Catchin' up

Well, I haven't posted for a few days. The annual festival in our town was this weekend. It started on Wednesday night. The kids had a lot of fun. We went Wednesday just for a little while. Bryson's friend Josh was there so Bryson road a couple of rides with him. Morgan does not go on any rides. She is very shy. She has fun watching. Now, she doesn't mind playing the games. She begged to play a game that you can win a gold fish if you get a ping pong ball into a little fish bowl. I told her that she could play it, because I truly thought she wouldn't win. I was so wrong! The child got a ball in there. She was soooooo excited. She named it Sparky. We warned her that a lot of times those gold fish don't live very long. We put it in a vase, and I crossed my fingers. I woke up the next morning before Morgan got up and held my breath. I walked into the kitchen and was relieved to see sparky alive! I was worried that she wouldn't do well losing her first pet. Well, sadly enough, Sparky only lived for four more hours. Morgan cried for a little while. It was so heartbreaking. She had already fell in love with her little fish. We flushed poor sparky down the toilet. Bryson had a ball riding on the rides. He goes on the big rides. I don't let him ride them without a friend or an adult. I happen to be the designated adult. Chris can't handle any rides that spin, not that I am able to handle it a whole lot better. So there is this one ride that Bryson likes to ride called Storm. Now, this is the ride that is the fastest and the one that spins you the most. I know that I can't handle this ride very well. I get off of it and can hardly walk straight. Last year when I rode it, some kind gentleman asked, "Ma'am, do you need some assistance?" (I've never felt older in my life!) I assured him that just as soon as the ground stopped moving, I would be just fine. It took a couple of hours for me to recover. This year, I kept my eyes closed most of the time accept to peak at Bryson to make sure he was okay. I didn't feel so bad when I was a teenager that was sitting across from us on the ride, puke after getting off of it. He rode all of the bigger rides accept for the tilt-a-whirl and sizzler. There was a great band out there on Friday. They were from L.A. I think there name was Dot to Dot, or something like that. I was pretty impressed. They played a wide variety of music, and put there own touch to the songs. They were high energy and fun to watch. We stayed there until about midnight with some friends of ours and their kids. They have three. The ages of their kids and our kids are eight, seven, five, five, and almost four. So they all play really well together. We all had a good time. We went Saturday and stayed pretty late with the same friends again. We watched the fireworks and the kids rode a couple of rides. Today was the last day, thank God because I am tired! We watched the parade and Bryson and his cousin rode a few rides. So it turned out to be a good weekend.

I get to go back to work tomorrow. I can't say that I am excited about that. Sometimes we just have to do things we really don't want to do. At least it is a short work week with the Fourth of July on Friday. Which means that my birthday is next week already! July 10Th is my birthday. I had a hard time with my birthday when I turned 30. I swore I would never cry over another birthday ever again. I am going to be 32 and I am looking forward to it. Age is just a number, and if I live my life worried about my age, I will miss out on all of the good things around me.

Well, It's getting late, and I am getting very tired. I hope everyone has a happy Monday. I want to end with something that I am grateful for. I am grateful for my beautiful children. I am grateful that God gave them to me. I am so blessed! Feel free to share with me the things that you are grateful for. I've learned that when you share what you are grateful for nothing else matters!

God bless!!
Julie

God Bless!
Julie

Surviving!

Well, today was my second day back to work, and I am still alive. Ha! I wish I could just walk out and not look back. I know that is the wrong thing to do, but it is sooooo tempting! When I got back yesterday, I found out that my job responsibilities have changed once again. I am doing things that I have never done before. (This should be fun!) There are a bunch of medicare denials that I have to work, oh, and they have to be done by Friday. Oh thank you Lord for my job! I hope I still have it after Friday. /: I guess I will have to learn very quickly. On top of answering the phones, which happened to be ringing off the hook today! Oh the joys of working in the billing department for an orthopedic practice with about 10 doctors and physician assistants in it! Oh, and on top of wanting to lose my mind, I hit my knee that I had surgery on at lest 3 to 4 times a day. Aaaahhhhh!

