Members Only

I know it has been a while since my last post. Sorry! I can't promise that I'll be all that frequent after this post. Just had a funny story that I wanted to capture.

If any of you are interested in becoming a member (or memder, as it is written on the sign) of an exclusive club, the sign-ups begin July 13th through July 24th. The founding member, Logan, has indicated that to be a member of this trendy club you must like 3 of the same things. After further investigations, I have found out exactly which three things make you a shoe in. You must like Wizard 101 (an online computer game), Batman, and you MUST like to dress up like a pirate. The boy knows how to make an exclusive club!

The sign ups for the club I'm assuming will be in his room. There is a sign taped on the door saying, "Do not Enter. Club Memder only!" So, I guess you all will be meeting in there. Let me know if I'm in charge of snacks!

4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th....

On Friday, Josh picked me up from work and I had this awesome necklace in honor of year 4. I LOVE chunky jewelry!!!!! It is a bed necklace and the beads look like colored rocks. The coloration is turquoise (I love turquoise!!!!), brown (I love brown!!!!), and a pretty reddish color.

Ladies' Day was going to be Saturday at church, so I thought it would be really cool if I had something new that matched my new necklace to wear for Ladies' Day. I chose http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/womens/sweaters/vnecks/PRD~458141/axcess+Pointelle+Sweater.jsp in Island Blue. At Kohl's, I told Josh that I thought I need to go look at the earrings to see if I could find something that would match. He told me I didn't need to!!!! He said he would go ahead and let me have Day 5 and 6....which were earrings and a bracelet to match!!!!

It must be noted that the poor guy came down with strep throat over night from Sunday to Monday. He bought me some Reese's candies (LOVE anything Reese's makes) for our 7th year.

For year/day 8 he was home SICK!!!! I got a very touching card!!! I have to say that day 8 may be my favorite.

Today is day 9! He bought me hanging plants for the front porch.

I have to say....this is a lot of fun....I don't know that I'm ready for it to stop!!!!

On the 3rd Day of My Anniversary....

That sweet man got me perfume today, in honor of our 3rd year of marriage. This is so much fun!!!!

I'll keep you informed!

One the First Day of My Anniversary My True Love Gave to Me....

I want to preface this post with this comment: I, indeed, have the best husband this world could ever know!

Let me tell you why I am so bold as to make such a statement. Here's the story: Josh and I are down to one car at the moment. He came to pick me up from work yesterday. I open the door on the passenger side of the car. I get in. On the dash in front of my seat is a gift card to Lowe's. In the amount slot it reads, "a down-payment on Spring flowers in appreciation for our 1st year of marriage." I really thought, "WHAT?????" Then I started doing math (I know....a full day of teaching preschool and then to start doing math...whew). This year on April 11th is our 12th anniversary. March the 31st is 12 days away from April 11th. The gift card said, "in appreciation for our 1st year". I start thinking, "Does this mean I'm going to be getting something for the next 11 days?????" So, I spent all day today excited....waiting until he picked me up this afternoon to see if I was right. Before even opening the car door, my eyes went directly to the dash. Oh, no present....I thought. Oh, well. I still thought yesterday was sweet. I opened the door....wow!!!!....in my seat was a bag from Bath & Body Works that contained a bottle of body wash, a bottle of lotion, and a loofah. The card read, "Thanks for our 2nd year of marriage!" The body wash and lotion are from their aromatherapy line and this kind is for sleep. I have a little trouble relaxing and sleeping. So, the fact that he thought about that and bought something to help me sleep is incredibly appreciated.

I want you all to know I'm truly blessed and feel so special. He is the BEST!!!!!

And, I can't wait to tell you what I get tomorrow......

Spring Break??????

Since beginning my job at the beginning of March, I have been extremely busy & happy!!! Lots of things have suffered and gone by the way side. Namely, my house!

This week is Spring Break for us. The boys and I have been enjoying some very needed rest and relaxation. However, there have been some big projects completed.

Monday-Josh and I got out in the back and scrubbed the whole back of our house. Our house is siding and never receives sun on the back of the house, so it got a little moldy. That was a big job!!!

Tuesday-Josh mowed the grass. The boys and I weeded some of the flowerbeds. I cleaned out the sandbox and cleaned off the deck.

Today-The boys and I have DEEP cleaned their bedrooms. I think we found everything little boys are made of in there...snips, snails, and puppy dog tails.

I wonder what projects we will find for the rest of our "break".

What Adjective Describes You?

Well, folks, I'm busy! I haven't had time to even think lately. I'm preparing for my new job while working full time AND being a mom. My day has been beginning at 5:30 and ending at 10:00 or after with only one hour of doing nothing and that is because I'm in the car driving to and from school. Phew!!! I'm not trying to have a pity party, just stating a fact.

I keep remembering over and over in my head as I go about my day to day to-do's the Proverbs 31 woman. The Virtuous Woman!

