Weekend Photo Shoot

We had alot of fun over the weekend. I did the rest of my sister's senior pictures. She is such a cutie! Its kind of funny how in different pictures we can see the resemblance between her and I and others she looks like our sister Shannon. But they are all Hannah! I posted Hannah's senior slideshow on my photography blog if you are interested in seeing more pictures.

FFF - FireProof Your Marriage

One of the most important things you can do for your family is to take good care of your marriage. Now days it seems that it is socially acceptable to treat your marriage as though it were disposable. Its so sad that the divorce rate is so high, even among Christians. The vows that are exchanged on our wedding day seem to mean so little anymore. When a man or woman expresses discontentment about their marriage to friends so often they are rarely encouraged to work things out but throw in the towel. Books, movies, they all portray marriage as something that comes and goes - you fall in love and out of love and move on and fall in love again and round and round we go. What a sad way to live your life, never experiencing the true devoted love that a solid marriage provides.
I just heard about the movie "Fireproof" and wanted to share about it:
Lt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter's adage: Never leave your partner behind. Inside burning buildings, it's his natural instinct. In the cooling embers of his marriage, it's another story.
After a decade of marriage, Caleb and Catherine Holt have drifted so far apart that they are ready to move on without each other. Yet as they prepare to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's dad asks his son to try an experiment: The Love Dare.
While hoping The Love Dare has nothing to do with his parents' newfound faith, Caleb commits to the challenge. But can he attempt to love his wife while avoiding God's love for him? Will he be able to demonstrate love over and over again to a person that's no longer receptive to his love? Or is this just another marriage destined to go up in smoke?

It looks really good. Sometimes faith-based movies can be pretty low budget but this one seems to be really well done and is getting really positive reviews. Besides Kirk Cameron is in it (I used to have a crush on him back in the "Growing Pains" days!). Please take the time to check it out and spread the word!

Really funny (but oh so true) clip about the difference between men and women's brains! Watch it!!

If you are struggling in your marriage... please do not be afraid to seek help. Your marriage is worth saving! Here are just a few resources to get you started:
Fireproof My Marriage
Purpose, Passion & Pleasure Conference
Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference
DNA of Relationships for Couples
Smart Marriages
For Better, For Worse, For Keeps

Have Fun With Your Pix!

Check it out! My sis had a pix like this on her myspace and I asked her about it. Apparently she did a google search for Andy Warhol and found this website where you can upload your pix and have it "Warholized"!
I'm so easily amused! I did a few pix before getting bored. But I had to share it because I still think its really cool! Click here to "Warholize" for yourself!
Another fun photo website I've recently found is www.yearbookyourself.com. Its so cool! You paste your face on a retro "yearbook pix" from the 1950's-80's weird hair and all. Some friends' used it on their facebook profile pix. I did several of myself... I know, I'm a dork. But check it out, the first one, the 1950 one, I swear I look like my grandmothers' old pictures! Sometimes I think I should have been born in another era. Oh, well.
I also really like using slide.com for slideshows of trips or crafts I've done. They've got alot of style options, you can even add music to your slideshow and post it to your blog or myspace page. Its pretty cool and user friendly.
Hope you have fun with your pix!!

Joe'Mama

Well... some good news. We got accepted for new insurance. Praise God! The insurance we've had for almost a year now was really good for well-visits and the occasional ER visit but didn't cover much of anything by way of diagnostics or major medical. So, with the new insurance obviously we'll have a decent deductible and whatnot but we'll have much better coverage than what we had before.
So, given the change in insurance we will be able to go forward with the MRI, EMG, a visit with a genetic neurologist and blood testing for SMA. Those will all happen over the next couple of months.
Joe has been showing more signs of improvement. He is sitting unassisted for longer stretches of time(the longest being 5min, but not usually quite that long) and even stabilizing himself when he gets wobbly. When I've got him in the stroller he is supporting himself sitting instead of lounging. He has been rolling to toys lately, sometimes even rolling over and over again consecutively. He's really wanting to do more, sometimes I think he gets frustrated with his limitations.
Josiah started Occupational Therapy last week. I liked the OT right away, she seems very nice and down to earth. I think she'll kind of be doing a mixture of some of the same things that PT and DT are already doing but she will also help with things like fine motor skills and eating, etc.
I just got a call from our First Steps coordinator saying that Joe got approved for speech therapy too. So, I'm in the process of looking at the profiles of a dozen or so speech therapists trying to decide who would be best for Joe. I'm thankful that my cousin (who is a speech pathologist) gave me a few tips on what to look for while choosing the therapist. Once we start speech we'll have three therapists coming 1 time a week and one coming 2 times a week. That is alot of therapy. I hope its not too much for Joe... or me! * I'm thankful that First Steps provides all this therapy for little guys who need it like Joe does... but what about the rest of us? Where is my therapy? ;-)
We've talked with the some friends from church who have dealt with developmental delays with their children and its nice to know they are there and understand what we're going through. I also appreciate having my aunt who has been through the medical system with her daughter that I've been able to talk to alot. And I have a cousin who is a speech pathologist that I've been able to talk to. God has put people in our lives for me to lean on. I just don't know how to do that well. I am better at being a care-giver than I am a care-receiver.

