Our Weekend in Wilson

This past weekend, Matthew, Philip, Ruth Ann and I drove up to Wilson, NC on Friday evening. Matthew's brother Jonathan, his wife Lori and daughter Hannah arrived in Wilson on Thursday evening and spent the night with a church member. The moving truck arrived at their apartment (really it is more like a cute neighborhood of really nice duplexs; I wish I had taken a picture!) on Friday morning so by the time we arrived, everything was inside, boxes everywhere, but the beds had been put together. We all stayed up until about 1:30am (including Philip and Hannah who were very happy to be together again) unpacking boxes, moving furniture around, and feeling like we were getting a lot of nothing done.

Saturday morning, we drove to their pastor's house for his daughter's 2-year birthday party. It was fun getting to know some of the church members and see that Hannah will not be at a loss for friends (probably 10-12 kids there). It was weird just meeting these people and happily enjoying some Boz birthday cake with them. They really are such a loving, godly group of people. I know it won't take Jonathan and Lori long to feel at home in Wilson (at least that's our prayer).

Saturday afternoon was spent unpacking more boxes and moving more furniture. At least, things were beginning to look like they had their own spots. That evening the kids took a bubble bath together and went to bed at a relatively decent hour. The adults kept at it until we crashed at 12:30am.

Sunday was nice as we attended their new church, Christ Baptist Church, which as a newer plant church meets in a local elementary school. Both Sunday School and worship were very Spirit-filled. If I lived in the area, it's definitely where I would attend. Hannah and Philip enjoyed climbing on the risers while the church members set the room up to look like a school auditorium after service.

Philip introduced Hannah to Boz on DVD while we finished packing the car.

Leaving at 4:30pm wasn't as hard a goodbye as it was back at Thanksgiving. Now we're only 4 1/2 hours away and know we'll be back to visit in 6-8 weeks after Lori's baby is born.

As he never took an afternoon nap, Philip was asleep in the car less than 5 minutes after leaving and slept for 2 hours! Matthew drove us safely home through a torrential downpour with a stop at McDonald's for dinner to go.

Like Father, Like Son

I obviously love watching Philip explore this world as he still is learning so much each day. It makes me laugh when he so clearly shows signs of being his daddy's boy. This morning, he kept himself busy for a while just playing with some VCR cables. He also really likes our remote controls and cell phones. He definitely has some technical abilities in the works.

Another thing Matthew and Philip share is their love of sleeping. Neither likes to go to bed that much, but once they're asleep, you better not wake them!

Napping the afternoon away. He's my sweet angel and getting so big. I know he'll look even that much bigger when the baby is born. Your sister is going to love you so much, Philip!

Most importantly, I treasure the Godly-influence Matthew is in Philip's life. Matthew is a dependable Sunday School teacher to our 11th grade boys and a church Deacon. His walk with Jesus is evident and I thank the Lord that we are raising our son in a Christian home. Philip must be understanding some of it as he knows all his Little People want to see the Baby Jesus. If only our world was filled with people that desperate to get to the Savior!

Requests for Prayer

I have a few things to ask your prayers for.

My mom is still struggling with getting her health back in order. She continues to have 3-8 bowel movements a day, some days being painful while others are not. The main request is that her bladder begin functioning normally again. She saw her urologist last Wednesday and was told it is still not emptying to an acceptable level. When urine remains in the bladder, it can cause urinary tract infections (which she had) and even kidney problems if left unchecked. Her doctor prescribed some medicines which she will take for a month and then have another ultrasound to check the bladder level. If that does not work effectively, she may have to begin catheterizing herself again. She really doesn't want to go back there.

Secondly, my brother-in-law Jonathan, sister-in-law Lori and niece Hannah are moving from Florida to North Carolina this weekend. Moving overall is hectic as it is, but Lori is also eight months pregnant with their second daughter. The Lord directed Jonathan to become Associate Pastor of a new church in North Carolina. The moving truck left Florida yesterday with their belongings. They will drive from south Florida to Lori's mom's house in Jacksonville tonight. Tomorrow afternoon, they will continue on to North Carolina. If you would like to read the full store so as to know how better to pray, visit Lori's blog.

