The Day my Daughter Saved her Grandma

We were getting ready to leave Sunday afternoon to go to an outlet store when we received the call from Brian's mom. We were walking out the door so we let the answering machine get it and Brian's mom said that she wanted to talk to Bailey because she has "some news." When we got in the car Bailey called her on Brian's cell phone. Well, apparently when Brian and I were gone the previous weekend, Bailey talked some sense into her grandma. They came up from Tennessee to watch the kids so Brian and I could go to Cincinnati for his Christmas party.

Brian's step dad said that he will not be getting anything from Santa this year because he has been too bad. Bailey's response was that if he had Jesus in his heart, then we would be good and Santa would leave him some presents. She then turned to her grandma and told her that what she really wants for Christmas is to have her grandma and grandpa in heaven one day with her. She knows that Brian's mom is not saved so she told her grandma that she just needs to ask Jesus to come into her heart and believe that He died on the cross for her sins. Then she will go to heaven and she will get to see "her" (Bailey) all the time!! Bailey said it with so much conviction that it really bothered Brian's mom all week and finally on Wednesday she talked to a pastor of a church she has started to attend and she told him the story. She felt she wasn't ready, but it just laid so heavily on her heart that when the pastor on Sunday asked if anyone wanted to come forward and get saved, Brian's mom said she felt a sensation of warmth come over her body and she clearly heard Bailey''s words echo. Next thing she knew she was walking forward and she was saved!! She said it was because of what Bailey said to her that previous Sunday and she told everyone about it!!

Brian's mom called us crying because she was so happy. She wanted to talk to me and thank me for installing religious values into my children and told me I was a great mom and because of what I taught Bailey, another soul was saved. She just kept thanking me. I was so surprised, but I was so excited for her that tears just fell down my face. I felt so proud of Bailey and got on the phone and called my sister and mom to tell them what Bailey had done!! She saved her first person at the age of 5!!

I am so blessed that God gave me the children He did. I am so proud of all of them and I thank God for this gift that He has given me.

Hilton Head continued

OK, it is a little bit later than anticipated for the second half of our vacation, but here goes.  The next day after the Dolphin excursion we headed to Savannah, GA.  It is so beautiful there.  We walked down River street and saw some amazing stores and it felt like we were stepping back into a totally different century.  I loved it.  Then we went to a place the tourist center told us was a good place to take kids.  It was an actual Pirates House, well used to be anyway.  It is where Capt. Flint lived and died (the pirate from Treasure Island).  It was really spooky there.  It is considered one of the most haunted places in America.  Yea, we took our kids there.  Anyway, when they were doing renovations back in the 60's, they uncovered a hidden dungeon with cells and secret passage ways.  It led all the way to the ocean.  Legend has it that when it was a bar, the pirates would get customers drunk with the rum they served them and then they would carry them down through the passage and put them on a ship headed to another country.  Kinda freaky.  Well, it was a really cool place to visit, even though it spooked my kids a little.  Then we drove around and visited Paula Deans and sons restaurant.  After a long day we headed back to the ocean for some more swimming.  

The rest of the vacation we spent just relaxing by the pool and enjoying the ocean.  We can't wait to go back there.  We were amazed how well the kids did in the car and at Hilton Head.  We all had so much fun.  I inquired about how much it would cost to buy our little condo we stayed in and was told it was about $1 million dollars!!  Yikes!  The owner of Brian's company owns it and lets his employees stay there for free!!  Well, you have to claim it as income on your taxes, but still!!  

Debbie at Happy Working Mom tagged me so here goes:

You must list one fact that is somehow relevant about your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the name you would have liked to have. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts. At the end of your blog-post, you will need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they are tagged and to read your blog.

So here goes. My middle name is Renee.

Religion- I am so blessed to have religion as part of my life and that I have the Lord as my personal Savior.
Enegy- it only seems important when you don't seem to have it and with three small kids I desperately need it!!
Napping- do you see the pattern here? It seems that I need a nap to get some more energy to deal with the kiddos today!
Economical- with being a stay-at-home mom it is very important for me to be economical so that I can continue to stay at home with the kids.
Enjoy- I really try hard to enjoy life. Right now I am enjoying watching my children grow both physically, mentally and most importantly spiritually.