Well, that is all for now. As always, your prayers are much appreciated since this is far from over. We appreciate all the love and support from our family and friends.

Scrapping Sunday

My girls and I had another fun time at a crop this past Friday night. A couple girls had to leave early so that was a bummer but that gave me more table space! Anyway, it was a good crop and I got some good pages done (that are on the slideshow) and found some really cute paper and ribbon on sale while we were there.

Here are my week's Ta Da's:
I organized my completed pages by date. Since I don't scrap chronologically they've just been piled up in no particular order. I feel good having them somewhat orderly now!
I also did alot of journaling. I don't care for my handwriting much so I usually leave a blank spot on the page and do the journaling later. I probably did 20 pages worth in one night!
I condensed my scrapping stuff... I had kind of taken over the whole room (including the floor space! So I'm sure my husband is glad that he can once again walk through the music/scrapbooking room!
I started making some pre-made pages for a Christmas gift (you'll see those on the slideshow).

And my To Do's are: well, it'll be a busy week and we're going out of town next weekend so I'm not sure what I'll be able to get done. I just hope to do a few pages here and there.

Check out other Sunday Scrappers!!

FFF - Fall Style

Almost every year my husband's family drives to Brown County in the fall. We pack up the food and the kids and go down to Brown County State Park. We usually stop a a flea market on the way. Then the guys grill out while the kids play and we all spend the day together. Sometimes us girls will slip away to downtown Nashville and do some arts and crafts shopping. Its such a great place to enjoy the changing fall weather.
What places do you and your family like to go together annually?

Thursday Thirteen

13 Shows I'm Looking Forward to Watching This Fall
(in no particular order.... well, ok. The first four are my faves.... the rest are in no particular order)

1. Heroes NBC - I've been an avid Heroes fan since the beginning. I was very disappointed in how short the season was due to the strike. I'm really looking forward to getting some of my questions answered this season!

2. Lost ABC - Speaking of having questions answered... Lost is very good about answering a question only to create a dozen more questions! But I'm hooked and will see it through the end just to see what happens!

3. The Office NBC - I've really missed watching Jim and Pam's relationship grow... I know, I'm one of those dorky people who talks about tv show characters like they are real people.

4. Grey's Anatomy ABC - Meredith and McDreamy need to be together! But I'm sure something will happen to keep them apart - again.

5. Criminal Minds CBS - Its not a cookie cutter of all the other crime drama shows. I like that it gets in the mind of the bad guys. And yet, its kind of creepy too.

6. Biggest Loser NBC - One of these days I'll stop sitting on my butt watching shows like this and actually be my own biggest loser. But until then I'll keep watching, waiting for it to motivate me!

7. Numb3rs CBS - This is one of the cleaner crime dramas. While I don't necessarily understand all the math stuff they use on the show I do find it interesting.

8. Pushing Daisies ABC - I have not watched this series as of yet. But I've heard a little about it and I think I'd really like it. I'd kind of been hoping that they'd release season one on DVD so I could catch up before the new season starts!

9. Private Practice ABC - I like Addison. I love that their practice offers some more alternative medicine options. I saw a few labors/births on an episode the other night that weren't "emergency" anything - one was even in a birthing tub. It was nice to see more than a traumatic "everything that can go wrong" scenario.

10. Extreme Makeover Home-edition ABC - Its not one my favorites but its still a good clean show I can watch with my kids. Except that almost every family says "Oh My God" over and over during the big reveal. Oh, well... it could be worse.

