Wordless Wednesday

Tickle Buggy!

I'm sure most of you have heard of or played the game "Punch Buggy!" You know, when you see a Volkswagon bug and you yell out "Punch Buggy" while hitting the person next to you? Well, I wanted to teach this game to my son, but didn't want him hitting other people. My solution? Replace "punch" with "tickle". Now, everytime I see a VW bug, I yell, "Tickle Buggy" and give him a little tickle. He loves it! He also loves looking for VW bugs himself and then tickling me if he sees one! We both have fun and I don't have to worry about feeling bad because I've taught him to punch other people, even in fun!

Oh Happy Day!

I had such a great day Saturday that I just had to write about it. I've had so much to deal with lately that when a truly wonderful day like this came along, I just couldn't pass up the chance to share my blessing and write about it.

It was Valentine's Day, but that really had nothing to do with why my day was so great. Nic and I had a full day of nothing but joy. Trust me, after the past few weeks I've had, it is something I so desperately needed and wasn't sure if was even possible. To have a smile on my face the whole day, for everything to go absolutely right...WOW, what a blessing!

Let's start with the weather, it was a beautiful, sunny day. After breakfast we headed to Roanoke. A shirt and sweater was all that was needed. I put a light jacket on Nic in the morning, but by the afternoon, it wasn't needed. We started off at the Science Museum. Nic had been there once before, but it was an "open house" kind of day and admission was free. This meant the place was CROWDED and we didn't get to spend as much time as we would have liked or done all of the things we wanted to do. Not the case on Saturday. For the first 30 minutes, we were the only ones there. We had the place to ourselves! After that, we only saw about 3 or 4 other families. This was wonderful because we got to spend as much time as we wanted at each exhibit without feeling like we had to rush to give other people a turn. We took lots of time and interacted with each exhibit.

After an hour and a half, we started getting hungry, so we went downtown to grab a bite for lunch. Nic can sometimes be a picky eater and I worry if he doesn't eat enough, especially on days when I know we are going to be busy. He ate like a HORSE! He finished his entire lunch and then started munching on mine. Oh happy day! After lunch, we went back to the museum to play some more. I then noticed that they have a planetarium. I remember as a child how much I LOVED the planetarium and being that Nic says he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up, I thought he would really enjoy it. He was fascinated. I wish I had a nickel for every time he said, "Oh, WOW Mommy!" The planetarium was a huge hit. The one in Roanoke isn't a complete dome like the ones I've been to before, it is more like a 3/4 dome, but it's still a lot of fun and I would highly recommend it.

After the planetarium we went BACK to the science museum for another hour or so. After the museum we walked the downtown area of Roanoke and went into a few shops. Again, Nicholas was so good, he didn't play "touchy-feely" with the breakables in the store, he used his manners and even showed me and everyone on the sidewalk his latest "cool trick" (which consisted of him jumping up in the air while kicking his leg). He didn't only make me smile, he made several other people smile too.

We then went to Valley View Mall so he could see some puppies and ride on the kiddie rides. At the mall we got some chocolate chip cookies and then made a bee line for the puppies. Nicholas LOVES puppies. He doesn't have any teddy bears that he sleeps with, but he has (at current count) 7 puppies he likes to have in bed with him, including the one he got me for Valentine's Day that he has now claimed as his own. The ladies at the store pulled out a couple of Shitzu's for Nic to pet. Oh my word...it was so hard not to buy one. They were so cute! Then Nicholas saw a Boston Terrier/Pug mix (I'm told they are called Bugg's) and he noticed how it looked like one of his stuffed puppies named "Georgia". He then announces, "Look, Mommy, he looks like Georgia, can we get him? Oh, wow Mommy, he's laying on his back and I can see his wee-wee!" This last part he said pretty loud and everyone in the store laughed! That's my boy, always bringing a smile to people faces. After leaving the pet store, we went and rode some of the kiddie rides before heading home.

Within 10 minutes, he was OUT! He slept soundly the whole way home. We had such a busy, fun filled day that even with the nap on the way home, by 7:00 he was telling me he was tired and ready for bed.

