What A Day!

My day started at 9:15 am when I was awakened by my brother and his 4 1/2 year old son banging on my front door while our dog was barking like crazy. It was then that I remembered I had forgotten to reset my alarm after Dustin got up for work. I knew that my nephew, Zachery, was coming to spend the morning with us. My plan was to get up no later than 8:30 am to shower and dress before Zachery arrived. Well, obviously that didn't happen.

Zachery came in an immediately went to Logan's room. Logan was now awake because of all the noise! Logan was ecstatic to see his cousin and even let out a squeal when Zachery flipped on his bedroom light. Once I got Logan up and in his chair for breakfast and turned on Blues Clues for the boys, I jumped in for one of the quickest showers I've ever had! You see, it was "Story Time" at Borders today at 11 am. Well, I got myself ready, Logan ready, packed the diaper bag and we were out the door by 10:35 am. I was pretty proud of myself!

We arrive at story time and had a good time. All the kids made treasure maps. Zachery asked Aunt Stacey to help him and I felt very privileged to do so. I can't believe that my little Zachery is 4 1/2 years old. It seems like yesterday my brother, Scott, called me early one Saturday morning to tell me that Zachery was here! Zachery and I used to be best friends. We even had a "best friends" song. Now, he is much to old to have his aunt be his best friend, let alone sing our song with me! Zachery was the first grandchild on my side of the family and I abused my power as his aunt every chance I got! I would spoil him like crazy and wake him up from sleep to play with him. All sorts of bad things! : ) Amy is now paying me back by doing the same with Logan!!

So, after story time we met Amy at McDonalds for lunch and then she took Zachery home with her. Logan and I came home and napped for 2 1/2 hours. Did I mention that I am getting a cold and couldn't wait to get back into bed?! Thank you Logan for taking such a good nap today and letting Mommy rest.

We woke up from our naps, read some books, listened to music, cleaned up a little and waited for Caleb, my 2 year old nephew to arrive for the evening!! Dustin called me earlier in the day and when I answered the phone he wanted to know if he had reached "Stacey's Day Care." : )

When Amy dropped Caleb off, he started playing right away. Logan was the one that was upset and cried at the front door when his Aunt Mimi left! The boys played together nicely. My parents came by and we all had dinner and waited for Zachery to be dropped off for a bit this evening. Scott, who is a youth pastor, and Amy had an activity with the youth tonight.

So, for about 30 minutes tonight all three boys were running all over the house, from room to room, laughing and playing and just enjoying themselves. Everyone left our house at about 10 or 10:30 tonight! Boy am I tired. It was a eventful day and I enjoyed every minute of it. Logan loves his cousins and loves when they come over. I am so thankful that we are a big part of their lives and Aunt Stacey loves them to pieces! I am now ready for bed and while my living room and Logan's room are still a mess...I think the mess can wait until tomorrow!

**Sorry for not posting pictures of our fun day, but my camera is not working properly!**

Hurricane Katrina Babies

I remember the night before Hurricane Katrina hit. Dustin and I were watching all of the news reports discussing the hurricane as it prepared to hit land. I remember going to bed that night a bit scared for all of the people in the way of the hurricane. Never could I or anyone imagine the devastation that would be the result of the hurricane.

Tonight, I watched the tv show "Hurricane Katrina Babies" on the Discovery Channel. It tells the story of 5 or 6 women who were directly hit by the hurricane. A couple of the women had babies prematurely before the hurricane hit. Because of the devastation, the babies had to be moved to a different hospital. Some of the babies were moved without their mothers. Some of the mothers were separated from their husbands. One mother who was in labor had to swim in the murky water to find help. I honestly can't imagine the horror and fear these parents went through. I think of my own birth experience with Logan. I can't imagine being separated from him after he was born or even Dustin for that matter. It is truly eye opening to me that all of this has gone on in our very own country. This show truly touched my heart. (Side note: All of the babies lived although, some have health issues. All of the parents were reunited with their children and each other. Most of the families don't have homes of their own because they were destroyed in the hurricane, so they are still in need of help.)