Thirdly, thank you for continuing to pray for our baby girl. I can hardly believe I entered my 6th month of pregnancy this week! Finding out I was pregnant seems so long ago and now the delivery date is quickly approaching (May 7). She is beginning to move a good bit and I'm excited for Philip to feel her over the next several months.

I pray God's blessings for you and your family.

Matthew's Toy Plane

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This Christmas, I thought Matthew's been such a great dad to Philip that he deserved a toy all of his own. He's mentioned wanting a remote control airplane throughout our marriage so Philip and I headed to our local hobby store and bought a really nice one. Last Saturday, we drove around town looking for an empty field so he could try his hand at flying it.


We found a great field and after working out a few kinks (charging the battery a second time while we ate lunch!), the plane soared upward... for about a minute! Unfortunately, the wind picked up and Matthew's new plane flew straight into the power lines about 10 seconds after the video ended. It came crashing to the ground. Thankfully, only the wing (styrofoam) broke and the body and engine were fine. We're going back to the store tonight in hopes of buying a new wing and maybe going flying again tomorrow.

Super Philip!

As all parents know, our kids go through funny phases. One of Philip's new phases is that he wants the bath towel put on his head so he can run around after bathtime like a super hero! Go Super Philip!


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The Results Are In!

In May, Philip will become Big Brother to a new Baby Sister! We were so excited and blessed to find out yesterday morning that our second child is a girl! The ultrasound images were VERY clear (and comparing them to Philip's ultrasound pics, I have no doubt!). Even more important, our little girl is strong and healthy. She's measuring right on track to be born on May 7 and currently weighs 1 lb. and 5 oz. Knowing the baby is a girl makes it that much more exciting for me as I'm now beginning to picture little dresses and dolls around the house in a few months. At the same time, it's a little scary as all I relate to now is little boy stuff. For the last few weeks, we've been asking Philip if he wanted a brother or sister. Sister was the answer 100% of the time! He's going to be a great big brother. I enjoyed watching how sweet he was around Amber and Gracie in KY. Hopefully we'll all adapt ok to having a sweet baby girl in the house this coming summer!

Planes and Tractors, O Wow!

When he gets excited, Philip's new phrase is "oh, wow!" (I think he did get it from Hannah.) Well, he had plenty to say "oh, wow" about in Kentucky. Another bonus of Uncle Dennis being a contractor in Kentucky where each house is surrounded by several acres is that he owns cool tractors and other such vehicles. Here is a sampling of the ones Philip tried out.







Michael J., are you jealous? :)


Windy even let Philip take a spin on her new Dora 4-wheeler.



A BIG thank you again to the Pollard family for being so loving as always! We miss you guys and hope to see you again soon.

The highlight of Matthew's week came when his cousin Brian offered to take him for a flight in a private, 4-seat plane. Brian is a pilot by profession and even teaches others to fly so I wasn't worried. They called us from the airport to watch outside as they would fly over the house!

I wasn't nervous about Brian's ability, but was glad I didn't go along after Matthew came back and told us how it was. Brian let Matthew take the controls for part of the flight and even showed Matthew how you could stall the plane, let it begin to nose-drive but then recover and straighten out! Glad you had fun, sweetie!

Christmas in KY

As I stated in an earlier post, Matthew, Philip, Ruth Ann and I traveled to Kentucky on December 26 and stayed through January 1. Matthew is blessed with a wonderful, loving extended family, and therefore I'm blessed by knowing them also. His Aunt Linda and Uncle Dennis are blessed with a prosperous contracting business which allows them to live in big, beautiful houses which we are blessed by staying in when we visit them.

