Sweet Life in the City

Yesterday marked the end of the second quarter at school, so we are officially half way done with this school year and one day closer to summer break :). All of the kids made "A's" and "B's" again this quarter and I am so proud of all their hard work. Poor Emma only had one "B" and bless her heart is was in health which is basically gym. They were graded on basketball skills and Emma is like her momma, not very coordinated. Today was supposed to be a day off of school for a teacher workday, but it became a snow make-up day so everyone had to go in today. It probably worked out for the best that the kids are at school because I have to go this afternoon for a biometric screening for our insurance. The whole thing makes me a little irritated, but the worse part is that I have to fast today until after 1:30. The no food part I can handle, but not having my coffee has left me pretty grumpy and it is only 8:40. I have already figured out the nearest Sta...

In the last two weeks we have gotten three calls/texts that someone we love from TN has passed away. The third text came this morning and my heart is so heavy for those that I love. All three were senior saints from our church back in TN. All three knew and loved Jeremy since he was a little boy and loved to tell stories about him and his brothers when they were kids. All three welcomed me into the family and became influential people in my life. These are the days that living so far away are so difficult for Jeremy and I. The first call came two weeks ago to tell us that Mama Jo had passed away during the night. This precious lady had been playing piano at the church since she was 16 years old. She was a kind soul and was always so good to Jeremy and I. The last few years we were at Good Springs she did not play the piano for all of the songs and she would always sit right in front of me during the song service. One Sunday she turned around and said," You know I sit right here ...

I haven't posted since last Monday. It has not been an easy week for me. Old struggles well up in me and I find my soul in a dark place. I don't like being in that place. We did not hear anything about the house last week and we are not even sure when we will hear something. I know it is just a house and I know there will be other houses if this one falls through, but this apartment has officially broken my spirit. Dramatic? Maybe, but I have reached my limit physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It was topped up on Saturday when I got a text from our landlord addressing something he had an issue with concerning something we were doing. Not really a big deal and he wasn't necessarily upset, but just the fact that he pointed out ONE thing that he wanted us to do different when I could of listed a dozen or more things that we have issues with just sent me over the edge. I am struggling and I really need to be in my own home. I have sucked it up the last two and a half yea...

Everybody has the day off from school today. It was nice for me because I could sleep in, but it is mostly business as usual for me. Laundry and meals still have to be taken care of today :). Not much has happened since Saturday and since the banks are closed today we know we will not hear anything about the house. I have been trying several Pinterest recipes the last few weeks and I wanted to post three recipes that were BIG hits at my house. My kids are not really picky about what they eat, but I usually do not get all three kids to agree that they really loved a meal I made. These three recipes got three responses of being awesome. I have made many hamburgers in my life. Hamburgers are easy and my whole family loves them. I have been trying to switch things about a bit so I found a recipe for hamburger sliders using Hawaiian rolls. I did change up the recipes just a tad. I added Adobo seasoning (which I use in almost all of my meat), a tablespoon of  worcestershire sauce, and...

I do not normally post on the weekend, but I wanted to give another house update. I am struggling a little bit with posting these updates because I do not want to come off as a spaz or a person who is not trusting God for what He has for us. I am probably the only one painting myself in that light,but I guess because I know there has been moments in the last week that I have not acted as trusting as I should. Anyway, I posted on FB yesterday about how things were looking up in our favor and although we did not hear anything yesterday I just wanted to explain a little more in detail about where we are right now with the house situation. I really have been moved by the interest shown and the prayers that have been taken to the Father on our behalf. I don't know if people are sick of my complaining about my apartment :), or they care about my family that much. Just kidding, I know those interested want us to have a home of our own and many know the difficulties associated with our apa...

Today is my Grandma's birthday. I think about her a lot when January 16th comes around, but the truth is I think about her all of the time. I miss her so much and sometimes I close my eyes and I can take myself back to memories of her and her house. My memory usually starts with my sister and I in the bed in the middle bedroom. Grandma has tucked us into bed and she is sitting next to the bed telling us a bedtime story that involves children who went on great adventures and my favorite story ever, the story of the mom and dad that ordered their children from the Sears Roebuck catalog. We were the lucky ones and got to sleep in the bedroom and so I wake up to voices coming from somewhere. It is still dark in the room so I think it is the middle of the night, but you realize the shade is down and the voices are coming from Grandma and whoever else is awake drinking coffee on the front porch. I listen for a few minutes but then realize you have no idea who or what they are talking a...