As I am hear in my home tonight, safe, with my son asleep in his crib and my husband watching football in the living room, I truly thank God for giving me both of my guys. I am thankful for my family yet prayerful for all of the families who have had to deal with Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it has caused. I pray that they are able to get the much needed help that they deserve. I pray for those people who are dealing with issues that I have no idea about and I pray that I will never forget Hurricane Katrina and all of those directly impacted by it.

The Wait is Over !!

Well, tonight was the night I've been waiting for since last May. The season premiere of Grey's Anatomy FINALLY aired. It seems like a lifetime ago since last season. I have seen all of the talk shows that Patrick Dempsey and any of the other Grey's Anatomy cast have been on this week in anticipation for tonight.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed tonight's episode. Sometimes with season premieres, there is so much hype surrounding the first episode, that at times, that the show is a let down. This was not the case tonight. I thought it was a great show. I almost cried a couple of times. Dr. McDreamy did not disappoint me either. There is something about Patrick Dempsey that makes my heart skip a beat. Don't worry, Dustin is fully aware of my crush and is O. K. with it!

Now that the first episode of the season is over, I find myself wishing it was already next Thursday to see the second episode. I am addicted!!

Story Time and My Big Boy

On Wednesdays at Border's Bookstore at our local mall they have a story time for kids. Logan and I have been going for a while with my sister-in-law and nephews. Story time involves an employee reading a book to the kids, then they do some sort of craft and have a snack. It really is a lot of fun for the kids to interact and then for us moms to have a bit of adult conversation.

Logan enjoys all of the stories. He loves books. For only being 16 months old, he does a good job listening when the story is being read. Craft time is a different story. A lot of the crafts are geared towards older children, so usually we just sit back and enjoy watching everyone. Today, however, involved coloring fall pictures and cut out wooden leaves and acorns.

Now, Logan has tried coloring at restaurants before on the little placemats they give you. He actually likes to balance the little crayon on the placemat with his pointer finger more than coloring. The lady in charge of story time brought out some BIG crayons today and I thought we would try it out. Well, let me just say he loved it. I had him sitting in his stoller (because I was not about to spend all of story time chasing him around Borders!) and put one of the wooden cut out leaves on his tray and gave him a crayon. I colored a bit of the leaf to show him how it was done. I know that he is only 16 months old, but he did a good job. By good job, I mean he colored the leaf a little. It was the cutest thing. It made me realize how quickly he is growing up.

A close friend of mine is due to have her first baby in less than two weeks. I have been thinking about her a lot and have thought about myself at her stage of pregnancy a little over 16 months ago. I can't believe my baby is getting so big, so fast. It seems like yesterday we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Logan. It was such and exciting yet scary time. There is nothing like holding a newborn baby, especially when the newborn baby is yours! Could it be that I am getting the "baby itch" for a sibling for Logan? : )

Enjoy the pictures of Logan showing Daddy his leaf and then a picture of the leaf itself. It is colored but you can't tell too well in the picture. Trust me, it is the most beautifully colored leaf ever!

Joy Journal

I am a "journaler." When I put my thoughts in writing, it helps me to gain perspective on any certain situation. I have kept journals for years. At times, I like to look back and see how far (or little) I have come.

As I was looking back at some older entries, I noticed that entry after entry was filled with troubled times when I needed God to give me a "happy ending." I came to a realization that I needed to include more entries of thankfulness for the blessings I have been given. God has truly blessed me with so many things, yet I sometimes don't take the time to thank Him. In hard times, I "pray without ceasing," asking God to answer my prayer." In good times, I don't always thank God for the peace and quietness of life.

I realized I needed to change this aspect of my life. I should always "pray without ceasing," in good times and in bad. I don't want to be the type of Christian who only calls on God when things are not going good. I want to go to Him and thank Him for all of my blessings, too. Even in those not-so-good times I want to remember and think on all of the good aspects of my life. This is what prompted me to start a "joy journal."

