Greetings from Colorado

This morning we left Dallas for Colorado, just me and my husband , for work and play. Tomorrow is our 5 year wedding anniversary. We left Parker for the first time with my dad and stepmom, not just the first time with them, but for the first time ever. It was really hard. I cried last night, I didn't sleep, and this morning I snuck into his nursery and stared at him this morning saying a prayer for us both. I then stood outside of his room crying before I had to leave. It really was a difficult time for me. However, I have only called twice...yeah me! Or should I say they have only answered the phone twice. Parker had a great day! I really was relieved to hear it. If I would have heard he had cried or thrown a fit when we weren't there to greet him when he woke up...that would have been the hardest. So, now that I know he is enjoying us away, I can enjoy myself. Today while Stacey worked I needlepointed on Parker's Christmas stocking and watched my favorite daytime story. It was nice to not have laundry or dinner to worry about, just some really needed down time. Tomorrow we leave Denver and head to Colorado Springs for 2 nights. I get to have a massage and Stacey gets to play golf.

5 years. Wow. It really has flown by. Before we left Keller, Stacey surprised me with a traditional gift. He did the research to find out what the 5 year gift is wood. Last night I received a WOODEN basket full of very festive pumpkins and acorns and candles. He picked out each cute pumpkin to fill the basket. He has always been very thoughtful husband, for which I am so thankful. God has truly blessed me with an amazing mate. Thank you Love, for 5 wonderful years, and many more to come.

Mamma....MULK!

Parker and I are in a weird phase right now. He has gone from sleeping until 9:00-9:30 am to more like, 6:30-7:30 am. This is really cutting into my sleep patterns. REALLY! So, at 7ish now when I start hearing Parker scream from his bed, (not a hurt scream, a I really want out of this bed scream) I yell back at him from my comfy bed. I yell something like, 'YES PARKER!' Then he replies with, "MAMMA!" And then I say, "PARKER." Now here is where I am seeing some major progress in his communication. He used to say, "MULK!" or "WAFFLE." Now he replies with, "WWANNASDGDOSKE MMORRWRECXEOZ MULK!" Translation: I would like a sippy cup full of cold milk please my dear mother of mine who really doesn't want to be awake."
What communication! He now knows or is beginning to understand that he needs to make a sentence. I am just glad that I was blessed with the abililty to understand this too cute language. Oh how I will miss these times. When baby girl gets here there can be no more communication 2 rooms down, because her room will be right in the middle. We must get walkie talkies to minimize the noise that could come from our morning wake up calls/conversation about breakfast.


On another note, we are remodeling an area of our house to accommodate our new addition. My office/craft room will become the nursery, so I need some craft space...and I will be doing my crafty things in the laundry room! Parker was right in the middle of it! I just have to show you!

Wowie WOW WOW!!!!

That is one of my favorite things to say, I think, apparently.

Doesn't that sound just like her. One of my friends blessed me with 2 new Junie B. Jones books and I stayed up last night and read, Junie B. Jones, First Grader Shipwrecked. I have to say I was glad that I was home alone. I laughed out loud! I learned about her new bestest friend, and I learned that Lucille hasn't changed at all since she entered the first grade.

I sure have missed her the past 2 years since I am not teaching. I know that she doesn't always use the correct language or words, but you just have to hand it to Barbara Park, she channels 5-6 year olds greatly! For my friends who have been introduced to Junie B. just remember to always look ahead for some slightly inappropriate words, like darn, and stupid that you don't want to say out loud in front of young ones. Look for more blogs containing my special friend as I read my other book! Thanks friend!!

Spring Creek

Spring Creek just opened a new restaurant really close to my house. I am not much on barbeque, however, my husband loves it. I called him on Monday to tell him that it had finally opened, and we already had our first meal there last night. We met some friends there...but I wasn't sure what to order, since I am not huge on the menu. I ordered a baked potato loaded and I have to say, it was good. The real story here is Parker. I wasn't sure about the menu for him either. I ordered him a kids plate with ham, and got him some green beans and beans. Of course we also got him "COKE," he refers to anything besides his milk and juice to "COKE." It really was lemonade. We put the cute bib on him and gave him a fork...and he was gone. He ate the entire time we were there. He had beans from armpit to nostril. He also liked their high chairs. He could "PUSH" off from the table and really move across their floor. Stacey had to rearrange the seating arrangement because Parker kept entering the walk way with his "PUSH." He was so cute putting 5-6 beans on his fork and making it to his mouth without losing one! We still brought some of his food home because we needed to leave for church, which he finished at lunch. How do beans get into the nostril anyway? It happened again at lunch.

