Potatoes

I love potatoes. You can mash them, fry them, cover them in cheese, butter, or parsley. You can bake them, deep fry…why the options are endless. I could eat potatoes everyday and be just fine. And one of the things I love the most is potato soup. I try potato soup at different restaurants and other places. BUT I love Gram Morgan’s potato soup. And I have been very hungry for Gram’s soup. Now I could tell her this and in an instant I would have soup “overflowith.” Gram is great like that. BUT how could I have soup like now at 9:30 in the evening? So Scott asked Gram how to make it and here I am. 9:30 at night peeling potatoes, carrots, and onions. Adding LOTS of butter and setting the timer. Could it be pregnancy or the love of potatoes. Hard to say really. But I know someone who is going to be mighty disappointed if I don’t have some good soup in 17 min and 49 seconds. Scott will be happy that he is working overtime until 2 am. OH but if this works. I am sitting here with a SUMMER PEACH iced tea, a book, and just waiting for my soup.
Will and Rachel are “sleeping.” Actually they are in the bedroom watching cars. They both WERE asleep until Will knocked his cup over that was filled with grape juice, and the lid wasn;t on tight enough. So Will and bed covered in grape. He woke up screaming, which is when Rachel woke up screaming. So after changing sheets, clothes, and getting a new drink with a new cup I turned on CARS and they are quiet.
And of course, as soon I typed that I heard “I need mommy” from the bedroom. So I went in and Will just needed to see me. But I did get to peek at the soup and it is looking good. So I am moving to the couch with book, blanket, TEA, and empty bowl waiting to be filled. I will have to let you know how it goes.

A game

A - Available: Nope. Thank goodness. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 3 ½ years. And he is a hottie by the way. ;)
B - Best friend: My best friend is my husband. He was my best friend before we were even married. I could and still can tell him anything. He is the only person in my life (other that the Big Guy) who loves me unconditionally. He is more than I deserve.
C - Cake or pie: PIE. Of course. Cover it in chocolate. Add some fruit. Cool Whip is good too. AAAHHH…..PIE.
D - Drink of choice: I do love summer peach iced tea. Lipton. UUUMM. But if we are talking soda I like Dr. Pepper.
E - Essential item you use everyday: My microwave.
F - Favorite color: Pink
G - Gummy bears or worms: Gummy bears. Still like to bite their heads off even though I can fit a whole one in my mouth. Yeah I know…
H - Hometown: Bakerton, PA You don’t even understand
I - Indulgence: The Dr. Pepper. I haven’t been drinking soda because of all the empty calories and sugar. So if I do drink it, I have one a day and NOT everyday.
J - January or February: February- I hate January- just a cold long month. Don’t really like Feb either but at least it is closer to spring!
K - Kids: 1 Boy, 1 girl, and one surprise on the way
L - Life is incomplete without: Jesus
M - Marriage date: May 17, 2003
N - Number of siblings: 2 brothers, 2 sisters
O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges, but only the really good, not bitter ones.
P - Phobias/Fears: Not being enough
Q - Favorite Quote: AS YOU WISH- simply the most romantic line in all moviedom and also one of my all time fav movies Princess Bride
R - Reason to smile: My husband. You just can’t stay in a bad mood around him. To know him is to love him.
S - Season: SUMMER. Slower pace, warmth, no snow, the sun, low heating bills. AAAHHH, Baby number 3 due in August. ;)
T - Tag: Anyone who wants to play
U - Unknown fact about myself: ????
V - Vegetable you don’t like: broccoli. GAG.
W - Worst habit: worrying
X - X-rays: Many. Broke my arm trying to impress a boy when I was 13.
Y - Your favorite food: Hot Wings by far
Z - Zodiac: Cancer

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas a little late!! We did have a merry little christmas. Will was dazzeled by the Santa thing this year. BUT even more exciting was how I heard him telling a lady at church that it was Jesus Birthday as she was trying to get him to talk about Santa. So proud of the little one.
Will got trains and trucks and his fav PLAYDOUGH! Rachie got dolls and books (she loves to sit and look at books!) Scott got a video game from Santa and Mommy got to rest. I pretty much dozed in and out of sleep for a couple of days. Christmas day was excellent for that. But, alas I have found sleep to be much like a great dessert. The more you get the more you WANT!! I remember being tired with Will and Rachel but was I this tired???

I am on day 60! Only 220 to go. SERIOUSLY?? I do know that it gets better. Soon (hopefully) I will get some energy back. Also says www.babyzone.com "Fatigued? Many pregnant women spend the first few months so exhausted they can barely hold their heads up. Try to take naps, go to bed early, and delegate as much work as you can to others. Remember that you're working incredibly hard. Your body is growing another human being!" AND "Is somebody a little moody? Wild highs and truly horrendous lows, sudden mood swings, and crazy behavior are typical during pregnancy. Some of this is due to hormones, and some of it is because this is, truly, a very emotional time!"

