He Is Risen Indeed!

For a day that started with pouring rain and cold temps. and ended in a 3 hour wait in the pediatric urgent care, it really was a great Easter!

Backing up a little...Joshua was out of school on Friday, so Kirk took a half day vacation and we went to Shawnee to visit his parents. We had a great visit with Nanny and Gramps and got to see Aunt Karrie, Uncle Steve, AJ and Brett for a little while too! The boys got to hunt eggs, go riding in the golf cart (Joshua drove!), roll in the leaves down by the creek, and get lots of goodies! We had a great steak dinner and Kirk and I even slipped out for a late night movie! The next day we all met up at Billy Boy's (best bbq in Shawnee) for lunch and then on to the church for some arts and crafts and a huge egg hunt. It was a good time and I'm so glad we got to go.

When we got home on Saturday night, however, it was full steam ahead! I was rushing around doing laundry, ironing Easter outfits, doing baskets, charging video cameras (by golly, I even changed out my purse to match my dress!) getting everything ready for the next morning so we would not be stressed or rushed. Well, let's just say, thank goodness I prepared so much, because I hate to think of what it would have been like had I not done what I did!--It was still rushed and stressed, but I was determined not to let it take away the joy of the reason for the celebration! (I will say, if Kirk had not spent 30 minutes working on the boys' GIGANTIC tiger shark and Star Wars Tie Fighter kites, we would have been on time!--I am not bitter, though...except a little maybe when I look at the monstrously large kites now fully assembled in my house with no place to go!)

The combination of already being 10 minutes behind and the rain made dropping off under the drive thru at church VERY slow! I managed to get the boys in without getting soaked and got them to their classes. Then I waited...and waited...I could hear the music already starting and I was getting anxious and a little perturbed (but remember, I was determined to be joyful!). Needless to say, Kirk returns about 10 minutes later informing me that he had to park at Mardel's and walk over in the rain!

Our "normal" seats were so gone by now and we found ourselves walking up to the balcony! It was totally crowded too, however, we spotted a whole row of empty chairs right in front that had been added. We rushed over, put our stuff down and began to sing! Yea, right? How fortunate, right? Not so much...as soon as we sat down we realized why the seats were not already taken! You couldn't see over the railing when you sat down! So, up we go trying to scout out some more seats. Thankfully we found some available across the room and took off to stake our spot!

And it was just in time! The Lord so showed up in the ensuing praise and worship time! It was meaningful and powerful and full of praise and truth to our Risen Lord! The tone was set and Dr. Harrison preached the word clearly and precisely. With tears and amens, I took in every word and note of the morning feeling so blessed to be a child of our Jesus! What a celebration of hope and peace is Easter!

We left church and met up with Mom and Dad and Melissa and Rus and the girls at Charlestons for lunch. It was so nice to have reservations and just walk in and be seated on such a busy day. We all enjoyed our lunch and then went back to Mom and Dad's house. Before everyone changed clothes, we tried to snap a few pics and then everyone scurried off to get into something cozy! Mom had tons of yummy desserts, the Masters golf tourney was on and naps ensued! We all woke up to eat and hunt eggs and visit! What a delightful day of celebration and family and fellowship.

Yes, the day did end with me taking JT to the urgent care and having to sit for three hours in a CRAZY waiting room filled to the brim with sick and rowdy children, but in between John Thomas' strep test and chest x-ray and endless waiting, we read a book that was in the exam room. It was a bible story book and I was totally paraphrasing because it was so not on a 3 year old's level. Anyone that looks "biblical" to JT is Jesus, so every page he kept pointing out Jesus to me, however when we came to the part where it actually was Him coming into Jerusalem, I said, "Hosanna" and John Thomas said, "Yes! Hosanna to the King!" Yes, my sweet Baby. Hosanna to the King! He is risen indeed.

Bohemians Gone Bahamian!

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I just cant seem to get away from the eleven thousand loads of laundry--all of which have to be hung to dry, and the nine stores that I need to return ties to that don't match JK's easter shirt! But time is marching on and I haven't even blogged about THE HAMAS!

The title of this post is the saying that we had on our lovely buttercream t-shirts that all 11 of us wore on the plane to Atlantis. (They were cute, but Kirk wasn't so thrilled to wear his. When we arrived in Dallas to meet up with the rest of the gang, he peeked out of the gate to make sure that his sister wasn't going to be dressed otherwise all the while giggling and saying, "You got punk'd!")