11. Flight of the Conchords HBO - I've watched some videos on youtube and they are hilarious! I can't wait to watch the show!

12. Ugly Betty - I have only watched a few episodes here and there but I saw the finale last season and I have to see which guy Betty chooses!

13. Scrubs ABC - That is right folks... Scrubs is back! Only now they're on a new network! Yeah!

Click here for a printable schedule of network season premieres. And click here for more Thursday Thirteen.

WFMW - Scrapbooking Storage

I think I saw this in a scrapbooking magazine or on a website - no, I wasn't smart enough to come up with it on my own. Anyway, I got this pillbox at the dollar store. It has 14 compartments (1 week 2x a day) and I've used it to separate and store some of my buttons, eyelets and brads that I use while scrapbooking. What a deal!?! To by similar specialty storage containers it would have been alot more than a dollar! Here are a few other embellishment storage ideas from ScrapbooksEtc. Saving money on scrapbooking works for me!
Check out other Works For Me Wednesday posts HERE!!

Cool Jewels!

Simple Mom is having a great jewelry giveaway! Monday Sept. 22nd she'll be giving away a piece of Lisa Leonard jewelry! Just leave her a comment on the giveaway post and get entered!
I just checked it out and I'm in love with Lisa Leonard's style! I'm entering! But if I don't win, I'm totally sending her website to my husband as a hint for my Christmas gift!! I mean really, who doesn't feel just a little bit better about themselves when they're wearing a unique piece of jewelry? I know I do!

Overwhelmed

I am overwhelmed by everything to do with Joe. Isaac it seems is ever the optimist when it comes to Joe - always believing that eventually Joe will catch up. I try to think that way too. But in the back of my mind I'm bracing myself to be taking care of him for the rest of my life. And that is kind of scary, you know. I mean, I have always wanted to be a mother... but I do not think I knew what I was signing up for. I hope I don't sound awful... I love my son and I will do whatever it takes to care for him the best that I can. It is just too much sometimes - to think of the big picture. I need to stop thinking about the big picture and just think about today. But how?
It seems especially hard because we really have no idea what to expect. But he's such a happy little guy, he brings joy to our life in so many ways. But he also brings doubt, stress, fear and questions too. I know God is in control and He has a plan but I'm just afraid His plan isn't what I want it to be. I want Joe to grow strong and healthy and be able to live a full life, you know? What mother doesn't want that for her kids? I know I need to just give it all over to Him (that is what everyone keeps telling me) but when its your child's life... how do you let go of that? sigh... ok - I'll stop rambling now.

How Do You Think You Look?

I've just recently watched a few episodes of How To Look Good Naked. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Carson Kressley teaches women how to bring forth their inner and outer beauty without plastic surgery or extreme dieting. Over the course of five days Carson will introduce new, beneficial changes for subjects in his signature humorous way. Each episode will culminate in an ego-boosting fashion and beauty photo shoot for the lucky subject.
In just the few episodes I've seen there have been different body types, each woman has had different issues with their bodies - some were self conscious about their butt, some their belly, etc. Intermittently throughout the show they'll have stats on women and body image, etc. It is really sad when you think about how so many of us (all different shapes and sizes) are unhappy with our bodies for various reasons. It does not matter what size or shape we are... we women find the worst in ourselves, especially when it comes to our bodies.

My husband saw a bit as he was passing by (this particular episode had a tiny petite Asian woman) and he asked if they ever use women who were not thin on the show. So, to prove to him that there was diversity in size and shape on the show I went to their website and found a woman with a body shape similar to mine (I think). It was helpful for me to see the affirmations she got from Carson and the public about her body and to see her transformation as she became more confident.
There are lots of resources out there for those of us who struggle with poor body image. Don't be afraid to reach out and seek help if you too easily find the flaws in your self and your body. Here are just a few websites to check out if you are interested.
BreakFreeBeauty
Healthy Body Image
TCW online article
Body Image books on Amazon.com

Nate-isms

My son says some of the cutest things sometimes! Here are a few that I've remembered to write down lately:

When we're having lemonade he calls it "leNoMade". When we try to correct him he says it wrong but with emphasis - as if that fixes it.

When he doesn't know how to do something instead of saying "I don't know how" he says "I can't how", only he is usually whining and drags out the how so its "I can't hooowww".

He's also gotten into the "why" and "what is dat" phase which is more annoying than it is cute.