Never knew fire could be so cool......

Yesterday Noah, Gene and I went to the North Charleston Fire Museum. This place is really REALLY cool! It has fire fighting equipment from back in the 1800's, a play area for the kiddos, Charleston history, lots and lots of fire trucks and quite a few inter-active areas. It really was a good place for all ages and I recommend it to everyone in the area. Here are a few pics from our outing. Just walkin' around......takin' it in.


















Playing the fire tool match up game.

Noah and daddy trying to lift the 100 lbs of equipment and protective gear a fireman has to carry!

Noah was very fascinated by a short film about fire safety (in the background). We watched it together as a family twice, just Noah and I once and finally when mom and dad would no longer sit through it......he plopped down outside the viewing area and watched it by himself!

This is daddy studying on how to become an arsonist....um, I mean learning about arson..yeah, that's right.

Oh yeah. I was there too. Why did we all dress in red? We kind of blended in with all the trucks!

Y'all in the Charleston area.......GO. It's a good outing. Really. Go. STOP READING AND GO!

NOW!

2009

I've heard it said that whatever you do on New Years Day, beginning at 12:00 a.m. and throughout the day, will be what you do all year. I heard this about 10 years or so ago. Since then I have kept that in mind and really tried to do something fun or relaxing on January 1st. I never ever did anything remotely "unfun" like housework, laundry or cleaning out the refrigerator......ewwww. I mean, who wants to do housework the rest of the year.....

I can't really say that this little superstition has rung true in past years but just in case, I decided to do some things different this first day of 2009. At midnight, I kissed my husband and my little boy then wished them a Happy New Year. Shortly after that I read little guy a nice long bedtime story, got lots of snuggles, said prayers and kissed him goodnight (I normally do this anyway.Wouldn't miss it!) . I then finished a load of laundry, started the dishwasher, fed the turtles and headed for bed. I got comfy or as comfy as you can get with a kitten on your chest, read my book for a short while, told my sweet honey goodnight and drifted off. I had a wonderful night's rest, a full 8 hours, and woke up feeling really good.

This morning I did relax for a little while, reading in bed and talking with my husband but then I got moving. I talked to mom, cooked breakfast (ham and cheese omelets), talked on the phone with a good friend, peeled and sectioned a whole bag of grapefruit so it didn't spoil and go to waste. I emptied the dishwasher, did more laundry, played with Noah, fixed lunch.. cheddar sausages for the guys and I had my leftovers from dinner out last night, did more laundry and de-boned the leftover turkey. I did a quick clean out of the refrigerator (not thorough but good enough until I have the time to really get in the crevices), read email, checked in on a few friends, talked to my pops, played a couple of games, did more laundry, and cooked dinner. Before going to bed tonight, I WILL do another load of laundry, clean up the kitchen, load and start the dishwasher, wash pots pans and other misc items, bathe the boy, read a bed time story, feed the turtles, head for bed, do bible study and quiet time, get comfy with a kitten on my chest, read, talk with my sweet honey and drift off.........

This New Years Day, I did what I want to be doing in 2009. I did the things that needed done, things that should have been done plus a few things I wanted to do. I think that's a nice balance. I believe that is what God expects of me this year. To take care of my family and friends. To take care of myself. To get things done. To serve.

I think I'm gonna like 2009.

What did you do today?

9 on the 9th

Mrs N. hosts a nifty little meme over at her place, All That Naz. So I decided my 9 would be on music. Specifically hymns. I especially love hymns in four part harmony. You know, good ole quartet singin. The blue-grassier the better! The church we attend does mostly praise songs. I do love praise songs. In fact, my next 9 on the 9th post will probably be my favorite praise songs. For today, 9 of my favorite old hymns......

1. Have a Little Talk With Jesus - Cleavant Derricks
2. I'll Fly Away - Albert E. Brumley
3. O Come, Angel Band - William B. Bradbury
4. Where the Soul Never Dies - Wm. M. Golden
5. It Is Well With My Soul - P. P. Bliss Horatio Spafford wrote the words. Read his story here. It's incredible! (this is my father's favorite too)
6. He Leadeth Me - William B. Bradbury
7. Christ the Lord Is Risen Today - Charles Wesley
8. Must I Go And Empty Handed - Charles C. Luther
9. Amazing Grace - John Newton

I didn't mean to be gone this long.....promise!

You people are getting on my nerves. I mean, can't a girl have a little ole pity party/feeling useless celebration/miniature breakdown/depression packed 6 weeks in peace? Seriously, what is with all the "You haven't updated your blog lately, is everything ok?" or "You never go this long without updating your blog, what's wrong?" or some of you are even going behind my back and asking my mom! REALLY people.......thanks.

The last six weeks haven't been as bad as I made them sound but they have been busy and somewhat emotionally trying.

