blessings

I am constantly reminded how blessed I am by having friends like you all! Thank you for all of your encouragement and kind words on my post yesterday. I really needed to get all of that out {although that's not even half of it, if you can imagine}. Yesterday was not a bad day, though I did have a few meltdowns, but that's okay. It's okay to have those days.

Thank you, all of my friends, for being so thoughtful and kind to me. I truly am blessed.

Today is a better day! We slept in til 9 today, and it still was not hot out when we went on our walk this morning! The weather has been so pleasant lately, and we have been really thankful for the break from the sweltering heat.

Yesterday Benjamin ended up getting a gigantic goose egg on his head from falling down the stairs head-first into the corner of the banister. We only have three steps on either side of our family room so we don't really think much of it. Any fall he takes is relatively short and not a big deal, but this time it was a big deal! Hubby was saying he bruised his eye but then I looked up and saw this SECOND HEAD growing out of his forehead, and I nearly passed out!! Of course he won't let us put ice on anything so it just swells up as big as it wants. I was very surprised that he didn't bust his head open, but I am thankful because that would have been a lot of blood, and I probably would have passed out for real.

Another thing Benjamin has been doing lately is fighting naps. He refuses to nap. He will sit in his crib and talk and yell but he will not for the life of him lay down and take a nap. Usually though in the afternoon we will force him to take a nap because really, an un-napped baby can sometimes get a little too cranky. This happened yesterday, and Benjamin had already had a rough day! I got him up from his nap around 6 and took him outside. He was still cranky. But I got a few pictures of him since I haven't really been taking any lately {and I know that's why you all come here in the first place ha!}


You can still see the tears under his eye from where he threw a fit when I put his shirt on him... Mr. Grumpy Diaper.


But he's cute when he's grumpy, don't you think? Of course, sometimes his attitude is really not cute and he gets in trouble for that. But really, don't you love his little self?


You're about to see one of the reasons the child has a new lump on his head every week. I'm going to start calling him Lumpy. It's appropriate.


It's because we let him do things like this. He loves to climb. He loves to have his own adventures. And we encourage him to learn and explore. Unfortunately with that comes a lot of accidents. Can you tell that we are very laid-back in our parenting? One thing we are not laid-back in is discipline though. I think Benjamin can confirm that one. ha!

Anyway, moving on...

today's 30 Days of Music category is:

day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone

This was a hard one to choose because there are so many that do remind me of someone. I finally decided on this one:

The Fox - Nicklecreek

It reminds me of two people actually. The story behind it explains both so I'll just tell you that.

Two MSOP Lectures ago we stayed with our friends Autumn & Matt and their baby Alethia. Autumn and I were going to a store and well Benjamin was not enjoying his carseat. Suddenly Autumn decided to play this particular song, and immediately Benjamin stopped crying. We thought, oh he wanted to hear music! But the next song came on and he started crying again! We played this one over, and he stopped!

And from then on, and I think even now {we haven't tried in a while} he will stop crying when he hears this song! So this song reminds me of my son, and it also reminds me of my Kindred Spirit, Autumn, whom I love and adore. I could go on and on about Autumn, but instead, I'll go ahead and give you the video.

I Still Can't Say Goodbye

Today is probably my least favorite day out of the entire year. I am never fully prepared for the emotion of it all, although I usually try to gear myself up the couple days before {usually beginning July 1st} just so I can be at least somewhat prepared and not wake up in the morning and think, "Oh yeah, today's July 5th. Today's the day Papaw died."

Three years ago today, actually. It's always surprising to me how fresh the wound feels and how my heart hurts as though it were yesterday. Papaw was the first person I lost that I was close to. I miss him dearly. Desperately. I had a hard time sleeping last night because I just could not stop crying. I've felt this way all weekend.

It's not something I talk about often. I don't like discussing it. But I think maybe blogging about it might be therapeutic for me. I have heard that blogging is like therapy. So I'm going to give this a shot.

My Papaw was diagnosed with liver cancer and was given 6 months to live. It came as a shock to all of us. None of us were really prepared for the next couple of months. He lived out only a couple of those 6 given months. I remember very clearly the few days leading to his death. It was very shocking when we got the call that hospice had been called in, because just the other day he had been hiking with my uncle. Things quickly took a turn for the worse.

As much as I have tried so hard to forget, I still remember him laying in his bed. I remember how he would cough when he was moved and I remember holding my breath during those brief moments. I remember having to leave the lunch table when the preacher from their congregation came by for a visit to go wipe my tears away in private.

I remember the last time I went into his room and knelt by his bed. I held his hand and told him that I loved him, and he made a sort of groaning noise that made me think he had heard me and perhaps was trying to respond. I held onto the hope that tomorrow we would come back and I would be able to say so much more to him.

But that moment never came, because an hour and a half later, when I had gotten to work and called my mom to let her know, she let me know that my grandfather had just passed away. I needed to come back and we needed to drive back to South Carolina to be with the family.

I remember the long walk from my Explorer to the YMCA building where I worked, walking in and instead of clocking in, I went to my boss and said, "Emily, I don't think I can work today... my grandfather just died." My boss drove me home and her son drove my car behind us because I was not certain I could drive home myself.

The next few days were a blur as family members arrived and hugs were exchanged. I remember the visitation and how Grandma cried when she saw her husband.....

Some things just never leave you.

I held hands with my younger cousin throughout the service.

