What a difference a day makes...

I'm reading a Focus on the Family book now entitled Loving Your Relatives...Even When You Don't See Eye-to-Eye. Mom gave me the book a few weeks ago. She read it several years ago, and her attitude towards certain family situations changed dramatically. Please keep Jacob and I in your prayers as we continue to deal with a difficult family situation. We have seen God at work in the last week, but Satan is constantly showing his ugly face and discouraging us. Please pray that we will overcome this situation and that we are able to recognize that God's perfect plan may not be what we want it to be.

The last week or so has been crazy. Noah was a sick little boy last week with an upper respiratory infection. We went to the doctor and were given a prescription for amoxicillin. Apparently the little guy is allergic to penicillin because he broke out in a horrible rash around his right eye. The doctor then took us off all medication and told us to let the illness run its course. The upper respiratory infection has cleared up, but Noah is running a fever and is broken out in a rash on his back and stomach today. We're going to watch the rash for a few more hours and may head to the emergency room later tonight if it doesn't clear up.

Last Thursday night, we met Jacob's parents for dinner at Hong Kong Cafe in Albany. We then went to the mall where Noah was fitted for his first pair of shoes. His foot measured less than a size 1. We bought him an adorable pair of flip-flops (size 1), but they are too small...go figure.


We spent Thursday and Friday nights at my parent's house in Mitchell County. On Friday night, Mrs. Michelle, Mr. Randy, Bailey, Tyson, Jayna, and Ms. Ann came out and had dinner with us. We had such a great time together and it was soooo good to see the kids! We hope to have many more nights of friends, fellowship, and fun like this in the near future!

We came home yesterday, and time I walked in the door, I realized that I left all of Noah's bottles, cereal, and formula (and my make-up) in Mitchell County. Mom and Dad were kind enough to meet us in Sylvester to give them to us. We decided to meet at Dairy Queen and get an ice cream. Noah thoroughly enjoyed his cold treat ;o)

Father's Day Recap

I absolutely adore my dad. This Father's Day was tough for him because this was his first year without his dad. My dad spent the night with us Saturday night and went to church with Noah and myself on Sunday (Jake had to work...). Anyways, on Saturday night my mom mentioned that it was time for Noah to start using a high chair. Our plan all along has been to get the Jenny Lind high chair that matches Noah's crib from my parents' house. When we mentioned getting the high chair from the house, Dad very quickly objected. He was determined that Noah needed a NEW high chair. That's what he asked for for Father's Day...that he get to buy Noah a new high chair. We went after church on Sunday and got the high chair. Noah LOVES sitting in it and we have enjoyed his being able to sit at the dinner table with us!

We had a great celebrating Father's Day at Uncle Clint's yesterday. It was HOT, but it was also a great time of fellowship with my family.
Daddy and Noah playing at Uncle Clint's house
Natalie helping Dondi feed Noah
Noah and "Aunt" Melissa

Happy Father's Day!

I have a few minutes to update tonight because Noah is in the bed and Jacob has gone with my dad to hear the Chuck Wagon Gang in Norman Park. We had a wonderful evening celebrating Father's Day with my mom and dad. Jake grilled pork chops and we ate dinner at our house. Jacob made Father's Day extra special for my dad by taking him to the concert tonight. Jake even had a good time and won a CD for being the youngest father at the sing...he was excited! Unfortunately, Jake has to work tomorrow (Hopefully, his new tacklebox will brighten his day!). When he gets off, we are going to Uncle Clint's house for a Father's Day cookout. I'll post pictures as soon as I have time.

Last Wednesday evening, we invited Jacob's grandparents out to the house my parents are in the process of remodeling for a fish fry. Jacob and I have been struggling to understand some things happening in our lives the last few weeks, but this evening was exactly what we needed. Granny and "Pops" Witczak, Josh (Jake's brother), Dondi, Papa Juddie, Aunt Joanne and Uncle Clint, Grandaddy, Aunt Kaye, Aunt Mildred, and Maegan all came to eat with us. The fellowship with friends and family gave us the opportunity to see just how many people in our lives love us and will be there for us no matter what.Noah is growing by leaps and bounds! Last week, he VERY suddenly stopped fitting into his 3 month sleepers (he's too long). He's now wearing a size 3 months in regular clothes and 3-6 months in sleepers. He's eating cereal on a regular basis, and I've started giving him a LITTLE baby food every now and then just to let him get used to the different textures in his mouth. We're FINALLY settling into a schedule. We start our nightly routine of bath, bottle, and bed by 7:45 each night. He's going to sleep around 9:00 and sleeping until at least 5:00 each morning. PRAISE THE LORD! I can't believe how quickly my baby boy is growing up!