First off, Noah started school. Little man is in Kindergarten. And I only sobbed a very short time.....that day. Ya see, for the past 5 years or so, my MAIN purpose was taking care of little man. I mean for the most part, I spent the majority of my time with him. On the first day of school, he excitedly got out of the car, walked into those big gaping doors and that school swallowed my baby whole. He didn't even look back, the little brat! I missed him TONS more than he missed me and boy howdy, that's just wrong! I mean, maybe if he had just grabbed hold of my leg wailing loudly, and I had to scrape him off with a crow bar then maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, but darn it people, he was just fine! I'm just kiddin. I'm glad it wasn't traumatic for him and I'm glad he likes school it was just that, well, by golly, now what do I do?

Seriously, what do I do from 7:30 a.m. to 2:05 p.m. every day? I volunteered at the school but they had not called me yet. MOPS had not started for the season yet. Bible study had not started back yet. I certainly didn't want to clean house, it just gets dirty again in a couple of days then you just have to do it all over....talk about frustrating! So that's where the pity party came into play. I actually thought about home schooling him but soon realized that it would be pretty selfish to take him from an environment he was thriving in, just to make me feel useful! Aren't ya'll proud of me. I did a grown up thing.

So, I had myself a couple of weeks of feeling un-necessary, wallowing in self-pity and just pretty much making myself miserable. Then, something wonderful happened. I went to a meeting at the school and volunteered again. They put me to work that very day. I now spend every Tuesday working in the teacher's work room doing stapling, copying, laminating, die cutting, book making, and of course, cutting. I get to use my spiritual gift of scissors! How cool is that? Not only that but I get to eat lunch in the "cafataria" (Noah's pronunciation) with little man. But wait.......it gets better! I have been getting quite a few cake orders, I have done some work at the church with random office stuff and preschool dept. stuff, every Saturday has been busy with something, I volunteered with the Franklin Graham Festival which involved a Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, I spend Thursday mornings at Bible Study, most Fridays doing MOPS stuff and for the love of Pete, somebody make it stop!

Just kidding. There for a while, I was a bit overwhelmed. Going from being completely useless to not being able to catch my breath was rough. Everything has calmed down now and I am feeling useful once again.

There is another benefit from being at the school at least once a week. I get to see first hand how the school and it's staff perform. I. Am. Impressed.... and I am relieved. I think part of my problem, was worrying about how Noah was doing. Was he being taken care of. Were they giving him attention. Let me just say, I love they way they "do school" there. I love Noah's teachers. I KNOW they are taking care of him. For instance, Noah was getting "sad" at nap time because he was missing me. His teacher, Mrs. Coates, moved his nap spot to behind her chair so she could talk with him and rub his back until he settled down. She cares. I needed to know that.

In addition to all that, we had four additions to the Smith clan. Fluff had her kittens and they are so darn cute! Three of the four will be heading to new homes in the next week or so. sniff sniff. Keep me in your prayers. Most of ya'll know about my Elly Mae Clampett gene. It makes up a large part of me so I'm pretty sure I will not do well with our babies leaving. *insert sobbing here*

As a side note, my husband has been wonderful through all this. I'm sure there have been moments that he would have liked to trade me in for a more stable model. Thanks for putting up with me honey. You are the best!

Well folks, I will try not to let too much time lapse before my next post. I just know the six of you are waiting by your computers all day just chomping at the bit for me to ramble on.....

Love ya'll....mean it!

Great Newses..(newses: plural - more than one great news item)

Ok. I'm making up words but I have a good reason. I have not ONE but TWO pieces of really great news.

Great news #1. Noah's biopsy results came back. It is Psoriasis. That is good news. The Dr. is changing his treatment. That is GREAT news. He still has some steroid medication but it is much lower in strength. Hopefully this new combination of medicine will clear up those aggravating dots! (dots is what Noah calls them)

Great news #2. My cousin Bill and his wife April are gonna have a BABY!! We are so very excited for them. Her due date is, well what else....April. They have started a baby blog here: http://shortymcguire.blogspot.com/ I am hoping for a girl since I am surrounded by all this testosterone! I would love to purchase something pink!!

God is Good!

9 on the 9th, on time this time.....

My nine favorite things to do..... not in any specific order of importance...

1. Read to Noah
2. Talk with Gene
3. Read
4. Spend time with ALL my family/Friends
5. Play games....just about any kind
6. Cook/Bake/Decorate Cakes
7. Scrapbook/Cross Stitch
8. Go to the movies (wish it wasn't so darn expensive!)
9. Worship @ Riverbluff

hmmmmm.
Notice that "clean house" and "yard work" aren't listed.....
guess that explains why my house needs cleaning and the yard needs work.....
go figure.

Variety is the Spice of Life.....

Or in this post....spice is the variety of life. I love different spices. I am especially fond of garlic, oregano, parsley, basil, cinnamon, ginger, paprika, cumin and certainly salt and pepper.

There seems to be certain spices that are relatively unknown until someone starts promoting them and then POW, it's everywhere. It's almost like a designer handbag. All of a sudden, everyone HAS to have it...or put it in their food. The spice I am referring to is cilantro.

And I can't stand it.

Everyone I know seems to love it. I think it is harsh and bitter. I can take one bite of a dish and tell that it has cilantro in it. It literally makes my stomach turn.

Isn't that strange that one person can love the taste of something and another despise it.

