He's Home!

Tuesday night we went to my parents' house and were reunited with our son! I was so excited the whole way, and when we got there... well I guess I was expecting some wonderful reunion... apparently Benjamin was thoroughly confused. He wouldn't come near us for a long time and was really clingy to my mom and dad. He was uncharacteristically quiet and would barely look at us. It really did break my heart, but I figured he just didn't know what was going on. After a while, though, he wouldn't leave my side, and all was good.

Wednesday we brought him home and although he has been very clingy still, things are slowly coming back to normal around here. Well, all except the fact that our hearing still has not returned fully. Which is pretty annoying. It's all I can do to ignore the ringing in my ear during the day and especially at night when I'm trying to sleep. Hopefully that will go away soon, though.





He looks like a little man in those pictures, doesn't he? I am so happy to have my little man back, and my inspiration for blogging! I had no idea I would take such a break, but I needed that time to rest and regain energy. I'm going to have to get caught up on what everyone's been doing!



So happy he's home... even if my parents made him into a morning person... we're working on that.

It'sha Burfday!

Today is a very special day, friends, because today is my sweet husband's 23rd birthday!

Happy Birthday, Carl!

You see? I rarely put his name in the blog because I thought maybe that would make it more secure... really I don't know why I do it anymore because you already know everything else. Okay now I am scaring myself so... moving on!

Anyway, I'm a big birthday person, but Carl on the other hand is not, really. I've been asking him for a while now what he might want to do or where he might want to go on his birthday but all he has said is nowhere special, he just would like to hang out with friends since we haven't in a while {on account of us being out of state}.

However... we've been sick. I dunno if that is going to happen today, sadly. But, we're going to make the most of it, aren't we, babe?

In fact I'm going to make special cupcakes for him! Hooray! I feel really bad because I was unable to get out and get anything special for Carl for his birthday... like, really, really bad. So hopefully a good old blog post dedicated to my sweet husband will do the trick... And here is where I gush about him!



My husband is a really, really amazing dad. He is so involved, and so loving and caring. I knew that he was great with kids when we met, but I never imagined that anyone could be such a wonderful father. Happy Birthday to the best daddy I could ever want for my children!



My husband is so good looking. I hope you all enjoyed that first picture! That was definitely not me shaving his head. No, I was too busy busting my tailbone outside in a rainstorm. Seriously. {and then a couple days later we found out we were expecting!!} Anyway, he is good looking. He asked me a few times who was better looking, him or Johnny Depp? And I say MY HUSBAND, of course! Sorry Johnny! My husband is the most handsome man! Happy Birthday to the most handsome fella in the world!


My husband is fearless. I can't count how many times he has killed a bug for me when I am just shaking with fear. Okay so maybe I'm a weenie. But still. I always feel so safe around my husband and I know that no matter what, he is always going to take care of me. Even when there is a roach the size of my hand {not exaggerating, folks!} running at me on the wall in the bathroom... Carl, you know what I am referencing to... Happy Birthday to the man who will always protect me!


My husband is so giving. It may look in that picture that both of those ice cream cones were his, but they weren't. One was for me. I was at home, moaning and groaning about my broken tailbone. Or maybe I was sick... I dunno! Either way, it was for me. He carried the whole thing back for me. But that's not just it. He is always so very giving. He showers me with things that I don't deserve, like my chocolate chip waffles I had to have last night. Or that shirt we paid full price for at Target, that is still eating me up with guilt! Happy Birthday to the man who is always so giving!


My husband is my favorite preacher. He is such a good speaker. I am really proud of him and so proud to sit by him as the preacher's wife. He loves God's word and you can tell when he delivers the message in the pulpit. He will go to all lengths to teach and bring others to salvation. I admire him in so many ways. I wanted to marry a preacher, and boy howdy did I hit the jackpot on that one! If you want to listen to his sermons, you can check 'em out here. You can also read up on what it's like to be a preacher on his blog. Happy Birthday to my favorite preacher, hands down!



My husband is a silly nerd. I say that with the most affection. He is always making me laugh, even when I don't want to laugh. It is really fun being married to him and it's really interesting sometimes because you never know what he'll do next... I love him to death and I am so glad that he is a silly nerd because he's my silly nerd. Happy Birthday to the man who keeps me laughing!