The trip was amazing and we had a blast! Everyone stayed well and injury free --minus a few scrapes and bruises from all of the slides at Aqua Adventure. It took me about three days to stop saying, "I can't believe we are here!" Paradise Island was breath takingly beautiful and the Atlantis staff was super accomodating and polite. Kirk and I have described the trip as Big Splash meets Las Vegas meets Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous! Atlantis Resort owns 70% of the island and as far as you can see, there are amazing water slides, beautiful pools, sea life like you can't believe, crystal clear surf and white sand, palm trees galore, specialty shops, and on and on.

Nanny and Gramps had the room adjoining ours, so they sure earn a jewel in their crowns for spending a very close week with us! Basically every morning we got up, put on our suits and out we went for the day. I was so impressed with Joshua for trying all of the slides.--Me...not so much! Nanny rode "The Current" over and over and even spent most of her days with the family and not in the casino! We ate dinners and walked the docks at night and saw some unbelievable yachts, went to the straw market one day by water taxi, went snuba diving off the island...It was just an amazing time making memories all together.

(On a side note...John Thomas turned three the day after we arrived. We already had his party in Tulsa before we left, but Kirk and I stayed up after the kids fell asleep and decorated the room with balloons, streamers and a banner. We celebrated that night after dinner with ice cream. $34 for four single dip cones!--He's worth it, I guess!)

I am going to post a few of our hundreds of pictures next, but had to end on a funny note...On the way home from Nassau to Dallas, we are all boarding the plane and Kirk and I start looking at our tickets for our seat numbers. Row 5, okay...wait a minute!...are you sure?...surely not!...are you kidding me?! The four of us sat down in our roomy first class seats while the rest of the gang walked on back! Oh, my goodness! While our family sat crammed in the back for 3 1/2 hours with no snacks (unless you want to pay $4 for some cheese and crackers) or leg room, we sat in plush seats with warm, roasted nuts, warm towels, a full course dinner and free head phones! What a way to end the trip. (We felt bad for the others...we really did.)

A Little Bit of This and That

I have allowed myself exactly fifteen minutes to write this post because I am in the middle of day two of making cake balls for the kiddos' teachers and athletic staff for Valentine treats. (Ever get in the middle of a project and ask yourself, "What was I thinking?!"--Yea, I am there now.--But cake balls...those are some yummy goodness right there!) Anyway, lots of random things that I don't want to forget follows...

Snow days used to be fun when I was a kid.--It snowed in the night and when you woke up, you looked outside and went berserk (that word looks so weird!). They would call off school, you'd play outside all day making forts, snow angels/snowmen, having snowball fights, and sliding down any slight incline you could find. It would melt enough by sundown that you'd go back to school the next day. A day off and pure fun! These days, well let's just say as of late in Oklahoma, we prefer to have "ice days". These entail bitter cold temps., sleeting and treacherous roads. School is called off for DAYS (did you hear me plural!) because IF the temps. rise and a little bit melts, it refreezes as soon as the sun goes down! Basically you are held captive in your homes until you think you cannot stand it any longer! Well, this time Aunt Lucy and I decided right off the bat to descend upon Nana. If we have to be miserable, let's do it all together! Needless to say, we camped out at my mom's for 3 days straight. We had a blast! The cousins played non-stop, did crafts and watched shows. We girls actually got to have a few uninterrupted conversations and even watched a movie one afternoon (that was not uninterrupted--I think we stopped and started it 15 times!). In the end, I think we all had a marvelous time!

The day it started, Kirk did take the boys outside and pull them on the sled. It was around 16 degrees and sleeting!

Okay, I am running over my time limit here and the cake balls are calling for me to come dip them, so I'll be quick..

Monday after school Joshua and I were working on his homework and he says, "Mom, we did this thing in class today where Mrs. Coleman wrote 'Love is_____' and we had to write something and draw a picture." He proceeds to tell me that he wrote, "...Jesus on the cross washing away our sins. I even drew the Roman soldiers!" Think maybe he's beginning to "get it"?

