A family trip...

Some of Arnett's family lives in Ohio.  Right before we moved to Africa, we drove up to Ohio to visit with them before we left. Labor Day weekend they were having a big family get together, so we decided to make the trip again. Well, a lot has changed since then and driving just the two of us, is a LOT different than driving with 4!!!  It was a 16 hour trip and we were both a little hesitant about making that long of a drive with 2 kids.

Despite our hesitation, we set out about noon on a Thursday afternoon. We had to run a few errands in town before we left and finally at about 1:30 we were on the interstate, on our way!! We had just made it into Georgia and Zeke starts complaining about his pants hurting. I was kinda like, "What?" So I turned around and pulled his shorts off. He said it was better. That lasted about 5 seconds. He started complaining again and I turned around trying to see what was going on. I could see where is underwear had been but that was it. At this point he's crying hysterically and Nema was following the lead of her big brother. I turned to Arnett and said, "It's not to late to go home!!" We decided to get off right before the Lake Park exit. We get to the truck stop and I get out looking for some cotton shorts for Zeke. Arnett comes to the back and says, "You better hurry, I think he's gotta pee!" So, I quickly found what I was looking for and went to Zeke. He had already started peeing a little in his car seat. I pulled him out and he just stood there in the parking lot and peed and peed and peed. He literally peed for a minute!! Guess that's why his pants hurt so bad!! Poor little guy, we're such awesome parents (LOL!!). Arnett took him into the bathroom to get him changed and I worked on getting his car seat dry. Poor Nema, she was hungry and not being taken care of, so she was not happy. Arnett comes back out and says, "Zeke says he's hungry!" I was like, "Okay, let's go up one exit to chick-fila, eat and let him play on the playground." Arnett agreed that that was a good idea. We got to chick-fila got something to eat, got Nema fed, let Zeke play for a little bit, and I got a milkshake!! Finally, at about 3:30 we were on our way!! Up until about 10:00 that night the trip had been pretty uneventful. We were making decent time considering we had two little ones in the car. Well, at 10:00 our trip went from smooth to completely crazy!! All thanks to this little guy...



Our little "stow away"


Yes, that is a snake and it's in our car!! Here's what happened:  we are driving somewhere through Tennessee, it's dark, Arnett's driving, Nema's sleeping, Zeke's chilling in his car seat, and I'm chilling in the front passenger seat. Thanks to the lights of the cars passing by us, I see the shadow of a snake crawling on top of where my seat belt goes into the wall of the car and he's headed down by the bottom of my window!!! I said, "Oh (bad word), Arnett there's a snake!!" He was like, "Are you serious??" I mean, seriously, would I make this up!?!? I was like, "YES!!!!" He says, "Okay, don't freak out too much cause you'll scare Zeke!" He proceeds to get into the next lane and onto the shoulder of the road. I was trying my hardest not to make any sudden moves but at the same time get on top of the console. In my mind it was a rattle snake and any sudden move I made, would cause him to attack me!! Arnett hadn't yet flipped the light on because he said if it had been a rattle snake he would have wrecked the car trying to get off the road!! When we stop on the shoulder,  he flips the light on and the snake is now 1/4 the way onto the dash!! We see it's an oak snake, so Arnett tells me, "Get in the back!" He then grabs the snake behind the head. We take this picture, show the snake to Zeke, and throw it out the window!! Zeke was like, "OH! Daddy there's a snake!!" Arnett also tells me, "I thought I felt something go across my foot but I felt around and didn't feel anything, so I thought it was my pants!!" I was then even more freaked out because that thing had more than likely been next to my babies!! Another funny thing, we had just bought the car from our friends a couple of days before this happened!! We sent the picture to them thanking them for the present!!! It was definitely a memory we will NEVER forget!!

We finally made it to Ohio Friday afternoon!! Besides the snake, it was a really great trip!! The kids did great!!

We got to take Zeke to Amish country, eat at an amazing Amish restaurant, get some amazing homemade peanut butter, and even go to Lehmans!! While there we went to a zoo type thing. You rode through this big fenced in area on a horse drawn wagon and got to feed all the different types of animals!! Zeke loved it!!



Zeke feeding an ostrich

Feeding some big horned animal, sorry forgot the name.

 

This crazy guy wanted to get onto the wagon we were on!!

They let each child have a turn driving the wagon. Zeke had his serious face on!

They had a little petting zoo. There's a bunny in Arnett's lap.

Arnett's cousins, Denise and Larry, have a little boy who's just a couple years older than Zeke and those two boys played and played and played!!