Youth Ministry

I put Parker down for his daily nap, sat down at my computer to do my twice daily BLOG readings. Did I say twice, well multiply that by some number. I went to one of my favorite BLOGs to read and read what this wonderful man wrote about Youth Ministry. I cried. I then went to the comments. Read all of those...weeding out ones about bird fajitas. I cried. I have to say my heart hurts. Not hurts...steams. I still am not sure that is a great word. You see, my experience with youth ministry hasn't been great, and that is an understatement. So many times in the church, Satan finds a weak person to use to strangle out spirit of the believers. Satan knows how to pick them. He finds someone who can hide behind a title, use his position to slither into families and rip them apart. That was my family. Our Church of Christ youth minister used his position to sexually molest many young boys in my church. (I mention the denomination because nothing like that happens outside of the Catholic church, right?) . One of those boys being my brother. It is sickening what Satan uses to break families and church families. He know just what to do. He strikes at the innocent.

We were attending a small church in a small town outside of Paris. Things were great, we were young...I think I was about 6 when we received a summer intern for a youth minister position from ACU. I don't even think we had a real youth minister before him. He came in, won us all over. I remember having him over to swim with us and cooking out dinner. I have some very vivid memories. He was an outdoor kind of person, and my family really wasn't the outdoor type, although that was how my dad was raised. He loved to take the boys from the youth group on camping trips, fishing, and hunting. Our intern had to go back to college and finish his degree. I remember our family making him cookies to send off in a care package. When he graduated, our church hired him full time. Years went by. We moved to Paris, but the relationship between my brother and the YM was very strong. There were still camping trips, and hunting (he even bought my brother a gun to keep at his house). Every summer, our Paris youth minister still had activities with the other YM from the small town, they still went to the same Christian camp together so all the boys could be together.
I will never, never forget the night when I was in high school sitting on the bed talking on the phone when I 'had a beep.' I clicked over. It was my brother. He asked if our current youth minister was at our home, and I said yes, he was in the living room talking to mom and dad and I had been sent to my room and instructed not to come out. He asked if I could hear anything. Well, I could hear my mom crying. My brother assured me everything was going to be okay and that he loved me (he didn't say that often or should I say never). We got off and I unplugged the phone so that I could put my ear against the outlet which let into the living room (I was a nosy one) where the adults were sitting. I could put everything together. For the past 10 years, my brother had been sexually molested by our old youth minister. I quickly moved my ear...I had heard enough. To make this long story a little short, we went to court. The YM plead guilty, but don't think that made things easier or shorter. There were also 6-7 other boys in the youth group that were molested, but did not press charges. I would love to tell you that my brother has over come this with flying colors and praises GOD and loves Him. Not true. My brother has had the hardest life. My parents separated a year or so after court, then divorced, my sister started using drugs (since rehabbed and clean), my brother to marry, only to divorce. My brother and sister still search for happiness in all the wrong places, church didn't bring them much hope and love and safety. Not everyone has had a wonderful youth minister who took them to wonderful spiritual places. I see the hurt in my brother, the innocence that was stolen from him, the inability to trust, the distance he has to anyone who cares for him. All because my brother trusted a man who represented god and hid behind his position and his wife to work as a slave of the devil. Some day I know God will use my brother to talk to Youth Ministers from all around the country or use what has happened to grow. But we are far from it now.
I know that God has a plan for him.

In the BLOG I mentioned earlier, he asked for prayers for youth ministers. I want to add prayers for protection for our youth. They look to their youth ministers for such spiritual guidance, and led the wrong way....well.
I am not sure how I will handle Parker in a youth group. I will pray for his safety, and his openness to communicate with us. I will pray for my heart to allow a YM to be involved in his life.

I hope all of this came out okay. I cried the entire way through it and have tried to reread it to edit...it is just hard. So many more details...so many more details that it could be a book. I ask for prayer for my family who still seek to find God in their lives due to the destruction.

Who Needs Sleep...

I do. I always have. My mother used to call me her pumpkin, not due to size, but I would put myself to bed around 8:00 always, even if it was Christmas or I had a friend over. I needed my sleep. In college I heard of staying up all night studying, but not me. I would convince myself if I didn't know it by then, it was too late. Plus, I worked through college, so NAP time was out for me. I am currently having sleep deprivation! I cannot get comfortable through the entire night. I might catch an hour here or there, but I am awake the rest of the time, wondering if...There will be another full moon tomorrow night? Am I eating right for the baby? Is there something wrong with the baby? Does Parker have a concussion? When was the last time I changed his crib sheet? What will our Christmas cards look like this year? What will I fix for dinner on Monday night? Is Wyatt really coming in town tonight? Will Parker quit throwing his body around in tantrums? How early should I start reading our new bible study? Have I already forgotten what I read last week? Should I reread the pages I already read? These are just a few items that ran through my head just last night. I also use that time to pray. I have been guilty many times before to use prayer as a night time sleep agent. One of my college professors said that if we do fall asleep in prayer it is usually one of best nights of sleep. Well, not last night. My prayer kept getting longer, and the more awake I became. A new strategy I must find. I think it is way too early to begin to blame this on baby girl. Now I must get ready for church before Parker wakes up. Stacey has already left this morning to go pick up our friends from LA to bring them to church, so it is just me and Parker this morning. I have gotten us both ready in record time the past 2 weeks and made it to church on time. I tell Stacey he must be the kink in our system!

My Boy ain't FAT!