I remember each and every familiar face from the funeral. So many people from back home, an hour away, came to support us and encourage us. I remember each of their faces as they passed by the family and gave hugs.

I remember feeling so angry. Why? Why did this happen? Why him and not someone else? I look back and see what a selfish thing that is to say. It's hard forgetting the emotions.

My wedding was 3 weeks away. My Papaw never saw the first of his grandchildren to be married. He would never meet his first great-grandchild. He would have loved Benjamin so much. And I know that Benjamin would have loved him in return.

Last night at church they sang one of the songs that my Papaw requested be sung at his funeral: To Canaan's Land I'm On My Way. As soon as I heard the number called out, I knew. Somehow I woke up that morning and knew it would be sung, and I knew I couldn't sing it. I cried the entire time and hoped that nobody would notice. I've only been able to sing that song a few times since the funeral. It's a hard one to sing.

It's been 3 years, and I never expected to still feel so emotional about this. Is it a good thing? A good thing that I still remember him and feel so strongly about him? Everyone grieves differently. I don't think I'll ever "move on".

Heaven will be a beautiful place, when we are all reunited with our loved ones.

I miss Papaw.

Today's "30 Days of Music" is very appropriate: day 04 - a song that makes you sad.

It's a song that my dad showed me a couple weeks ago, and I spent the rest of the night remembering Papaw.

Chet Atkins - "I Still Can't Say Goodbye"






I still can't say goodbye.

Far Above Rubies: Proverbs 31:21

Did you guys miss this? Because I sure did! I hope you all got caught up while you could because we are diving right in! {I know some of you are traveling to the States, and are preparing for a Wedding, so I understand!!} This week we are going to be looking at Proverbs 31:21.

"She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet."
- Proverbs 31:21

The word "scarlet" here actually refers to "double-clothing" - which refers to warm clothing. This virtuous woman is not afraid of inclement weather because she is prepared! A lot of these verses are really focused on the efforts that the woman puts into her family. One of these efforts seems to also be preparing for the future.

This also shows how much thought she really puts into her family. Not only the fact that she is prepared, but you have to think... to not have to worry about certain things because you are prepared, you really have to care about and love your family. Sometimes it does come easy for women because we are naturally nurturers.

What kind of things helps you to be prepared for your family? Not only with things such as preparing for the weather, but other things. We try to stockpile when we can. This goes along with couponing.There are some things we are good on for a while, which is comforting. In certain situations we will be prepared. I am sure there are other things we can be prepared for - so do you have any tips?

Glorious Fourth

To our troops who have served or are serving: Thank you. We enjoy many freedoms in this country and it wouldn't be possible without you.



Happy Fourth!

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day 03 - a song that makes you happy



Eisley - Brightly Wound

I love this song and have loved it since the very first time I heard it. Actually it was a toss-up between this song and another Eisley song for the song that makes me happy {Trolleywood, if you are curious and want to look it up}. I just love Eisley. I haven't listened to Eisley in a while and now I'm in the mood for some beautiful, happy Eisley songs!

Last Night & Least Favorite

Last night we met our friend Jessica and her daughter Ella and her parents & their friends (wow, that's a list!) at a nearby High School to hear the Military Band play and see some fireworks. What we didn't know we were in for was a Diamond Rio concert! And I'll just be honest with you, we're not country fans. Hubby had a harder time enjoying himself than I did, but I am sure if I knew it would be a Diamond Rio concert, we wouldn't have gone. Ha! Anyway, Benjamin hated the fireworks. Hubby had to hold him the whole time and he hid his face in Daddy's neck. Poor guy.

I'll have to show you all pictures later! I wanted to go ahead and do my 30 Days of Music for today:

day 02 - Your Least Favorite Song

Milk & Cereal by G Love and Special Sauce

(I'm not posting the original video because the guy is shirtless and I don't want a half naked person on my blog!)



I can't describe how much I hate this song. I really can't, so I won't even try.

I'll just go ahead and tell you that Hubby likes this song. That should be enough for you.

Have a great weekend! We have to go decorate my classroom sometime today so I'm getting things finished up for that!

30 Days of Music - Day One

Back in the day I used to listen to music constantly! I loved it! And really I still do enjoy listening to music but I enjoy peace and quiet a lot more these days, which is something I hear happens when you become a mother! ha!

My friend Andrew introduced this to me, 30 Days of Music, and I decided I would join in. Well I'm not really good with keeping up with this stuff but I figured this one shouldn't be too hard. I mean I've tried twice now to do the 365 Challenge with Photography but I failed. Twice.

But maybe listening to a song a day won't be so hard. I'll each day post the song that I chose for each category and explain why I chose it. Should be fun! If you want, you can join in too!

Here are the different categories for each day:

day 01 - Your Favorite Song
day 02 - Your Least Favorite Song
day 03 - a song that makes you happy
day 04 - a song that makes you sad
day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone
day 06 - a song that reminds of you of somewhere
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
day 09 - a song that you can dance to
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep
day 11 - a song from your favorite band
day 12 - a song from a band you hate
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
day 15 - a song that describes you
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you're angry
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you're happy
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you're sad
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
day 29 - a song from your childhood
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year

So! Day 1: your favorite song:

Easy. My all-time favorite song has been this song since I was about 11 when I received the Sixpence None the Richer CD on Easter morning!

Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer

COHEN

A family needs your prayers today. Will you pray?