Zeke and Aaron playing in the dirt!

Cousins!!

More cousins.

One last wagon ride before we head back to Florida.

 It was a great time visiting with his family and sharing old memories!! His aunt even taught me how to make homemade strawberry jam and we have been thoroughly enjoying it!!! I also got some of her yummy recipes while I was there!!! Until next time...

Arnett's great aunts, uncles, and cousins.

It's been a while...

Oh, if only there were more time in the day or if I only wasn't going through a funk, maybe then I would be able to sit and blog more often!! A lot has happened since my last "real" blog post in July! Things have been crazy around our house!! I honestly don't know where to start but here we go...

We've been back home for a year now. I can't believe it has been a year already! I can honestly say that part of my heart is still in Mali. I miss the people, the simplicity of life there, the deep relationships we had with the people there, and even some of the food (crazy I know!). I knew when we moved back that things would be hard, that I would be a different person than I was when we left. Then add the fact that we had to figure out what we wanted to do with ourselves here!! Things haven't been easy and because of that I have been upset with God. Despite the many times He warns us in scripture that hard times will come, I wanted things to be easy!! So, God and I have been on this journey the past couple of months and it's been a journey! He is teaching me that He's in control, that He is sufficient, and that I need to put 100% of my trust in Him.

So, what exactly has been going on... well, let me start with our new car... when we bought it Arnett noticed that it made a whining sound. He questioned the sales manager about it and we were told that it was normal for that particular car. Hindsight, we should have known better. A few days after we got it home, the sound was getting worse. We called the sales manager and he said to bring it in. We took it in and then we waited. Waited on a call, waited on a car, waited on returned phone calls. It was a nightmare. Finally, three weeks later, we are told the car is ready and I drive to pick it up (an hour and 10 minutes away). When I get there, I  discover the car is not ready. They had overlooked one thing they were supposed to fix. At this point we are both so done! I get home and start looking up who's in charge at the dealership so we can call him first thing the next morning. Well, I found the e-mail address of the owner. I typed up a letter detailing all we had been through and how disappointed we were at the level of service we had received. He called Arnett first thing the next morning, very apologetic. He said they are going to make it right, so we said okay. Later that day they brought it to us. Arnett takes it for a spin and realizes something is still not right with it. We got back in touch with the owner the next day and said we wanted to return the car. Praise the Lord, he agreed to give us all our money back!! Thankfully, a few weeks later, we found a great deal on a great car thanks to some great friends!!! We now are the proud owners of a 2007 Suburban. It's a bus for sure but we love it!!

Another issue we've faced is rain and worms!!! Farming is a gamble but my hubby loves it!! This year the rain has been a big issue! When it rains you can't cut and bale hay. We have gotten a ton of rain the past few months so it's been very challenging to get any hay baled. Worms have also been a HUGE issue this year. They have been eating our crops like crazy. The only way to get rid of them is to spray them with worm killer, which isn't cheap!! We are learning to trust God everyday for exactly what we need.

I know this doesn't seem like a lot but when you mix in a little post partum issues that I've been dealing with, it can feel like a mountain!!! Once again, God is teaching me to trust Him for all we need!!

The children are doing GREAT!! We have been blessed beyond words!!

Zeke is getting so big, so fast!! In my last post I wrote about Zeke going to the dentist for the first time. Well, he went back for his first round of work. He ended up needing a crown but he did great during the procedure. Afterwards was a totally different story. They gave us some cotton rods for him to chew on until his mouth "woke up" from being numb. Well, of course he wouldn't chew on them and I couldn't make him while driving. So, he chewed on his tongue and I mean chewed on it!!! The rest of the week was HORRIBLE!!! His tongue hurt so bad, he couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and was just plain miserable. I slept in his bed for 4 or 5 nights because he would just cry off and on all night long. I called the dentist back and they said to bring him on in. We took him the next day and the dentist said it was the worst tongue bite he had ever seen!! He gave us an antibiotic and some "magic" mouthwash! Finally, after about a week, he was able to eat and drink again! He's now made a full recovery! Zeke also started preschool! He still isn't too excited when I drop him off but when I pick him up, he says he loves it!! Here's some recent pics:



Working with Daddy

Getting ready to play in the mud!

Having a blast!!



"Mom, underwear are overrated!!" And yes, that's dirt!!

So cute!!

This was the day after the tongue chewing! He did okay at preschool that day but he didn't make it the rest of the week!!