The "joy" part of my journal is that I always end each entry with what has brought me joy that particular day. Basically, I thank God for the blessings I have received that day. Even if I don't write an entry on any day, I still list at least a couple of things I am thankful for that day. I may write something as big as getting home safely from a trip or being healed of a sickness. It may also be as simple as Logan giving me a big hug or Dustin getting home on time from work. I just want to make a point to be thankful for what I have and to not take it for granted. I also want to learn to focus on the positive and not the negative. (For those that know me, you know that I tend to think the worst of things!)

So, I will share a few things I wrote in my "joy journal" for today.

Thankful For:
1. Today's is Dustin's last day of being "on-call" at work.
2. Logan blowing me kisses tonight before he went to sleep.
3. Our friends the Metcalfs, who will soon be moving out of state.
4. Fall will be here soon. (My favorite time of the year!)
5. Only 3 days to the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy! (Can't wait for McDreamy!)

I want to encourage all who read this entry to remember to stop and thank God for the blessings they have received. It will make a difference in your life...it has mine!

Greenfield Village with the Cousins

Logan and I went to Greenfield Village today with my brother Scott, his wife Amy and their boys, Zachery (4) and Caleb (2). We had a lot of fun! Greenfield Village is such a nice place to go and walk around or ride around as we did today. We rode a Model T from 1914, a bus from 1937, the carousel and the train.

Zachery just loves trains. He is very into Thomas the Train. He has quite a number of trains that he collects. He loves to line them all up and play with them. It was such a treat to see him on the BIG train today. I think that this picture is just so precious of him on the train looking out.

Caleb is also a lot of fun. He is quite a busy little boy though. He is our Bam-Bam! We let the kids run around in an open field and he and Logan were running and hugging each other and then Caleb pulled that back of Logan's shirt then pushed him down. Of course, Logan was fine but Amy was quick to let Caleb know that this action was not acceptable. She told Caleb to tell Logan that he was sorry. So Caleb did as he was told and said sorry to Logan then started laughing hysterically. It was pretty funny to watch! Here is a picture of Caleb and Logan on the train while we were stopped.

The pictures below of are all of us on the carousel. We rode the carousel with a group of school kids who must have been on a field trip. It was quite interesting being a part of that group. The Greenfield Village worker ran down a list of rules for riding before they started the ride. Once the ride started it was quite evident that the kids where not following the rules. Amy and I were laughing because we knew one day that would be our boys with their school acting the same way! Oh, the joy of raising boys!!! : )

This last picture is my favorite. We were looking at the horses and one of them came right up to us. The kids went nuts. They were so excited to see the horse up close.

Well, we had a very fun but tiring day. As you can tell by this last picture. Logan was already asleep by the time we made the 15 minute drive home!

So, I hope that you enjoyed the many pictures of our day at Greenfield Village. It truly is a fun place to visit. If you haven't been and are in the area, I encourage you to go!

Grandma Ozzie

I found this picture of Logan sitting in my Grandma Ozzie's rocking chair yesterday. Logan wasn't able to meet his Great-Grandma Ozzie because in January 2005, she lost her 10 month battle with leukemia and went home to be with her Savior, Jesus Christ.

My Grandma Ozzie was one of the most inspirational people in my life. She taught me to always put God first. She was a strong Christian woman who lived her life for her Savior. Even when she was sick and in the hospital she would tell us all that "God has a plan and He makes no mistakes."

The hardest part for me is that she never got to hold my precious son. She passed when I was 5 months pregnant. I am, however, very thankful that before she went home to be with Jesus she knew I was pregnant, knew I was having a boy and knew that his name was Logan.

I was just telling Logan yesterday about his Grandma Ozzie and how if she were here, she would love him to pieces and make such a fuss over him. I look forward to telling Logan stories about his Great-Grandma Ozzie when he gets older.

I miss my Grandma but know that she will always be close to my heart and that one day I will see her again in heaven.

My First Post

Well, it's official! I have joined the "blogging world." I have been thinking of starting a blog for a few weeks and the hardest part for me was coming up with a cute blogging name!! Tonight, I finally came up with one! So, I hope you all enjoy my blog. It will be a way to stay in touch with me and my family. I know that the world is a busy place these days. We don't always have or find the time to check in with one another. So, now you all can check in on us through my blog. I will try to post something new every few days. Have a great day!