my grandmother to take her some Doritos, then home to a crock pot full of chili. Mmmm...can't wait. I hope Chris doesn't have to work late tonight. Jordan and I stopped by the hospital to see him this morning and we both realized that he hadn't seen Jordan in almost 3 days. Speaking of Jordan, he's been in his crib playing for almost an hour. He was suppossed to be getting a nap in before the doctors appointment. Ugh. Nothing like a tired 21 month old going in for a shot!