Nema, wow has she grown!! She's eating baby food like a pro now!! She loves it!! She's sitting up and talking more and more! Just this week, she's started making more "word" sounds. It's absolutely adorable!! She's got 2 teeth on the bottom and the 2 on the top are coming in!! She's also started scrunching up her nose and it's so cute!! She hasn't started crawling yet, but she can get up on her hands and knees. She's also able to roll all around the living room and get where she wants to go! She'll be 8 months old tomorrow and I can't believe how fast time is flying!!

Loving the pool!!

Serious face!

Pretty girl!

Our blue eyed girl!

Playing!

Nose scrunch!!





Mmmm! These fingers are yummy!

Well, I've got one more post to write but that will have to wait for another day!! Until next time...

 

Pictures!!

Just had to share this super quick. We had some family pictures taken last week and they turned out wonderfully!!! Here's the link to the photographer's blog that took them. Candice, was so easy to work with. She took her time, was very patient with our bunch, and you could just tell she LOVES what she does!!! Until next time...

A week of firsts...

It has been a great week around here, as we've experienced several "first" time events!

This pretty little girl got her first tooth!! It's on the bottom and is just poking above the surface. She's been a little bit more fussy and I guess now I know why!!!

Hmm...what's that under my tongue?!?!

This cute little guy has had a of couple first time experiences.

Loving the pool and getting so brave!!! 

 He's been going to Vacation Bible School for the first time!! He loves it!! We are so enjoying seeing him interact with the kids, singing the songs, and coming home and telling us, "Trust God"! The theme is "Everything is possible with God!" Oh how true and how we pray that this truth sinks down into his little heart, despite his young age!!!

Zeke helping out on stage at VBS

Zeke's second first time experience wasn't as fun as VBS! He went to the dentist for the first time. Let me just tell you, I was one nervous mama!!! The Lord  is so good to us, and despite my fears, he did GREAT!! He went back with the hygienist without any problems and she said he did great throughout the exam!! "Whew, all that worrying for nothing!!" His teeth, however, weren't so great!! :( He's got 4 cavities, one is in between his 2 front teeth and they are going to treat with fluoride and observation. The dentist said if he did fill it, the filling would more than likely fall out and he didn't see wasting time or money on that!! The other 3 they are able to fill, so he'll be headed back to get them filled and get sealants on his teeth. One of the cavities is really bad and depending on what they find when they get in there to fill it, it may require a crown!! I know, you may be saying these are baby teeth, why spend the money? While that is very true, the affected teeth are his 12 year teeth, so he'll have them for another 9-10 years!!! Please join us in praying that the tooth won't be that deep and a filling is all that will be required!!! Pray that Zeke will do well during the procedure!!

The last first of our week is pretty exciting for me!!! Arnett and I bought our very first car together!!! We've been looking for a few weeks for a gently used Ford Expedition. After scouring the Internet we finally found 2 we liked, but they were in Tampa!! UGH! Well, Saturday, Arnett, Nema, my Dad, and I all set off for Tampa. On the way down we found out that our 2nd choice had been sold, so we were down to 1. Friday night, Arnett and I asked God to lead us to the right car, to give us wisdom in the decision making process, and to have peace in whatever direction He led.  Well, God showed up big time!! Our first car choice was a really nice car and we both really liked it!! However, when we drove it, it just didn't drive well. Neither one of us had peace about buying that car, so we happily walked away, knowing God had something better. Thanks to our "smart" phones we were able to find some nearby dealerships but nothing there panned out either. We were on our way home and I was searching again, feeling a little down that we hadn't found one yet, and I found one!! I showed the pictures to Arnett and he replied, "Crystal, that's nicer than any of the ones we've seen today!!" The funny part, it was in Starke!!! :) Arnett called the dealership and the guy said, "You can come look at it but you can't drive it, we just got it in yesterday and it's being looked over by the service department." We decided, despite how tired we were and the fact we couldn't drive it, we'd go look anyway! We got there and the guy was like, "it's around back, let's go look at it." We walked around back and there was no black expedition. He says, "Uh-oh, it's in the service department,"  which was all closed and all locked up. Thankfully, he found an open door and we were able to go look at it...sitting on the service rack and all!! We knew it was the one, thanks to God's wisdom, and we struck a deal contingent on it driving well. We went back Tuesday and drove it home!! We are very thankful that God provided for us and led us to the car for us!!

Our "new to us" car!! 

So, as you can see it's been a busy week around here!! We are so blessed and Praise God for all the blessings he's given us!! Until next time...

3 weeks...

It's been a little over 3 weeks since my last post and man has a lot happened during that 3 week time. The Beach, the hospital, chemo, potty trainED, 5 months and first foods, and Debby.

