Ok...I know...I'm officially awful at this blogging thing. What it's been almost 3 months since my last blog. I really just need to block off a certain time to do this...but no 2 days are ever the same.

Anyway, I'll make the most of this blog.

Hmmm...where to start?? I guess I wouldn't have this problem if I did this more often. Ok...so I just got home from church..it's 9:30pm!! We are practicing for Dinner Theater from 3pm until...

I must admit..I'm exhausted! I did something to my left leg muscle, AGAIN! It's very sore right now. I should go get in a really HOT bath and see if that helps any??!! Well, practice was long, but good. We still have a long way to go, though. I must say that all be it the same production we did last year...it is SOOO much better this time.

To catch you up from the last posts...

We did go to Mexico!! It was so fun and so many memories were made. Like on our flight...Jude and I were sitting next to a woman who only spoke Spanish, but yet she would still try to talk to us...as if , if she said it enough times we would understand what she was saying!!?? Jude just colored her some pictures and asked her how to spell some things in Spanish. He didn't really get frustrated with the language barrier...whereas Olivia...my non-stop communicator ("jabberbox") struggled. She kept asking me to help her speak in Spanish...which probably won't get her much farther than hand motions!! We went to church with Derrick and Val. The women leaders were in charge of the service. Val took up the offering...she had to do it in Spanish, and she did an AWESOME job!! Not only are red-headed people loved there...they also were all drawn to Sophia..so we titled her our "International Cutie". We had a BlAsT!! We can't wait to go back...hopefully in June 2009:)

Downtown Guadalajara

Jesus Jamboree 2008

Last year I was a "Trophy Wife"....this year an 80's Girl!! It was funny to have the guys who were in high school then come up to me and LOVE my hair...I thought.."Ick" this was suppose to be a JOKE..not a "turn on"!!

Gabby Godfrey and Me...80's, Baby!!!


From Left to Right:

Hannah Godfrey as Gabriella from HSM, Jude as Buzz Lightyear, Elijah as a Curious George, Sophia as a monkey, Olivia the Veterinarian of all these animals, Elissa as a Poodle.

Well, we went and cut down our own Christmas tree. I must admit though, only the lights have made it onto the tree...no decorations YET!! Hopefully tomorrow:) The kids have had so much fun decorating this year...Last year they tended to be more in the way! Elijah says, "Big, big tree!!!" every time he sees it! Elissa wasn't very fond of it at first...especially when a little piece of the branch hung over the side of the car and was touching her window! Yeah, she started crying HisTaricalLy!! Oh...another funny thing involving the tree...As Keith is heaving to get the tree on to the top of the Suburban, Sophia (she always has something crazy to say) yells, "Look the car has HAIR! NO LOOK...it's a MOHAWK!!" Keith almost wore the tree on his head:)

Before the cutting!

Teamwork!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elissa trying to pull this baby tree up!

The Suburban's "Mohawk"!!

So..the last thing...getting in the Thanksgiving Spirit I wanted to post ten things (in no particular order) that I am thankful for!

1. Jesus dying for my sins

2. My wonderful Husband

3. My 6 precious, healthy blessings

4. My Dad and New Mom

5. My loving Pastor who ALWAYS speaks truth to me!

6. Keith's job

7. My church family

8. Our cars and their "health"

9. Opportunities to teach and train young people

10. This wonderful season :)

Until next time...whenever that may be:)

Blogging...

So I am really trying to figure out how to fit blogging into my already crazy schedule. I haven't figured it out, so I apologize for being a sporadic blogger!

OK. Exactly 2 weeks ago today, Elijah got his left middle finger smashed in a folding chair...thanks to the help of his older brother, Jude! He cried, and it immediately turned bluish-purple..mmm mmm lovely! Well, a week goes by, and it continues to look the same. On the one week anniversary of the incident I happen to look at it, and the entire tip of that finger is swollen, puffy, red and the fingernail is bright (abnormal) white! I try not to panic, but when I realize that it is 4pm and our chances of seeing the Pediatrician are zero...I start to lose it. Mostly because I cannot stand to go to the ER! I called and got an appt. for the next morning. We went and got put on antibiotics...as if we could NOT call those in people!! I know, I know there are regulations...but it's me, for goodness sake, right?! No, really I do understand...times like this make me wish I were in Mexico :)

Now on the 2 week anniversary today, it looks absolutely awful! I ended up having to clip as much as I could off because it was starting to catch on things. NaStY! So it is now hanging on by the cuticle. I'm guessing that it will detatch soon!

Well, it is official...we are going to MEXICO!! Team Noles is leaving for Mexico Sept. 13th and will return Sept.18th. God helped us find some airline tickets last night that were mucho(brushing up on the ol' espanol) cheap! Thanks, Jesus!! We will have to drive to Charlotte, NC and fly out from there...and then drive back on the way home...but it was way worth the discount!

I am so excited to see what all God has in store for me and Keith and the rest of the fam!