This Christmas was especially fun now that their three children, Lindsay, Cheryl and Patrick are grown and married and the girls each have two daughters of their own. Lindsay and husband Matt have 2-yr-old Windy and 5-month-old Amber. Cheryl and her husband Gary have 2-yr-old Bailey and 4-month-old Gracie. Needless to say, Philip was not lacking playmates during the week.
We enjoyed a lot of just sitting around and talking. The house is beautifully decorated so it really felt like being on vacation and not just visiting family. Good thing too since I was still battling that head cold. Usually not fun being sick while traveling but visiting the Pollards is so much more relaxing than being at home!


This is where Philip was most meals. He found this little booster chair and I guess it reminded him of home. Either way, he kept Gracie company on the floor.


This was Matthew's and my room. Linda has great decorating taste. Too bad she and Dennis can't move to SC to build and decorate our next house! Philip slept with Grandma in the room next door; he in a crib and Ruth Ann in the bed.

This was the bathroom adjoining our room (also gorgeous!) and the location of Philip's baths...

which he LOVED because the tub had whirlpool jets. He thought the "Bubbles!" were very fun.



I love this picture! Maybe I should send it to the bathtub company and they could use it in brochures.


Another fun room in the house was the theater room. Cool having your own mini-movie theater, right? Matthew and I watched two movies alone, a movie with his cousins, and he and the guys even played XBox on this big screen!

Philip liked watching Boz on the big screen!

The kids having fun together outside playing ring around the rosie! It was pretty cold and I had originally hoped for snow. We never saw snow but enjoyed gorgeous blue skies for most of the week. One day it monsooned which sounded nice on the tin roof.


Both girls received Dora skates for Christmas so they let Philip take a turn too. Such sweet faces. Windy is on the left and Bailey on the right.


Linda took us to visit Grandma Brown (Ruth Ann and Linda's mom) in her nursing home. Unfortunately, she has dementia and didn't know any of us, but Philip did make her smile.

We also got to meet another new family member when Matthew's cousin Brian and his wife Carrie stopped by with their son William. He was so bright-eyed and never stopped smiling. Next Christmas maybe Philip and William can play together!

Christmas in SC

Here are some photos from our Christmas celebrations with our family in South Carolina.

Saturday evening we went over to Matthew's Aunt Elise and Uncle Arden's house. It was nice spending time with Paul and Kellie who live a few hours away now as well as Grandma Brooks. We enjoyed a great dinner of oyster stew. Philip loved the soup too. Then came present time!



Philip opens a present as Mollie and Grandma look on.




Philip checks out his new talking alphabet book. Kellie, Paul, Michael and Mollie, we thank you for giving Philip such great gifts.



Christmas Eve was special as we worshipped in the morning at church. However, I had begun feeling sick on Saturday and by Sunday, I was on the couch all afternoon with a fever and chills. We did want to let Philip open one special present on Christmas Eve to reinforce the true meaning of Christmas. We bought him the Little People Nativity set. Here are the photos including the additional animals from Mollie and Michael which Philip thought should also worship the baby Jesus.





A little girl in Ruth Ann's class passed out "Reindeer Food" (oatmeal and glitter). Philip sprinkled it on the sidewalk to insure Santa would stop at our house.

The glitter attracts their eyes and so they stop for a snack during their long flight on Christmas night!


Christmas morning was fun at our house as our parents came over to watch Philip open presents, exchange our presents and eat breakfast. Philip received a train set and Weeble town from Santa, but I was excited to see that he liked the Elmo Workbench we gave him best.


He is definitely all boy as the hammer is his favorite object these days. This workbench is really cute as it plays the Sesame Street characters' voices when you use each tool. Hopefully Philip will play with it for months to come.