I was not sure if I was going to add the ticker at the top. I hate to count down cause it makes it seem so much longer. But it was cute and I thought I would give it a try!

So It is 9:30 and the kids are asleep and scott is on second shift. I think I might curl up on the couch with a book from the library and let what happen may. Scott can wake me when he gets in!

Laundry, laundry

So It was 7 o'clock and both my children are sleeping...but not for long. Will wakes up on the couch screaming. I try to calm him down. You know, the frantic scoop up and rocking back and forth praying that he doesn't wake his sister. Pulling him maybe a little too tight trying to stop the screaming. J/K maybe... But of course then I hear sister screaming. So I put the boy down and go get his sister. I return to the livingroom to hear a knock on my door. It was Jenn. Who says God doesn't care about the little things? She brought me this very cute Santa vase filled with a red, green, and white carnation (my fav.) Plus she held Rachel while I picked Will up who was now gagging because of his crying hysteria. I picked him up and he peed all over me. COVERED me in it. I was dripping. Now, you must understand, earlier in the day I had scrubbed the walls because of a certain little boy's aiming problem. Then Rachel got up from her nap and puked all over me. Now I am covered in pee, AGAIN. But I got to talk to Jenn a bit, something we dont get to do a lot since we are both working now and now both my chidren are sleeping. Hopefully for the night. When I told my hubby about my night he said, "If you are going to just keep getting puked and peed on you might as well not change your shirt until bedtime." I think he might have been serious. This is why he worries me somedays.

My baby is 1!!!

Yes, she is one. This morning when I leaned into her face and said happy birthday and she smiled and said "momma," I almost lost it. My baby. Daddy was with the kids today but I came home at lunch to sing to her. We always had a tradition growing up that you always got a candle shoved into something adn everyone gathered around to sing the three verse Happy Birthday song. Yes, we have three verses. However, my little family only does the first one! So I ran home and we had a cupcake. She was so cute trying to blow out her candle. And then she dug into the cupcake. ONE! The year went to fast. This morning when I first woke up I remembered her little tiny figure in my arms. She is my princess. My angel. Here is a devotional that I wrote at the beginning of my angel's year. I thought it woudl be fitting as I now play and laugh with a healthy, beautiful one year old girl. *sniff*

Surrender

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.”
Proverbs 3:5-6


She was coughing, choking, and turning colors and I was powerless to stop it.

It was late in the afternoon and my husband was at school. My one year old son was playing quietly on the floor and I was trying to get a burp out of his three week old sister.

As I had her on my lap, I began to pat her back. She started to cough and then it moved into a choke. I looked down at her and it looked like she had stopped breathing. She was quickly moving from a bright red to a purple. Screaming I grabbed for the phone, not sure who it was I was trying to call. At that moment she started to cough again and her color began to come back to normal.

That was the first episode of many that my daughter would have over the next week. They began to come more frequent and more intense. She was now coughing all of the time and not just when she would eat.

When it was happening, a fear would rip through me. “Oh no God! Not again.”

At first I was upset. Why is this happening to her. A little innocent baby. Then I began to plead with God. Just let her sleep through this hour peacefully. I felt lost without any may or compass to guide me.

People continued to try and reassure me. “She is in God’s hands.” I know my mind said as my heart raced. “Everything will be ok” people called to say. “Maybe I thought as tears filled my eyes.

My newborn daughter was hurting and I was as powerless to stop it as I was able to call down the moon. “We set up an appointment for her at Pittsburgh Hospital, “ the doctor said.

Frustrated, hurt, and mostly defeated, I sat at home and held my daughter closer. “God, I know that Your Word says that all things work together for good. Please help me to find the good, the point, in all of this.”

The next day at the doctor’s office, I ran across a family friend. She listened with concern and of course said that she would be praying for us. As we were called and walked back to our examine room, she called out to me. “Theresa, just remember that God loves Rachel, even more than you do.”

A simple yet profound statement. I began to think on that and realize that God was working with us. He could protect and heal little Rachel.

The next day was the day we were going to take Rachel to Pittsburgh. We woke before the sun rose to begin the journey. When we stopped to get gas, I stayed in the car with the baby. Looking at her, so tiny and helpless, I began to cry. “Please God, I began to pray. But then my prayer took another turn. Instead of praying again for a healing, I handed over control. “God,” I started again. “I give her to you. I place her in your hand and ask that you do as you will. I know that you love her more than I do and will take care of her no matter what. Help me to give her.”

For the first time in weeks, I felt peace. I gave the control to where it should have been all along. People are funny about control. Maybe that is why who holds the remote control is the joke of the ages. We all want to hold on.

