When it rains it pours!

That title can sum up so many things right now. For one my hometown of Clarksville TN is having a pretty tough time with flooding. Here in central Kentucky we have also experienced some milder flooding, interstate closings, and damages to homes. It's just been a mess. The people who were just talking about being 5 inches short on rainfall for the year are no longer bringing that up. Thankfully they are not calling for any more rain until the end of the week. I am hoping that both states can start to see water receding and get some things back to normal.

Speaking of wet and muddy, most of you know the Kentucky Derby was this past Saturday. Joe and I had our first Derby experience :). It was madness! Like part frat party on steroids part sporting event. We saw the running of the port-a-potties as people slipped and hopped across 20 or so potties while spectators hurled mud, trash, TWO LITERS at them!! Of course there were huge hats and lots of people with lots of money...some with police escorts there. I sported a cute purple and black dress and polka dot galoshes and was covered with a yellow raincoat most of the time. The galoshes thing seemed to be a popular theme as I saw several women in Target searching for some and even more tromping through the mud of the infield. It rained on us most of the time we were there but the sun did peek out just minutes before the Derby. Everyone was hollerin' and slip sliding in the mud that surrounded us. It was a blast :)

Another horse adventure we went on was the Budweiser Clydesdales. The little kids and I got to visit them on post. I've seen them a couple of times and they are always beautiful:) Garrett kept saying he wanted to ride them like Gunner. So Cute.

More fun news you say? Weeeeell....we have another contract on the TN house. Wooohoo!! Happy Dance! Sing to the hill tops!! I am praying that the flood doesn't hinder the closing any but I know we were supposed to have an inspection today and since all of the bridges are closed around the home I'm thinking that won't happen. But we have a few weeks until closing and I am praying that things will run smoothly.

One last piece of fun is Little Joe lost his third tooth :). This one was a top one and I think it feels much different to him than the missing bottom ones. Sometimes he gets this funny look on his face..a little confused..and little questioning..and lil surprised. He was still very proud though when it was out and the tooth fairy came to visit.

That has been the gist of the last few days or so. This weekend is Garretto's birthday so that is my big event for the week. I am attempting the use of fondant on his cake....eeek. So we will see how that goes :)

Feel the Thunder over Louisville and life!

So this time of year gets busy around Louisville as it is approaching the Kentucky Derby. Big Joe plans on taking me this year and I am super excited!!! But the city of Louisville has several events leading up to the Derby, including http://www.thunderoverlouisville.org/. Big Joe was out of town for work but a friend and I decided to take our combined total of 7 kids to this madness ;). We mainly went for the air show which my boys went nuts over! There were dozens of jets and planes that flew loudly over head and performed tricks. When Big Joe got home all he heard about was the planes and the boats on the river. Luckily they didn't remember the extra 30 minutes in traffic and the 50,000 people that were there at the time ;)

So for a little update on Joe...we went to Nashville after Easter (which somehow I forgot to put a post up about...I will do that ASAP!) Our wonderful doctor there again said we might need to go to some other hospitals just to see if there are extra things we can do for Joe. He has been having some skin issues (his hands and feet are peeling badly) and his doctor things this might be a vitamin deficiency. What?! The kid is tube fed a perfect diet! Shouldn't he be getting all of his vitamins? Well that's exactly what I said but evidently if you don't absorb well it doesn't matter if you are fed the perfect diet or not so we need to have that checked. His doctor also thinks we need to reexamine the motility in the intestines because he feels there is a possibility that one section of them may not work well causing a lot of other issues and it may be possible to have that section removed and reconnect the good stuff. There are other options as well we can look at now because Joe is old enough to try some things. So we have been referred to two hospitals in Cincinnati and Columbus Ohio....here is to hope!

We are also preparing for Garretto's birthday coming up! He is very excited! We are also having him tested to see if he can join a gymnastics class. Oh how I hope he does well because he wants to do so much that Joe does but he is not big enough yet. So we will see how his test goes Monday :). Garrett is growing so fast these days. Such a sweet little guy but I will post more on him on his special day :)

Bug is doing great :). She is still little, but the doctor was happy enough with her that he didn't want to change anything with her medically for the next 3-4 months! She only says "Mama" and "boo" but she understands almost everything you tell her. With this she has also hit the tantrum stage...dun dun DUN!! AHHHHH! I had no idea what I was in for with little girl tantrums but HOLY COW!!!!! But she is so stinking cute and sweet it is easy to forgive her when she has "said her piece"...for the past 15 minutes LOL.

