Life

I was reading another blog from someone I know, and what she said totally captured the way I feel, so I am just passing it along.

Sometimes I'm overwhelmed with all the things I should be praying for: my marriage, kid's health/development/personal relationship with Jesus, wisdom in teaching her, extended family, requests of friends, church, nations leaders, personal struggles, and things that make your heart so heavy you can hardly move. Well, lately my mental prayer list keeps getting longer and longer.

However, she went on to say that even through all of the praying, worrying, and guilt over not praying enough, we can cling to these verses:

"The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus". Philippians 4:5-7

I am so thankful that God loves me the way that I am. I am totally amazed that I can come directly to Him with all of my cares and concerns ~ and I know that He not only hears me, but answers me as well. And what is better, is that no matter how I pray or what screwed up words I use, He knows my heart~aaaahhhh, that is just so comforting.

A Great Day on the Potty

We have finally had a good day on the potty. From the time Punky got up this morning, we sat her on the potty and she went. Up until this point, she would get excited the first time, and then not want anything to do with it the rest of the day. She was even rejecting her pull-ups and requesting the diaper. We didn't want to push her too hard and turn her off completely, so we have been pretty laid back with it.

So today I told her that the diapers were all gone and she had to wear big girl pants. She bought it. I didn't push her, but just tried to make it sound fun, and reminded her of the Skittle that awaited her if she went. She went on the potty 5 times today, and one time she even told me before she had to go. A Milestone!

I hope this is the beginning of the end of diapers for her. Unfortunately, I DREAD taking her to the bathroom in public places. I haven't quite figured out a sanitary way of doing that~I welcome any ideas!

I am so thankful for my day off during the week. It allowed me to really concentrate on the potty today. Sometimes the weekends can be so crazy, so hopefully today will set a good foundation.

Fun at the Orchard

Yesterday we took Punky to a farm/orchard for a day of fun. They had tons of things for kids to do including a small train ride, real school bus to play on, goats to feed, swings, mini golf and, the MOST exciting, ponies to ride.

We had prepped Punky for this day by telling her there were REAL ponies to ride. Since My Little Pony is just AWESOME, she was quite excited when we told her she would get to ride a real one. When we told her in the car, she said, "Yes, and mama will put the money in the slot and we will go!" Poor little thing is only used to the pony in the mall.

Nonetheless, when we got there, the first thing we did was go to the pony rides. Once there, Hubby tried to put her on a horse, but she was scared and didn't want to sit there. Then we showed her how the other little kids were doing it and she tried it. I never saw the smile leave her face...until it was time to go. So, not only could we NOT get her to get on, we couldn't get her OFF of it either. Aaaahhh, two year olds...(needless to say, we rode the ponies twice)

I am so thankful for a great day of family fun. We spent way to much money, but had a very yummy pork chop sandwich and hot dog, and purchased the best apple cider we have ever tasted. We are already planning our trip back next year with little cousin Buddy!

Daddy's Girl

So last night Punky and I went to see Hubby play in his soccer league. Punky was very excited, as she is really liking soccer, and anything Hubby is doing, she wants to do to.

Once we got there and Hubby started playing, Punky says (as she is walking toward the playing field) "I need to go help Daddy!" It was hard to keep her off the field.

It was getting dark and the bugs were out, so I decided to take Punky home before the game officially ended. That was a mistake. I have never heard such a SAD cry. "My Daddy! My Daddy!" was what she was screaming as we were trying to leave. It was so bad, that Hubby actually subbed out of the game for a few minutes to try to comfort her. Once in the car, she cried almost the whole way home, saying, "My Daddy" like we were leaving forever.

I really got to thinking that she is very much a Daddy's girl. She is always around him and wanting to do everything with him. Yes, she wants to be near me too, but usually only to play something or to have me help her with something. She genuinely loves to be around her Daddy. Hubby made the comment the other day, "It's like having a little puppy who follows me around all the time! Never had one of those before!"

I am so thankful for such a wonderful husband and father for my daughter. He is the best. I couldn't have imagined a better husband, and I am so glad God hand-picked him for me!

The Caterpillar

Sorry I have skipped a few days in blogging...the cold is still hangin' on.

I thought I would write about our little adventure on Sunday.

