pure fun

Yep, this is the kind of fun you should expect with a 3 year old boy and 1 year old girl- I love every day God gives me with them.

I know, I know

Yes, it has been over a year since my last post. Life happened and I find myself missing the blogging world. So, I'm back. Too much to catch up on so I am giving you an updated family picture and 5 of my favorite things that have happened- enjoy!

1) Jeremy and I have been living in Boone, NC almost three years now working with students at Appalachian State and Lees McRae through InterVarstiy Christian Fellowship. It is pretty much awesome.

2) I am still a consultant with Mary Kay, loving the skin care products more and more (especially in the dry winters) and having fun pampering women with the great products.

3) November 25th of last year I gave birth to our daughter, Moriah Conklin, with the help of my amazing husband and incredible Midwife, Carrington. I will ALWAYS use a midwife now for any future children we may have. (no, I am NOT pregnant)

4) I learned how to use a sewing machine last year with the help of some App students. I've made coasters, napkins, and even a dress that I've worn twice- this is a miracle considering my abilities. Looking forward to more projects!

5) God has been teaching me more and more that I NEED HIM and HIM alone- I cannot rely on man or on circumstances or on routine, I must rely on HIM and that is GREAT news ;)

P.S. Want some AMAZING family photos like ours??? Check out SR Photography . . . . I cannot say enough GREAT things about them!!!

Boone in February

I love Boone. I love Boone in February. Here is a fun shot that my sister Lisa took of Joshua in the backyard. Little man loves to be outside and it can be quite chilly in the mountains. We get nice days like this when the sun is out and bright and the air is not to chilly for some play time outside. God is good.

Lack of Sleep

Sleep deprivation is torture. Seriously. It is a technique used to torture prisoners- keep someone awake long enough and they will start to fall apart. Many of you moms and dads out there can testify to this. Having a newborn or a sick child can make nights seem torturous and begin to make you a little nutty and if you are at home with your children and not sleeping- this can make you over-react to anything and everything. I can remember short times of feeling hopeless when Joshua was a newborn. It took me a while to learn how to nap when he napped. Not a fun lesson to learn the hard way.

It's been a few tough weeks here in the Greenberg home. Joshua is just getting over RSV and an ear infection. He has two new teeth cutting in, and we've moved him out of the crib. Enough to make any baby wake up a lot at night. Now that I have perspective as a mom, I know, this too shall pass. I might be a little cranky, a lot tired, and the house may be a wreck for a little longer than I'd like, but I will survive. Waking up 2-4 times a night for 2 weeks has not been great for my attitude- but reminding myself of the truth of the gospel always gives me peace. So, for those of you out there having a rough week- thanking God for the weekend, and wondering if you will survive next week, I leave you with some of the lyricks to a song that encourages me with truth.

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strenght, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depts of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all-
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

No guilt in life, no fear in death-
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry, to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Til He returns or calls me home-
Here in the Power of Christ I Stand.

"Tracy. Come back to the blogosphere!"

Thanks Amy! I needed that- ummmmm it has been over 2 months since I posted. Never thought that would happen. I took a much needed "break" from blogging that somehow turned into a long season away- from blogging and reading blogs. Wow, I have A LOT to catch up on.

So, as our fireplace runs, the snow falls down in the yard, Joshua sleeps on the couch, my eyes adjust to new contacts, and my body craves another cup of coffee . . . let me rejoin my blogging friends and hopefully make a few people smile.

Here is the Joshua. 16 months old. Five full days of driving to Florida and back. Isn't he a ham?

SNOW!

We got enough snow yesterday to take Joshua sledding in the backyard. He had a blast and it was fun for us to watch him look curiously at the "white stuff" all over. Now, for your help- the thing you ride down hills on the snow in- is it a sled or a toboggan???

So far in November . . .

It has been a great month of seeing friends from VA! Our highlight was getting to go on a double date with the Mingee's while Joshua and Aiden were watched by Aiden's grandparents. It was SO NICE to catch up with Jeff and Lauren- God has blessed us so much with their friendship.

The proud moms!

