Fall Festivities.

As of Halloween, we have been here in Fort Valley for One Whole Year.



Last Saturday we had a get-together at our house to celebrate with the congregation (and friends and family).



We asked our friends and family to bring their Favorite Fall Finger Foods, and we got SO MUCH that we had to put out another table to fit everything!



My mom also brought this delicious Pumpkin Cake for my birthday.

(By the way, THANK YOU! to all who wished me a happy one! I meant to say thank you earlier!)



We are so blessed with all the people in our lives...



And non-people, too.



My parents were able to come ...



And Bailey, of course ...



And my dad ... he acted strange while we waited for guests...



Grandma got to come, too. And I hope dad doesn't mind me posting these...



We had a really great turn out!

I am so blessed!



Happy Fall, while it still is!

Prayers for Stellan!!

I am sure most of you know already because pretty much everyone follows MckMama's Blog, but please pray for little 1 year old Stellan today. He is in surgery today and we need to pray hard that everything goes as planned! Pray for the doctors who are administering to him, and pray for MckMama and the rest of the Mck-Clan during this stressful and trying time!!

You can follow her Twitter to get updates.

One By One.

Benjamin and I did not attend church at all today. I have been sick since early last week, and can't seem to kick this cold! While Benjamin has been getting better and better, I have gotten worse and worse, and what's more, I spread it to Hubby as well! I've got a stuffy nose and a scratchy throat, unless I take Theraflu, in which case I have a runny nose and a scratchy throat. Lose/Lose.

On top of the sickness, this morning I was feeling rather down... I'll just come out and say it: I was downright depressed. I threw myself a nice little pity party while Benjamin was napping, then I took a little nap. I woke up to two short whimpers from Benjamin's room and then heard him talking to his Eyore doll, which he sleeps with (tag in hand) every night. It was the sweetest thing, and when I saw that smile on his face when I peeked into his nursery, I was reminded that I needed to count my blessings, instead of throwing myself a pity party.

"Count your Blessings, name them one by one..."



This blessing is named Benjamin.



"And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done."



Lesson learned. Instead of pity partying, focus on what God has blessed you with.

Have you counted your Blessings lately?

Inhale, Exhale

My eyes are murky from inhaling too many cleaning fumes today, and my body is screaming for me to take a good, long rest already! I have been cleaning pretty much all day today. Tomorrow we are having a fellowship at our house, and this is the first time since New Years that we have invited the congregation out to fellowship. Isn't that terrible? But with a new baby, and everything else that was going on - plus not really having been very moved in when we did have Benjamin - we hadn't had the opportunity. Well, as of Halloween, we have been here an entire year - in Fort Valley, that is. We have not lived in this house that long. We moved in here the day after Black Friday last year. Can you imagine driving a UHaul truck through the Mall of Georgia area on Black Friday - me, 8 months pregnant, and already a stressful passenger?! Whew!

Anyway, we wanted the house to look presentable for everyone ... isn't it sad that it has taken so much out of us just to have it presentable? And I don't even mean spic-and-span - that will probably never happen. No, I know it will never happen, and you will see why in a few minutes.

I was thinking about what I could possibly write about today in my blog (since I missed yesterday - oops - sorry!), and while I was mopping my kitchen, I realized exactly what I would write about.

This is why my house will never, ever be spic-n-span - and no, it isn't the baby (or the husband):



No, this is not a photograph that I have taken, nor is it one that is taken with things I own or in my house. However, this is how I feel when I am mopping. I feel like I am mopping with the most ancient mop and bucket, and that I am mopping an impossibly dirty floor.

I don't know what the deal is. Seriously, I can sit there and scrub away all day long and it still looks like an entire football team has hustled through my kitchen with dirty shoes, and then a herd of cattle (Cattle? Why not.). There have been times when I would go through with a Swiffer mop, then the regular mop, and have resorted to getting down on my hands and knees with a clorox wipe. Okay, maybe I am a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to cleaning. I may not enjoy cleaning, but when I do get down to it, I never want to do it half way. Go big or go home (That's for you, Stephanie!).

After all that ... why, oh WHY can I not get it clean?! There is a stretch of linoleum that just remains black, beneath the cabinets. I am afraid there could be something nasty down there but I really don't know if I want to find out. All I know is: it can't be scrubbed up from the top... could it be the bottom?

Let's not think about that. It might spark my obsessive compulsive side.

Then again ... I am renting ... would that be something the landlady would have to take care of? Hmmm...

Anyway ... that's what's been grinding my gears tonight! Oh, did I mention that I am not finished cleaning yet? One room remains to be cleaned before tomorrow (our guest room is not it - that is littered with stuff from the yard sale and has yet to be sorted through). The family room. It shouldn't take too long. Tomorrow Hubby and Benjamin will be going to a Veteran's Breakfast over at the American Legion, so that might give me some time to situate things over here, and then decorate outside some.