We say that we trust God. We love God. Of course God’s way is the best way. But when our control is taken away we crumble. “No God,” we say as we grab for the steering wheel. “I need to go this way.” “No, we need to do it like this,” we complain as we take the pen from His hand.

Finally, it comes down to this: God is either your God or He is not. We can’t put Him on the shelf and pull Him down when we think that we need His help or intervention. He is Lord over all of your life or none of it at all. He is Lord over your family or He is not.

Rachel now is better. They discovered that she had a respiratory viral infection that her body had to fight off. Praise God. But I know that for me, the victory came that dark morning, sitting in the parking lot of an almost empty gas station. Just me, God, and a prayer of surrender.

God thank-you so much for your ever present help. You are such a good God. Thank-you for carrying me in the rough times and helping me see the beauty in it all.

My Will

I was in the bathtub and of course Will was playing right outside of the tub. He found a bottle of hand sanatizer and before I could stop him, he dumped a half a bottle in MY tub. "Will," I said! "I sorry! I sorry!" "Will do you realize you are sorry an awful lot." "Yep. and Jesus wuves me." What can you say to that. Indeed Jesus loves you.

uh-oh

I had a headache yesterday. A terrible headache. When I picked the kids up and brought them home I thought that it was because I was hungary. So I started to eat. I thought it was helping the headache so I ate and ate. Then I got sick. REAL sick. I couldn’t get off the couch. The headache was so bad I needed a bucket. Then Will kept coming up to me and saying “You throw-up Mommy?” Then he would make a horrifying gag noise. Which of course made me WANT to throw up even more. SO my mom came up thank-God and I had one wet rag on the back of my neck and one over my eyes. It finally let up enough so that I could move my head again and not want to lose my dinner. So I went to bed.

Today I woke up and the headache seemed gone. I was pretty nauseous though. The headache started again around 7 but not nearly as bad. Now it is not too bad but I have “stingies” in my belly, which usually indicates that I need to throw up. I keep thinking maybe I have the flu bug. Which I am hoping more than “all-day” morning sickness. That could last weeks!! I never as sick with Will and only in the very very beginning with Rachel. But so far things are not looking so good.

I am going to lay down and watch House. Then I am going to bed. Hopefully I will wake up and feel fine. (after a full night sleep) *fingers crossed*

My angel

Have you ever seen an Angel?

I was on my way to student teaching about 4 years ago. It was a sunny day but there was still snow on the roads from a quick storm we had a day ago. The roads I took to this little rural school were not always the best so I knew to be careful. When I hit the top of a hill and looked down I knew I was in trouble. In the other lane was an Amish horse drawn buggy. In MY lane was a little white car trying to pass the slow moving vehicle. I tried to pump my brakes but a pill of snow and slush made it impossible.
I started to slide and by instinct I yanked my wheel to the right sending me up the embankment. I rode on that for a second, destroying a small tree in my path. Then I start to come (tip) back down. All I can remember it looking out my side window and seeing the road going very fast right beside me. I knew I was going to roll and I could also see the window shattering. I said something with a help in it and I know God was in there somewhere. Suddenly the car went from a total tipping to the left motion to getting slammed up right on all 4 wheels.
I looked up to see my car sliding toward the Amish man with his horse and buggy. No, please God. And then my car stopped just a couple feet from him. It stopped dead in the snow and slush. I sat with my hands clutching the wheel. A man jumped out of his car and said “That idiot could have killed you! I am going to try to catch him.” I slowly nodded my head and clutched my wheel harder. Not sure how long I sat there. Seemed like forever but I know it was only seconds until a kind man came out to pull my car into his drive way, off the road. I called for help and my car actually was ok. Seems that little tree got the worse of it. Latter that day I kept thinking about what had happened. “You should have rolled that car.” Everyone who came kept saying. “Yeah I would say.” I tried to tell them that it was rolling but something pushed it back. I should have hit the Amish man but something stopped the car. I know it was angels.

*If you have read this post, you are tagged. Write about a time where you were visited by Angels. Post in my comments so I can read yours or e mail me so I can hear your story!

Monsters

My son as of late has become terrified of monsters. Well, I was going to say the dark but I think that the dark would be ok, but that is when the monsters come out apparently. So we have been checking under things and in things for the little guy assuring him that there are no monsters in there. We taught him the verse 1 John 4:4 Greater is He who is in me than He who is in the world. But still the monsters come.

So last night as we were watching Rudolph I realized there may be a problem. The Bumble is a hairy white MONSTER. I could see the fear in his eyes. Today of course Will requests to see “red nose.” I turn it on and start doing what I need to do. I really don’t like the movie anyway or I might have been pursued to nap opps watch it with him. A little while later I hear a what sounds likt someone pounding on glass. I turn around to see Will taking Rachel’s thick plastic hair brush and beating it off of the GLASS tv screen. “What are you doing?” I shreak as I run to snatch the brush away. “I am killin the snow monster.” Yes, the bumble part was on and apparently my son had enough. He was going to destroy the monster. Sigh. I put on Frosty the Snowman.

