The Landers' Life: 05/01/2010

Resolve

5/31/10

Re-solve: to reach a firm decision about; to declare or decide

Today...I resolve...

that I will put my trust in Christ alone

- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
- The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. Psalm 28:7

that I will give Him praise no matter what

- I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! Deuteronomy 32:3
- I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall not make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall fear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:1-4

that I will be content in this very moment and every moment of my life

- Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Philippians 4:11-12
- The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Proverbs 19:23

that I will give all my burdens to Him

- Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your cares upon Him; for He careth for you. I Peter 5:6-7
- Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be make known unto God. Philippians 4:6

that I will keep my eyes set on things above

- I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. Psalm 121:1
- So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. II Corinthians 4:18

that sometimes I won't understand...because it's not meant for me to

- God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding. Job 37:5
- For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9

that I will persevere

- Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

that no matter what happens tomorrow, God is in control

- As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield
for all who take refuge in Him. It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. Psalm 18:30,32

Long weekends are for...

5/30/10

...making up for lost time - 3 weeks of Jim being gone (Yes, he is home - he got back safe and sound last Friday night.) and 3 hours spent at the Emergency Room last Saturday night waiting for him to pass a kidney stone (This was his first, but apparently it won't be his last...there are two more just waiting in his left kidney to cause him excruciating pain when they decide to pass. At least now he knows the feeling and is stocked up on paid meds when or if he needs them again.)

...day trips to visit my family - that's are plan for Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it, and Jake is too. He keeps saying that "Emily, Paw-paw, Gwanma, and Aunt Cathy are going to be sooooo happy to see me!" And yes...they most certainly will.

...taking naps - I managed to get one yesterday and today. Ahhhhhh.....

...more cleaning - Jim is actually doing the bulk of it this time. He's currently out on our back patio vacuuming the hundreds of loose bugs and dirt off of it and cleaning the thousands of hand prints off of the doors. He also cut our grass yesterday and stained our fence. Thank you, Sweetie!

...skipping baths - not me...Jake. I let him go without one yesterday. I'm paying for it today by washing his bed sheets (they're actually in the washing machine as I type).

...missing my co-workers and hoping they are having as wonderful a weekend as I am.

...grilling with some of the greatest friends we could have asked for - that's what we did last night. It was wonderful!

...Memorial Day shopping and sales - I got started on this early actually by ordering Jake two pairs of shoes from Stride Rite. They are having their "Friends and Family" sale (25% off your entire purchase), and I got free shipping. Tomorrow I'll do more. Looking forward to that!

...going to church this morning in a torrential downpour - wow, it was terrible...but so worth it when we got there.

...having a 4-day love fest with my favorite two people in the whole world! It just doesn't get any better than this!

The Best Medicine

5/28/10

I've heard it said before that "Laughter is the best medicine."

If you know me at all, there's plenty of that in my life. I even got in trouble for it in second grade...sent to the Principal's office actually because I just couldn't quit and was disrupting the class. Obviously, my teacher didn't believe in the statement above. (Party pooper!)

But knowing my personality explains why it comes as no surprise to me at all that Jake is also a laugh-a-holic. He even has what I call "contagious" laughter. He sometimes can't stop, and just to listen to him makes me laugh too (hence the description...contagious), even if what's going on around me isn't particularly funny. Just like in this video...me tapping a lid on the tray of his high chair isn't particularly funny, but just listening to his sweet laugh put me in hysterics.

It may not be true in all cases that laughter is the best medicine.

But it's definitely my medicine of choice...especially when it's shared with a certain special someone named Jake!

You might be a Redneck if....

5/27/10

you're sporting

not just one...

but four holes

in your Lightning McQueen

underwear!

Move over Jeff Foxworthy! You ain't got nothin' on this three year old!

Exactly how old is he...really?

5/26/10

I'll admit my mind has been a little less...should I say...sharp lately, and I've had more moments than I'd like to come clean about where I just want to sit in an empty room and not think at all. But in spite of all of that, I'm still pret-ty sure of that fact that my son was born on February 27, 2007. That would make him exactly 3 years, 2 months, and 29 days old (I even counted it up on the calendar before I started typing...so I know I'm right).

But...

If you listen to his vocabulary and the things that have come out of his mouth recently...one might think he was 23 instead of 3. I mean...I know how old he is. I don't doubt his age for a second. It's not possible for me. And, on yeah, his size kind of gives him away too. But listening to this just blows my mind and makes him sound so grown up...

To a friend at school: "You're getting on my nerves." (Niiiice one, Buddy. I'm sure right at that moment your teachers started questioning all the good marks they gave you for being a good friend.)

To my Mom last week during her four-night stay: "You're cracking me up, Gwanmaw!"

When he got upset about who knows what (literally, I have no idea...this is one Jim and I both heard from the other room): "I've had enough! I'm freakin' out!" (And I won't say who he might have gotten that one from. Ahem.)

To his teacher at school while he was "reading" a book to her: "Don't turn the page, Ms. Diane! You got to be patient!"