In Loving Memory

My mom called me here in Kentucky yesterday to say that my Grandpa Allen (my dad's dad) had passed away. It was very hard to accept. I knew he had been in failing health (bad knees, taking oxygen for the last several months, walking slow, etc.), but then on Christmas day, we found out he had had a heart attack the day before. My grandparents live in Florida and I had not seen them since they had driven up to see Philip when he was 7 months old. We were hoping Grandpa's stay in the hospital after the heart attack would make him stronger, but Mom said that on Tuesday, he was walking to the bathroom with a nurse and just collapsed on the floor. Probably another heart attack. I loved my grandfather as he was a wonderful, loving, playful man. The hardest part of losing him is that I do not believe that he knew Jesus as Savior and Lord. I pray and am trying to give it to God that possibly in his last hours, he may have spoken with a hospital chaplain and received salvation. It would be the biggest of blessings to find out that to be true.

However, as that might not be the case, I can only tell myself that we tried sharing Jesus with him and know that each person is responsible for his own decision to accept Christ or not. This will make me more bold in explaining the wonderful and almost too-good-to-be-true plan of forgiveness and eternal life. God knew we would all perish and deserve hell on our own and so He sent His Son, Jesus, as a babe to earth to live, die and live again. We must only say, "Yes, Lord, I believe" and we are eternally set free to one day live with Him in Heaven after we leave earth. It's better than any fairy tale and yet absolutely true.

Please, don't let your days on earth run out before believing in Christ as your PERSONAL Lord and Savior. If it just doesn't make sense to you, visit this website: www.needhim.org.

One last thing. Please pray for my Grandma Allen and our family (especially my dad, his sisters Gail, Maureen, Mary Ann and Margaret and brother George). My Grandpa's memorial service will be on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 11:00am in Florida.

Updates... where are we?

No, I haven't stopped blogging, but I have been sick! Yuck, to be sick on Christmas. I suppose the weeks prior I let myself get too busy and went to bed too late. On Dec. 23rd, my throat started hurting and was very scratchy. Over the next three days, it began a full head cold with a fever. Being 5 months pregnant, I was scared when my fever hit 102.6 so I called the doctor... at 2:30am the morning of Christmas. Luckily, he said to take Tylenol, try to stay cool (unwrap in bed and wear loose clothing) and take care of myself. Good, I really wasn't wanting to take a middle of the night bath.

Christmas morning was sweet (photos to come) as my parents and Matthew's mom came over at 8:00am to exchange presents and watch Philip open his. We enjoyed a sausage casserole, cinnamon rolls and strawberries. Later that morning, Matthew fried a turkey which we then took to my parents' house for lunch. We were joined by Matthew's mom Ruth Ann, Grandma Brooks, aunt Elise, uncle Arden, and cousins Mollie, Michael, Paul and Kellie. It was a nice day together celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus.

As one of Philip's presents (which he actually opened on Christmas Eve), we gave him the Little People nativity set. He enjoyed playing with it and I believe it helped him understand the true meaning of Christmas. He also received toy animals (giraffe, elephant, tiger and zebra) which he stood around the stable in a way that looked like those animals had come to worship the Christ Child too. So profound.

Anyway, Tuesday was spent trying to rest, care for Philip and pack. When Matthew got home from work at 4:00pm, we got everything in the car and drove to Ruth Ann's house. The four of us are now visiting her family in Kentucky. They are wonderful people and so much fun to spend time with. Each visit, we meet new family members as Matthew's cousins here are having babies just as fast as we are. Lots of pictures to come once I get home.

I wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Big Boy Bed

I mentioned in an earlier post that Philip has now moved into a twin bed with a side rail. He's doing great at night. We never hear a peep from him between the time we put him to bed until 7:00am. However naptime has been another story. The first week, he did fine. I'd say it's naptime, give him a few books and close the door only to hear him talking to his animals a few hours later. This week, he's taken on some kind of new level of independence. I'll say it's naptime, put him in bed with some books and close the door. Fifteen minutes later I'll hear him playing the electronic keyboard that was in his room (it's no longer in there during naptime!). I go in and say, "Get back in bed. If I see you out of bed again, you get a pop." What do you know, fifteen minutes later he's dancing around on the floor and singing. It makes me so mad that when I come in, he just keeps on going. Matthew enters and the boy makes a mad dash to get back in bed. I've got to get more militant with my discipling! I know this is a learning process on both our parts (Philip's on minding us and mine on being more consistent).

