My New Favorite Thing...

OK, I'll be the first to admit... I have a problem... I am addicted to the internet.... There, I said it... I spend entirely too much time poking around friends blogs, blogging myself and looking at cheap airline tickets.. Where I'm going go, I have no idea - but still, I look! I also love looking for recipes and fun (free) things for the kids to do. I should probably fill my time with more productive things like laundry and paying bills, but why??? Where's the fun in that??

A friend of mine introduced me to my new favorite thing, a website called, "e-mealz". For a busy mom with little time to spare (probably 'cause she's on the computer way too much) this site is awesome! You register and pay $5 a month and it will print out a complete 7 day menu, with the shopping list, aisle by aisle, tailored to the store of your choice. It always arranges the menus to match what the store has on sale for that particular week. You know all those buy one, get one, sales at Publix (man, do I miss Publix..). The menu will revolve around all those goodies. The shopping list will also give you the store prices and the total of how much the week's worth of meals will cost. They also have menus and lists for Wal-Mart, Kroger, Food Lion and Aldi. Well, Rusty and I tried it out yesterday and the menu starts tonight! I am looking forward to trying out some new recipes and getting out of this chicken and pasta rut!
If you get a chance, check out the site!

Easter Sunday

This past Sunday, Ridge Church and Kinetic Church, joined together for an awesome time of worship and fellowship. Click below to check out the highlight video Rusty put together from our combined Easter service.

Pictures from the Weekend

We had a wonderful time while my sister and nieces were here visiting from Ft. Myers, although it went by way too fast. I don't know how we managed to cram so much stuff into such a short amount time?? On Saturday morning we went to a local coffee shop for Breakfast with the Easter Bunny. On Sunday Ridge Church joined with Kinetic Church in Concord for an amazing Easter service.

(Check out Chris and Dave's blogs for pictures and stories about this awesome connection between our two churches)

Today we rode the light rail train into Uptown and took the kids to Imaginon (a children's library and theater). Here are a few pictures from the past few days.

Rusty and I showing off our new 'dos!
He chopped off all of his and mine is about 10 different colors!
My sister Samantha and I @ Imaginon (I miss her already!)

Abby @ Imaginon
(She is pointing at the pig hanging from the mobile - She has one exactly like it named Paco - It's one of her favorite things!)

The kids putting on a puppet show @ Imaginon

Sofie and Gaby with the Easter Bunny

Mac and Grey with the Bunny. Spanky and Lara met us for breakfast too!
(There isn't one of my kids 'cause they were all too chicken!)

Waiting for the Bunny!

All 5 cousins. They miss the girls so much! It was so sweet to see them all together again!

The kids @ Imaginon. They are each standing on the letter that their name starts with (except Paige - The K and the P were too far from the others and I couldn't get her in the picture, so I made her move!)

Busy Week...

I just realized that I haven't blogged since last Sunday. Sorry! I'll try my best to catch you up on the past few days. Things have been crazy around our house this past week. We started off the week with a stomach bug for Paige and a minor breakdown for me! (I thought she was suffering from the Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome she was diagnosed with last year...made me a bit nervous to say the least) Her bug ended up lasting less then 24 hours, but then rest of the week seemed to fly by. Rusty started playing softball with a team of guys from Ridge, so Friday nights are practice for him and playing at the park for the ladies! Big fun!

My sister and her girls flew in Friday afternoon so we have been going, going, going for the past three days. It's been great! The cousins have had a wonderful time playing and my sister and I have had a great time catching up. Yesterday my friend Katie came to the house and Sam (my sister), my good friend Lara, and I had a "hair day". Katie managed to cut and color the three of our heads in about 4 hours. When I am brave enough, I post pics of my new 'do! I wanted funky and boy, oh boy, be careful what you ask for :) I love it!