I really could go on about how loving and forgiving and honest he is. If you know Carl, you know how much he loves our family. He makes mistakes, and he fixes them, and I love him so much for it. It says to me that he's not prideful. He knows that he is not always perfect and he strives to be pleasing to God. He's perfect for me. Even though we're not perfect. {Does that make sense?}

Happy Birthday to my best friend, my husband, my companion.

I love you!

God is Good!

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Philippians 4:6

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
1 John 5:14-15

The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Proverbs 15:29

Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
Psalm 17:1



This photo was sent to us from my dad on his cell phone when he and my mom went to get Benjamin. Unfortunately my Mother-in-Law is awfully sick today so y'all please keep her in your prayers. Apparently it is something different from what we had. Anyway, my Father-in-Law had to take Benjamin to the McDonald's for my parents to get him. He is doing very well and can't you tell he is really enjoying that ketchup??

As for us... I am so delighted to tell you all that we are very well on the mend! Hubby has been fever free for over 48hrs, and I have been fever free for 24hrs! That is a sign to me that the infection has been fought off, so we are going to be able to get Benjamin earlier than I was thinking yesterday {I was thinking Friday - I was being pretty cynical I guess!}. I am so excited! Now, if we can just get this congestion out of the way! And the garlic smell out of my ears...

Thank you so much for your prayers! God is so good! He answers prayers, I know He does!

Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.
1 Chronicles 16:11

2010 Ultimate Blog Party!!

I am so thankful for something to take my mind off of my little pity party for being so very sick and for having to ask my Mother-in-Law to meet my parents on Saturday so they can take care of Benjamin next week while we continue to recover from this evil sickness. Today has been a very difficult day and I can't tell you how ready I am to have Benjamin back, and how sad I am that we won't be seeing him on Sunday like we had originally planned.

Yay for Blog Parties!



I have always wanted to do a vlog like Kelly did for her blog party post, but unfortunately you won't be able to understand me for very long as my throat is out of commission at the moment.

However, I will go ahead and tell you more about myself!

I am first and foremost a Christian. My Christianity is the hub of my wagon wheel, and the other aspects of my life are the spokes. No aspect is untouched or unaffected by my Christianity.

I am 21 years old and I am wife to a fantastic gospel preacher, and mother to a sweet almost 15-month-old boy who has inspired my blogging right down to the title. My husband and I have been married for two and a half years, and we will celebrate our third anniversary on August 11th. He preaches for the Fort Valley church of Christ, and I am so proud of him because he is a great speaker! I am so thankful for him because he helps me along my journey as a Christian. My husband also blogs, and I am pretty sure you should check that out and be blessed!



My baby, Benjamin, has been such a blessing and gift from God. We are learning so much about parenting and what God expects from us because of him. He has also inspired me to write a book, which I only just began this very week, on the subject of being a godly mother.



I've been blogging since July 2008 when I was 3 months pregnant. I mostly blog about family life, but I do occasionally do spiritual blog posts and the like. As for other hobbies, I love to sew, which is a newfound love. I also love to bake, namely cupcakes, and I do not love to cook. I also do not love to clean. The two are merely necessary evils, in my eyes. I am so blessed to have a husband who actually enjoys cooking, and does often for the family. {Wouldn't it be nice if he also enjoyed folding laundry? ha! I am very grateful for everything he does for me.} I also crochet some, and I do enjoy doing other crafty things.

As for prizes, I gotta say these are the ones that jumped out at me:

18 – Goodie Basket for Mom, includes health and beauty items for mom and kids. $5 gift card to Wal-Mart, Softlips Pomegranate Lip Balm, Moments for Mothers, Thoughtful Reflections to Warm Her Heart book by Robert Strand, 20 Sheets of Glossy Photo Paper, EcoTools earth-friendly beauty Intensive Hand Cream, Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Workout DVD, Peaceful Waters Relaxation DVD, Tantric Toning Workout DVD with Stephanie de Phillipo, Magnetic Babysitter Checklist, The Flavor Point Diet book by Dr. David L. Katz, Photo Album that holds 80 photos and a Beautiful decorative Wood Chip Basket. Estimated retail value of prize $50.
Provided by: Healthy Moms – The Number One Health Blog for Moms
Follow here: cltalbert or Visit Our Fan Page: Healthy Moms

32 – $25 Target Gift Card!
Provided by: The Frugal Novice
Follow here: Frugal Novice or Visit Our Fan Page: Frugal Novice

Of course, I'd be happy winning any, and I'd list more but I feel another bout of headache coming on. We just heard from my Mother-in-Law and Benjamin is doing well and is happy... so that makes me feel better. It's just really hard being away from him! So y'all please keep us in your prayers so we can recover quickly and get our baby boy back as soon as possible!

