long road home

Just wrapped up a great visit w/ our San Antonio family. The boys absolutely LOVE going down there. Had a blast w/ all their cousins. Jeff got to talk football and play madden 2010. I got to hold brand new Baby Jack so it was good all around! =)

Today I'm thankful for inlaws! (Soo glad I can say that!)

grateful

What a great Christmas!! There was a chance that it could have been a train wreck, but because the Lord is faithful it ended up being one of the best Christmas' yet!

We had Christmas w/ Doug and Vicky a couple weeks early cause they had so many to do! It was a blast and Max's skateboard was the hit of the party. The weather was beautiful so we all went outside to play football and let Ally push Ben on his new Mickey Airplane.

Then on Christmas Eve it snowed ALL day! It was absolutely beautiful! Max helped me make cupcakes for Jesus' Bday Party (Noah got a stomach bug so he didn't help =( ) and it was hilarious watching Ben suck the frosting off them. Jeff actually helped me finish up the Santa duties as soon as the kids were passed out and Christmas morning was wonderful. By about the third gift Ben finally had the whole 'tearing off the wrapping' figured out. Noah loved his Civil War Battlefield Map and Max had his nerf gun put together before we were even finished opening presents.

Then we headed over to my mom's where we ate a HUGE breakfast and opened gifts. Jonnie and Heather got to come over for a little visit which the boys were happy about. They love Uncle Jonnie.

And the Christmas' aren't over yet! Jeff got the stomach bug that night so we had to postpone Oma's Christmas till the 9th. Can't wait!

This year was great because since money was extremely tight it wasn't about gifts. We were forced to rely on our faith to even get any gifts to begin w/ (another post to come about that miracle) and it became more about how grateful we are for our family than gifts. How if it weren't for our irritating siblings and critical mothers we wouldn't have anything. God is so good. He gave us to our parents and he gave our children to us but they're only loaners! They won't be with us forever so it's crucial to enjoy every minute and squeeze every ounce of love out for the ones we hold dear.

Christmas Eve

It's snowing!!! Happy Birthday, Jesus!!

like a child

Omg I'm getting so stinking excited about Christmas!! I feel just like a kid again, only instead of being so ecstatic about opening my presents, I can NOT wait to see the boys faces as they open their gifts. I'm also pretty pumped about Jesus' Birthday Party tomorrow night. The boys are gonna help me make some stellar cup cakes. I'm so pleased that they're actually understanding what Christmas is really all about. We've had talks about how there are some people who have no family or friends to spend Christmas with, and Max always gets a pout on his lips and says "sad." He's 5 and he gets it. That makes me so happy.

I'm so so so excited!

So today Jeff took the youth group to the mall. They soon proceeded to put tape on the ground to play four-square. Apparently there's not enough to do at the mall. When mall security (a large black man) walked up Jeff continues to play.

M.S. - "You can't do that here."

Jeff - "You're right, that was chicken-foot, she's out."

M.S. - "You can't be playin no basketball here In the mall."

Jeff - "This isn't basketball, it's four-square."

Long story short, today I'm thankful Jeff did not get kicked out of the mall =)

hanukkah is a festival of lights

Instead of 1 day of presents they've got 8 CrAzY nights.

To do today:
*Get a good pic of the boys
*laundry
*bake
*church-get ham & fold bulletins
*reconcile bank acct
*clean house
*print pics
*Thank u's
*pick up 11 more gifts

Wanna bet the percentage I actually complete? It won't be good but as to not be a complete failure I'd better get outta bed!

overwhelmed *part 2*

So I had completely forgotten about the original "overwhelmed" until I just decided I should blog about how the Lord has blessed us so incredibly today!
First thing this morning one of Jeff's youth kids gave him a Christmas card w/ a $100 gift card in it. {Blessing #1}. Then while I was working in the nursery (which I was extremely grumpy about) a really cool lady from church who's been through more than I could ever imagine surviving came up to the door and called me over. She proceeded to hand me a Christmas card w/ a $400 check in it! {Blessing #2}. Then Pastor gave Jeff his Christmas bonus - $300 {Blessing #3}

In summary - on Thursday I told God (and Jeff) we needed more than $700 (on top of his pay) to pay bills and finish Christmas shopping. Today's total blessing = $800 {MIRACLE}

Today I'm thankful for the people who listen to the Holy Spirit and help make miracles happen.

oVeRwHeLmEd

Lord I'm so so overwhelmed I don't know what to do. Bills are stacked up and we don't have the money for them, let alone presents. You've always been faithful and provided more than enough and I know You will not let us down, I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to do now. You are my Provider. You are my Healer. You are my Everything and I need a miracle!

