No Clue

This post does not contain any photos but that won't stop me from making sure the events from this past weekend aren't forgotten.

This story begins on Friday morning with my normal RUSH to work.  I feel like a superstar if I can get the kids into school and get back out to my car within five minutes.  Anything longer that that time frame means that I dealt with a 3 year-old who wasn't cooperative or a 2 year-old that cried and clung to my leg while trying to get away.  Today though, none of those things happened and it was a great start to what seemed to be a beautiful day.  Here is where I will insert the deejay on the radio mentioning the bible verse of Proverbs 3-5:6.

Now fast forward ten minutes from the great drop off of the kids........my car dies while driving and I'm one block from the office.  This was a blessing because I work with a great group of people who are like family.  The head of our Building & Grounds crew come along with the head of Facilities.  They try to see if they can get my car started but it wasn't successful.  Then a couple of other guys came with our Building & Grounds crew and tried some other tricks but again, not successful.  They then pushed my car down the road and into the parking lot of Town Hall where I work.  I called for a tow truck and begged God to hear my prayers that it wasn't going to cost a lot of money to fix and it be fixed before taking a trip the NEXT day to Florida to see Aaron's family.  While praying, I also didn't forget to cry A LOT of happy tears letting God know how grateful I was that this all happened without my kids being involved.  The tow truck got my car at 12:45pm and by 1:30pm I had gotten a call that my car was fixed and ready to be picked up.  Life was back to normal.

Another fast forward to what was a great visit with Aaron's family.  We said our goodbyes on Sunday evening and started to make the 3½ hour drive north back to South Carolina.  We first, however, had to drop off Grandma W. at the airport in Jacksonville.  We said more goodbyes and continued with our trip. 

At about 7:30/8:00pm and being on the road for not more than a couple of hours, I asked Cannon if he needed to go potty.  He said yes so we proceeded to the next (well lite) exit with well known places to stop.  While on the exit ramp, my car starts acting up again and we quickly notice the transmission is slipping and won't drive properly.

Once again, within 36 hours, I'm begging God to protect us, help us (emotionally for me) and praying how we are going to get home.  We were still an 1½ away from home.  With no other option than to drive 5 mph to the closest hotel, we decided it was our only option.

Staying in a hotel was fun for the kids so they were up at the crack of dawn.  Aaron took them to breakfast while I called Nissan.  Once again, I was reminded of how I should never, EVER, forget how God's mercy is given in His perfect timing.  Nissan told us that the transmission had been recalled and all expenses were covered including the rental car to get us home.

We arrived home Monday afternoon but not until after seeing a tow truck (Cannon's FAVORITE part of this trip) tow away mommy's truck.

Remember the bible verse I heard on the way to work Friday morning?

 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." 

This verse is one of my favorites!  I have a plaque on my desk that I have had since 1999.  I have taken it to every job I've had and it reminds me everyday....even when broken down with two toddlers on the side of the interstate, miles and miles away from home with no clean clothes and nobody to call to pick us up, GOD IS GOOD!  Period!  End of story!

Potty Time...again!

Potty time, part II.  With the kids fourteen months apart, we are repeating things a lot in the toddlers years.  It's amazing though how we seem to forget even the simple things from one year to the next.  At this point we are just introducing the potty to Caroline.  I still think she is pretty young to grasp the concept but since she will be moving up to the 2K class at school, she needs to get on board with what the older kids are doing.  She will be the youngest child by about five months and we all know that five months can make a huge difference in the life of a toddler. 

 

As you see, she loves to sit and pretend.   

 

And for now, I'm okay with that. 

 

Will keep you posted!

 

 

 

Hijacked!

I received my Kindle for my birthday back in March; however, it has been hijacked by my three year-old!

  

 

Glad to see he turns it off and saves the battery life. 

 

Sweet dreams, Cannon!

 

 

Numbers

As a parent there is nothing that brings me more joy than to see my children learning.  Whether it's learning a new song or a new color, it never gets old discovering what those little brains have been soaking up and learning.

This weekend Aaron and I learned that Cannon knows his numbers in Spanish up to ten and Caroline knows her numbers up to twelve.  Not sure why we are surprised, they are pretty much where they need to be with learning but these were just things that made us proud.

Thank you to all the wonderful Cross School teachers for loving and teaching my kids.  Y'all are the best!!

Silly Girl

Sometimes you just have to laugh!

 

 

 

 

Pool Time

Well, I must admit that we are not pool people.  Why should we?  We have the Atlantic Ocean less than 20 minutes from our house.  We love the beach so we never thought of attempting to enjoy our little 'ol pool in our little 'ol neighborhood.

Well, I was so very wrong!  We are loving our pool!  The kids get their floaties strapped on and away they go.  Kicking and dog paddling around, jumping off the side time and time again which seems to never get old.  There is a "beach entry" so I can sit in the water and get my tan on too.  Life is good at the beach but on some days......life is good at the pool!



4th of July aka.....Daddy's Birthday

Having a day off in the middle of the week kinda throws us off but........we will take it!!!  This special day off was to celebrate 4th of July but in our house, we celebrate Daddy's birthday.

We took it easy during the day then headed down to Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island with a few other THOUSAND people to watch the fireworks.  The kids had fun on the big playground and seeing all the big boats in the marina.  Everyone enjoyed the fireworks show except Cannon.  He has just come to not like loud noises.  As you can see, he tried with everything he had not to enjoy the show.  My heart was broken.  I just can't get through to him at this age that there is absolutely nothing to be in fear of when it comes to watching big bright lights up in the nightly sky.

And on a side note:  I usually write this blog to capture the fun times of my kids lives; however, this night out with friends watching a beautiful fireworks show on a nice July evening on Hilton Head Island turned VERY bad.  Sea Pines is a large plantation so we parked and got bussed over to the events that night.  That took all of 10 minutes.  Waiting for the bus to pick us up and take us back to our car after the show, took almost 2 hours.  I had an exhausted three year-old in my arms while Aaron (on his birthday) had an exhausted two year-old in his arms.  We were in line with hundreds and hundreds of other people in a parking lot that was very hot and humid.  After an hour and half, I lost it.  Yes, I have the patience of Jobe but when my kids were crying asking to go home, this momma had had enough.  I told the next bus driver that if I wasn't the next one on the bus then all hell was going to happen.  The VERY sweet people around me saw all of this happening.  Remember, they were in line with us too for those hours waiting for the bus.  The next bus came and almost everyone allowed me and my children on first.  It was a very kind gesture and they are strangers I will never be able to thank in person but I'm so grateful. 

I hope Daddy will remember his 38th birthday by the smiles on Cannon & Caroline's face and the fun of being with his children and not by his wife going off on a bus driver at 11:30 at night!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

and

Happy Birthday, USA!

 

 

 

It wouldn't be Caroline if she didn't have to go in timeout!