On the lighter side, it has made for some cute photos. He even has new "big boy" bedding (yes, he picked out the pattern himself; we held up the balls and another with trucks and Philip wanted the sports balls).



This is a photo I took right before I went to bed. Doesn't he look comfortable?



This is how we found him last Sunday during his afternoon nap!

Philip getting ready to nap on his new bedset. We're planning on moving his bed to the other side of the room so the baby's crib can go below my Mom's paintings.

Christmas, Christmas Time is Here!

Like many, I'm caught in those busy last days before Christmas -- still needing to send out cards and wrap all the presents -- but I'm making myself sit down and post some photos of how we've been spending the month. I love Christmas time and this year Philip can really be involved so it's that much more fun.



Philip and Matthew secure the tree.


Philip puts on the first ornament.



Philip decorates the storm door with stick-on snowflakes.



It looks beautiful!




Aside from decorating the house, we've been on the go a good bit too. Last year being Philip's first Christmas, I had to get his photo with Santa made. They turned out cute but not something we'll do every year -- especially at $25! However, I did ask him if he'd like to talk to Santa this year. (If he's going to receive a present from Santa on Christmas morning, he should know who he is, right?) Well, we've now talked to Santa twice in the last two weeks. Each time I've gone, I thought we'd just walk beside where Santa was sitting and wave. Low and behold, there's been no line for Santa and there's no need for him just to sit there looking lonely. Philip happily sat on his knee both times but didn't really say much. Santa asked if he wanted cars and trains and Philip said yes. Santa could have asked anything and Philip would probably have said yes!

Anyway, Philip is also learning that Santa is not the most important part of Christmas. We are telling him the Bible story every few days and looking at the pictures in his story Bible. He also sat with us for our adult choir and children's choir musicals the last two Sunday nights. He enjoyed both: watching baby Jesus welcome the Wise Men during the adult cantata and trying to mimic the hand motions of the children's program. We also visited a local church's drive-thru nativity scene (complete Bible story re-enactment with goats, sheep, and even a camel!) for the second year. I hope to make it a yearly family tradition.

Here is a photo of the completed tree and other livingroom decorations.

Prayers for Grandma Brooks

I ask for your prayers for our Grandma Brooks. She is Matthew's dad's mom. Tomorrow she will be having a partial mastectomy. She is in such great spirits and says, "Let's just get this done." I admire her strength. A lump was found which was found to be questionably malignant. Instead of a lumpectomy and radiation treatments, she felt at her age just to have the whole breast taken off to ensure better success. Please pray for the surgery to go well and her recovery to be comfortable. Grandma Brooks lives 40 minutes away but will be staying with her daughter Elise here in town for two weeks. Pray for that situation also as it's never the same as being in your own home.

As her doctor's appointments are usually in Spartanburg, Grandma stops by afterwards to have some quality time with Philip. They enjoy watching tv and reading books together.

Baby Update

Just a quick post (I do have lots of photos and stories of Philip to post but no time now) as I was reminded by Lori's blog that I should give an update on our second child also. Yesterday, Matthew, Philip and I went for my monthly check-up. Unfortunately I was looking at the nurse, but Matthew said when she ran the instrument on my stomach and the baby's heartbeat sounded over the speaker, Philip beamed a huge smile. I pray his excitement level will be just the same when the baby is actually born and they get to meet each other.

The doctor also said it's time for our second ultrasound. On January 8, Lord-willing we'll be finding out if Philip is having a little sister or brother. I know some people love the idea of a surprise at the birth, but I like the idea of connecting with the baby before it's born and it's easier to do when picturing either a Jane or a John. We will again keep the name a surprise until the baby is born though. May 7th still seems a long way off but actually this pregnancy is almost half over. Some days I think two children will complete our family. Other days I think about having one or two more! Whatever gender this child is I will completely love him or her. If it's a girl, I might be a little more apt to think two kids are enough. If it's a boy, I might still want a girl or I might think raising two boys would be enough! As in all other areas of life, I know God will provide a peace as to what to do. Why should I be worrying now? Having a newborn will be plenty to keep my hands full not to mention a fast-growing toddler in the house too.