On a lighter note...the other night Kirk brought home Long John Silver's for dinner. When he walked in, the table was already set and the boys and I were seated. Immediately Joshua begins to bug Daddy about the hushpuppies.--Did he get him some extra ones, how many , blah blah blah!!!! John Thomas chimes in with, "My can't like washbuddies." We burst out laughing! Needless to say, our new word around the house has now become "washbuddies"!:)

Big Bear Campground

John Thomas will turn 3 on March 16. I had intended to change his room over to "big boy" at that time. I had already purchased the bedding that I wanted to use (did that in September or before, I can't recall, but wanted to make sure it didn't get discontinued--Target likes to do that with anything that is really cute or popular!) and had looked leisurely for furniture, but had not made any decisions yet. Mind you, JT does have a totally different personality than Joshua, however, as crazy as he is, he had not EVER tried to climb out of his crib. So this was not a necessity (no we are not pregnant with another--just to squelch any rumors!) I just felt that 3 was a good age and his birthday was a good time (seeing as he got every toy known to man for Christmas and there will be nothing to buy for him!). I had begun to be aware of the fact that when I'd check on him at night when he was really tired, his little body would look as if it stretched from one end of the crib to the other. I'd stand and stare and pat and listen to his breathing and leave feeling like my baby was getting so big.

Well, so much for easing into that transition of life for him or me!--On January 2nd, Nanny and I took the boys to the mall while Kirk, Gramps and Kyle moved out JT's nursery, replaced it with Joshua's furniture and brought in bunk beds to replace his! We came home to a disaster area, but both boys were ectatic! Well, I'll have to say that Joshua was totally over the edge and JT just kind-of looked around and thought, "Where did my room go?"! In a way it was like ripping off a bandaid really quick--I didn't have time to linger on the emotional implications this had for me. Yes, this is my baby boy, and probably the last we'll have, and we are putting his nursery furniture--the same that his big brother used--in the attic, and Kirk is making comments like, "I tried to get Kyle to take it for he and Heather to use.", etc., etc. But I didn't have time to pause and think about those things until...now!

For the first two weeks or so, I busied myself with MANY trips to Hobby Lobby and Walmart looking and buying anything to do with bears or camping (Theme= "Big Bear Campground"). I scoured the websites to find camping signs to hang, and made stencils to replicate the paw prints from his sheets. The entire family made an around the world and back trip to all the Targets in Tulsa to replace the lantern lamp I bought because it was broken and no one else had one (finally found the LAST one on the planet, I think.--Praise God!) I carefully put away all of his animals and "Noah" things on the shelves of his closet to make room for the new "accesories", and have made lots of calls and three trips to Big Lots in wishful thinking that they might have the leather club chair I saw in their December ad. (Still trying to convince myself not to spend $80 at Target on one!)

I am still lacking a rug (can't make up my mind), painting his book shelf (color depends on the rug color choice!), the chair, and a tree (hopefully Nanny's offer still stands to have hers!) to finish up the room, but overall I am pleased and so is John Thomas. (Good thing, I guess, since it is HIS room afterall!) So, now I've had time to sit back and process a little bit.--I have to say he really does seem happy in his new room, he has not fallen out of bed a single time (I am acutely aware of any loud noise on the monitor!), and when he wakes up after nap or in the morning he stills yells, "Mommy, my wake!" and doesn't get up until I come up there. Best of all though are the following two things: I get to snuggle in bed with him to read and say prayers, and when I check on him in the night, he looks REALLY tiny in that big bed!:)

I will not feel guilty. I will not feel guilty. I will not...

When I started this blog it was my intention to use it primarily as a tool to document my/my family's life since I don't. do. scrapbooking. EVER. I promised myself it would not become something stressful, because as you know, I can make a stressful situation out of most anything! Nonetheless, I am feeling guilty about not posting about Christmas and it is now January 14! It was a great and blessed time and must be documented, but because of my lack of time (instead of getting back into the routine of things and tying up loose ends from 2008, I decided to embark on a new project!--That is for another post, however!) I will limit my description to bullets rather than paragraph form. (And everyone said, "Amen"!)



*Friday, Dec. 19th--"Winter Party" at Joshua's school. I am homeroom mom for his class, so there was some stress, but overall the party was a great success. They each wore chef hats and decorated gingerbread houses!--That's right...let Tina plan the party and we will have a long lasting activity that keeps them calm and in their seats! They did have fun, though!:)




That night we had "Big Family Christmas" at my parents' house. Normally this involves my parents and all of my siblings and their families. This year, my older sister and her husband were unable to attend due to a business engagement, but my nephews still came. Steven brought his girlfriend, Barbara, whom we already love.--This is a good thing because before the break was over, he had proposed!:) We all enjoyed getting to visit, eat, open presents, eat and let the kiddos play (and eat!).