Can you believe that Elijah and Elissa are almost 2 years old???? Part of me wants to cry...but the other part of me is excited to finally be getting out of the "Baby Phase" of life. We have been there for almost 7 years straight, and I am definitely ready to move on! Hopefully, God has no more jokes up His sleeve! So, we will be celebrating their birthday this Friday seeing as we will be in Mexico the following weekend!!!!

The twins will be staying in the states this time we go to MX. We will be taking all of the other kids with us! Should be an adventure!

One last thing before I go get ready to teach dance at the studio...I have been eyeing a sectional sofa at La-Z-Boy for almost a year now! It was MuchO expensive...so Keith and (reluctantly) I have been waiting. Well, I also am an avid "Craigslister", and I just happened to be looking at sofas, when...I saw the sectional we had been looking at!!! We did a little research and after making sure we could add a few pieces on to it, we were hooked! We looked and bought it all in the same night. It cost us less than 1/5 of the retail price, although we are still looking at purchasing a few more seats to make it bigger! Thank you, Jesus! He really does prvide all of our needs!

Well, like I said...I am going to blog when possible:)

Virgin Blogger

Ok...here goes. I am a "Virgin Blogger", so give me a break if this is cheesy!

Hmm...where to begin?? I know! Why am I blogging? I love to write in a journal...but never seem to find the time to sit down with my journal AND a pen, but I do find myself sitting here in front of my computer quite frequently. So I am going to try to blog out some of my life, thoughts, joys, sorrows, and struggles. I'm sure you will find my life quite amusing...as I find myself the victim of God's humor very often. He likes to continually remind me that it is He that is (and always will be) in control of my life and not ME! Although I think I could do a pretty good job at handling my own life, I'm learning that I better just stick to obeying His commands and not try to make up the path on my own.

So, I felt like I had my life under control for awhile...and then I became pregnant with my twins. From February 14, 2006 (Week 6) until April 13, 2006, I was in and out of the hospital and then sent home with In-home health care for constant nausea and dehydration. I had a PICC line inserted and I gave myself fluids and meds through my IV through that time. I also had my church family on a rotation to come and take care of my other 3 kids, while I laid in my bed. I remember asking God why He refused to heal me? As time went on I learned He was teaching me to trust even when I don't know why. I won't lie...tough is not even a strong enough word to describe how it felt. I tried to reason it out with God...how if children are a "blessing" is this a "blessing"? Nothing really ever made sense, but I learned to trust that He knew what He was doing...I mean...it is His plan and all:)

On April 13th, my PICC line became infected, and the nurse took it out. Again, I had to trust God. Up until this point, I had not really eaten or drank anything since February!! I was so scared I was going to start the process all over....back in the hospital...potentially getting another PICC line in the other arm! Thankfully, my God allowed my body to tolerate food and drink in very small portions. So, for 14 weeks I was out of bed and back being a wife, mother, friend, church-goer...someone in the land of the living!!! I felt great! I taught in VBS and even played games!

Then on July 27th, something didn't feel right. Still to this day, I can't tell you what that "something" felt like, but I told Keith I need to stay home from church. I did, and when he came home I still felt the same. I sat and debated whether or not it was something major or not...to go to the hospital or not?! Finally, at around 7pm, Keith took me to the hospital. They get me in to triage, start me on a monitor, and then "check" me. I was dilated to 1cm!! I was only 27 weeks along!! I stayed calm, but wondered what the next steps were. They called Dr. S, which was reassuring, and she told them what to do! They immediately took me into a room and started me on the worst drugs possible...Magnesium Sulfate. The next 4 days were completely horrendous. I had some awful nurses, not to mention how my body felt. I really thought I was going to lose my mind if I had to stay there one more day, thankfully God knew my limit, and I was released from the hospital that day. I went home on a medicine pump that helped my contractions to stay minimal.

When I was 35 weeks and 5 days, I delivered Elijah Canon and Elissa Grace. We had a small hurdle for the next 9 days as Elijah had to be in NICU for his breathing and eating issues. All of this to say, just when I begin to think I can handle things on my own, God throws me a curve ball!

My latest curve ball came in the form of an eleven year old. Again, just as the twins were beginning to eat table food, sleep consistently, and toddle around, I thought...whew! I've made it through the tough part...I've got it all under control. The babies turned 1 yr Sept. 11th and on Oct. 25, 2007, we found out my sister-in-law, Tina, had ALL (Acute Lymphoidal Leukemia). We received her 11 yr. old son on Nov. 7th. I started homeschooling him, along with Olivia. Tina struggled for 2 short months, and on Christmas day, she went Home to be with Jesus!!

So, after Keith and I had said we were done having kids...that 5 was E-nough...God threw His curve ball. Now understand, that Keith and I had done much investigating on adoption, but every time it did not fit our family's needs at the time. But this did! Now if you don't know Austin's whole story (I can go into details later), but Tina actually adopted him after fostering him. She received him when he was 3 mo. old. The most amazing God thing is that he has RED HAIR, just like all of my other kids! God knew long ago, where he would end up! So I continue to keep my catching mitt on just in case God gets any more wild ideas!

Well, I need to go...hope you enjoyed this first blog as much as I did.