Ridge Church worshiped and served with Kinetic Church in Concord this morning and it was an amazing time. It still seems so foreign to spend Easter Sunday serving and worshiping at another church, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! I loved turning around every corner and seeing a Ridge family member! I have never met a group of people so passionate about serving! My sister and I went early and helped set up preschool rooms and were greeters for preschool check-in. We have never been able to serve together, so that was definitely something that meant a lot to me.

My sister and nieces fly home tomorrow evening (boo hoo hoo) and my kids are on Spring Break all week. I am looking forward to sleeping in and spending time with Rusty and the kids.

How was your week???

Ridge Goes Kinetic...

Kinetic Church is a "load in, load out" church just like Ridge. They are currently meeting at a movie theater in Concord, NC. They have been storing all their equipment for their services in trailers behind their offices. On March 2nd, those trailers were stolen! Everything they needed to set up and run their preschool and children's ministry and all of their foyer environment is gone. Overnight, they lost half of everything they had been so blessed with. I can't even begin to imagine this happening to us. The staff at Ridge has decided to join together with Kinetic Church for Easter Sunday. We are taking UpStreet (our K-5th Grade worship) and Waumba Land (our preschool ministry) to Concord and Ridge will be serving and worshiping with Kinetic's church family. It amazes me to be part of a church that is eager to spend their Easter Sunday serving at another church. We are not able to help them financially, but we have what they need most right now - "church in a box"! We have all the equipment and the volunteers ready to make it happen, so off we go this Sunday. I am constantly amazed at the staff at Ridge Church. We were unable to arrange for a facility to have our own Easter services (again, God's timing is perfect!) so instead of taking a break this week, they decided to load up all of our stuff, drive 30 minutes, and spend the day setting up and serving at another church! We do all this because this is what the Lord calls us to do... serve and love one another.....
Ridge is an amazing church and I am so proud to be a part of this family!

FRIDAY FIVE

Here are the five things spinning in my head right now.....

1. Praying for Ridge Church - It looks like we may finally have a facility of our very own!! This means the move from Sunday nights to Sunday mornings..... this means the possibilities are endless - for reaching more, giving more and serving more.... this also means the staff at Ridge will need fervent prayer over the next few weeks. Planning and raising support to up fit the new building will be an enormous task! I can't wait to see this story unfold..... I am so grateful that the Lord has allowed Rusty and I to be a part of this incredible adventure!

2. I am constantly amazed at how the Lord provides for us..... We are so humbled by the generosity of others.... We pray daily that the Lord will allow us to bless others the way we have been blessed!

3. Paige and Rusty are both traveling today. Rusty to Ft. Lauderdale and Paige to Myrtle Beach, SC (6th grade field trip!). I know, I know, I worry way too much, but my heart is heavy. I only feel whole when our family is together..... (I know, I know - I have ISSUES!)

4. My kids are amazing! How three kids can all come from the same set of parents and yet be so completely different is beyond my comprehension.... The Lord has given them such unique and endearing personalities, and I get such a kick out of spending time with them.

5. Spring is here!! I realized this morning that our family has made it through our first set of seasons. We moved in June (Summer) and realized it wasn't much different than Florida (still hot as heck!). Fell in love with Fall in the Carolinas, saw our first snow in Winter and now I haven't quite decided which is more beautiful, the flowers of Spring or the colors in Fall??? Here are two pics from the trees in front of our house. They are gorgeous!

Spending the Day with Abbster!

So, in another crazy turn of events, I had the blessing of spending the day with my sweet Abby. Saturday afternoon, Abby comes downstairs and calmly says, "Mom, I feel a lump near my tooth." Rusty and I both look at each other, totally dreading the events that are about to unfold..... Another child, another abscessed tooth. I don't know if it's bad genes or bad luck, but again, we're off to the dentist. I called and was able to get her an appointment a little after 9 this morning and by 11:00, we were on our way home. She did fantastic, although she did have to have the tooth extracted. But, when I came around the corner and saw her with a mouth full of gauze and a 1/2 of a smile (she was numb on half her mouth!) I immediately had tears in my eyes.... My, how she has grown! It still amazes me that the adorable two year old who drove me batty and brought me close to the end of my rope, has matured into such a generous, amazing, beautiful young girl. She makes me so proud! So, although this probably is not either of our choices for the best way to spend the day together - I am just so grateful for the time we have today- just Abby and Momma time! Gotta go, I am off to play horses with my Abbster!!