So there you have it. Now I need to tag 5 people. HHMMM, who should I choose? Well, here goes!!

Aaron
Denny
Clay
Stef
Debbie

Have fun!!

To My Daughter on Her First Day of Kindergarten

I can't believe the day is here already. It just seems like yesterday that I was holding you in my arms and now you are waving at me out of the window from your seat behind the bus driver. You had such a smile on your face and I could barely watch without tears flowing down my face. My baby is heading to "big people" school. I am scared for you. I know that you will do well, but how will other people treat you? I dread the day you come home crying because someone said something mean to you or didn't include you in something. I would love for you to stay home with me forever, but I know how important it is for you to learn to deal with these issues. I want to protect you, but the only thing I could do for you today was pray to God to watch over you and protect you and to let nothing happen to you that you couldn't deal with. I watched the clock all day wondering what you were doing. When it was lunch time I looked at your empty chair and wondered if had already eaten your lunch and if you sat with anyone.

Finally, it was time to walk to your bus stop and wait for the bus driver to safely deliver you back to me. I was so relieved to see you sitting on the bus and the look of joy when you saw me waiting for you. You were so proud. The first words to me where "whew, what a long day." You have no idea. It seemed liked eternity before I saw you on that bus again this afternoon. I am so relieved that you made it through the first day of school unscathed. I felt like I was walking on clouds back to the house with my little girl beside me telling me about her day. I couldn't believe how much you have grown up. I am so proud of you.

I know there will be days when you won't be coming off of the bus smiling. I hope that God will give me the words to make everything feel better. I will be praying for you everyday. I will pray for God to give you the strength to resist temptation, the knowledge to know when you are being tempted, the desire to teach others about Him and protection from evil doers.

I am so proud and grateful that you are my daughter. I will always love you.

Hilton Head Vacation

WOW!  What a great vacation.  It was far better than my husband and I could have ever imagined.  First, the kids did great in the car.  It took us 12 hrs to get there.  We didn't even hardly get to use the dvd player.  They were just content looking out the window trying to spot "slug bugs."  Then we counted how many people had cargo bags on top of their cars.  The trip there was pretty uneventful.

When we arrived we couldn't believe how nice the place was!  We were right on the beach with a great ocean and lagoon view.  The people before us left a ton of food and some cold beer :)  We headed to the ocean right away and the kids were in awe of the crashing waves and warm water.  Bailey starting her shell collecting right away and Bella had to test out the waves.  Bryson was very apprehensive about the water and was just content watching everyone else and chasing after the sea gulls.  

The next day we ate a quick breakfast and grabbed our boogie boards and sand toys and headed to the ocean.  It was such a short walk there.  We were there until lunch and then it was nap time.  After that we headed to the main land for some groceries.  Wow, the food was expensive.  They wanted $5 for a gallon of milk!!  Anyway, we ended up heading to Sam's Club to get most of the stuff we needed for the week.  Then it was dinner and back to the ocean.   Bailey and I were splashing in the ocean when I felt something hit my foot and wrap around it.  I swiped it away and grabbed Bailey and headed to the shore.  I was in some major pain around my ankle and arm.  Then Bailey started to scream and grab her hand.  We were stung by jellyfish!!  I never knew how much they hurt.  I didn't know what to do and it started to swell and we got welts all over where they stung us.  Then a guy in the ocean started to scream and he darted out of the ocean and started to rub sand all over himself.  I ran over to him and he said he was stung by a school of jellyfish.  We got lucky, I think it was only one or two that got us.  He said we needed to rub sand on it then pour vinegar on it to suck out the poison from the stings.  It hurt like hell.  Bailey and I were a little scared after that to go back into the water.  It took a couple of hours for the pain to subside.

