Check out this handsome fella

A picture of what's left of his black eye. It's hard to tell in the picture but he has a bruise at the top of his cheek bone and his eye is puffy.





What a cutie!!

A Baby's Hug

Author Unknown

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking.

Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, "Hi." He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.

I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed.
His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map. We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists.

"Hi there, baby. Hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster," the man said to Erik.

My husband and I exchanged looks, "What do we do?"

Erik continued to laugh and answer, "Hi"

Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man.
The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby.

Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, "Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo."

Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.

My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skidrow bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments. We finally got through the meal and headed for the door.

My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot.

The old man sat poised between me and the door. "Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik," I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's' "pick-me-up" position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man's.

Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love
And kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back.

No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby."

Somehow I managed, "I will," from a throat that contained a stone.

He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, "God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift." I said nothing more than a muttered thanks.

With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, "My God, my God, forgive me."

I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a Mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a
Child who was not.

I felt it was God asking, "Are you willing to share your son for a moment?"
When He shared His for all eternity.

One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days? Of course you have. Hasn't everybody? Well, I'm having one of those weeks.

Sunday kicked things off. Our whole family was sick so we didn't get to go to church. I hate missing church! We did watch the services from Maranatha from home, but it wasn't the same.

Hubby is on extended shifts this week which is never fun, or easy. My husband is one of those go in early, stay late kind of guys anyway. So, Tuesday he was supposed to get off around 7:00 but at 8:30 I still hadn't heard from him. He finally called at about 9:20 just as I had put the baby to sleep. He needed me to come pick him up. So, I did. We got back home at around 10:00 and the little man got so excited about Daddy being home that he wouldn't go back to sleep. He finally fell asleep about midnight.

Yesterday is when things got really fun! I was a little behind schedule in the morning because of the late night we had. No big deal, right? It was just me and Tyler and we had no plans for the day. Well, all is fine until about 10:00 when I heard a knock at the door. Not good! I was dressed (or rather not dressed) in such a way that I wouldn't have opened the door if it had been a family member. But I knew who it was-the only person who has ever knocked on my door since we've lived here, the mailman. I panicked. My front door is glass so there was no way I could run grab something to cover up with. I decided I would ignore him and hoped he would come back tomorrow. I'm sure that would have worked if he hadn't had plain sight of Tyler happily jumping in his Jumperoo. He knocked and knocked and knocked. And then he pounded. And then he started trying to kick the door open. I knew why, he was worried about the baby. And I knew he wasn't going away. Finally he turned to go back to his truck to get his cell phone. He was going to call the police. I ran and grabbed a robe, ran to the door, and as soon as I opened it he realized what happened and started laughing at me. At the time, I really didn't see any humor in the situation. But, I guess he was just relieved that the baby and I were both ok. I was so embarrassed!

About an hour later I went to check my email and let the little one crawl around with his toys. All was going well until I heard a *thud* and looked down to see that my precious baby had just given himself a nice big black eye on the edge of the desk. Lovely!!

I called my mom almost in tears at this point and told her about all the excitement. In an attempt to make me feel better she told me a story about having to answer the door while she was trying to dye her hair. Funny, but I still think my story is better. :)

And for a not-so-perfect ending to a not-so-perfect day, the Little Man decided he didn't want to go to sleep until 2:14 this morning!

I could really use a nice trip to Starbucks right now! Extra tall, extra strong, and extra fattening please. Mommy needs it.

Hope y'all are having a good one!

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

I only missed 2. Not too bad, I guess.

Click here to see how you do.

A Little Late...

but still funny!

Family Visit Recap

My Dad and Step-Mom were here visiting for a few day, which was wonderful! We had such a good time. We didn't do a whole lot because it was soooooooooo cold here, but here's a recap of our excitement.



Friday-Keith had to work so we drove about 35 miles over to a very cute, charming little town called Otterville. I loved that little town and would love to live there if it were just a little closer to base. After exploring there, we drove back to Sedalia and stopped at the Katy Depot which is a restored old train station. It was a beautiful building with lots of history and character.



Saturday-We went to Clinton, Mo and decided we would go in the town museum for a few minutes. Well, those few minutes turned into several hours. I'm not generally a museum gal, but it was interesting even to me. We found out that Cheerios was invented there and also that Aunt Jemima lived there. They had so many interesting things to see there. If you're ever in the area, you should definitely visit!





Sunday-Easter!! It was perfect! Our pastor preached a fantastic message on what the Resurrection means to Christians and the choir put on a cantata. Wonderful!! After church we had a nice meal of ham, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls, and strawberry shortcake. Yummy!



Monday-They left. We were so sad to see them go. :( I love having company. I love being surrounded by family and friends. On the way home from the airport ( which is an hour and a half from here), it snowed! Grrrrr. What happened to spring?



Now we are back to day to day life. I love my life and I'm so thankful for all God has blessed us with. I'm thankful for the time we can spend with family and for the good friends we have. I just wish sometimes the time between visits wasn't so long. But, I know that God uses the times of separation to bring me closer to Him. :)

My Sweet Baby Is 6 Months Old

I can't believe half a year has come and gone already. On Saturday my little man turned 6 months old. He is so active and playful now. I love every minute I have with him! He has brought so much joy to our family. I am so blessed to be his mommy.

He weighs 20 pounds now, has 2 teeth, can crawl, and is becoming more like his daddy every day. It seems like we just brought him home from the hospital yesterday. He has grown and changed so much in 6 months.

He is such a cutie and so funny now. He has learned how to "fake laugh" and does it all the time now. I'm going to try to get a video of that as well as him crawling soon.

I'm Gonna Try This

ITALIAN PASTA DIET -- IT REALLY WORKS !!
1.. You walka pasta da bakery.

2.. You walka pasta da candy store.

3.. You walka pasta da Ice Cream shop.

4.. You walka pasta da table and fridge.

You willa losea da weight!


Have a Great Day!

Prayer Request-Brother

My brother was admitted to the hospital today for some tests and possibly surgery. He has some internal bleeding and the doctors are unsure of what is causing this. It may not be a big deal, but then again it may be. He is my big brother and has never been in the hospital before. I think I'm more nervous than he is. Please remember him in your prayers.

Thank you

Update: My brother is out of the hospital and doing much better now. Thank you all for praying.