I am still overwhelmed at the love shown to me yesterday for my birthday. I received cards, phone calls, text messages, and so many FB messages I am pretty sure I did not see every one's post. With each message I thanked God for those people He has placed in my life over the years. Some have known me since the day I was born, some I have known since grade school, high school, college, or have just met in the past few years and each one has made an impact on my life and I am thankful for their investment in my life. I woke up to beautiful flowers from my family, sweet homemade cards, and a cute owl coffee mug. I also woke up to several updates from my sister who had gone in the night before to have my niece. So my best birthday present to date arrived at 8:14 yesterday morning, Betsy Ray entered this world and we couldn't be happier. It is so hard being so far away and I wish I could get my hands on that precious bundle! I did get to FaceTime with my sister and Isabel and Betsy ...

It was back to school for the kids on Friday despite the fact that is was colder Friday than it was Thursday. It was probably a good thing for the kids to go back because they were getting a little stir crazy. I also was running out of basic necessities (we were actually rationing toilet paper) and there was no way I was going to get out in the cold with all three kids. Saturday we all slept in and then we headed to my nephew's first birthday party. We got stuck in traffic so we were really late to the party, but it was fun to see my family and watch little guy eat his birthday cupcake. He is so adorable even when he is covered in cake. The big news around here is that we have made an offer on a house close to our neighborhood. Jeremy saw the listing on Saturday and it has only been on the market three days. We went to see the house Saturday evening and we decided to go ahead and make an offer. The house is a foreclosure and based on the location, size, and the price we know ther...

I write this post with a very heavy heart and through my tears I ask that you would pray for the family of Bethany Lytle. Word came this morning that she passed away early this morning. This news has shocked and broken most of our Free Will Baptist family. My heart is broken for her husband and the three small children that have been left behind to grieve the loss of this precious lady. I mentioned yesterday that Bethany was a few years younger than Jeremy and I, but we are very good friends with her brother and sister so in the process got to know Bethany. I did not know her as well as others, but I did know her enough to know that she was one of the sweetest girls I have ever met. Her heart for Christ was evident and she had one of the best, biggest smiles. I remember always thinking how contagious her smile was. She and her husband had devoted themselves to serving Christ teaching school in Peru and it is times like this that this broken world just doesn't make any sense. My sad...

The kids and I are hunkered down in the house today. Because of the wind chill warning of almost 40 below schools in our area have been cancelled today. CPS is notorious for not closing school so I was a little worried that they would decide to keep the schools open today. I am glad I did not have to make the decision of keeping my kids home if they stayed opened today. My poor husband did not have the luxury of staying home today, principals still had to report. They have to open the schools in case some students still show up. The tragedy is that some parents are clueless and some will send their kids even if the school is closed. If kids show up they have to keep them in the building. I spent yesterday doing laundry and house cleaning, so today the plan is to stay in my pjs and curl up in bed most of the day. I have pinned a dozen recipes on Pinterest that I have been wanting to make, so I am going to sort those and make my grocery list for next week. I had some things I was going...

'Tis the Season... Your dog who is usually all over you in the morning waiting to go outside looks at you like, "Do you have any idea how cold it is outside?" The neighborhood is filled with sounds of squealing tires trying to get out of parking spots  and prayers go up that you are not the next victim of the ice. Fashion goes out the window and all you worry about is how warm you are before you leave the house. Listening to grumbling kids about the amount of layers they have as they leave the house. Praying you get out of your parking spot. Taking the long way home because you know the main roads will be cleared. Praying there is a parking spot in front of your house that you can get in and out easily. Watching every weather segment praying that the snow on its way moves out of your way. Rejoicing when the snow totals goes from 6-8 inches down to 2-5 inches :). Remembering if you can make it through the winter you have it made the rest of the seasons....

We had a wonderful Christmas break and I have to admit that I am pretty bummed that it is coming to an end. The last two weeks flew by so quickly that I am still reflecting on all the wonderful times we had over the break. We left on the 23rd and drove to my parent's house to drop off Lucy. My dad has been so gracious to help us out and keep Lucy so we do not have to board her when we are gone. We had supper with my parents and then tried to get some sleep. We would be getting up early in the morning to head to TN. The kids were so excited and I am pretty sure they only slept a few hours that night. I had woken up on the 23rd with a terrible sore throat and was still not feeling great, so I was up several times in the night and the kids were wide awake :). We left around 5:00 AM on the 24th and made the eight hour drive to Gatlinburg, TN. The Riggs' clan rented a cabin in the mountains and we were all looking forward to a wonderful Christmas. We arrived in TN and was surprise...