sick and tired

I'm so stinking done w/ being sick and tired! I can't shake whatever this is =( I'm incredibly nautious (sp?) And delirious! Why the face?!
So in other news - Noah's MRI ordeal is over and he's been given a clean bill of health! Since I haven't talked about it on here, here's a brief summary - he gets headaches in the middle of the night so doc ordered an MRI to check things out. Had to wait a month for it which was nerve racking. The actual procedure was fairly quick and intriguing at the same time. After all the paperwork formalities noah changed into his "gown" (if I could figure out how to post pics using my blackberry there would be pics to go along here) and headed down yet another hall. When we got to the room Noah laid down and the doc raised the bed to the right height. She clicked a plastic covering over his face, equipped w/ a mirror so he could see Jeff and I, and put headphones on him before then guiding the bed into the "donut." She handed us earplugs which I thought was slightly dramatic at first - I was wrong. Holy moly that was the loudest thing I've ever heard. After about 10 min the doc told noah he was doing good but the pic came out blurry so he needed to try to be completely still for a little longer. About 10 min later he was done! The next day (yesterday) his doc called to say that there was nothing abnormal on the MRI and that as long as the headaches don't become more frequent and motrin still works then he's good to go!! I'm so stinking proud of him. He was never worried or nervous. The only complaint he had was that it was country music playing in his headphones =)

Today I'm thankful for technology and proactive Dr. Watts!

so so sleepy...

Today I'm thankful for my bed =)

What a great but tiring day! I've felt pretty crappy for a few days now... don't think it's anything more than a cold... just can't wake up! I feel so stinking tired.

Today started w/ some Scrap It time and Noah's play practice. [Side Note: The play is tomorrow and is going to be so super cute.] After that I had about 2 minutes to run home, take a shower, and get over to Doug and Vicky's for Christmas w/ them. Vicky is so good at making finger food buffet style meals. Perfect for our family. The kids had to wait for Ben to wake up from his nap to open presents, which seemed to last for years. When they finally did, they were so incredibly wound up we had to go outside for awhile to get some wiggles out. Max practiced on his new skateboard and Noah played football w/ Grandad. Ben rode his new Mickey Airplane up and down the road, and sometimes let Allee push him. Too cute. Today I'm thankful for family. =)

ADHD

What a cold day! The high temp today is 42! Love it! But don't love the higher electric bill that's comin =(

So last night at church we had a new family come which is so exciting! They have 3 boys, the middle one being 6 is in my class. I've worked in childcare for 16 years now and have never experienced a child so severely ADHD. I usually don't like putting 'labels' on kids but wow. I could tell he really was UNABLE to be still. Even when he wasn't running, he was still rolling or scooting on his bottom. It wasn't a behavioral issue at all. He is such a good kid, he just literally can't be still. I really hope they keep coming even though it's going to make my job a little more challenging!

So in short, I'm thankful for the new little boy =)

today

Today I am thankful for heaters =)

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving went off without a hitch this year! Which is surprising seeing that Gramma wasn't talking to anyone like 3 days before. A small amount of drama couldn't ruin it this year and for that I'm thankful!

This year I want to blog everyday about something I'm thankful for. Wish me luck because I don't usually stick to things like this but I'm going to try really hard.

This year through loss the Lord has given me a new understanding of what being thankful for life means and I am truly, truly thankful for life. Thank you Noah, Max and Ben for loving me unconditionally. Thank you, Jeff for keeping me on top of my game. Thanks to everyone God has placed in my life! You're here for a reason and I'll never take that for granted.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Welcome to the 21st Century, Hopkins Family.

We got internet!!! Hip Hip Hooray!! Will I actually blog more? Probably not. Ha. I'll try though. It's not like there's a lack of subject matter - things are crazier than ever!

Bed To Myself

I've officially got the bed to myself for 4 nights!!! Whoo hoo!! Jeff will be at camp until Friday afternoon, and all I can think about is that I have the bed to myself!!
If you know me, you understand why. If you don't, it's not hard to explain. Most moms will relate: I am touched, tugged at, slimed, scratched, squeezed, ALL DAY LONG by 3 little boys. The touching never stops. So in the evenings, it's nice to not be touched.. to have some personal space. BUT, Jeff is a touchy feely guy. Not necessarily a bad thing, but 4 DAYS WITH THE BED TO MYSELF is just music to my ears. So happy.
Sure I'll miss him. His picky appetite, his talking all the time, his phone CONSTANTLY ringing, his playing catch with the boys, his making Ben happy just by laying on the floor and letting him climb all over him... but I'm really gonna enjoy the spacious, non-touchy bed =)

We Have Kittens!