I've posted a couple of pictures here, but you can also see pictures of our day on our photobucket account (click here). And see video on NicTV (click here).

I know there is no such thing a perfect, but my Saturday was pretty close to it in my book! I give thanks for such a wonderful day!

I was just thinking...

I was just thinking….As soon as you think you’ve got it figured out, something happens to completely throw you off balance.

I was just thinking….About how ironic it is that the economy is getting worse, income is becoming less, however my gas bill is the highest it has ever been and gas prices are quietly starting to inch their way back up. Yet, the oil companies had their best year ever last year.

I was just thinking….How bad things really do happen to good people and we will never really know why.

I was just thinking…..About how much I have to do.

Then…I stopped thinking and was quite.

And I prayed and I listened.

Then I was just thinking....about all of my blessings…

Like…..

Isn’t it funny how it makes YOU feel better as a parent when your kids eat healthy? For lunch today Nic had a freshly made salad with grilled chicken. He eats this better than he eats chicken nuggets and it makes me feel so good! Then for dinner I made his favorite penne pasta (the good kind with alpha omega’s, protein and whole wheat…NOT the white kind), with organic veggies and more grilled chicken, he gobbled it up! These were the two highlights of my day, with me…it’s about the little things. Nic is always my number one blessing and what helps keep me positive.

And….

How very blessed I am to have the best friends a girl could ask for.

And….

How very blessed I am to still have a roof over my head and food in my cupboards when there are so many without either.

And….

How blessed I feel in my life right now. Even with the difficulties I have encountered, I am still hopeful, looking forward to and excited about the future. I am thankful that God has blessed me with these things and with this heart. It is more sensitive and more easily broken, but it also makes it easier for me to be open to love, hope and joy.

Wordless Wednesday

Yes, that's me in the center of the picture. This was about 5-6 years ago, either Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve, I forget which, but remember where it was and spraining my knee, ending up in the hospital.

The Most Powerful Sentence I Have Ever Read

I have just had the worst past few days of my life. I won't get into the details, just trust me. I have been constantly praying and asking many questions that I know will never be answered in this lifetime. I have been struggling to get through each day and found myself just going through the motions and not feeling any hope for the first time in my life. Then it happened.

I was sitting in the living room and had a music channel on the TV as background noise. Nicholas (my 3 year old) comes up to me and says, "Mommy I want to write you a note." Okay, I go and get him some paper and markers and put it on the little table in his playroom. He sits down and starts to write. I'm not paying much attention, I had turned to pick up some toys and tidy up a bit. He then announces, "Here you go Mommy!" I look down at the paper and just started to sob. The only thing he has ever written in the past was his name, "NIC". He has practiced his letters and can read 3 and 4 letter words, but has never written any. Today, he wrote his first sentence and it touched me deeper than any words I've ever read. In the background, I hear Carrie Underwood singing, "Jesus Take the Wheel" as I read the words, "I LOVE MOM." No sentence has ever pulled my heart right out of my chest like this one did. Other than the word of God...in my lifetime, these are the most powerful words that I will ever read. They meant so much to me on so many different levels.

I truly feel God was sending me a message. He was letting me know that He is in control and that He loves me. He was letting me know that I have so many blessing in my life and the biggest is my son. For the first time in days I felt hope and joy. Joy for my beautiful son that is learning and growing and is such a blessing. I am honored to be his mother. I am honored that God chose me and trusted me with this precious life. I know I will always be there to catch my son if he falls, to lift him up if he needs it....I never knew that he would be the one to lift me up. Thank you God for sending me this blessing, for showing me You love me, for Your grace and mercy. Most of all, thanks for not giving up on me, when I felt like giving up myself. As a way of sharing my blessing and serving You, I hope this story will help someone else who is feeling hopeless. Hang in there and trust Him.


Yes, he wrote this all by himself. No help from Mom.

The Newspaper

Here is my article "Passionate About Pulaski" as it appeared in the Southwest Times. Three days before my article was published, Nicholas was in the Roanoke Times, so I've published his photo here as well.


I have received tons of positive feedback on my article, thanks so much! I'm glad people enjoyed it and I hope it helps! (click on the article to see/read it full size).