Waiting..

You know the average person spends five years of their lives waiting...waiting in lines and things like that? Well I was wondering how much time to we spend waiting for answers. Yep you guessed it the TN house has not yet sold and we are waiting...and have been waiting for the past 7 months. Every day I pray and I hope and I wait. At the end of the month I stress because our mortgage and rent are due on the same day. Luckily we have the money saved to pay for both but I feel like our savings/retirement is swirling down the drain and it will only be but a moment before the rubber ducky hits the bottoms with a slight squeak.
It is not by coincidence that our pastor has been preaching on faith...and a couple of weeks ago on the faith in waiting. Thank you, Lord and Pastor Bill...I promise I am doing my best but this is tough!! Peter 1:25 says "....but the word of the Lord stands forever." So I will continue to trust, continue to pray, continue to wait for something to happen with the house.
One thing we have been waiting for that has been answered is Joe's promotion. Joe is now officially a Captain P (P meaning promotable). He should be promoted to Major in the June July time frame. One thing is is that if the TN house hasn't sold by then this pay increase will make a huge difference in being able to afford both houses. Anyway I am very proud of my man. We have been joking about Major jokes...major pain...major problem...major goober...and other jokes that aren't appropriate ;).
The kids are pretty good. I am slightly worried about little Joe. He needs a tube change and his behavior at school hasn't been all that great. He also told me he threw up today...which since his second fundoplication 4 years ago he has not. So it concerns me a bit. Fortunately we see the doctor at Vanderbilt in a couple of weeks so I am praying this can be fixed. Garrett and Katie are doing well being as cute and sweet as ever.
Again I have stayed very busy between FRG duties, diaper cakes, and fundraising projects for post. We are getting excited as my Dad and his lady friend as coming to visit for Easter! I miss him so much! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and praying all of waiting times will come to a close soon.

"Having a Mary Heart..."

I have been attending the PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) on post for about a month now. The book we are covering is Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. I've known for quite some time that I tend to fill my plate with too many obligations. I'm the one who raises her hand if no one else does. You know the gal in college who had to have assignments and papers finished a day early...yep that was me too.

This book follows the New Testament story of Mary and Martha who have Jesus into their home. While Martha is rushing around preparing and keeping up with the needs of the guests Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to Him. And when Martha complains to Jesus, He tells her that Mary has made the right choice. Weaver's book is not about giving up our duties but about serving God while we do them. It also brings up that people who tend to be "Marthas" often take on not only their duties but others' as well. ....that's me. I always take on so much that I cannot find the joy in the things that I wanted to do in the first place. This book is greatly changing my everyday life and even the way I parent. I consider myself a fairly strict mother. I often forget the ages of my children and expect them to be perfectly....Martha like. I used to raise my voice a lot at my kids...mostly out of frustration and the thinking that if I yell they will know I am angry and they will stop whatever they are doing. I have learned that is not always the case. It also seems to encourage my kids to yell more. And since one of my duties is to be a good mother I have decided to have a "Mary heart" while doing so.

I have also always been one to try and keep a clean house. Not because I wanted to (Mary), but because I thought I was expected to ( more like Martha). Now I still do the same thing (mostly because a touch of OCD is also involved) but I WANT to do and I am happy to because I am serving God and my family.

This book is really great for all kinds but for those who feel overwhelmed with the busyness of everyday life and those who think think they "must do it all", Weaver's book is very inspirational. It's funny, an easy read, and for me has painted a clearer picture of how I should view my duties as a wife, mother, and child of God.

30 years? Huh? Really...nah.