Hubby saw a caterpillar crawling up our driveway, and called me and Punky outside to see it. Punky had never seen one before, but liked it. She tried to touch it as it was crawling, but got a little nervous. I picked it up and let it crawl on my hand and then put it on her hand. She let it crawl on her for a minute and then dropped it to the ground. We decided the caterpillar needed to go back into the grass, so we took it to the yard. Punky just watched it crawl around and talked to it like it was a person. When it was time to go inside, she said "Bye bye caterpillar! See you later. I love you!" So cute. I wish everything in life could be so simple.

I was so thankful for the beautiful weather this weekend. Airing out the house felt so good. I love the cool weather and cold nights-sweatshirt weather! My favorite...

Fall Cold

So, I have the dreaded fall cold...you know, the first cold of the season, which is always the worst because you forget how bad they really are. I have had it all week, and now I am completely drained. I have so much "stuff" I want to do this weekend ~ get my mums for outside, yardwork, set up the bed in our spare bedroom, not to mention that our whole house needs a thorough cleaning. Let's hope a REALLY good night's sleep will help for tomorrow.

I am very thankful for cold medicine...

All the Hoopla...

OK. I know there is not a whole lot to do in our mid-size town, but I really have to wonder when I see so many people getting crazy excited over the Grand Opening of a new Schnucks grocery store (no bashes here, I was there on Tuesday night). Here are some things I noticed...

• I loved the squeaky clean floors and fully stocked shelves. I give it three months before the floor looks like all the other grocery stores and they are all out of the one thing I made the trip over there for...


• The produce was incredible, but the more I looked at it, the more I wondered if this was veggies on steroids. The size of some of this stuff was unreal. I bought nectarines the size of a softball. Being the negative person that I can be, I wonder how long before the Wal-mart quality produce hits those shelves (if you know what I mean).


• I can't help but complain about the exit/entrance to the building. The west entrance was fine, stoplight and all. However, the east-most exit is dumb. I unknowingly decided to go out that way, since I wanted to turn east. However, some clever individual decided to only allow people exiting the parking lot to turn west. Needless to say, I turned east anyway, which is what everyone else will do as well.

So, no more store bashing. All in all it was a lovely store and I hope it stays in tip top shape, and doesn't go downhill like the nearby Eagle's did. I am very thankful that we have grocery stores, and don't have to go into a crowded market place to buy our daily rations (or that I don't have to grow our own food, as I think my family would starve). We are truly blessed to have so many options at our disposal.

***********HOLD EVERYTHING********************I just noticed on their website you can do online ordering of your groceries and have them deliver it! I had no idea this even existed. What is this world coming to when we can't even go and buy our own groceries?! (even though I dispise going grocery shopping).

Fear Factor

So, we have a 2 1/2 year old that just isn't into eating meals (but treats are always welcomed). In order to get her to eat, we usually have to resort to bribing her. The other night, she would not eat her ravioli at all, that is until hubby offered her M&M's. Reluctantly, she took a bite of her now cold cut up ravioli and the fun began.

Then, it started...

Only two chews into it, and she began to gag. Not just a small gag, but the loud kind where a horrible cough follows and you see all of the food in her mouth. However, instead of spitting it out, she held on, and eventually swallowed it. I looked at hubby and said "Yes! The Fear Factor winner! You would think she was eating a bug or something in order to win $50,000!"

But alas, all she received was her little red M&M, which was completely fine with her. She, however, did not take any more bites of Fear Factor ravioli.

I looked at hubby, and couldn't quite figure out if we were exceptional parents for getting her to eat, or horrible parents for tricking our child into gagging herself for an ever so small piece of candy. I think probably a little bit of both.

Having said that, even though Punky is a horrible eater, I am very thankful for a healthy child. I know there are many parents out there who wish their only worry was getting their child to eat three meals a day. And for that matter, I am thankful we can afford to give her three good meals each day. Hopefully someday, she will be thankful for this too, and eat supper without having to be bribed.

My First Blog

Ok, guys. This is my very first blog. I am really doing this for myself, just to give me a few minutes alone everyday. I hope I have some frequent readers, and please feel free to respond to my posts so I know someone out there is reading!

One of my main goals with this page is to list something I am thankful for each time I post something new (I stole this idea from my wonderful sis-in-law, uh-cole). Today I am thankful for my family. I feel that I am so blessed by God to have such a wonderful family who loves me unconditionally and supports me in whatever I do.