Better late than never

I had intended to write a big long blog post about the past week's events....but now I just don't want to go into everything.

Here's the bullet-point version:

• Wednesday 21st: Ed found out his dad, Larry, had a heart attack and was in ICU
• Thursday 22nd: Ed, Edwin, and I left our house headed for Ohio at 8pm
• Found out at 11pm that his dad had passed away
• Arrived in Ohio at 8am Friday 23rd - Ed was able to go to the hospital to say his goodbyes

I hate that it all sounds so cold, but a blog for me isn't the place to talk about something like this. I personally didn't know his dad all that well, but I know that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have my husband or my son. For that, I'm eternally grateful. And I'm sad that Ed is sad.

One thing I will say though is this: If you ever doubted why Ed & I decided to do Financial Peace University, if you ever wondered why it's a big deal to budget, if you ever thought it was a waste of time...let me just tell you something. When we made the decision to drop everything and go to Ohio, we weren't sure what that would mean. Ed could possibly miss out on several days' pay. A hotel could get expensive, gas could cost a lot, who knew how long we'd be gone? But you know what? We were able to drop everything with no financial worries. We used our emergency fund to reserve a hotel (got a great deal on Priceline by the way!), we paid cash for everything...and when we got back, we replenished the emergency fund. No additional credit card debt, no wondering how we'd pay for everything. It wasn't an easy trip, but at least the money part was "easy".

On another note, it was soooooooooooooo nice to see Jeanie and Glenn! Obviously the circumstances of our trip weren't the best, but we made it work. They were thrilled to see Edwin, and it was even more fun because he remembered them this time. Edwin also got to play in the snow for the first time. Yes, we got some in Wilmington last week, but that doesn't count...we barely had a dusting at our house. I have much more that I could say... but again, this doesn't seem to be the right place for it... Enjoy a couple of videos instead :) Oh yeah, and if you want to see pictures, you can check me out on facebook!

Mighty to Save...Hillsong

...lyrics to a song that I love...and I'm trying to remind myself of this...

Everyone needs compassion
A love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations

My Savior
He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever
Author of Salvation
He rose & conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as
You find me
All my fears & failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender (I surrender)

My Savior
He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever
Author of Salvation
He rose & conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

Shine Your light &
Let the whole world see
We're singing
For the glory
Of the risen King
Jesus

You're the Savior
You can move the mountains
Lord
You are mighty to save
You are mighty to save
Forever
Author of Salvation
You rose & conquered the grave
Yes You conquered the grave

God's Hand

A miracle.

I'm sure by now most people have heard about the US Airways flight that went down this afternoon in the Hudson River. There's still a lot of chaos surrounding the crash, and I'm sure they'll be investigating it for a long time to come. All I have to say is that God's hand must have been all over that plane today. It's an absolute miracle that every person got off that plane safely.

Thank you Jesus. Thank you for being merciful, thank you that those people have another day on this earth. I pray that all of us will take this chance to realize how fleeting this life is - and we need to know what eternity holds for us...

A miracle!

The Baby Mullet Had to Go!

Business in the front

Party in the back!!

After the haircut, dinner, bathtime, and new pj's. SOOOO Cute!

I don't have time to write much, but the pictures should say it all. Edwin was in desperate need of a haircut....so last night we took him to this super cute place called Cuttin' Up. They had tons of stuff to keep him occupied while we waited, including a table & chairs for coloring, and a huge pirate ship that was also a slide! For the actual cut, Edwin sat in a car that made noise...Pappy & Ed kept him distracted (the lollipop didn't hurt either) because it took awhile. He had so much hair!!!!! Anyway, my baby looks so much older now....and I'm in love with the cut!! They did a great job and I'll definitely be taking him back there in the future. Enjoy the pics!

In No Particular Order

As I've mentioned before, I get mighty frustrated with posting pics on blogger. So....I tried my hardest to get these in some sort of order... Enjoy!

Isn't this mug great? My friend Misty made it for me. She owns "Stuck on Words". You should definitely click on the link and check out her website. We also had customized ornaments made this year (but I can't figure out how to get a good picture of them).

Edwin was helping daddy with the tree

Experimenting with new textures :)

Waiting patiently for daddy...

Yes, we're busted. We have a boxed, pre-lit tree. But let me tell you, this thing is a breeze to put up and take down!! And as you can see, it's not too heavy. Edwin felt the need to push the box around the living room. (This was a couple of weeks before Christmas).

I took this picture first thing on Christmas morning. My baby is so cute!!

Every time I tried to get a picture of him in his santa hat, he crouched down to mimic me!

The day after Christmas...Edwin was wearing his new superman pjs from Auntie Katie, sitting on his new Elmo couch from mommy & daddy. He insisted on sitting on his couch to have his bottle...such a big boy!

Here is is looking dapper in his new clothes

My boys make me so happy :)

When my brother David & his wife Jenny were here, we took Edwin & Anthony to Monkey Joes. Unfortunately, they've changed the rules since the last time we were there. The only way an adult can "jump" is if they're supervising a child under 4. So Ed & my brother took turns supervising Edwin. My little guy loved this slide!!!

He wasn't so sure about the toddler area though...

Anthony & Edwin

Can I get a smile...please???

Uncle Dave & Edwin

These were just a few pictures I took on my own camera. I admit, I got a little lazy this year and just enjoyed the moments instead of feeling compelled to snap pics every five seconds. But hopefully Katie will post some of her awesome photography skills soon :)