Trouble on the Line

So, I had this great idea to take Payton to a train store that I recently found out about. I knew they carried a lot of Thomas the Train items, as well as some Lionel trains. I wish I could have recorded Payton's face when we first walked in to this store. There were trains on every square inch of the wall, every shelf, every table top, every... well.. everything! They had a few Lionel sets that were all hooked up and running, which he loved to watch. Then we discovered that there was a back room just for kids! It was filled with Thomas stuff, including THREE train tables!
I thought he was in heaven... until I heard those dreaded words... "No mama, I want to buy one of those real-looking trains!" He was referring to the Lionel trains of course. The $400 per train Lionel trains I might add. It is the first time in the child's life when he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Thomas trains or tracks that were set up. All he wanted was to choose a "real-looking" train to take home. As you can imagine, a 3-year old doesn't have any concept of money and certainly couldn't rationalize the fact that one of these little trains cost more than his entire collection of Thomas trains at home. If you are a mom, you can probably figure out what happened next...

Lots of screaming and crying ensued and Payton had to be carried out of the store kicking and screaming "I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!!!" He wailed in the car most of the way home until he realized we really weren't turning around to go back to the store (even though he asked about 100 times).

Nothing more was spoken about the train store last night - thank God. And I thought our promise to take him back next weekend had finally subsided the issue. That was until about 6 a.m. this morning when I was greeted by a little finger tapping on my shoulder whispering, "Mama, can we go to the train store now?" Gotta love his unrelenting spirit.

The Love of a Child

My little one is sick this week. Fortunately, I don't think it's anything too serious - most likely a stomach virus. But man... he is so sad looking when he's sick. He hasn't had a fever at all, which is wonderful. He just can't seem to keep down any food. I slept next to him in bed all night last night and he hasn't let me out of his sight this morning. So as I sit here and type, I look over at him curled up on the couch sleeping and thank God that he is a healthy child in the grand scheme of things. I cannot imagine parents who have to endure going through a long illness, such as pediatric cancer, with their child. The thought of it makes me physically sick to my stomach. I look at my son and think, "I would do anything for you. I would take your pain if I could. I would give you an organ if you needed one. I would jump in front of a car to save you." Where does this kind of love come from? I think it is something God gives us to help us understand the depth of His love for us. I simply cannot imagine how difficult it was to sacrifice His one and only child on the cross for a bunch of sinners. As a parent, the thought of knowing my child would die and that I would allow it to happen is simply inconceivable. God did such an amazing thing and it makes me think of that Chris Tomlin song, "My Savior Lives" where he sings...

That he (Jesus) would leave His place on high,
and come for sinful men to die...
You count it strange so once did I,
before I knew my Savior.

I don't think anyone who does not have a strong belief in Jesus Christ could ever comprehend what God did for us on that cross. It's just a concept that you cannot fit into logic.

So, as I am getting ready to head out the door to the pediatrician with my son, I just thank God for what He has done for me and remind myself that every single day is a gift from Him.

One more photo...

Couldn't help but share this precious photo of my little boy who just can't WAIT for Halloween so that he can wear his new Thomas the Train costume! He's so proud of it!

It's Officially Fall!

So tomorrow... it's officially fall! And even though it's still in the high 80's here, there have been times in the past few days when it has actually felt cooler outside. Early in the morning and in the evenings there is a wonderful breeze and lower humidity, which creates a much more enjoyable outdoors experience.

As you can see, we decorated for fall a couple weeks ago. My philosophy is that once October hits, we only have 4 weeks of Halloween decorations, so I might as well put up my "fall" decorations in September so I can enjoy those for a few weeks too. Of course, I think some folks get a little overzealous... I was walking the dog this evening and one of my neighbors has their whole house decorated for Halloween already! I mean the whole nine yards: spider webs on the bushes, a black archway leading up to the front door that says "Happy Halloween", pumpkins hanging from the trees, everything. It's a little early for me to be putting up witches and jack-o-lanterns, but I did put out a scarecrow today... isn't that a fall decoration?

Brian's 30!

Here are a couple pics from the dinner we had for Brian's birthday... (see captions below)...

1. Brian's good buddy Anthony got him a bottle of "Mike Ditka Wine" - who knew??

2. Here are all the kiddos (minus the 3 babies) singing "Happy Birthday to Mr. Brian"... but where is Brian? Hmmm... long story...

3. This picture shows what happens when two 3-year olds collide coming around a corner at full speed. Caleb (on the left) has a lump between his eyes, and Payton has a matching one on his forehead. OUCH!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!

Can't keep up

I tell myself that I will try to post a couple times a week... okay, at least once a week... and here I am behind again. I just can't seem to keep up. So, here is my attempt yet again, to get back on track.

As I sit here typing there is a big thunderstorm brewing outside. I know Brian would tell me to get off the computer, so this may be a short post...

The biggest news that has happened since my last post is... BRIAN TURNED 30!!! YAHOO!! Now he can no longer tease me by saying, "Well, I wouldn't know because I'm still in my 20's." Ha! Welcome to the club honey! We had a small group of friends from church over for a little dinner to celebrate his entrance into this new decade. It would have been nice to throw a huge party and invite all of our friends, but alas... the budget did not allow for such festivities after our recent travels and roofing repairs (gotta love homeownership!).

I'll post some pics from the dinner later after this storm passes. It's getting pretty bad right now, so more later...

Slack Blogger - that's me!

So, I've really slacked off on my blogging since school started. I think I had so many things that I had "let go" during the summer that I have been concentrating on those things and have really unplugged from the World Wide Web! So, now that the playroom is finally finished (new light - yeah!), toys have been re-arranged and purged, the roof is fixed, the house guests are back home again, and our vacation is over... I finally am back on track with things. So, there are many things worth mentioning that have happened over the past few weeks...

1. My cousin Matt & his wife Lacey (see pic at right) came for a visit and I realized that Payton is quite in love with them. Every day he asked when they would be home and what he could do with them when they got home.He was very sad when the left, but fortunately, they will be back in a few months and then we can have some more fun together.

2. Brian and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on September 1st. We were fortunate enough to send Payton off to my parents house for the weekend and go stay at the Ritz Carlton! It was the first time either of us had stayed at a Ritz and we thoroughly enjoyed it! From the moment we walked in and were greeted with a glass of champagne, to the luxurious rooms, decadent food, incredible spa, and every other tiny detail... the Ritz does it right! And I can safely say that after 7 years together, Brian and I are definitely more in love and are better people than we were when we started our journey together. Thanks to both sets of parents for the very nice anniversary cards and gifts - we love you all and feel so blessed to have such incredible parents to model our marriage after.
3. Finally, it's football season!!! We are in full Gator football mode at this moment. Our 3-foot inflatable Albert the alligator is sitting in our front yard, our UF flag is flying proudly outside, and of course all 4 of us (even Rohy) gets decked out in our finest Orange & Blue every Saturday. GO GATORS!!!

Hope everyone is doing well and avoiding all of these crazy storms. Have a great weekend.