Pro 31:1 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
Pro 31:2 What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows?
Pro 31:3 Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.
Pro 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink,
Pro 31:5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
Pro 31:6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;
Pro 31:7 let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.
Pro 31:8 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Pro 31:9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Pro 31:10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
Pro 31:11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
Pro 31:12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.
Pro 31:13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.
Pro 31:14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.
Pro 31:15 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.
Pro 31:16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
Pro 31:17 She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.
Pro 31:18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.
Pro 31:19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
Pro 31:20 She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
Pro 31:21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
Pro 31:22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Pro 31:23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.
Pro 31:24 She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.
Pro 31:25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
Pro 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Pro 31:27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Pro 31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
Pro 31:29 "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."
Pro 31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Pro 31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

Oh, of all the titles we as women wear, the most coveted of all is "virtuous". If you are a woman, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend, etc. you wear an adjective, whether you want to, or not. Is the adjective that describes what kind of friend you are "selfish"? Are you the "manipulative" grandmother? Are you the "controlling" mother? Might you be the "co-dependent" wife? Maybe the "gossiping" sister? I don't know about you, but I do know that I don't want anyone to think that of me. I want to be the kind of girl that Lemuel's mother told him to bring home.

In verse 10, a question is put forth, "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels." I find that to be a great question still today. Who has found an excellent wife? Who can even find one of those??? Well, I'll tell you, men could find them, if we, women would be excellent. Not given to silly, worldly lusts and pleasures, but given to God's Word and His teachings. Women who didn't care what star wore what to which award show. But, instead strove to see to it that our children never had the last pair of clean jeans on to wear to school the next day. If we didn't even care who Edward is. But, our husbands were known at his place of business to be an upstanding man with a wife that adores him and children that admire him. In verse 25, strength and dignity are said to be her clothing and she laughs at the time to come. Of course she laughs!!! She is living a life full of abundance. She can't wait for another day!!! She loves her Lord, she loves her family. Life is good!

God has made it quite plain what a good wife is. Let's be the kind of women our husbands deserve. And, teach our sons just as Lemuel's mother taught him the kind of women to be interested in. And, teach our daughters to be like the woman to which the mother of Lemuel was referring. I fail often, but daily strive to be just what God wants me to be and what Josh and Nathan and Logan deserve for me to be. Let's all laugh at the days to come!!!

Raising 'Em Right!

We watched Fireproof on Saturday evening. It is a really good movie. It was a movie that we didn't mind if the kids came in the room in the middle of the movie. In fact, Logan came in at one point and one of the characters was talking about salvation that is available to us because of what Jesus has done. Logan stopped and looked at the TV. He looked with a puzzled face at Josh and said, "He's right." So, I strongly encourage everyone to check it out. I think we as Christians should really support things that are wholesome in this dark world.

"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8

On a different note, I do one load of laundry a day. I have the boys sort the laundry for me. I'm trying to teach them to be responsible for themselves and be helpful around the house. I've started an extra step of this teaching process. Yesterday, I had them take the clothes that they had sorted and toss them into the washing machine. Yesterday, we did dark colors. Today, we are doing lights. This is the conversation that took place as Logan (Nathan was doing his homework, so Logan had to do the job alone today) sorted the laundry and put it in the washing machine.

Logan: I know which ones we are doing tomorrow.
Me: Oh, you do???
Logan: Yep, the reds.
Me: Why, yes, we are.
Logan: Yesterday, we did the darks. Today, we are doing the lights. So, that means tomorrow we are doing the reds.

I have to say, I am quite pleased with that. I know that this little dialogue is a far cry from him being a responsible adult that helps around the house and is a great contributor to every thing he is involved with, but....it made his Mama proud....I hope I'm raising 'em right.

Happy VD...oops, I Mean Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! It has been a great Valentine's Day for us. We went out to Famous Dave's last night and went to a movie. We watched New in Town. I thought it was a great date movie. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen and probably will never seek to watch it again, but it was great for the occasion.

Sidenote: Speaking of movies that don't fit the occasion. It sure beats the time that a friend and I went out after the kids (they were all toddlers at the time) went to bed one night (we didn't leave them unattended, for those of you that were wondering...we left the children with their fathers...in theory, they were being taken care of... ;) ). We went to see Cold Mountain. I won't ruin the movie for those of you who have not seen it, but let's just say, it is depressing!!!! Yeah, that is how you want your girls night out to be...depressing.

Tonight, we are going to watch Fireproof on DVD at home with some popcorn. Hope you all enjoy your Valentine's Day and grow closer to your Valentine!

Jay Oh Bee

Have you figured it out???? Jay Oh Bee, or J-O-B, or JOB, or I have a job!!!! I am so excited to be employed. I have been substitute teaching at the boys' school, but now I will be a preschool teacher at the boys' school. A real job that I go to every day. I haven't had one of those in a while. God has blessed me. Wish me luck. I start March 2nd.