Little Green Orbs

I made brussel sprouts today. And even more amazing, I ate brussel sprouts today. My husband bought a bag of them at the fruit market weeks ago. “What is that?” I asked as I stared into the bag. “Brussel sprouts. I like them.” “You like them?? When did you ever eat them?” Ya see, I ate ZERO green vegetables before I was married. Ok, I ate lettuce in a salad but I know I was over 20 before I started to eat even that. We said we hated it as kids (although the only green vegetable I can remember trying was green beans and peas YUCK!) and my mom said ok and never made it again. “I used to make it when I worked at skills. I like them.” “Well, you can cook them and eat them cause I am not touching them,” The thought of those little green orbs on my plate grossed me out.

Fast forward to a couple weeks later. I am cleaning out the fridge and I find the bag of now rotten brussel sprouts. “Guess what I found,” I said as I turned around holding the bag as far away from my body as possible. My husband’s face dropped. “Oh man,” he said looking like a just kicked him. “We will buy more,” I said. “yeah right,” and he walked away.

On to today. I was walking in BiLo after working looking for what I could make for dinner. I found steaks on managers special. YES. Now, I hate steak but hubby loves it. So as I am walking down the frozen food aisle, I spot a bag of brussel sprouts. It was the bird’s eye brand too which my hubby loves. So I grabbed a bag and stared at it. YUCK!! But I put it in the cart, brought it home, and actually cooked it. By the way, I steamed them and then fried them. (That is how hubby told me to do it!)

And then me EATTING the nasty green things. Hubby again looked at me with the sad puppy eyes and asked me to try it. And told me how healthy they were. Well, I never ate nasty green things with Rachel or Will so I think the baby would make it, but I did take a bite. It was too disgusting. I ate a couple to make Scott happy. He was thrilled, I tried not to throw up. But I must say I asked Will if he wanted any and he wrinkled his little nose and said “No, no!” I understand I said and he didn’t have to eat any. The tradition continues!

A Christmas List

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? I have never had egg nog. I hate egg but my brother in law says it tastes nothing like it, but I can’t get past it. I don’t really like hot chocolate either.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? I never knew of a nonwrapping Santa. Mr. Claus wraps them here.

3. Colored lights or white? I love the multicolored!!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I would if I had some!

5. When do you decorate for Christmas? The day after Thanksgiving and then it continues on. It never is a one day process.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert? The potatoe and carrots cooked with the ham. Not really the ham but love the veggies!!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? In a house with 5 little kids running around, Christmas morning was always a flurry of activity. So I started to wake up in the middle of the night after Santa had come and sneak down stairs. I would sit on the stair or on the floor and just look at the tree and the presents. I wouldn’t touch anything (as was mom’s rule) but I just like to sit in the quiet.

8. When and how, did you learn the truth about Santa? I kind of guessed early in elementary school but it was in 5th grade where I really decided “oh my goodness! I don’t think he is real!” My mom said she always worried about telling me about Santa. She didn’t want me to start thinking Jesus wasn;t real!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? New PJ’s. A tradition carried on from my hubby’s family.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Before kids, slow and intentional. Hubby and I placing every ordament where it needed to be. Now, just throw anything, anywhere cause it will all end up on the floor anyway.

11. Snow. Love it or hate it? HATE IT. I could live somewhere where it never snowed and never miss it. Off course I love in PA where it snows feet. It is not so much the snow but the freezing cold, slippery and wet. YUCK!

12. Can you ice skate? I have gone a couple of times. It is ok.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My daughter was born on December 14th! An early Christmas present.

14. What does you stocking look like? Red and white with my name written in red glitter

15. Do you have a favorite Christmas orndament? My kids first christmas ball and Scott adn I have a beauty and the beast one!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

17. What tops your tree? A gold and red angel I received from my secret sister last year.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving of course. I could get nothing and that would be ok. I love to see someone’s face when they get something great.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? God Rest ye Merry Gentleman- Not sure why. I just remember singing and loving it as a child.

20. Candy canes. Yuck or yum? Not the pepermint, but I like all of the other colors.

A new beginning...

Hello to all. I moved my posts here because I just find the set up easier to use for me. I was posting on my Rainbow Moments, but decided to change the name. To the Moon...and Back is taken from the children's book I read in college. (Hey I was an elementary major!) It is a story of a mommy bunny and little bunny. The story is about telling each other how much they love one another. In the end the little bunny tells mommy bunny that he loves her to the moon. As little bunny drifts off to sleep mommy bunny says I love you to the moon and back! Yes yes. sweet sweet. So my blog, as always, will be about my family. The wonderful ones whom God has blessed me with!