Last week tried again

I got slack from my family for my last post so it has been deleted. Last week was great. 2 more days until Nate gets home... but who's counting?

Oh, and for the record, no, Nate never got a DUI. He was being sarcastic.

Max's new laugh does sound like an asthmatic monkey, though. That remains the same.

All Over

I leave tomorrow afternoon for two weeks to the great place of Irving, Texas. I imagine this will be a long two weeks since I had a long two days when I was in Louisiana enduring my first tropical storm. Has anyone else been through a tropical storm? The winds were up to 70 mph and the top story of the U-Haul building was blown off. The door was also blown open and banging against the building. I'm bringing lots of reading material for the stay. Tonight while I was packing I couldn't find some paperwork I need and my holster. Sarah and I searched the house franticly but couldn't find the missing goods. So I get to call my boss in the morning to ask him if I can get into the building without setting off any alarms. That should be fun. I'm also having some problems with my check. I think it is short 3 hours so I have been talking to my manager about it and trying to sort that out. They were also supposed to have an adavance check for me but that didn't come in today either. This has been a frustrating afternoon/evening.

I also had a bad Tim's experience tonight. First off, they don't have honey mustard anymore and to top it all off the pizza wasn't up to par. Sarah thought it was alright but I didn't enjoy it at all. I feel communist saying Tim's pizza isn't or wasn't good. I think it was the cheese. Maybe the restaurants cook the pizzas different or use different cheese. I am quite bummed though because we haven't had Tim's in a long time.

For those of you who have been and are currently praying for us, I want to say thanks. We definitely need them and God is answering the prayers. As Sarah said we had a huge check come in the mail that paid for our mortgage and childcare needs for the month. Boo yea!!!! We both started crying and were speechless. It's awesome to see God provide for you when you really need and not when you want something extra. It's been very frustrating for us but it has helped me put things in perspective. We don't need a lot of what we want but we buy it anyway. This time has really helped me grow spiritually and has shown me that money isn't everything. Hopefully, we won't forget where we've been when God gets us through this.

I want to say thanks for all of the love we have felt and recieved from everyone. God is using you.

Little Buckaroo

This may be my all time favorite picture of Max. He was wearing all of his cowboy gear and had lasso and pistol in hand "just like a real cowboy." The shirt he's wearing was my dad's and the vest and chaps were my brother's. I don't think either of them ever looked so cute though (sorry Adam, it's true).

Brotherly Love

These are a couple of goofy guys. I caught them in a moment when they were actually sitting next to each other without hitting or yelling. Usually there is some punching or screaming of "No, MINE!" going on. Oh, the brotherly love....

See what I mean?

Note how dirty Grant's face is even after he's been in the bathtub a little while and had water dumped over his head. Now that is some ground in dirt!

warriors by the water

When we went to Mississippi to visit my grandparents we went to a fountain area by the Missississippi River. Max loved to run through the water (with his sword of course) while Grant just liked to watch Max and Nate run through the water. Grant likes to swim but he isn't so fond of the water shooting up at him.

My little warriors

This is one of my favorite pictures of the little guys. Max is never without his sword! Gotta love the chub on Grant.

God is still working

I've been so mad at God recently. I hate the situation we are in right now. I hate scraping by each month hoping we have enough to pay our bills and not knowing what to do if we don't. I hate that we have been married 5 years and are worse off financially now than we were when we got married. I hate that I can't enjoy Max and Grant as much as I should because I have a constant pit in my stomach. I've just been mad. God and I have been duking it out. You know how it is so easy to have faith when you don't need it? If someone were to come up to me complaining about how God isn't providing blah blah blah I'd tell them to "Be patient; pray; it'll all work out..." (FYI: not a good response for someone who feels hopeless). But I haven't believed it for myself. I know God can provide for us but I honestly didn't think He would. I thought Nate and I would have to struggle through on our own with God just watching shaking His head in shame. We had two BIG bills due on July 1st (mortage and mother's day out), the total of both over $900. How in the world were we going to pay them? Nate really didn't want to ask his parents for money and I had just received a check from my mom to get my account positive! So when we got a card yesterday from friends with a check for more than we needed I just gasped and started crying. God is still there even when you think He's not. Even if you think the deadlines are past and there is no way short of a miracle that you can pay your bills the miracle will happen. God is good... even if you don't always believe He is and you are mad at Him. God worked a miracle just yesterday in our lives in case some of you doubt that He still does crazy things like that.
(sidenote: the lady at mother's day out is really patient and never mentioned not being paid on time and we don't get a late fee on our mortage unless it's received after the 17th... so really, perfect timing)

International Babies

I was talking to Carol a little bit tonight about international adoption so I came home and had to look up some international babies. They are so beautiful! Everyone needs to go to www.precious.org Caution: you will want to adopt a baby! In case you're curious, no, we are no where near adopting a child but it is fun to look. Nate really does want a little girl from India...

Pictures

I know, I know... we don't have any pictures on our blog. It isn't for lack of trying. Anyone who has insight to posting pictures is more than welcome to help. I've done the thing you have to do... I can't remember the name of it... the website you have to download your pictures to... starts with an "H"... ok, so now you can all see why I haven't been able to figure it out! Someday....

Boys in summer

I am forever amazed by my little guys. They are so dirty! This summer has been about playing outside... all day long. Max is constantly at the neighbors. Apparently, he has started climbing over the fence to get there without me knowing it. If Max is outside, of course Pudgely (our endearing nickname for Grant) wants to be right there with him. Even if they are only gone for 5 minutes they come back completely covered with dirt and who knows what else... especially Grant. He is our little walking Pig Pen. I love boys and all the action and rough housing, that sort of thing. What I don't like at all is that "boy smell." But, there is really no way of avoiding that these days! I guess that's why God gave someone the insight to invent lavendar baby wash... so moms can endure the smell of their boys.