*Sunday, Dec. 21--Kirk, the boys and I headed out early to meet all of the Fridrich clan at church in Shawnee. The little kids' choirs were doing a Christmas musical and my boys enjoyed getting to be there.

That night, Aunt Cindy, Aunt Kelle, Morgan and the Davis bunch came over to Nanny and Gramps' and we ate and opened presents. (Is anyone seeing an underlying theme to our family get togethers?) Nanny/Gramps' spoiled us way too much and were finally able to tell the boys the big family gift...a trip for all of us to the Bahamas on Spring Break! We bohunks ended the evening-o-fun with a rousing time singing karoke! (No joke! We had the machine, microphone and everything!)

*Monday, Dec. 22--Both Nanny and JT were sick. Thankfully we were able to get appointments with Nanny's dr. in Shawnee. John Thomas had strep!!! He was pretty miserable, and taking that first round of antibiotics was a nightmare, but he was a trooper and improved drastically after a couple of days. (Nanny is STILL sick!) That night, I drove back to Tulsa to go to the Rockettes at the BOK Center with Mom, Melissa and Tracey. It was amazing and such a good time with the girls.

We stayed at Nanny/Gramps' until Christmas Eve afternoon, and then left with everyone to go to Prague. It was the first time any of us would spend the evening at Kirk's grandma's house without her being there. Although a beautiful poinsetta sat in her chair, her presence was so with us.

Kirk, the boys, and I left out with just enough time to meet my parents and Melissa, Rus and the girls at church in Tulsa for the Christmas Eve service. Campbell has already become a "Baddley Girl" in that she talked so much and so loud that Rus had to take her out!

We spent that night eating, of course, and getting the kids ready for a visit from Santa. Every year they wear matching Christmas pj's. It's been fun to add a new cousin the past two years! (Kirk did say that this would DEFINITELY be the last year for Joshua to wear the "fitted" kind!)



*Thursday, Dec. 25-Saturday, Dec. 27th--We spent at Mom and Dad's. Christmas morning was a hit as always. The kids were all nuts over Santa's visit and all of their gifts. It was several hours before the adults even started opening! Mom and Dad went totally overboard and lavished us all. We had a great breakfast and played all day and into the night, continuing when Tommy, Amy and Griffin came over for dinner.






*Saturday we were able to take down almost all of Mom's decorations. She likes LOTS and it is usually a MASSIVE and very tedious undertaking, but for some reason, this year was different. It still was a lot of work and took ALL day, but I truly enjoyed getting to be together and visit and share memories as we worked.

It sounds so corny, when we live a mile and a half a way and see each other all the time, but it is always a little emotional for me to leave their house after the holiday.

*Sunday, Dec. 28--We got to have Brett with us for church and lunch because he was already at TU practicing with the team. What a treat. We are so proud.


*Monday, Dec. 29/Tuesday, Dec. 30--We hung out, played, put away our decorations; one day it was 70 degrees and the kids got to play outside with no jackets! We also went to Owasso to see Lucy and the girls for lunch and playtime. Kirk came and got JK and they went to join the rest of the Fridrich/Davis boys for the Thunder game in OKC. Joshua got to see Shaq and Steve Nash!

*Wednesday, Dec. 31/Thursday, Jan.1--Nanny, Gramps and the Davis gang came and spent the night and rang in the new year! Guess what we did? (EAT!) We also had a basketball tourney on JK/JT's new arcade basketball hoops in the gameroom. I believe Brett won.:)

*Friday, Jan.2--Nanny and I took the boys to the mall while Kirk, Gramps and Kyle surprised them by changing out their rooms. We brought the boys home to the surprise of bunk beds for JK and big boy furniture for JT!

*Sunday, Jan.4--We went to church and to eat at the Renaissance with Nana and Grandaddy. Afterwards, we rushed home, changed clothes and headed out to the BOK Center to see the Harlem Globetrotters!! Compliments of Aunt Cindy!--What a great gift. It was a terrific time. We had second row seats right behind the Globetrotter bench and spent the afternoon laughing and oohing and ahhhing. What a great way to end the winter break!
*It goes without saying that the TV was on 24/7 the entire break airing only football bowl/ playoff games and an occasional late night movie on ONDemand. Go TU Hurricane. Enough said.

Okay, I know that was not exactly in "bullet form"...I tried, I really did. Okay, not so much!:) You can wake up now...It's finally over!