When I asked him to stand up so I could bathe him really good (you know...get in all the cracks and crevices of his little body): "Well, you got to give me a second!"

and last but not least...

When he came into our room at 4:45am yesterday and I asked him what he was doing in our room, he replied: "I can't sleep." (Me either, Babe. Especially now that you're in here nudging your feet into my back. So why don't we just have one of these nice adult conversations that you can carry on so well. Sigh...)

And now I present to you...

5/24/10

Bikerman!

Or at least that's what Jake calls himself when he wears this...

(which is a lot lately).

His new obsession with his bike riding helmet started yesterday.

He wore it for nearly an hour while he rode his tricycle, slid down the slide on his swing set, and sprayed water from the new water gun his Grandma bought him while she was here last week.

When he informed me yesterday that he wanted to wear his helmet, and I strapped it on his head, he said to me, "I'm Bikerman, Mommy! You can't be Bikerman...cause you're too big." Awww....Shucks

And what Bikerman would be complete without great big spaghetti stains on his mouth?

Hmmm...apparently not my Bikerman.

Thousand Words Thursday

5/20/10

Happiness...

can be summed up in a thousand words.

Or can it?

Somebody...

5/19/10

thinks

something

awfully

funny!

It's Monday...and it stinks

5/17/10

Today I’m having one of those days where it’s just not my day.

It didn’t start off that way…or at least I don’t think it did. Before I left my house this morning to drop movies off that we rented this weekend, take Jake to school, and come in to work, I was fine…or at least I think I was. But as the hours pass by, I realize that I’m not fine. I’m just ill…or as I just told my office mate, “I’m just not feeling it over here.” I just want to be at home…in my comfort zone…with my mom (who got here yesterday) helping her clean windows and ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.

Speaking of light fixtures - before Jim left yesterday, he and I exchanged words about taking them down so they can be cleaned. He was concerned they could get broken and wouldn’t be easily replaced since they are now four years old. I felt like I wanted to take them down anyway, unconcerned for their safety, and that didn’t go over too well with him. What made the situation worse is that he was getting ready to leave to go to Montgomery for one more week of teaching there. It’s hard to part ways when the air isn’t clear and feelings are hurt. But we were in a situation that didn’t allow us time to do anything else. My mom was there, and Jake was having a meltdown. He couldn’t decide what he wanted to eat for a snack, and instead of continuing to offer suggestions and hold the cabinet open, I went back into the bathroom to deal with the dangling globe on the light fixture that Jim was trying to put back together. So he cried. And he sprawled out in the floor in anger. Maybe yesterday he wasn’t feeling it either.

So here’s to hoping tomorrow is better and brighter. Or maybe even by this afternoon, my Monday will not seem so gloomy.

Anything is possible right?

Rewind

5/16/10

I figured it was about time for one of these. It's been a while, I know.

So I started digging through old photos and found these from two years ago. Let me just pause and wig out for a minute and say...Two years?! Really?! Did I look at that right?! Yes, it does say March 2008 as the date taken. And I even rubbed my eyes and cleaned my glasses before I just looked again. Wow! Okay, I'm back. The moments of disbelief are over, I think.

I snapped these of Jake at a playground on Tyndall AFB, Florida. We went there for a quick, two-night stay. Jim and I used to do this all the time, actually, before Jake was born. We were living in Montgomery, so driving to Panama City took less than three hours. Staying on the base made our trips much less expensive, so we literally went all.the.time. This one was no different - other than the fact that we had Jake in tow. And other than the fact that this trip included a visit to a playground near of the neighborhoods on base.

Jake had the best time swinging and climbing

turning wheels

crawling in and out of tunnels

playing in lots and lots of sand

eating cheese puffs

and re hydrating.

I had the best time too...watching my sweet 1 year old play, discover, eat, laugh, squench his face when he felt the sand, crawl, and explore. Makes me glad I had my camera handy that day...even if I did almost have a heart attack this morning when I realized how long ago this was.

Very.....Long.....Sigh.....

Thousand Words Thursday

5/13/10

I actually wish I had time to sit and type a thousand words. I honestly have that many to share. But because laundry awaits me, and I prefer for the bathtub not to overflow (I just put Jake in and turned the water on), I'm simply posting a picture instead.

This was taken on our beach trip that we took last year to Gulf Shores. Jake is trying his best to feed a cheese curl to this seagull. He followed him as far as I would let him before he finally decided maybe my idea of just throwing the food to the bird might be best.

He most definitely gets his obsession for animals from me.

What can I say?

Other than he gets it honest!

Where Bribes Take Us

5/12/10

Tonight Jake and I did something a little different. The idea came to me before I left our house this morning to take Jake to school and go to work. I needed a really good bribe to get Jake to cooperate with me when he didn't want to get dressed to leave. To say he woke up on the wrong side of the bed would be an understatement (This probably had something to do with the fact that he didn't wake up in his bed at all. He managed to crawl in my bed at 3 am, so when my alarm started going off at 5:30, he was no where near ready to be up and at 'em.). So to put a little pep in his step and brighten his attitude, I told him we would go here when we got home tonight.