Okay, I need to move along! My kids are looking forward to this weekend because the festival is in town. Every year we have the Friendship festival, and if we let them, the kids would live there from the time it opens on Wednesday until it closed Sunday afternoon. The weather never fails to be less than desirable every year as well. Most of the time it rains and gets muddy and gross out there. The kids don't seem to mind, but there is just something about mud covering my shoes and getting between my toes that tends to gross me out. Yuck! I won't complain, it is fun to watch the kids have such a good time. Now, Saturday is family day where all the rides are only one ticket. Unfortunately, I am the designated parent to ride the rides that spin with Bryson. My husband can't handle spinning. Not that I can, but I do it better that Chris does. Bryson is so adventurous. He loves to ride the big rides that turn you everywhere and leave me struggling just to walk off the ride. Last year a guy was asking me if I needed assistance off the ride. I told him I would be okay as long as the ground stopped moving. HA! HA! I was a little discombobulated for a couple of hours after that one. Morgan is less that thrilled with rides. I'm sure once she is a little older she will get a little more like her brother and ride some faster rides. Trevor usually goes with his friends to the festival. I don't blame him. I was like that at his age. I never wanted to go to that sort of thing with my parents.

I guess that just about wraps things up. I want to end with something I am grateful for. I am thankful for my heavenly Father who just takes me as I am. One that I can say whatever I want to, and He always understands, never gets angry, and loves me unconditionally.

God Bless!
Julie

Vacation is over : (

Well, my vacation from surgery is over. I saw the doctor today, and he released me to return to work on Monday. I knew it was coming, but have been dreading hearing those words. Well, I broke the news to my kids that mommy has to go back to work. Needless to say there were almost tears shed. I feel terrible. I want to be a stay at home mom or a mom who works from home part time. I don't want to miss time with my kids! I feel like they are growing so fast. I need to find some way of being with my kids. I know many women have to work, but I want my kids! I was a stay at home mom until Bryson went into kindergarten. My husband was having health issues and I had to find a job. I have been working ever since and feel like I am missing so much with my kids. We have gone to parks, the library, the children's museum,(Tuesdays are free!), and have had so much fun since I have been home for almost four weeks. I am a mom first and foremost. So I will enjoy these last couple of days with my kids and try to put Monday in the back of my mind. If anyone out there is reading this and you know a great way for mom's to stay home with kids but still work on the side, please let me know! I have looked into many web sites, but haven't been able to find something that would really work. My job now is VERY stressful. I deal with the public concerning their medical bills and it is not an easy thing to do. People can be very rude. I have even been cursed at and had a lady say she was going to kill someone after she walked away from me. (I'm pretty sure I was her target.) It is very hard to have a good attitude when people are so cruel. I really shouldn't complain because a lot of people are out of work right now. So I apologize for being a baby. But I would love to hear from anyone who knows of a way for a mom to work from home. Please leave any comments or suggestions. They would be much appreciated!!! Well, I hope all is well with everyone!

God Bless!
Julie G.

A beautiful day!

Today was a beautiful day! The sun was shining, the temperature was in the mid seventies, and there was an awesome breeze! I had therapy at 8:00 this morning. (YUCK!) When I got home, the kids were just starting to eat their breakfast. They have been playing so hard outside that they crash at night and sleep in a little later in the mornings. We love the summer hours! I took Bryson's stitch out. He asked me to take it out for him because he didn't want to have to go to the doctor. Boy was that a lot of fun. The poor kid just freaks himself out thinking that it was going to hurt. He told me not to use scissors. I told him that I had to use scissors to get them out. He has had stitches before. The last time he had them, my mom took them out, but he thought she only used tweezers. So I told him to call Grammi and ask her if she used scissors or not. Well, he didn't like the answer he got. She in fact did use the scissors, she just didn't let him see. So after a half and hour of him freaking himself out, i told him to put a pillow in front of his face and not to look until I said to. He was crying and almost hysterical. It was over in 15 seconds and he didn't even realize that I was already done. He pulled the pillow away from his face and asked when I was going to do it. I just held the stitch up with the tweezers and smiled. We both started laughing and he realized how silly it was for him to act the way he did. I realize telling this story to you that many times we do this to our heavenly Father. We know what He wants us to do, we put our lives in His hands, but sometimes we stick a pillow over our faces and get ourselves freaked out that it is going to hurt. Now, my intentions taking Bryson's stitches out, was not to harm him. He put his heel in my hands and I told him I would take care of it, but he didn't quite trust that I was going to take the stitches out without hurting him. I am so guilty of this with God. I want Him to have control of my life, and yet I don't always trust that His plan for me will only make me a better person. I am going to learn from my son. I need to trust that God knows what is best for me. Just like Jeremiah 29:11 says.

God Bless!
Julie

Feelings....

Do you ever just get a certain feeling? Well, I do. I don't know why, but usually when I get them, something in my life changes. It's almost like driving in the fog, you know that there is something ahead, but you can't see it yet. I have got that feeling and I just don't know how to take it. The Holy Spirit will just lay something on my heart, and then I just wait.......it's very hard to wait! I don't know what I exactly I am feeling, but my heart is very heavy tonight. I need to ask for prayer from any believers in Christ that might run into this blog. Pray for me that whatever this feeling is will become more clear to me, and that I will know what it is I need to do.