All the Pretty Colors.....

Well, it is officially DAY 5 of Logan's bout with the FLU! At some point, I expect it to stop. Not sure when, but I'm expecting it. He has been a great patient, though. Yesterday, he started playing with some little plastic army men on his window ledge. He has divided the men into two different teams and making them take turns to fight someone from the other team. He has a pointer (it looks like a little Mickey Mouse hand pointing on a stick....he bought it from the book fair, so his teacher could have a back-up if she lost hers....the kid is hilarious!!!) that he uses to push the fighter from each side to the battleground. He then makes sound effects for their battle and then the pointer pushes the loser off of his window ledge. I jokingly referred to Logan as Napoleon yesterday to Josh. I only hope his little body is doing that on the inside with the flu germs, so we can get back into the real world.

One good thing, I've been cleaning. When someone becomes ill in my house, we all become high from fumes. When Logan got sick on Wednesday, I sent all things flu germy into his room and went into GERM FIGHTER MODE. I go Chuck Norris on germs. I think if I were a super hero, I would be some germ fighting ninja or something. I've been germ fighting for so long that my hands are cracking open. I say, if you are going to do something, do it with all your might. But, even for a die hard like me, five days of straight germ fighting can get old. I'm ready for this to end. But, I won't give up, I must stay the course. Wherever there are flu spores, they must know that I will hunt them down and bleach or Lysol them. There is no messing with the Germ Fighting Ninja!

I'm also reading my Bible through from Genesis to Revelation this year. Right now, I'm in Leviticus. For me, Leviticus is the hardest book to get through. It does make me so very thankful for Jesus. If He had not come to save me from my sinful ways, I'd be having to keep all of these laws. I have enough trouble remembering to put all the ingredients in certain recipes, much more remembering every detail about all of the laws that the Israelites had to follow. Praise God for having a better way!

Alas, I must be off to rid the Pappas house from it's flu overtaking. The oxygen level is coming closer to 100%. I must get it back to 100% bleach and Lysol. So much to do, kids, until next time...WASH, WASH, AND AWAY!!!!!

FLU

Yep, you heard me correctly...FLU!!!! I usually try to think of catchy titles for my blog posts, but it occurred to me....what's more "catchy" than the flu??....sorry, I know it was a tacky joke. That said, Logan has the flu. The flu. THE FLU. Can you even believe it???

We have never gotten flu shots, but this year I intended to get the kids flu shots, at least. However, when I thought of getting the shots, at least one of the boys were sick. You know what they say about the "best laid plans of mice and men"...."they often go awry". Oh, well. Now we have the flu.

Logan has been a trooper. He always is. That is one thing about him. He will always try to shine even in the darkest of times. He has handled this sickness well. I think he may be on the mend as I type this and he is only 3 days in. I am quite thankful for this. He has also been able to rest at night. For that I'm truly thankful. Being awake and sick through the night is pure agony, and I'm happy for him that he hasn't had trouble sleeping at night.

Josh has been working from home during the day. Today, when I returned home from school, I gave Logan a Pop-Tart. Logan asked for whipped cream to be put on it..."like Daddy did". Oh, Josh, how you are spoiling your sweet, sick boy!!! I don't blame you, but I'll have you know I one-upped you....when I put the whipped cream on, it was in the shape of a smiley face. I can't have you winning, now can I???

The Hands that Rock the Cradle....

There is a secret that you in the bloggy world don't know about me. Those of you who read this and know me personally are well aware of my secret. I'll just say it......"My name is Keshia Pappas, and I am a hand talker.".....there, I said it. I talk with my hands. I really believe that if my hands were tied down, my speech would be greatly hampered.

I have most recently noted that my frantic swatting and flailing is being passed down to my boys. They have been cracking us up around here. Logan with is sudden throwing up his arms and saying something and walking off and Nathan with his matter of fact pointing and glaring eyes. Bless their little hearts, they have not fallen far from the tree.

This makes me think about nurture vs. nature. I wonder if they picked this up from watching me EVERY day, or if there is some quirky thing in their genetic makeup bent on making them hand talkers. Either way, let's all give a sigh for Josh. He has to deal with 3 people talking in a very dramatic way with their hands on a daily basis.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

Don't we all hate "technical difficulties"???!!!!??? I know I do. Well, I hate to tell you guys this, but my blog is experiencing technical difficulties. I will fess up to being the "technical difficulty", though. I have several really good posts that you all would love to read, but they require that I have the picture(s) to go with them. For some reason, I CAN'T figure out why my pictures will not download. It seems that Josh can put any pictures he wants on his blog (By the way, if you haven't checked out my hubby's blog...you should. Here is the link http://joshualpappas.blogspot.com/ .). Josh has tried to help me with it, also. He didn't have any luck. So, I will try to figure this out.