I've Been Tagged...

My good bud, Tasha tagged me and because I love her SO much and am always SO impressed by her faithfulness to blog, I am participating!

THE RULES::

* Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

* Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.

* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

* Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

...Here you have it, folks: 7 Random Facts about me:

1. I don't have any cavities, still have one baby tooth, and have never had braces...unfortunately the money we save on my teeth, we have to spend on my blind eyes!!!!

2. I take ridiculously long showers on a regular basis. This is a habit that I have tried to break myself of because I know it's a huge waste of time and water but can't seem to do it. Oh well.

3. Excessive background noise drives me CRAZY!!!! ...I cannot stand to have the TV on while trying to have a conversation or read a book. Whining children are like fingernails on a chalkboard. -And if that little wiener dog around the corner doesn't stop barking...well...I don't know what I'll do...

4. I love Sodoku puzzles and any other kind of number game. My dad's a CPA...I guess I've got some math nerdiness in me (love you dad!:))

5. My absolute favorite way to start the day is with a hot drink (tea, coffee, french vanilla cappuccinos (sp?) have been my pick lately) and reading the Bible. Ideally this happens before the kids are up but more often than not it's while they eat breakfast and watch Praise Baby.

6. The older I get the more introverted and homebodish I seem to become. I used to be soooo social but now crowds stress me out just a little bit. My favorite people in the world to be around are Fred and the kids.

7. Being a wife and mom are my favorite jobs in the world and (most days!) I wouldn't trade it for anything. ...But down the road when the kids are grown I think that I'd like to go back to school and get my doctorate to teach a women's studies sort of curriculum in a college setting. I don't know if that's what God has for us but it sounds pretty exciting!

Okay, there you have it. I tried to get as random and unknown as possible. I am now tagging:

*Kelli

*Shelly W.

*Shelly H.

*Constance

*Rhianna

*Erin

*Sandy

Pumkin Painting Parties...Georgia Style

We had some of our good buddies over for a pumpkin painting party a couple of weeks ago. It was so fun to see how their different little personalities came out during the activity. Some were diligent to paint the actual pumpkins...others were more interested in painting each other (ummm...both of my children would fall into the latter of the two categories...thankfully their mammas all love my children and are pretty laid back when it comes to that sort of thing!!!!) Anyways, we had a GREAT time of messiness and play...I am so thankful for great friends!!!!

Advantage of living in the south: ending a fall craft activity with a good 'ol hose down of all the painted children. It sure beats trying to get them cleaned off inside...:)

BIG THREE YEAR OLD

I can't believe that Joshua turned three last week. I know that everyone says it, but seriously, how do they grow up so fast?!!?? We had the best birthday celebration. We went back and forth about having a party and finally decided against it for at least one more year. We spent the day playing outside with Joshua's new bike and art set, had Joshua's requested spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, ate cake, and then made a quick trip to Wal-Mart where Joshua got to spend some of his birthday money on Thomas trains. All-in-all, a fabulous day in the life of a three year old!!!

Thanks for the bike, Grandpa and Grandma!!! Doesn't Joshua look like such big stuff on it??!!

I am so very thankful and blessed to be Joshua's mom. ...And as I say that, I have to laugh and be honest in saying that I just had to take a break from writing this post to discipline him for getting out of his bed during nap time (this is a CONSTANT battle at our house right now...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!) Joshua is not the perfect kid. I am very very far from being the perfect mom towards Joshua. We are a lot alike in that we're both stubborn, strong-willed and a little bit "too full of life" at times! Joshua is constantly teaching me and reminding me of my need for God's grace and strength. He also makes me laugh a ton! He is such a funny little kid with such a big personality. He does such a great job of being polite and conversational with adults. He has become a great little helper around the house and I know will help me so much when his brother arrives. Joshua has a great memory; he does a better job of remembering names at church than I do! He has memorized quite a few Bible verses and is even learning how to apply them to his life. Like the other day: we had some friends over and the mom said something about obeying, so Joshua piped in with Ephesians 6:1 and how we obey because God says so! I overheard him playing with his trains the other day and he told Thomas "You need to obey. Do you understand? If you do not obey, you will get a spankin'. Yes mam? I need to hear you say 'yes mam."...HA!!!! Oh what great accountability their little hearts and voices are!!! I don't know what God has in store for Joshua. Our prayer is that he would be strong and very courageous and obey the Word of the Lord. I am confident that God is able to do great things in and through him! I am excited to see those plans unfold. Sometimes I loose perspective with Joshua and get caught up in the daily frustrations of discipline and training, but he really is such a blessing. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the privilege of being his mom. Thank you, Lord for our precious three year old!!!!