Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Now I'm Feeling Guilty

Matthew was supposed to play a make-up baseball game today, but he didn't go since tonight was his last night of Awana for the year. I didn't feel too bad about it because it was raining all evening, and I figured the game wouldn't be played. Well, I was wrong. I guess the park decided that since these were make-ups, and they're probably going to lose all of this weekend's games because of the rain, they were going to play. Unfortunately, Matthew's team only had five or six players show up, so they had to forfeit. Now, I'm feeling guilty. I know I shouldn't feel so bad, because even if Matthew had come, there still weren't going to be enough players.

Ahh, the moral dilemmas of being a mom!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Living in Suburbia

I'll admit it. I live in Suburbia. There really isn't any other way to describe it. We live OTP (outside the Perimeter) in Atlanta, and 90% of my county is suburban. There are still some farms, but you have to drive a looong way to get to them. But, I wouldn't live anywhere else right now.

I know, the suburbs get a bad rap. And, trust me, there are definitely things I hate about where I live. (Do you want me to even get started about the traffic??) But the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. First, the county where I live has been recognized once again for its park system. Today, I spent 3 hours down at our local park working at the concession stand. It is truly a community place. This is our third year playing baseball, and we are beginning to know more and more people just from seeing them at the park. Plus, Matthew and Nathan are enjoying the fantastic opportunity to play baseball at a top-notch facility. (Hey, the place developed Jeff Francouer of the Braves, so it can't be too bad.) After I got done working at the concession stand, then I was able to walk the fully paved path around the park for a mile and a half with a huge number of people enjoying the weather. Really, in our county, if you don't get out and get active, you really have no one to blame but yourself. There are parks scattered all over the county, and they're adding more every day. And my park backs up to a fabulous library branch as well. The other day I took Andrew there. We went to the library so I could load up on books, then we walked for a half hour around the park while one of the boys had baseball practice.

I also love living so close to the city. In 20 minutes (on a good day), I can be in downtown Atlanta to take my kids to one of the largest aquariums in the country. Or, we can go to the zoo to see the two! baby pandas. Plus, the proximity to the medical facilities can't be underestimated. It's been almost a year since Andrew's surgery, and every day, I'm so thankful we were here when he was born. If we had still been in Indiana, we would have had to travel 3 hours to go to Riley for all of his doctor's visits as well as his appointments. Here, I jump in the car and drive 25 minutes to go to one of the top Children's hospitals in the country. Not only am I 20 minutes away from either campus of Children's Healthcare, they have an urgent care center designed specifically for children near me. Plus, they have this very cool idea where you can call ahead to get your arrival time so you don't have to wait for hours with an unhappy child. Best Idea Ever.

Finally, don't get me started on my church. I could go on for a very long time about how much I love it. But the most important reason that I'm so happy we're there is their dedication to children. They are intentional about shepherding children. I help on both Sundays and Wednesdays, and I know how important it is to my church that my kids are immersed in the Bible. Their goal is to make sure that the kids understand the "meta-narrative" of the Bible. (Don't be impressed. I didn't come up with the word by myself.) Every week, they learn how the story of the Bible fits together, plus they learn how to apply it to their life. I'm already starting to see Matthew begin to fit the pieces together in his head. Knowing that every Sunday they are all going to a place where people are intentional about their spiritual growth is so reassuring to me as a mom. There are so many influences out there that are trying to steal them away. I need all the help I can get. Plus, the worshhip and preaching in "Big Church" can't be beat either. Hey, my pastor's name is Buddy, and he preaches in jeans. How can that be bad?

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Sick House

Sickness has attacked our house. Nathan starting feeling bad yesterday. I checked his temperature, and it was about 100. As a result, we had him stay home today. Then, Andrew threw up last night. So, Jeremy was home with two sick boys. Nathan wasn't too bad. He just laid around and watched TV. Andrew did pretty good until about mid-afternoon when he threw up all over Jeremy who was holding him. We fed him Cheerios and really watered down white grape juice for supper. He's running a little bit of a temperature as well, but he's happy! I think he'll always be a good patient. Anyone who could have sections of his skull removed, and be grinning at the nurses a day later (Which actually happened after his surgery. The nurses loved him.) handles discomfort better than I could!

Nathan's going to go back to school tomorrow, and hopefully Andrew will keep everything down tonight.

Monday, March 2, 2009

What a Day!

It's 5:00 pm, and I'm sitting here writing as I smell fresh baked bread, apple crisp, and roasted potatoes baking away. Plus my counter top is clean, the clothes are washed and put away, and I've checked off about 10 things off of my "Things I Really Have to Get To" list. Oh, and I even trimmed Andrew's hair! How did I do all this?



First, modern inventions. The bread is in the bread machine, and the apple crisp is in the crock-pot. (The recipe is from this fabulous site I just found.) But it's also because it looked like this outside my front door this morning.



Yes, people, that is snow and ice outside my front door. Since it's the South, and ice makes people curl up into a fetal position under their beds, we had a snow day today! March 2nd in Atlanta, Georgia, and I enjoyed a snow day today. There aren't words for the fabulousness of it. Plus, since I had gotten everything done on Saturday (Read: grocery shopping), I was able to get some of those things done that I've wanted to do, but haven't ever found the time for (Read: make fresh bread). Unfortunately, the snow is melted away, so it's back to work/school tomorrow.