On June 9th, we found ourselves at the beach for a wonderful week!!! Arnett's mom, dad, aunt, uncle, cousins, and extended cousins go together every year. It was something we had been looking forward to for a while now and we had a great time. Zeke absolutely LOVED the beach. I'm a horrible mom in that I didn't take too many pictures while we were there. It was just too hard to lug 2 children, a boatload of stuff, and a camera down to the beach everyday!! Here's a few pics that I did get:

Our view for the week! 

Nema and Mommy chillin' at the beach! 

Zeke and his cousin Mallory

Nema sleeping poolside!! 

Nema wasn't a fan of the water at first but she got used to it! 

The alligator farm. Zeke loved it!! He especially loved feeding the gators!! 

Our happy baby girl! 

Last walk on the beach. Zeke didn't want to leave!! 

Zeke daydreaming and wishing we were back at the beach!! 

Nema agreeing with Zeke!! 

While we were at the beach I turned 30!! It was also the day my mom got put in the hospital. She started running a fever and they admitted her. Her white blood cell count was extremely low. By the end of the week they had determined she had pnemonia brewing in one of her lungs! Thankfully, after about 5 days in the hospital she was well enough to come home.  Only to have her 3rd round of chemo the following week. Praise the Lord, it went extremely well. She's not been sick at all!! The only side effect she's had is extreme fatigue!! She's doing well and hanging in there!!

Nema and Nana entertaining each other as we wait to see the doctor and begin chemo.

Two of the most beautiful ladies I know!! 

I guess about a month after we moved back from Africa Zeke stopped taking naps. It was a very, very sad day in our home!! I was nearing the 3rd trimester of my pregnancy with Nema and I so needed that nap everyday! Zeke also needed that nap but refused! While we were at the beach we made him take a nap everyday. I really think that he realized how much better he felt with a daily nap and we didn't stop once we got home!! Praise the Lord, it's been 2 1/2 glorious weeks of nap taking around here!!! In fact, he and Nema are both napping right now! Thank you Lord!!! Another exciting thing happened around here, we are finally potty trained!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! After 3 long months we are done (besides night time which will come!)! I honestly thought this day would never get here but it has, thank you Lord!! The other day I went outside and found Zeke running around with just his shirt on, he went outside fully clothed! He told me, "I had to go pee, Mama!" Okay buddy, you can run around naked for all I care!! I was elated that he took his shorts off to go!!

Zeke, the potty master!! 

Such a growing imagination!! Loves to shoot squirrels, bears, deer, or bad guys!! And he LOVES hats!!! 

On June 23rd, this precious one turned 5 months old. She's such a happy baby. She cries when she's hungry, hurting, or overly tired. She's sleeping through the night (Thank you Lord for that blessing!!) She hasn't rolled over yet but I know it will be coming soon. She coos and giggles all the time. She loves watching Zeke and laughing at him!! We also started her on solids and she is loving the rice cereal!! She's a little piglet for sure!!

Nema Grace, June 23, 2012, 5 months old. 

Getting ready to eat solids for the first time! 

First bite...

Not so sure...

I guess this stuff is okay.

Early this week our county was raped by Tropical Storm Debby. She dumped buckets and buckets of water on our dry, dry land!! We were thankful for the rain but unfortunately our county got too much rain!! There has been widespread flooding downtown and throughout the county. The river has come up almost 8 foot since Tuesday!! A developing problem is sinkholes!! Currently there's one that is threatening the courthouse and surrounding businesses. Thankfully, we survived with virtually no problems. We have small area that has sunk in. The pictures are kinda hard to see but you can tell where the ground is cracking. Thankfully, it's not a huge sinkhole! We also had some water come into the house. We're pretty certain it came up through the foundation. We had a contractor friend come and check it out and he said that the ground is just so saturated with water that the water had no place to go but up. Thankfully, it was just a small area in Nema's room. Currently,  the carpet is pulled up in her room and we are trying to dry it out. Hopefully, we won't run into any mold issues. I guess if all else fails we can just rip the carpet up all together and keep that 1970's looking linoleum down!! :~)

The ground sinking in.

Tried to use the stick for some visual aid.

Drying out the carpet. Check out that linoleum though!!

Please pray for our county. Many people lost their homes due to flooding. I'm pretty sure most of those people aren't technically in a flood zone, so they probably don't have flood insurance. Pray that no more sinkholes open up and that the remainder of hurricane season is a quiet one for us!! For pictures and details check out our local paper, http://suwanneedemocrat.com/ . Until next time...