Our Men- the big ones and the little ones

April came for a visit and took lots of walks with Joshua

Joshua at his first baby shower- Yay for Baby Kang- coming January 2009

Feeding ducks in the Chappell's backyard

October

Although I was sick for most of October, it was a busy month for our little man . . . here is what he was up to while mom was down for the count:

Joshua became a big fan of taking naps in the car- check out his cool (and fake) brown leather jacket with motorcycle patch and all!

Picking out pumpkins at the local Pumpkin Patch was fun and a bit chilly :)

There were so many to pick from, he could not decide

He also started climbing the cart in his room . . .

. . . and would bring mom whatever he found :)

Again, naps in the car became a fun routine.

He also enjoyed trying on all of mom and dad's toboggans (the hat, not the sled)

Laughter IS the best medicine . . .

Here is a 1 1/2 minute clip of Joshua laughing and playing in his crib. He seems to be amused with a small plastic medicine dropper stopper. Seriously, it is the little things that make him happy. Hope you all get a smile out of this!

TAG

My first official TAG!!!!





Thanks Lauren! I loved reading yours- but I do admit similar feelings: do I have any truely interesting or earth-shattering facts to share about myself? I may have to enlist my hubby as well! (BTW, Lauren, Iron Man was the last movie I watched as well :) )


Seven Random/Weird facts about myself:

1) My first real job was the summer after my junior year of high school. I worked in the Press Room for the Greensboro News and Record Newspaper. I went in at 11pm and was off by 4am. This was apealing because 3 of my high school buddies also worked there. During the summer we would hang out at night until we went in to work at 11. Then we would crash after 4am and wake up at 1 or 2 in the afternoon the next day. I shuffled sales papers and inserts into a big machine that would feed them into each individual paper. Not bad for a summer job.

2) I gave birth to my baby boy with no drugs. I'm not bragging, don't get me wrong. I watched a video of a woman getting an epidural and it sealed my decision to try for "natural." The question I get most often is "did it hurt?". Ummmm. . . YES!

3) My sister threw me a surprise birthday party for my Sweet Sixteen. She was only 13 at the time, calling all my "cool" friends to spread the word. I had no idea and burst into tears when I walked into my house. I got her back real good- A surprise 21st birthday a month before the actual birthday (She was going to be in Italy). So, we are even . . . for now :)

4) I am married to the IV Staff worker of App State. This is where I went to college and became a believer through IV. It all comes around full circle.

5) I have hair that grows on the palm side of my index finger. A great fact I always use when playing 2 truths and a lie. I had surgery when I was 5 on my finger and they used a skin graph from my leg. Now my finger gets tan in the summer on the palm side and it has a little peach fuzz. Just about the size of a quarter.

6) I'm a sucker for Jane Austin books and movies about them. A&E Pride and Predjudice is my all time favorite (only slightly behind the Godfather over all!) I made Jeremy watch it when we were dating. He actually enjoyed it more than I thought!

7) I have a horrible bad habit- picking my lip. It is gross and I wish I had never started. Jeremy has been working hard to get me to stop. It is fairly embarassing and so it might help me stop by confessing on here

Okay- I tag: Robyn, Kenan, and Andy!

Sick, Sick, Sick

Here are my two favorite men! And here is where I have been the past several weeks:

I have been downright SICK going on about the third week now. The past two nights are the first in a LONG time that I have not woken myself up by hacking up my lungs. What must have started as a 24 hour virus to one doctor, ended up as a nasty sinus infection to another doctor.

I have never had a sinus infection before, and trust me, I don't ever want to experience that mess again. Joshua was sick the first week with me. Although being sick for him meant yummy pink medicine. Being sick for me meant a constant tickle in the throat, sore eyes and stomach from coughing, a terrible attitude towards life in general, and an "almost" trip to the ER with Joshua agian. Let me explain.

Joshua can be clever in ways that I am now considering dangerous. A few weeks ago he was playing with a bottle of Tylenol (it's just like a fun rattle to him) when all of the sudden the "rattling" stopped. I looked down of the floor to see him swimming in a sea of red and blue gel caps. Yep, somehow the "child proof" top had come off. But, as clever as he is, I thought this was a fluke. Skip ahead a few days. Joshua is now playing with a bottle of Excedrin Migraine. I am watching, so it seems safe. But, all moms know, it takes one thing to catch our attention for a few moments and . . . Joshua is throwing my migraine meds up in the air. Not good. Luckily, it was a new bottle that I had only taken 2 pills from, so I gathered the pills off the floor and quickly counted to make sure he had not ingested any. Lesson learned? Oh, you would think so.