The next day we went to the ocean in the morning and then the pool after naps.  The pool was awesome!!  The first level was for the little kids.  It was only 12 inches deep and had fountains and waterfalls in it.  There was plenty of tables and seats.  It was great.  Bryson and Bella were able to play in it without me having to hover over them in case they fell.  I was able to sit at the edge and relax a little.  Then if you went up six stairs you were at the bigger pool.  It was 3-5 feet deep and had an awesome waterfall on one whole side of it.  It was surrounded by palm trees and great landscape lighting.  Bailey liked that pool the best.  She still isn't that sure of herself in the big pool, so Brian and I were always right next to her.  Then if you went up six more stairs you got to the tanning and spa deck.  They had a huge pool that was only 6 inches deep with little tables and chaise chairs in it for drinking your beverages and tanning.  Connected on to the pool was one of the biggest jacuzzi I had ever seen.  It was great.  No one under the age of 10 was allowed up there which was kind of nice.  I hate it when you are trying to relax in a jacuzzi and some kids are using it as a swimming pool.  Of course I don't mind if my kids are there :)

The next day we did some more swimming and headed to a marina to do some dolphin watching and catch a boat to take a tour.  It was really hot and we didn't see too many dolphins.  The kids got to drive the boat and wear the captains hat.  They loved that part the best.  Afterwards we got off the boat and starting down the dock when a dolphin literally surfaced right next to us.  It scared me half to death.  I felt like I could have reached out my hand and touched her.  I could hear her blowing air out of her blow hole.  It was so cool.  A couple of us stayed around and watched her.  Then we saw her baby.  It was so cute.  They were so close.  Then we saw more dolphins and were watching the baby when all of a sudden we saw a different fin emerge from the water.  You could see the looks of everyone as we all realized that it was not a dolphins fin that we saw, it was a shark and it was only a very few feet from us.  Did I mention we were on a dock and not a pier?  We were almost even with the water.  I grabbed the kids as they were way too close to the edge and the shark.  Now, it was only about 2 feet long, but still, a shark is a shark.  I only hope it didn't go after the baby dolphin because we saw it thrashing around eating something.  We saw a dolphin attacking something and thrashing around a little while later, so who knows.  Was she going after the shark that hurt her baby or just trying to get some fish for it?  Who knows, but I would rather think the last thing.  Anyway, what a great day!  To see two amazing creatures so close was great.  

Stay tuned for more blogging on the rest of the trip!!  

Heading to Hilton Head

We will be embarking on a road trip to Hilton Head in the next few days. I am very excited, but very apprehensive at the same time. I am not sure how my children will do when we are at the condo. I am scared that they will be bored. I know we will go to the ocean and the pool and do a lot of amazing things. The thing is that my kids think they need to be entertained everyday and I am having a huge problem with my oldest. She doesn't want to have anything to do with her siblings. She just wants to play by herself and be left alone. Now, our house is big enough for her to do that. It's just that our middle daughter wants to be with the older one all the time so she follows her. Being the youngest in the family, I can relate with my middle daughter. My sister didn't want me around either and it made me feel terrible. I don't know what to do. I am hoping that once school starts, things will be better.

Another big change that will be occurring soon is that I am going to start watching 3 more kids. Their ages are 4, 19 mos, and 2 mos. Yes, it will be crazy. It will only be for 2 days out of the week, but it will start at 6:20 in the morning!! I am not a morning person so this should be interesting. Also, I will be going back and forth from preschool as the 4 yr old goes to preschool in the afternoon and mine goes in the morning. With that said, I know it won't be that bad. I know the kids and my girls get along well with the 4 yr old. Their mom works the night shift and she needs to get her sleep during the day and she is so desperate for someone to watch them. Right now she is not sleeping during the day and still going to work!! I give her a lot of credit. I do not do well without sleep, let alone work a 12 hr shift in the hospital.

Farewell to Grandma

What a sad day today. I woke up this morning from a phone call from my mom saying that my grandma passed away last night in her sleep. I just spoke on the phone with her last Sunday when I was visiting my mom and dad to pick up the girls from when they had them for a week. I was recovering from having bilateral shockwave lithotripsy. My grandma called to see how I was feeling and if I could come to visist her.