Woooo. Such deep thoughts.

yawn.

Sorry if I bored you. I almost fell asleep typing......zzzzzzzzzzz.

Anyway, this week's menu, sans cilantro is as follows:

Monday - Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn

Tuesday - Spaghetti with meat sauce

Wednesday - Scalloped potatoes with ham, peas, beets

Thursday - Pot roast, rice and gravy, carrots, spinach, apple salad

Friday - Fried Pork chops, mac and cheese, cabbage, green beans

While I'm thinking about it, I'm gonna do next week's menu too. My, how ambitious of me.....

Monday - Marinated chicken tenders, sesame rice, zucchini and onions, mandarin orange salad

Tuesday - Country fried steak, rice and gravy, green beans, corn

Wednesday - Fish Cakes, tater tots, peas, beets, fruit salad

Thursday - Pork roast, hash brown casserole, collards, candied carrots

Friday - Chicken enchiladas, re fried beans, salad

Also, I am going to try to make more homemade deserts instead of "store bought".

I will make 2 or 3 a week and if we run out before the end of the week.....so be it. With 4 fellas in the house, cookies disappear VERY fast. If I want any, I hide them. I'm just sayin.....

This week I am going to make brownies. When they are gone, I will make a peach cobbler. (the way brownies evaporate in this house, I will probably be making the cobbler about an hour after the brownies come out of the oven) After the cobbler will be chocolate chip cookies. When those are gone......no more til next Monday.

The next week's deserts will be.......

Chocolate cupcakes w/ peanut butter frosting

Angel food cake with sliced strawberries

Rice Krispie Treats

Well, that's it. I hope I have given the six of you some good meal/desert ideas and maybe made your mouth water just a bit.........slurp.

Pretty Darn Close..........

Well. The Smith's bit the bullet and went shopping at the W-mart place for school supplies. For those not privy, this weekend is "tax free" for school related items. Mr. Smith practiced his shoving and pushing abilities on an old football training dummy we have stored in the back yard.....just kidding. We don't have one of those things.....football training dummy. We do have a back yard. Anyway, off we went.
We got clothes and supplies for Kevin and sniff sniff....Noah. **insert uncontrollable sobbing here**
When we got to the register, I said to Mr. Smith....."this is going to be $300.00".

It wasn't.

It was $299.71. Only .29 off!

AM I GOOD OR WHAT!!
I have super hero powers!
You can just call me the "Human Calculator" from now on.

ok.
nevermind.
It was just a lucky guess. It did feel kinda good to look like I was really smart for a change.

What a Brave Little Man.....

Thank you all for your many prayers. They were most certainly felt and appreciated.

I just want you to know that we have the bravest little boy ever! It was obvious that during the biopsy, he felt some discomfort. He did ask a few times if the "pinching" was done. Or, how many more times am I gonna have pinches? So, even though he felt something he DID. NOT. CRY. NOT ONE TEAR!! We are all very proud of our brave little man!

He has only one stitch that will be removed in a couple of weeks. We should get the results around that same time and we will let you know when we find out.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. Ya'll are the very best.

Could I ask for some prayers?

I am sorry I have been absent for a while. Seems it is either feast or famine. I either have a lot to say but no time to say it or nothing to say and all the time in the world. Go figure. It seems it has been a little of both the last week or so.



One thing on my mind is this..... Little man went back to the dermatologist yesterday. (I was with him, I had to drive) Anyway, for those that may not know, he has some skin issues.



The original diagnosis was Childhood Psoriasis. When he was first diagnosed, he had just turned 4 and the Doctor was pretty sure his diagnosis was accurate. He said he could not be 100% positive without doing a biopsy and since Noah was so young, he didn't want to do one as it would be painful and the treatment would most likely be the same no matter what the diagnosis.



He is now 5 1/2 and still having flare ups. In fact, this last one is really bad. The treatment has been topical steroids. The worse the flare ups get, the stronger the meds need to be.

Everything you hear about steroid use is true, even with topical. It messes with his sleep pattern, makes him puffy, he is hungry all the time, and has emotional issues. Anyway, the doctor now wants to do the biopsy mainly to make a definite diagnosis and make sure we are on the right track in treatment.



I understand that.



I "get" that at this point it is necessary.

I am confident in the Doctor and I know he is going to do everything to make sure this procedure is as pain free as possible. But my heart just hurts for my little guy. I wish I could just offer up my body, tell the Doc to cut off whatever he needs just DON'T get near my guy with anything sharp! I know this isn't possible. I just don't want Noah to hurt.....at all.....ever.



A biopsy may not seem like a big deal to some of you. I guess when looking at the big picture, it really isn't a big deal, especially to those kids/parents suffering with cancer and other life threatening illnesses. I have always said that if Noah had to be afflicted with something that I am grateful that it is a minor skin issue. We are blessed. I know that.

Being this concerned/upset/anxious/unsettled and yes, worried about the unknown seems so silly when you think about what God did for us........How could he stand seeing His Son in such pain.



How did he bare it.

I am so grateful.

I am so blessed.