"The Hard Way"

Okay, can I just say in a nice and oh-so-blessed way, that it looks like Christmas threw up all over my house still?!!!!!! Nonetheless, I will post...but not about Christmas...that will come later (after new places have been found to put all the 1, 423 new toys my 2 children received).

However, I just had to jot this one down before it slipped my mind...

I arrived in Mississippi for my Mar's funeral on Sunday afternoon. I called home to check on the boys and see how things had gone getting ready for church, etc.

SIDENOTE: Joshua had made a booklet the week previous in Sunday School that contained pages that they could memorize to earn points towards prizes. He had kept it in the van and had looked at it several times, so I knew he was working on it. (Example: Books of the OT or NT, 10 Commandments, etc.)

Back to my story...I was already missing the boys and was anxious to talk to them when Joshua got on the phone. The following conversation ensued...

Me: Hi, Sweetest!
JK: Hi, Mom. (He always sounds so little on the phone.)
Me: How was church? Did Daddy brush your hair and help you tuck in your shirt? (Mind you I left EVERYTHING layed out and ready to go--including breakfast!)
JK: Yes. Hey, Mom?
Me: Yes, Baby?
JK: Guess what?
Me: What, Baby? (Normally at this point, I would become "IT".--I fall for the "What"game everytime. It really has become old these past few MONTHS!)
JK: I got to pick out a prize at Sunday School today!
Me: You did?! That's great! What did you memorize and tell your teacher?
JK: I did two!
Me: Are you serious?! Wow! Which ones?
JK: Fruits of the Spirit and the books of the New Testament
Me: Wow, Joshua!--I knew that you had learned "the fruits", but you did the New Testament too?
JK: Yes! (His voice is VERY excited and VERY confident.) AND she even said that I did it the "Hard Way"!
Me: The hard way?
JK: Yes, the hard way.
Me: What do you mean, Sweetie? (Confused, but trying not to hamper his excitement.)
JK: Out of order!!!!!

No, joke...and he was so proud that I had to cover the phone to keep him from hearing me burst out laughing! Oh, I do love my Joshua Kirk!

It Is Well With My Soul

Last week began in a fog of glory after winning the gold ball. Then on Tuesday, we received a call that Kirk's grandmother had passed away. She had enjoyed her weekend, even driving with her daughter from Prague to Shawnee to watch the championship game on TV. She was such an avid fan of her grandkids and great grandkids, that it was special that she got to watch her grandson Kirk and great grandson Kyle win their first gold ball together. (Although, she was mad that the players poured Powerade on Kirk because it was so cold!) Today would have been her 92nd birthday. She truly lived every minute of her life and loved her family dearly.

While getting ready for school on Thursday morning and planning to leave that afternoon after school for the visitation/funeral, I received another call. My grandmother had passed away. After a long battle with Alzheimer's, Marjorie Elaine Chitty Ferrell Shumate opened her eyes and went home to be with her Lord.

My sisters and I flew to Mississippi on Sunday and the funeral was Monday. My dad did part of the service and did an amazing job honoring my "Mar". Throughout the service and the time spent with my extended family before and after, I realized this...my memories of my grandmother are not immature or idealized. If anything, they were confirmed and enriched. My memories of my grandmother are of a true Southern lady. She had class and integrity. She dressed sassy, did not have any gray hair, and talked with a drawl that made you smile every time she said, "Hello, Darlin'". She wasn't like other grandmothers...she didn't bake cookies, she boiled shrimp and made crab etoufee' (no idea how to spell that!). She loved "Co-Cola" (Coke) on ice and long walks on the beach looking for shells. She was very smart and a voracious reader. She was an independent woman with great business sense, but dearly loved my grandfather and waited on him hand and foot out of love. She always did her quiet time and was serious about her walk with the Lord.

Over and over, friends, coworkers, class members, and family told countless stories of her passion for missions and diligence in reaching the lost for Christ. She taught a Sunday School class for years until the disease began to confuse her. She did not just believe in God, she believed God. She loved her Lord and she loved people. Isn't that what life is all about?

I have such a legacy. What I thought about my Mar is true and even more so. On Dec. 11th, that little lady not only got to see my grandaddy, but most importantly her heavenly Father, who I believe said, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

"And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul."

I love you, my Mar. I miss you. I WILL see you again.

This picture was taken the last time I saw Mar. My mom and I took Joshua to see her (and her husband, Jim) in October of 2002. She fell in love with him!