I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I made up a few excuses (well, not too made up, Bella was sick) so I never made it there. "Next time grandma" is what I said. Well, who would have thought that next time would be at her funeral. We are leaving tomorrow to go to NW Indiana and we will leave on Saturday to go to Salem, IL where she will be buried. Yes, it is a lot of traveling, but it is a must. I know she would do the same for me.

My grandma has lived on this earth for 37 yrs without her beloved husband. He passed away at age 50. She has lost two children when they were younger. My grandma was a very strong woman and very independent. She would go to the movies until she lost her eyesight due to macular degeneration. She lived by herself until just a few years ago when she was too blind to fend for herself. She was 87 yrs young. I will miss my grandmother, as now I no longer have any grandparents here on earth. I know that I will see all of them when I pass to my eternal home. This is a day of celebration in that now she can see again and never have another hurt, or sadness. She is with our heavenly father and I will one day be with her again.

So, farewell to you grandma. This is not a good-bye, but just a short while before we will be together again.

Day at Evyonne's

What a great day we had yesterday. We went over to our friends house (Evyonne) for a potluck. There ended up being 10 other moms, most of them SAHM, and MANY kids. Our friend has 7 acres in the country and a lot of great things for the kids to play on. Most of the kids got along pretty well. It is great getting together with other moms and having some adult conversation, even if it ends up about the kids :) Sometimes life can get pretty mundane when you are a stay-at-home mom. It's nice to know that you are not the only one who feels like you are losing your mind or think your kids are the only ones who throw tantrums!

There were some moms there who only had one kid and a mom there who had 4 kids. It is amazing how seasoned we become with the more kids we have or the older they get. I got a few chuckles watching some of the "new" moms and how they worried over the smallest things. I remember those days. When you are a new mom, the 5 second rule doesn't apply. If it falls on the floor, they can't eat it. If the pacifier falls, sterilize it first or rinse it off. When you have more than one kid, the 5 second rule is great! As long as it doesn't fall into something gross, they can eat it. If the pacifier falls on the floor, stick it your mouth to clean it or just rub it off with your hands. Germs aren't as scary after your first kid. We figure it will give them stronger immune systems. Oh yes, the first time mom syndrome. Gotta love it.

Out of the mouths of babes

Okay. This is my first time blogging EVER. Please bear with me while I get my bearings. First I will tell you a little about myself. I am in my early thirties and married to a wonderful man/father. We have been married almost 10 years. We have three wonderful (and yes, sometimes awful) children. Two girls ages 3 and 5 and a 1 yr old boy. They are the best things that ever happened to my husband and I. I am a stay-at-home mom. There are days that I love it and days that make me think my kids would be better at a babysitters house!! Even on those days I wouldn't trade my life for the world. God has blessed me more than I could have ever imagined. I live in the midwest, but would love to live somewhere different. It' s not that I don't like the midwest, I have just lived here my whole life and would like to try living somewhere different. Anyway, enough about me for now. I'm sure you will get to know more about me after I start blogging some more :)

Here is what my blog is all about today. I have three children and it always amazes me what comes out of their mouths and their interpretations about things. For example, today my five year old told me she is so excited because she is starting to get brown (tan) skin. When I asked her why she told me because then she can start speaking Spanish!! For some reason she thinks when you get "tan" you can speak Spanish. She has been going around the house all day talking in a made up language. She thinks she is talking Spanish! Whenever we run into someone who speaks Spanish, my five year old says that she can't wait to grow up and get brown skin and speak Spanish. My five year old has blondish hair and blue eyes!! I don't know why she thinks this, but it is kinda funny.

One of the main reasons why I wanted to start blogging is because I am so bad about keeping up baby books and scrapbooking and I don't want to forget some of the things they say or do. I figured this would be a great way for me to keep track of it. Thanks for bearing with my first blog.