Goodnight and God Bless!
Julie

I love warm weather!!!!!!

The weather finally dried up after some yucky weather. The tornado sirens have already gone off a couple of times so far. The tornadoes did not reach us, but they weren't too far away. A little too close for me. I must admit though, there is just something about watching a storm roll in. The lightning and thunder, then the rain. It truly amazes me. God has thought of everything. I am in awe of his glory and power, from the storms and the beautiful sunrise and sunset. He just made everything so perfectly.
So now that the weather has cleared up, it has been fun in the sun! My sister-in-law has a pool, so the kids have been swimming. My sister-in-law's yard is under "construction". They had the pool put in at the end of the summer last year, so they want to put a deck next to the pool and landscape the back yard. I told Bryson and Morgan that they needed to wear their shoes in the back yard. Just past the back yard is a field. One of the posts from the fence broke off and there was a piece of metal stuck in the yard. I had just told Bryson to put his shoes on before he goes out into the field. Well, Bryson unfortunately learns things sometimes the hard way. He ran out into the field with no shoes on and sliced his left heal open. OUCH! I went over to him and he was trying to put his shoe on while blood was pouring out of his heal. He was screaming . He does not do well when he sees blood, so he was freaking out. I told him he needed to calm down and sit so I could look at it. Debbie went running into the house for a towel. There was blood everywhere, all over me, him, and the grass. When I looked at it I knew he would need stitches because the fatty part of the inside of his heel was visible. After soaking the towel, we got the bleeding to slow down. I called the doctor to make sure Bryson's tetanus shot was caught up and it was. Needless to say, he has a stitch in his heel. He played in his baseball game last night. It really didn't seem to slow him down at all. I am just glad it wasn't any worse. Unfortunately, he doesn't get to swim now. That is very hard for a seven year old, when his sister and cousin get to swim. I told him that I was sorry he couldn't swim. His response made my heart swell. He said, "it's okay mom. It's my own fault because I didn't listen to you." Lesson learned. I was so proud of him for taking ownership for his actions. As an adult, sometimes it's hard for me to take ownership of things, so to see my son do just that made me so proud of him. I commended him for that. As far as my recovery goes from my knee surgery, I am still going to therapy three times a week. I went to the doctor yesterday, and he still doesn't want me to go back to work. my leg still swells up a lot, and there is still quite a bit of pain. They told me it will be a good four months before I fell really good. UGH! I know it takes time, but I am not a patient person. I will have therapy for another four weeks at least. I must be honest, I don't want to go back to work. I love being home with my kids and the thought of going back to a job that I have to be at Monday through Friday while my Bryson and Morgan go to a day camp or babysitter kills me. I wish there was something that I could do that is very part time. I want to be home with the younger kids and doing things with them. They grow so fast and I don't want to miss these times with them. Before you know it, they will be going out with there friends all the time, like Trevor. We see him, maybe once a week. If anyone out there has any great stay at home mom jobs, Please let me know!! I'll try to post more often, but I just get so busy with the kids, I forget to keep up with this!

God Bless!!
Julie

Finally some warmer weather!

Well, I think it is finally going to stay warm around here! I am still unexpectedly off work due to my surgery, but it has been a blessing. I have been able to spend the beginning of the kids summer at home with them. I don't get around like I would like to, but I am still able to sit at the park or outside with them. I am able to draw with sidewalk chalk and enjoy seeing them play in the water. Morgan has a new bike. We have put off getting her a bike for a long time. I'm not really sure why. We finally got one for her and she lives on it! She does good on it. Bryson's baseball season is almost over. He only has two games left. Unfortunately we have not had a good experience with his coach this year, so I think we are all looking forward to being done with baseball. I am just glad he loves the sport and still has fun in spite of the lack of enthusiasm from the head coach. Trevor started driver's ed yesterday. That to me is just CRAZY! We don't see much of him anymore. Chris is doing well with his job. He enjoys his work. He is trying to get me to go to work for him so that I don't have to work as many days of the week. I have been praying about it. God is working in our lives and we welcome the changes he is making. I can honestly say I am not looking forward to going back to work. It is going to be very hard getting back into that schedule. I feel bad for the kids because they will have to go back to being babysat. Progress from my surgery has definately been slower than I expected. I tried to get around without my cruch, but when I went to physical therapy they scolded me. They said I have to use it.

So that is my update. Hope all is well with everyone!

God bless!
Julie