So, here's my question for you wonderful* housewives: How do I get my kitchen to really sparkle, what mop do you suggest, and what could it be that is making my kitchen floor remain that dark color beneath the cabinets?

*Wonderful as in ... you are wonderful. You don't have to be the best housewife in the world to answer. I know for a fact that I am not the best!

Oh, and before I leave you to it, I just wanted to say THANK YOU to my husband for helping out so much today with cleaning. He got his office all straightened up - which was a HUGE task in and of itself! Way to go! I love you!

... One more thing ...



Benjamin learned how to comb his hair today. Smart boy!

Hope you all have wonderful weekends!

Wordless Wednesday: BEFORE Couponing

I am so embarrassed ...

For more WW, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

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I just wanted to ask for prayers as our whole house, including Autumn and Alethia (who had to go back to Memphis early so they could get some rest), seems to have gotten sick. We took Ben to the doctor yesterday and he prescribed two medicines so hopefully they will help (and hopefully he won't be allergic to them!). Thanks in advance for your prayers!

Can I Get a Woop Woop?!

Happy Birthday to Me!! Today, 21 years ago, at 6:30 in the morning, I made my debut into this world at 21inches long and 7.5lbs! I was bald-headed and remained so for ... a long while! My mom always likes to tell about how when I was in the nursery with the other newborns in our bassinets, I lifted my head up to look around. "Nosy baby!" she would say. Too funny! I was a goose-necker from the get-go!

Anyway, can I get a woop woop?!

P.S. - No, I'm not actively posting this! This is a scheduled post!

Birthday Week Has Begun!

There is no logical explanation as to why I allowed my husband to keep me up until 2-something in the morning last Friday night (well, Saturday morning). I'm really not sure how he actually did that, either. He even had Benjamin stay up after he woke up around 12:30 with the excuse "he may sleep longer if we let him play for a bit, since we are both up". Me: "Yeah, he might!". It's a good thing that episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show was a "serious" one, else I'd have gone to bed before or during, and put Ben down as well.

I say this because around 2 a car rolled up into our driveway and Hubby and I just so happened to be walking toward the front door. Hubby said, "Who is that?" and I'm like, "How should I know?!" - Me, without glasses and with semi-night blindness. Hubby went outside and I peeked through the windows just in case a gun was pulled or something and then the car alarm started going off. So I'm getting irritated because it's 2AM and they are setting off car alarms. I go out onto the porch because I'm just way too curious and Hubby motions to me like "Come here!" And I look at him like "Are you crazy?!" and say, "No!"

But I'm just way too curious.

So down the steps I go ... and the person is getting out of their car ... and squinting through the darkness (and worried I'll step on something icky) I see only one of my favorite people in the whole wide world with her sweet baby girl (who is Benjamin's betrothed) in tow.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

She isn't my friend, she's my kindred spirit, and I only knew her 5 months before we moved from Memphis to Georgia. But we're as good as sisters (and we are - in Christ!) and I love her to death. Her husband is about to graduate from the preaching school my husband graduated from in June of 2008. That's where we met. We lived in the student housing apartment complex and we would walk to each other's apartment just about every day and stay up to the wee hours of the night painting or just, ya know, hanging out. It was really hard moving away from her.

Apparently Autumn and Carl had been planning this for a time - and boy am I glad they did because she is here until this coming Friday! This is seriously one of the best birthday gifts ever. Thank you Autumn and Carl!

Benjamin has been having a great time with his betrothed, Alethia, who is 14 months old. I think he enjoys having someone to play with (even if she takes his toys from him occasionally). Poor Alethia seems to have a small cold and Ben seems to have one coming as well - but other than that the visit so far has been wonderful.

Yesterday we went to Logan's to eat:




and had Ben's portrait taken at Sears (should have gotten Alethia in on that too - but when it was offered, she had just banged her head on the ground and had a lovely red patch on her forehead). Benjamin wore his froggy costume for the pictures, but after that he got tired of that so we put him in Alethia's backup costume: the Monster costume.








Ahh, young love ...

Anyway, for some reason there was an entire Cheer squad at the mall who cooed at the babies in one store and in the food court. Alethia is such a ham and Ben was roly poly in that monster suit. It was too funny.

We went to Target after that to go and get the components of a Coupon Binder so I can start couponing hardcore. I am really excited. I'll keep you updated with my progress in that adventure.

When we came home (both babies exhausted and cranky) we did not go trick or treating. We did, however, put the babies in matching jammies and took pictures...






Halloween? SO much fun.

Now? Pizza and Oreo pie are on the menu for my Birthday Eve - mmmm!

Tomorrow? Going to be awesome.

By the way, if you want to see full versions of the photos you can either go to my facebook, or you can go to MY FLICKR!!