Haircut.....finally!

Before - Looking a little "girly"

After - My mini-Rusty!

Carter has been letting his hair grow since before we moved to NC. The last time he had a haircut was the week before school started (way back in August!) Needless to say, he was way overdue! Here's the before and after!

God is Good!

Well, the medicine is finally kicking in and I have to say that I feel like a new woman! My ears are still full and I still feel like I'm hearing everything as if I'm underwater, but there's no more pain and the coughing is gone.... Yee Haw!! Thank the Lord for the small things in life.
Continue to be praying for the sale of the house. We thought we had an offer last Saturday, but in the end it fell through. We are praying fervently and know God will provide a buyer when the time is right. Until then, He continues to provide that extra money we need to make up the difference on the two house payments. It amazes me! Last week, I threw up my arms and said (well, sorta screamed!) to the Lord that I was done with worrying about it.. It was taking too much out of me and that I couldn't do it anymore... It wasn't nearly as rational as it sounds typed out and picture it with tears and in a much louder voice... Get the picture??? I was frustrated, ticked off (can you say your ticked at God???) and feeling completely defeated... Again, just where He wanted me... Leaning on Him and only Him. Rusty did what he does best and just held me and prayed... then he went in and emailed the man he does some freelance stuff for, basically asking for any side work he had open. Not a fun place to be, begging for a job... long story short... he immediately emailed back saying he had something next weekend for Rusty and the payment of that job will make up the difference this month!! Crazy stuff!! God is so good and we have seen His hand at work over and over in our lives this past year.... So now I ask that you continue to pray for the Lord to lead us in the many decisions we have to make about the house and that we will trust in Him and continue to be faithful in our giving. If you haven't had the chance yet, check out the, "What Would You Do?" site, and share with us your story. Knowing God is with me, truly knowing, has made the difference between giving up and giving in....

Take two and call me in the morning....

I have been fighting a heck of a bug for the past three weeks. The day after we came home from the cabin, I starting feeling achy, tired and couldn't stop coughing or sneezing. Sounds like fun, huh? I went to the doctor about three days in; tested for strep - negative, tested for flu - negative. They told me I had a virus and to take Tylenol and Coricidin HBP for the symptoms. Well, the Tylenol only worked for 2 of the four hours and the antihistamine kicked my butt! I was so out of it, there's no telling what was going on in this house! So three weeks into this craziness, I went back today. I had my mind made up, I was not leaving without an antibiotic.... Well it took the doctor all of 5 minutes to say that I had a sinus infection and a double ear infection. So an Allegra, two horse-size pills of amoxicillin and some Motrin later and all is right with the world! They promised me I'd be feeling better tomorrow... I sure hope so!

Sunday @ ridge

Last night we started a new series called, "The Legend of Joe Jacobson " (Joseph - Jacob's son.... get it??) If the rest of the series is anything like last night, the month of March is going to see some phenomenal life changes in the people who call Ridge home. Ever had one of those sermons that hits you right where you are? That was me last night.... Andy talked about living our lives like we truly believed God was with us. In every decision; that He was there. I think all of us who call ourselves believers will say, "God is with me", but do you truly believe He is?? How would your life change if you knew, just knew, He was right there in the middle of it all?? For me, it would completely change the way I look at the house selling. It's really not my deal to begin with.... Our house is on the market in a state where the prices are dropping every week, if and when we sell our house, it will be all HIM!! All the glory will go to Him. The staff has created a blog for friends and family of Ridge Church to post responses to the question,

"What would you do if you knew God was with you?"

If you get a chance, check out the site and if there is something you want to share, please do so. You can post anonymously, or you may leave your name if you'd like. Below is a picture from last night's stage set up. My husband rocks!