Have you ever had a stranger insult you or your child? It happened to me tonight. Parker and I were shopping at Wal-Mart when we are almost run over by an elderly woman shopping wrecklessly. As I lifted my eyes to give her a gaze, I see her lean over into Parker's face and say, "Ain't you a FAT one!" Then she pushed her cart away. I was frozen. She didn't say, big or hefty, even chunky, but FAT! Who was this lady? Did she feel a calling to stop childhood obesity? I really wanted to say some words to her that can't be found in the old or new testament. My boy, my precious boy does weigh in at 29 lbs and can I comment on the size of his 'knowledge.' His head alone must make up most of his body mass. I let this old lady get to me. I sunk my head and kissed Parker's knowledge and finished our shopping trip, but that old lady's voice has stuck in my head all night. Does she know what record weight he entered this world, and that we have slowed down tremendously. I put my rather thick boy to bed moments ago, and I am right behind him after I eat the rest of the Nutter Butter package of cookies, hey, I have a reason to be FAT!

166!

What does that number mean you might ask, well it has nothing to do with my pregnancy. It has nothing to do with gas prices. It has nothing to do with money. It is my latest bowling score! Our church had a date night last Saturday night and we decided to go bowling at Main Event. Kristi is our reigning champion, so I was trying to keep up with her. When my ball just wouldn't leave the center of the alley. It followed those little arrows all the way down until...STRIKE...STRIKE...STRIKE....STRIKE! Yes, that is 4 strikes in a row. My college course of Bowling had finally paid off. The last score I had on the screen was below 50 or something, and my brain wasn't going to use my college course to start adding the score in my head. I wasn't sure what my score would be. Then Stacey yelled out, "166!" All I could think about was a blog I had read recently bragging about a bowling score of 155. So, in all of the excitement, I turned to my freinds and yelled, "I beat Stephen Bailey." Only a few knew what I was talking about because they too are avid Blog readers. Stacey had his ego hurt that I had beat him. He went to the Head Bowling guy and asked that the screens be put down to watch the UT football game, knowing that mean COSMIC bowling. The lights went down, things started to glow...I couldn't see my arrows to align my ball with. The next 2 games are nothing to brag about. The girl lane, (we bowled boys and girls) got tired and all of scores started creeping lower. Our intensity and energy went out. One of our fellow bowlers began to just work on speed. She was able to reach an 18 mph though. What fun! I am still boasting of my score! 166!!!!

Dadda

I hate to admit it, but sometimes it bothers me that Parker says Dadda before he says, Mamma. But, to be honest, I can see why. My husband is incredible. He hasn't slept in days. I am not sure any work is getting done either. You see, he has fallen in love. He has fallen in love with about 50 survivors from New Orleans. He calls, he goes, he makes meetings, he organizes, he prays, he delivers, he drives. My husband has such a heart for the Lord. Stacey brings home a special smile, when mine is almost turned upside down. He makes us both laugh. He brings home dinner when I am too tired to cook. He brings us love. Parker loves his daddy and I do too. Dadda is loved by both of us! Here is a special picture I took today.

On another note, for those of you wondering. Parker has gone on the potty 2 more times! Only wet though, tonight being one of those times.

Today

Today I hurt. Today I feel desperate. Today I feel angry. Today I feel judgemental. Today I want to go back before Katrina hit and evacuate everyone, regardless of color. I am tired of the blame game that is getting so much coverage. Today I am tired of turning on the TV to hear this has become a race issue. What we need to do is GET THE PEOPLE OUT OF NEW ORLEANS NOW! Where are the buses? Why aren't there miles of buses one after another to get the hurt, the children, the women? Then there are the bullets! A group from my home town went to help volunteer, they were on a rescue barge when they were fired upon. They had to turn around and their rescue efforts postponed. It is probably a few that is causing such chaos, but now we have a shoot to kill order. Which...I have to say...if I was being fired upon I would want to shoot back. These volunteers and rescue workers can't rescue. Helicopters can't take the sick away due to gun shots. What is happening? Last night after refusing to watch any more news I started channel surfing. I happen to stop on MSNBC for some crazy reason because I didn't want any more stuff on Katrina. They showed this lady holding a child, the baby looked around Parker's age, who was sick or dead. This baby's head just rolled around on it's mothers shoulder and chest, lifeless. I screamed. Literally. I prayed out. I cried. That scene has played over and over in my head all night and this morning. It is haunting me. I can hardly type about it because it was so hard to watch. I just don't understand. I know that I am not suppose to either. I don't even know where to go with the rest of this blog. We are trying to help. I wanted to donate, but find that the Red Cross only wants money. I have formula, Pedicare, baby food, that Stacey took up to Reunion Arena moments ago and called me when he left. He said that the Salvation Army is taking anything. You can drop off goods there. Stacey said there were more police men there than he saw refugees, and he saw lots of refugees. He asked how he can help and if he can come back and volunteer and they welcomed him. We need to pray. Today. Pray Today. Stop the violence today! Rescue TODAY! Praise God today for our health, safety, our family, and know that it can be taken away in seconds. Pray that people's hearts, not only their wallets will be opened and that Christ can be seen in many people.