Goodbye to Florida

Well, it's almost past due to publish this post, but I thought I should wrap up the story of our trip to Florida. We had a relaxing Saturday after our long day at Sea World on Friday. It was sad knowing our trip was coming to an end but we enjoyed the day as the kids played outside and the adults spend the late evening playing a board game (a tradition when we're together. Sunday was a nice yet rushed day. We all got ready for church, attended Sunday School and church (albeit leaving Philip screaming in the nursery; not unusal as he does this each week at our own home church), hurried home for a quick lunch and threw everything and everyone in the van. On to Miami!

It was hard saying goodbye in the airport as we had had such a wonderful time together. The worst part was seeing Hannah crying so hard over saying goodbye to Grandma. Philip kept wanting to hug Hannah but she wasn't much interested after the first hug. (I know now that he had an ear infection which makes him that much more clingy!) Around 4:00pm, Matthew, Philip, Ruth Ann and I set off to find our gate with plenty of time as our flight was at 6:50pm.

We enjoyed a good dinner of Quinzo's subs and headed back to the gate to await our flight. The plane arrived in good time and Philip and I watched the baggage cars driving around outside. "Look, Philip! There's your carseat!"

Well, when 6:30pm came and no mention of boarding had been mentioned, Matthew began to wonder what was up. Finally around 7:15pm, the announcer said that plane had a malfunction and they were working on it. At 8:00pm (these times are estimates for those who really care), we were told the plane would not be operational and all flights were booked until Tuesday! My thought was, "We can walk on the Miami beach tomorrow morning!" Hey, I'm a stay-at-home mom and my child was with me so what was the rush. However, Matthew and Ruth Ann both had work on Monday and didn't like the idea of using up a vacation day to be stuck in Miami.

After sitting around for another hour (walking the halls with Philip, pushing him in the stroller hoping he would sleep, watching Boz on Matthew's laptop), they announced a plane would be arriving which could fly us home leaving Miami at 10:30pm. Yeah! Luckily Charlotte was our final destination but it stunk for people catching connecting flights out of Charlotte because they would have to spend the night in a hotel there and then catch their next flight the following morning.

At 10:15pm, we FINALLY boarded our plane. Philip was very sleepy at this time and thankfully, fell asleep in my lap before we even took off. He had been running a fever earlier in the day, but I had forgotten to give him more Tylenol in the airport. During the flight, he remained asleep but I could tell his fever was rising again and he whimpered off and on throughout.

We arrived in Charlotte at 12:15am and I gave him the Tylenol. We grabbed our baggage and stepped outside into the chilly night air. Next was the wait for the shuttle back to the long term parking lot -- 30 minutes!! Philip and I sang many verses of "The Wheels on the Bus" while we waited. He was in a sweet, sleepy mood. Finally got on the shuttle, found our car, drove the hour back to Spartanburg, took Ruth Ann home and arrived at our house at 2:30am. What a night. Philip slept until 10:00am the next morning.

He did seem cranky on Monday, but after that kind of night what would you expect. However, he did have a fever of 102 on Tuesday morning too so to the pediatrian's we went. Yup, an ear infection. The remainder of last week got a little better. He's on Augmentin which causes diarrhea and his skin broke out all over in a rash on Thursday (probably the virus leaving his body). Friday night we bought our Christmas tree, decorated it on Saturday, attended church Sunday morning, our adult choir's "The Christmas Celebration" that night (Philip sat through it with us and enjoyed it very much especially being able to clap after each song and watching the Wise Men walk in to worship the Baby (toddler) Jesus), and much needed house cleaning today.

There you have it. I'm now caught up. Whew!