So last week was it. I celebrated my...cough...gag...30th birthday ;). Since it is so close to Valentines Day we had to spread out the celebration over 2 weekends. My bday gift was to take the Bourbon trail in Kentucky. We started at the Chapeze House in Bardstown KY. http://www.chapezehouse.com/ Man oh man...if you go there plan to DRINK and EAT and EAT and EAT. My goodness the food was fantastic. The Colonel who runs the place has been on food network, the discovery channel, and has cooked with Paula Dean. Joe bought me his cookbook as we left. I am anxious to try some recipes!!
So tomorrow he is taking me to a chain restaurant called Ruth's Chris. http://www.ruthschris.com/We have never been to one, but I hear they are fantastic. I am dying for some lobster tail myself :)
The kids are as cute as ever. I finally got a prescription issue fixed for Joe and Katie, and Joe is finally sleeping better because of it. Joe also lost his second tooth. He was super proud! And luckily we didn't lose that one so the tooth fairy got to keep it ;). Garrett is still cute ole Garrett. He is such a home body and shy. We are trying to get him to stay with child care during some outings just because we feel he needs a little more social interaction. The boy loves his family..we can't be too upset about that. And Bug is stinkin cute as well. Still tiny as she fit in 6-9 month clothing. We don't give give the little stinker enough credit. We see her and assume she can do was a 9 month old does but no there really is a 16 month old mind just a ticking away. If she sees the boys get their jackets and shoes she will toddle over and get hers. You can also tell her to put something in the trash and she will or "close it" be it a door or the refrigerator and she will do that too. It really is precious.

In other news...we got another offer on the TN house. Joe and I are taking this very cautiously because we were burned last time with the back out 10 days before closing. But we are happy and grateful none the less. Hope everyone is staying warm!

Snow and tooth fairies!!!

So the past few weeks that we have lived here we've seen a fair amount of snow :) Been a lot of fun. We've made snow angels, snow forts, and have had several snowball fights. Little Joe LOVES the snow...would stay in it all day if I would let him. Garrett is kind of a middle man (no offence that he is the middle child). But he gets cold quickly and wants inside. He will go out there and play with a shovel or kick it around for a few minutes then he's done and would rather watch Joe from inside. Katie has gone outside but she hasn't actually touched the snow yet. That girl is happy as long as someone is loving on her...preferably her Mama LOL.

Another fairy that visited this week was the tooth fairy!!! I think I have been more excited for Joe to lose a tooth than he has. For months I've been asking him if they were loose...nope. Then boom he comes home one day from school and one is sitting sideways in his mouth. I thought Big Joe might like to pull it since he has missed so much of the kids with the deployments. But the kids and I went to the pharmacy and Joe says, "Mama I got it!" and I looked back to see a hole in his mouth! Unfortunately he also dropped it in the truck and a tiny tooth is hard to find in a big truck so the tooth fairy had to visit on the honor system ;). Joe was much more excited when he found a dollar under his pillow the next morning. And don't feel bad for Big Joe since he missed this event too....turns out the whole thing makes him a bit squeamish. Odd.....man who has seen a lot...and I mean A LOT in Iraq did not want to see Joe's missing tooth until the blood spot was gone and it looked like his normal gums. I guess when it's your kiddo it's different. Good thing he wasn't here for the majority of Little Joe's hospital stays and surgeries too then, huh.

So another exciting week in the Harrison home :) Big Joe is busy as usual with work. I have been making and selling a few diaper cakes and also found out one of my favorite e-store's owner is in Joe's unit!! Funny how those things work :). Hope everyone is staying warm!

Everything Changes

Wow..things just feel different. New town, new house, and even a new business!! Things are going well and busy as usual. I have been trying to get doctor appts done and paperwork to enroll Garrett and Katie in hourly care on post and paperwork done for Joe so he can play soccer this spring on post. We had a lot of snow here over the last week. The kids had a ball playing in it :) And I thought it was beautiful to watch.

Big Joe has started teaching his new class which also means I take over the FRG (family readiness group). So now I have about 45 women that I have to help prepare to become commanders' wives. Crazy..I know. Well then I also decided to create a home business of making diaper cakes and other baby items. I have already been able to get a local store to sell them, plus I have an internet store (http://www.bottomsupdiapercakes.webs.com/ if you wanna check it out) and I have signed up for a consignment sale to sell them at. And considering the business has only been up and running about 10 days thingare are going really well! Not really sure why life has gone into hyper drive right now, but I kinda like it :).

Bug has also taken big steps lately...literally! our baby girl is starting to walk. She looks so cute as she can still wear most of her 3-6 month clothing but she is 15 months old. So it's this tiny cute blond bundle toddling around. When she thinks too hard about walking she gets nervous and sits to crawl, but sometime we catch her talking 10-15 steps at a time! Soooo cute.