Fast forward to last week. (In my defense, remember, I have been sick for some time now) One of my favorite A.S.U. students, Liz, has come by to do some grocery shopping for me. Joshua is fussy and trying to grab at my prescription cough medicine. I put him down and say "watch this" as I had the deadly bottle over. "Joshua can open child proof bottles. He has done it twice already." As I continue this conversation about Joshua and his super baby abilities my little man goes to town. Liz and I are carrying on our conversation and I glance down as Joshua runs to my side holding my deadly cough medicne bottle upside down- oh yes- and the top is off. There is sticky, yellow, highly dangerous medicine on his hands, shirt, pants- I look down, there is a small puddle on the carpet. Oh, geeze. I realize there is no way to win the best mommie award this year.

I am much calmer than our last catastrophe. I run him to the bathroom to rinse him off while Liz looks for my Poison Control magnet on the fridge. It is not there- of course not- Joshua has removed it and it is likely in the bottom of his toy box or in one of Jeremy's shoes (his two favorie places to stick things). Liz stays with me so I don't loose my mind and I find the phone number I need on the internet. I had a lovely conversation with Tonya, my new contact person from Poison Control. No smell of the meds on Joshua's breath, no indication that it was in his mouth. I just need to watch him and check back with Tonya in 2 hours, then again in 3.

Yep, never a dull moment in the Greenberg home- especially with a sickly mom and super clever baby Joshua. I am now heeding the advice of my poison control friend and purchacing a tackle box and pad lock from Wal-Mart. Apparently, I am not the only mom who has this problem (but let's be honest- Joshua is barely 14 months old, a bit young to master the child proof tops). So, I am sharing this as a testimony that God continues to be good to me and protect my baby boy as he continues to become more curious and adventurous. I am also sharing because I cannot be ashamed of my mistakes as a mom and I am growing in this part of my life. If I were a perfect mom then I would not need Christ and the thought that I don't need Christ is a big fat lie. I need Christ.

Fall in Boone, NC

Jeremy, Joshua, and I got to drive on the parkway the other day- it was so beautiful. I missed the peak of the leaves because I have been sick for over a week- but I can't complain at the view I got! I LOVE BOONE!

Joshua had fun at Price Park playing in the leaves

He also got to spend some time in the trees- our little monkey :)

Football . . .

Jeremy and I went to the first App State home game a few weeks back- along with 30,000 other screaming students, alumni, fans, and locals. It was INSANE. I think I went to 4 football games in total while I was a student- things sure have changed in 8 years. The students now can't believe that football was ever any different than it is now. With the mountaineers being back to back to back champions- it seems like the team was always incredible. Homecoming is this weekend and I may end up just staying home with the Joshua. I don't know if I could handle another game- don't get me wrong- I LOVED going and watching the guys rip into the other team- but I was so tired from just a few hours on my feet! I am getting old. Besides, there are lots of Alumni coming in for the weekend and I'm sure I am going to have fun just catching up with old friends- which is more important to me anyway :) GO APP STATE!!!

Must have something sweet . . . .

So, I'm not sure if it is fair to blame Joshua or not, but ever since the third trimester of my pregnancy- I have had the WORST sweet tooth ever. Don't hear me wrong- before Joshua I would love to eat up a bowl, or two, of ice cream- grab a candy bar in the line at the grocery store- pick all of the M&M's out of my homemade Gorp. Things are much different now- Jeremy can testify. I feel the NEED to have dessert all the time. Now, I know I don't NEED it- but the desire and craving goes beyond my belly to the deepest parts of my soul. Seriously, just ask Jeremy. There is a pumpkin pie sitting on my stove cooling and it is all the self control I have in me to wait the recommended 2 hours of cooling before I eat it. I can taste it right now- with whiped cream on top!!! Mmmmmm . . . . Is there a cure for this addiction? Is there hope for my poor teeth? Will I ever find a "healthy" dessert to indulge in with no guilt? In honor of my cravings- I give you my top 3 lists tonight of favorite sweets :) Don't forget to let me know some of your favorites!!!