Hi to any new friends - I really look forward to getting to know you better!

I can't do it all.

I can't be Doctor Mommy, Doctor Wife, Housewife, Gardener all wrapped up in one. I'm sick now, all complete with a cough, congestion, major aches {probably from my gardening exploits}, and yes, even a fever. It got so bad today that we broke down and about ten minutes ago we sent Benjamin off with his grandmommy for the weekend. I've been an emotional wreck ever since we decided to send him off, only because this is the first time we will have been away from our baby boy for so long.

But it is necessary. When he is around me, he wants me to hold him all the time, and I just can't. I don't have the energy, and I get just way too hot. I don't want him to come down with what we have, because frankly it is miserable.

I am sure you will all understand if you don't hear much from me for a while. I think the plans are that Benjamin will be gone until around Sunday afternoon. Hopefully by then we will be all better and able to take him back. If not, he may go on to my parents' house from Hubby's mother's house. That is definitely not ideal. I am ready to have him back pronto!

Keep us in your prayers, please, that we can gain our health quickly and that I won't have too many breakdowns thinking about my baby boy all those miles away!

Go here to read what my husband had to say on the matter.

An Apple A Day...

Keeps the doctor away. Not today. Today was doctor visit day for Benjamin because we got so sad every time we looked at our poor baby. I gave his eyes a couple of days to clear up with no avail, so we got up bright and early {well, Hubby got up SUPER early, for us anyway} and headed out to see what was wrong with our baby.



You can kind of see the red ring beneath his right eye there. It's kind of chapped I guess you'd say. Anyway, the doctor checked Benjamin {who was very good-natured and sweet through the whole process} out and said that this was not mere allergies. Benjamin has an eye infection {or in both? dunno}, nose infection, and on top {or really, bottom} of all that, he has a stomach virus. The stomach virus seems to be very tame as he hasn't had too much of a problem with that, so the doctor said to just let that run it's course.




The infections, on the other hand, we have oral medicine and some ointment for his eyelids. If that doesn't clear him up, then they will have to give him some antibiotics I believe. We'd rather not go back, because as I mentioned before, we are having insurance problems and I don't want to be spending so much out of pocket. Today they were really nice to work with us and I am so thankful. God takes care of us, always. I am so thankful.



Benjamin is resting now, but hopefully when he wakes up he will be feeling well enough to eat something. He hasn't been eating well lately, because of the stomach bug I'm sure. I think after a while I am going to take some allergy medicine and work in the yard some. I know, any of you who really know me will be really shocked to hear that, ha! But I've been wanting to get out all year, but it has just been back and forth with the weather. I think we are out of the chill zone so we should be good!



Keep my Benny in your prayers, please! Y'all are so sweet with your comments. Thank you for thinking of him! I hope you all have a blessed day!

Mommy/Wife MD

Today has been so tiring. I have been Doctor Wife and Doctor Mommy all day and I am pooped. Having both my boys sick is not fun at all. Hubby, thankfully, seems to be doing better this evening. He slept a lot today and I think that must have really helped.

Benjamin, on the other hand, had diarrhea three times today {having puked once on Sunday}. We dealt with Ben's insurance today and apparently for some odd {infuriating, unknown} reason, Benjamin is not covered with insurance. So we have to go and pay out of pocket when we take Benjamin to the doctor tomorrow. This is the first time we are having to do this since birth so I suppose it isn't too bad, and it could be worse, so I'm keeping my chin up, or trying to. It's just really frustrating when a company either loses or misplaces information when it has to do with covering your child!

Anyway, keep our sweet boy in your prayers. He just doesn't feel well. He has goopy eyes, a rash on his face, red rings around his eyes, and like I said, diarrhea. I just hate to see him feeling so ill. He hasn't been eating a lot today, which if you know Benjamin, is very rare.



Thanks for any prayers, friends!