Really really cute kittens!!!

The mama is sick I think =( And one of the kittens is sick, but I'm trying everything I can. It's not easy. Especially cause I'm kinda sorta a clean freak. I learned quickly not to clean them before I feed them, cause they end up much dirtier than they were before I cleaned them.
They are so adorable. I'm not an animal person, AT ALL, but babies just get me every time! I can't help myself. And the boys love them, too. Ben likes to touch them...
... but doesn't like them to touch him=)

Blogging Loser

I suck suck suck at blogging!! I want to be good at it! I want to be so good at it! But I'm not. I'm not giving up yet... I've actually taken up scrapbooking, which is SO MUCH FUN!! More fun than blogging, I must say, but I WILL get better. I WILL.

Love

So in the last 12 hours I have:

1)Stepped in ants while weeding the flower beds,
2)Found the cats food COMPLETELY GONE (AGAIN) because of a flipping raccoon that won't quit getting into the tub!,
3)Found out Jeff's aunt has rheumatoid arthritis (sp??),
4)Found out Jeff's G-dad has cancer again (we kinda knew, but now it's for sure),
5)Found out some good friends of ours are divorcing,
6)Found out a dear friend of ours who suffered a stroke 2 months ago (she's only in her 40s!) and is still not walking or talking or moving much at all has been accepted to one of the most amazing facilities with state of the art technology and doctors around,
and finally,
7)Realized once again how fragile life is and how blessed I am to have a pretty awesome husband who will be by my side through everything we might face down the road!

Slacker

So I used to get frustrated when some of the blogs I follow hadn't had new posts in a few days. I would check them frantically waiting to hear something, anything. OH MY GOSH. I haven't written anything in like a week? 2 weeks? I don't even know. And I don't have any children who have special needs that require so much extra time and energy. Just the normal needs: poopy diapers, breakfast, bottles, lunches made, beds made, laundry, more poopy diapers, more bottles, and that's all before lunch. I can't even imagine how these super mom's manage to post at all! I'm such a slacker.

So after another round of the poison ivy, it was finally calming down around here... until another bout with a stomach bug hit. Ben has had it for 3 days now, Max was miserable yesterday evening, but slept really well, so we'll see. So far the rest of us are ok, which reminds me I need to go spray my hourly coating of Lysol. Not sure if it actually helps or not, but it puts my mind at ease so I do it anyway. Way too much to do and no where near enough time to do it...

A Toad

So they found a frog. Or toad I guess. Not really sure. I guess having 3 little boys I should know the difference. Or having graduated highschool, I should know the difference. But I don't. So we're gonna go with toad. So they found a toad, which proved to be wonderful entertainment for over an hour. Max, as usual, was the main "holder" of the toad. Noah always has to work up the courage for these types of things. Max wants to hold the toad, smell the toad, possibly even taste the toad.

Noah on the other hand wants to look at the toad from afar. He wants to want to hold the toad, but he really doesn't. But he doesn't want Max to think he's afraid either. So he finally convinces himself that it's ok, and risks it all, to finally hold the toad.



Then it's Ben's turn. He thought he wanted to hold it until it lunged at him then he was pretty much done with the toad.

Last but not least, it was mommie's turn, and what did the toad do? That's right, he had been holding it the whole time until I grab him and he pees all over the place. That's why I don't hold toads.

Strategy

So, I have a strategy. A wonderful strategy. The past two nights, during one of the 12 times that Ben woke up, I thought to myself "I need to get something done tomorrow." Apparently just keeping them alive isn't enough for me. The night before last, I contemplated cleaning Noah's closet. If you have seen his closet lately, you know why it took me awhile to make up my mind, but eventually I did. It had to be done. And guess what. That next morning, as soon as I got home from work-out, I CLEANED IT! Totally. It looks so good!! So last night, I mulled over the fact that I set a goal, and actually accomplished it. Granted, it was a small goal, but a goal none the less, and now, an accomplished goal! Then a picture of the inside of my refrigerator came into my mind. New goal set! And now: ACCOMPLISHED!! That's right. Two days, two goals, two successful accomplishments! I am beyond proud. You have no idea. These are things I have been putting off for weeks and weeks. And now, they're done. Feels so good. So, my strategy: set a goal every night. It can be small, big, easy or hard, doesn't matter. As long as I have 1 thing to accomplish every day, I might actually live to see my grandkids! What a wonderful thought. And the possibility that an entire day will go by without my getting anything done is far less now! Now the real challenge: let's see how long I actually keep this up! Oh and I already decided I'm taking the weekends off =)

Did You Know?