Candy Bars

Snickers
Nestle Crunch
Kit-Kat

Ice-Cream

Coffee
Mosse Tracks
anything with caramel

Pies

Pumpkin
Pecan
Chocolate

Best Overall

Tiramasu
Tiramasu
Tiramasu

P.S. I will wait the full 2 hours to eat the pumpkin pie- I have half an hour to go, and Jeremy will be home soon to join me :)

The Joshua on "Jack Johnson"

The Glue Head Shot

Movie Trivia

Can you guess what movie this quote is from?

"You ought to be stuffed with nails, you ought!"

I'm watching it right now on DVD!

Trip to the ER

Well, Joshua had quite an eventful morning. Around 9:45 he dove off the couch (while sitting next to me) hit his head on the corner of our coffee table, and landed on his belly. This is where I think the worst and go into panic mode. I picked him up and watched as blood poured out of his head- holding him tightly and both of us in tears, I grabbed my phone out of my back pocket to call 911 and rushed to the kitchen to put a washcloth on his head to stop the bleeding.

I am still in panic mode, rushing out the back door as I tremble on the phone giving my address and Joshua's current condition: crying, bleeding profusely, not letting me hold anything to stop the bleeding. I collapse on the gravel driveway and lean against our car. Joshua stops crying. The 911 dispatcher asks if he has lost conciousness. "no" I say, "he just stopped and is trying to play with the rocks in our driveway" (his favorite place to play). I continue to cry, even though Joshua has stopped. I continue to answer questions on the phone and my body continues to tremble. The ambulance is on the way. I call Jeremy and quickly tell him what has happened and before I get off the phone he is on his way to meet us at the hospital. I rush down to our neighbors, knowing the husband is a trained EMT. No one is home. Minutes pass and I call 911 again to make sure I told them the correct address- I am still in panic mode. Yes, they are on their way.

My neighbor pulls up, sees me covered in blood and Joshua looking like he is ready for Halloween. He looks him over- askes some questions, reasures me that Joshua will be okay- all his signs look good- stiches may be needed. I rush inside to grab his diaper bag thinking- I might need to change him at the hospital. I walk back outside, the ambulance is here.

The two men help me and Joshua into the back, they ask me questions, I have finally stopped crying. I am still shaking. Joshua is smiling "ball?" he says over and over again. He wanted to play with his ball. They check a few vitals and we are off to the hospital. I realize I have stopped shaking and crying. I look down, covered in blood, I start to cry again thinking of what a terrible mom I am. "Everything is going to be fine", the EMT tells me, "Joshua is in great shape- we'll just clean him up for you." He began cleaning Joshua's face and arms and Joshua starts to look more and more normal- except the cut above his eye.

I ride off of the ambulance on the gurnie with Joshua clinging tightly to me. We go to our room, Jeremy joins us within the minute. Joshua goes to his Dad, still smiling and wanting to play "ball?" he says. As the nurses and doctor come in the prognosis is good: small cut, deep, but not dangerous. Stitches or glue? Glue? Yes, glue- easier on the little ones. Yes, glue. As the doctor super-glues Joshua's head- he screams at the top of his lungs. Not from the pain, but because we have swaddled him in a sheet and are holding him down. He hates this. Jeremy askes questions, I continue to hold onto Joshua as tight as I can. We sign some papers, and head out the door. Joshua is fine, mom is recovering, Dad to the rescue!

What a morning we had. What a funny blue mark the glue has made on his head. What a rude welcoming to parenthood and childhood. I've had enough to last me a few years. All the while in my mind today "The Lord is my strenght." Thank you, Lord, for being my strength today.

Fun things for mom!

I am loving all of these blessings God has given me here:

A great home church: Crosspointe Community Church

A women's discipelship group on Friday mornings - we are going through "Gospel Transformation"

MOP's- a group for Mom's with Preschooler's that meets twice a month for fellowship, community, and they watch the little ones for us!

Reading Tuesdays! Reading day every day at the library- but Tuesday's are our favorite storyteller!

Molly and Fiona- a mother and daughter (4 months old) I have befriended and spend lots of fun time with

Games with my hubby! Since cable does not exist in our house, we have been enjoying lots of time playing games on the couch at night. Phase 10 and Monopoly have been our regular ones!

Tiramisu . . .

. . . how I love thee