It's getting late and Jacob has to get up eary in the morning, so I'm headed to bed. We are looking forward to a wonderful morning of worship at Northside in the morning!

HOORAY FOR VACATIONS!

Jacob just found out that we got into the Army marriage retreat being held at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando in July. We are SOOOO excited! Our plan is to head down to Palatka, FL, on July 9 with my parents, spend the night at the lake house there, and head over to Orlando on the morning of the 10th. Jake and I will be at the retreat July 10-12. After it's over, we will head back to Palatka and spend a few days fishing and just relaxing with my family. Yes, I'm more than a little ECSTATIC about getting away for a WHOLE WEEK!

This coming up week is going to be busy. Jake is off Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and we have plans to help my parents at the house in Mitchell County. We absolutely love spending time over there, and it's certainly nice to have the help with Noah. Our goals this week include finishing the back bedroom and getting a chain link fence put up for the dogs. We have decided that Dixie is going to go live with Mom and Dad until she calms down some. They have a little more time (and know-how) during the summer to spend with her and help train her. I am definitely going to miss my guard-dog, though!

Anyways, I'm getting off the computer now so that I can watch Army Wives. That show takes on an entirely new meaning when you're actually the wife of a soldier!

Dancing on my potato chips...

God's just dancing on my potato chips...

I read this in my devotion yesterday morning and have decided it is my new life motto... For the background story, you can visit http://refinementfire.blogspot.com/2009/03/does-god-dance-on-your-potato-chips.html. To sum it up, God doesn't always answer prayers in the way we want or expect. This is a lesson I am having to learn the hard way.

The last 3 days have been busy, busy, busy. My parents are remodeling the house in Mitchell County and preparing to move. Jacob and I spent Monday and Tuesday over there painting, pressure washing, painting, cleaning, painting, etc. Jacob met us over there after he got off work yesterday to finish up the first bedroom being remodeled. It looks INCREDIBLE...a huge difference from the carpet that was laid in the 50's and the dingy-looking walls. I can't wait to see a little more of the finished product and have a better idea of what the house is going to look like.

Noah is doing incredibly well. We had decided to start cereal on Tuesday. It seemed like the formula just wasn't filling him up and he was hungry all the time. I gave him the cereal late Tuesday, but he woke up with a rash and huge red spots on his legs yesterday morning. We are going to wait until we go back to see Dr. Kallay and see what he says before we give him any more cereal. Dondi did let him have a tiny taste of mashed potatoes...and he LOVED them!

Highlight of the day: We watched Susan Boyle's Britain's Got Talent audition in church today. Dr. Evers began a new sermon series entitled "Bailouts." The emphasis today was the need for a bailout when it comes to our dreams. Anyways, it was an incredible morning of worship.

Noah looked SOOO cute at church this morning! He flirted with the ladies in the nursery...they couldn't stop talking about his gorgeous smile.













Jacob had a three-day drill weekend this past weekend, so it was a LOOONG weekend. We went to Papa's house in Mitchell County on Friday and helped Mom and Dad for a little while. Then we came home and crashed! Yesterday, I had to go to David's Bridal in Albany and get fitted for a bridesmaid's dress. We conquered the Albany Mall and Mom got the things to redecorate the first room in the house they are moving into. Mom and Dad came out last night and spent the night with me. I don't mind staying alone, but it was certainly nice having someone here for the night.

Jacob is off for the next two days, so we will be at my parent's new house helping them paint and so forth. I am so excited about being so much closer to my parents once they get moved...

The new season of Army Wives starts tonight, so I'm off!

Summertime

Time flies. I think I need to set aside time each week to update this thing. I'm not even sure how many people read this, but I do know that it's great to be able to look back and see what has been going on in our lives...

Uncle Clint and Aunt Joanne got married on May 23. The ceremony was sweet and very intimate. The greatest part was the silly string that somehow ended up covering the newlyweds as they said "I do." I also understand that silly string made its way into the sheets in their bed...

On Friday, we joined my mom at her school for a luau. She put the celebration for teachers together to mark the end of the school year. We had so much fun! Noah dressed up in his Hawaiian shirt and I even baked a pina colada cake (I learned that rum flavoring is 29% alcohol). It was definitely a day we will not soon forget.

Jacob, Noah, and I had a blast visiting Mark, Carolena, and John in Havana, FL, this past weekend. It was sooo nice to get away for a couple of days and just enjoy being around friends. Noah and John got along really well, too. In fact, when we got home, Noah decided to take an 8 oz. bottle, roll over, and suck a pacifier. He's growing up sooo fast!