So did you know:


a)Poison ivy does not spread from person to person - it is not "contagious."


b)Poison ivy only needs to be washed off once - once you have taken a shower, it doesn't spread farther on your body. It has already spread as far as it's going to until you come into contact with it again. If more spots appear (more than 2-3 days later), they were already there, just hadn't shown yet.


c)Poison ivy sucks.



d)Poison ivy was not contracted by me at the zoo, since Jeff has subsequently been struck by it and he was not at the zoo with me... which leads to my conclusion:



e)Poison ivy apparently resides IN MY BACKYARD!

Pink

Spring break was going to be fairly uneventful for us this year. Nothing interesting planned. That's when I decided it would be a GREAT idea to take the boys to the zoo! Little did I know that I would somehow inhale poison ivy, have it spread all over my face and neck, have to get a shot in my derier, spread it to Max, and now be making my husband go to the the dreaded butt-shot because it is all over him, from his neck down. This is the most frustrating thing I've had to deal with in quite a long time! And when I compare it to what others are going through, it seems pretty trivial, but it has taken over my life! And not to mention that the steroids that I'm taking to get rid of the poison crap are making me crazy! I'm so cranky and I can't help it! I'm itchy, cranky, tired and stressed. I guess it could be worse......

After all that whining you would never believe that I actually had a really good time at a women's conference yesterday, would you? It's called Pink Impact, and it's put together by a church called Gateway Church in South Lake. I got to hear Marilyn Hickey (whom I had never heard of but is apparently the reason my mom became a Christian!), Kari Jobe, Miriam Webster, and Holly Wagner. It wasn't extremely deep, but that's not what it was meant for. It's for evangelizing... drawing more women in who are hurt and needing to know their Savior's love. And I'd say it was a success. It was nice to be without any kiddos for an entire day too!!

Holly Wagner's message touched me the most. Her concept was about how, like in the Olympics, each runner has their own lane. In life, we all have our own lanes. There's no need for us to get in each other's lanes, because we are supposed to be in our own lane. When we feel that jealous twitch, like "why can't I sing like she does?" or "why can't I be as funny as she is?" we need to remember that that's not the lane God put us in. What would you feel like if you stepped into someone else's lane at some point in your life, and when you got to Jesus, he looked strangely surprised at you and said "what are you doing here?" Because you weren't supposed to be in that lane. We each have a job. We each have an exact purpose and mission and He gives us the tools we need to accomplish them. We are not here by accident. He put us here on this earth at this time to defeat the evil one!! That way when we do get to see Jesus, he won't look at us with a confused look, rather with a "well done good and faithful servant" look =)

Where to Start?

Really, where do I start? There's nothing new happening, nothing out of the ordinary. I just feel like I need to write. But I HATE writing. Always have. So where is this going to take me? I don't have a clue. And i really really don't know where to start.

Through a high school friend of mine who has a sweet little girl who was born premature with several complications, my eyes have been opened to the world of sick children. Normal children, actually, who are sick. They go through most of the exact same things every other child goes through, only slower, or out of order, or simply a little differently. They didn't chose to be the way they are. After reading blog after blog about all of these precious little kids, I have realized how thankful I should be for my family. I guess almost everyone comes to the point in their life when they realize they've taken what God gave them for granted, and I'm there. Other than ear infections and poison ivy, my family is extremely healthy! What a wonderful, precious gift! I've always been thankful for them, and our health, but never to this extent. And the funny thing is I don't know what to do about it. Do I love them more now? Because I know that any day they could be struck with some illness? Do I let Noah get away with throwing a fit because he lost the video game, when at least he has fingers, eyes and a mouth that work so that he can play video games?? Do I let Max kick the ball at the pictures on the wall, just because he has legs that work?? I don't think so. I think I'm supposed to keep on living, just like last year and the year before that. I can't love them anymore than I already do. I think prayer is the key. All I can say is thank you Lord. Thank you Lord.

I've put off starting a "blog" because all of the others I've read are about some extraordinary family who is dealing with huge struggles day in and day out and I've thought to myself, my life is so boring. So plain. So OrDiNaRy. My family is amazing, but we are just normal. Like normal isn't a good thing. Then I heard the Lord say, "your family is just as wonderful as every other family I have created." Ok, it sounds slightly dramatic, but it's true! Just because poison ivy is the biggest obstacle in our lives right now doesn't make us unworthy of a blog!! Now I probably won't have comments to all of the posts like the ones I follow. But I figure, if I need them, they'll be there.