Parten Family

Fall

2011-09-15T10:44:00.002-05:00

No pictures today. Instead all of my pictures are memories. Today, when I started my day the weather was a little overcast, cool...you can feel that fall is on its way. After getting the kids off to school I came home cracked some windows, sprayed some clorox to get some cleaning done and was transported back in time. I was a little girl again, in my room playing. My mom is on her usual cleaning spree (hence the clorox smell) I can hear the vacuum cleaner going next door in the den and the tv is on to All My Children. I am sure that if I rounded the corner I would probably see the ironing board set up with a laundry basket beside it...In my room I see my cream colored four poster bed that I think every little girl my age had, it has perfectly placed lacy pillows against the headboard. I can hear the helicopters from Ft Rucker flying overhead...

Memories are such a precious thing that God has given us. My mom passed away 13 years ago but thanks to my memories I can go back and remember her and so many others that we have lost along the way. Today I am thankful, thankful for my many blessings, thankful for my memories.

Happy 4th of July!!

2011-07-07T19:42:00.005-05:00

Happy and dirty baby!

Yum...homemade ice cream!

Caleb was decorating his bike for the children's parade

Clay Jr. decorated Emma James' bike for the parade and pushed her in it.

Some of the best friends a girl could ask for!

Emma James didn't really care about the fireworks, she just wanted to go to sleep!

Most of the kids in the pool watching the fireworks

A camping we will go...

2011-07-05T22:07:00.004-05:00

We went to Deerlick for Memorial Day weekend and had a great time with lots of friends, food and just plain fun...

A hard day of camping for Sarah Elizabeth...

Emma James loved the watermelon...

These two pictures include Caleb who was very hard to photograph because he was gone on his bike constantly!!

Again, she was asleep! She wore herself out completely!

Emma James again with watermelon but a different camping trip...

All Stars!

2011-06-08T18:55:00.001-05:00

Caleb made All Stars!! We are so proud of our little baseball player!

Shark Tooth Creek

2011-06-08T14:50:00.004-05:00

The last field trip of 2nd grade for Caleb was to Shark Tooth Creek. I was able to go on this one and we had a wonderful time! Although I can't believe I was able to walk through that water and not freak out! Caleb had no problem with it, I guess that's a boy for ya...

up to date

2010-12-17T11:06:00.002-06:00

Well I am obviously not very good about updating this blog! Ha! Life gets kinda crazy around our house!

Emma James...
Our wonderful surprise, she is 11 months old and crawling around like crazy! She is such an amazing blessing! She has cut 6 teeth and is learning how to stand on her own(not holding on to anything to pull herself up with!) She is such a delight, always happy, sleeps like a dream and has since she was 8 weeks old!

Sarah Elizabeth...
My precious drama queen! She is so much fun! My only blue eyed child is taking dance once a week and really loves it! She is so smart and funny, I always have the pleasure of hearing about her latest antics from her teachers at church! She is teaching me to "chill out" and enjoy life!

Caleb...
My sweet lovable first born and only boy! I LOVE having a little boy! He is an awesome big brother full of life, love and happiness! I am constantly amazed and challenged by my highly spirited sweetie! I cherish those rare moments when he will slip in my arms and give me a big hug! Sadly, those days are fewer and farther between, but I am always pleased when he is willing to show the tender side that still resides in that precious child.

Caleb is still attending West Alabama Christian and is in the 2nd Grade. I am so thankful for the opportunity he has to learn about our world from a Godly prespective. The school has proven to be the perfect place for him, he is being challenged both through education and his spirituality. Dont' think your child is ever too young to be exposed or to experience Christ in their lives! I am amazed at his knowledge and love for our God!

Christmas is in the air!!

I love Christmas and everything that goes along with it! I love the music, smells, stories, traditions...It can be a very difficult time for me as well. I am so blessed in that, although I miss loved ones more this time of year than any other, I have the opportunity to experience pure joy through and with my children and family. I have the hope of eternal life and because of this I know I will see my loved ones again. I get to tell my children stories of Christmases past when those loved ones were here and they get to see me smile at the memories. I pray that they see the peace I have that comes directly from Christ, so that they will also have that peace.

Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

catching up

2010-07-06T08:21:00.005-05:00

WE HAD A BABY!!!!!!!

Well, 6 months ago we did...

Emma James Parten was born on January 6th at about 4:30 in the morning...AT HOME!!! She has been a surprise to us from the moment we found out I was pregnant and her birth was no different! We were blessed that her arrival was very easy and uncomplicated! Marcus actually "caught" her! She has been a wonderful baby and we have been blessed beyond measure to have her in our lives!

Caleb has completed the 1st grade and will be entering 2nd grade with Mrs Farmer in August! He moved up to the 7-8 year old baseball league this year and played pitcher. His batting is awesome! This summer Marcus and Caleb are working on his fielding and he is doing great! He LOVES to play dress up, mostly he dresses up as Peter from The Chronicles of Narnia! He always asks why we didn't name him Peter!

Sarah Elizabeth is 3 years old and beautiful! She participated in a dance class for the first time this year and was precious in her little outfit! She is SO smart! She is learning to read, she could probably read novels by now if I would take more time to teach her!

Christmas memories

2009-12-28T17:47:00.002-06:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone and we are in the process of trying to put the house back together and prepare for the birth of our new addition! A few memories of out 2009 Christmas for now:

We went to Aunt Gabrielle's house and made homemade cookies for Santa Chrismas Eve day and opened presents. The kids had a wonderful time!

Papa & Mama Jo came and we opened their presents and read the night before Chrismas and then tried to settle down for our own long winters nap...The children would not go to sleep until almost 11:00 Christmas Eve and this pregnant little mama was super tired! We heard Santa's bells 2 different times...The kids were so excited they couldn't hardly stand it!

Caleb slept in the room with Marcus and I and just to be "safe" we locked the door so we would be sure he couldn't sneak out and see the loot before we woke up! Good thing too! He tried to sneak out but luckily I heard him and we were able to enjoy his excitement! He tried to wake up SE but to no avail! She was pooped! She slept in Christmas morning! When she did wake up she wanted nothing to do with checking out what Santa had left! Too funny...that will all change in time! She wasn't even interested in opening presents on Christmas Eve from Marcus' parents! We opened them for her mostly while she looked on!

After enjoying presents from Santa we had pancakes, eggs and sausage. (Caleb's request)

Uncle Paul, Aunt Dawn, Brandon and Bethany came in and we had supper and a wonderful visit and waited on Pappy & Nanny to come in the next day. When all the Barnes family was together we had Christmas again!

Needless to say we have all eaten enough to last us for a while, opened enough presents that we shouldn't need anything for at least another year! But never enough family time!

We have been so blessed with amazing families and tremendous amounts of love! We all love Christmas and LOVE the reason we celebrate every year! Jesus Christ was born and has offered us all his love and redemption! Thank you God for sending us your precious Son and loving us all beyond measure! I pray that your family knows the amazing love of Christ!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-10T08:36:00.003-06:00

This year I have been debating on doing Christmas cards. I still haven't decided for sure so just in case the final answer is no...I decided to update the blog with a makeshift Christmas card!

From the Parten household to yours: We wish you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! We pray that the upcoming year will be filled with love, laughter and the comfort of Christ!

pictures

2009-09-10T09:34:00.004-05:00

I tried to add this picture on the last post but it wouldn't take it for some reason but it HAD to be on the blog!! I love it!

Update

2009-09-10T08:32:00.012-05:00

Caleb & Sarah Elizabeth after the childrens parade they both got 2nd place in their divisions

Showing how much fun they had after playing in a mudhole at the park

Easter picture

Reading a book at the beach

The girls enjoying the beach together

Caleb's 1st lost tooth

Caleb's 6th birthday party

Sarah Elizabeth and Daddy at the rodeo

Caleb, Daddy & Sarah Elizabeth at the rodeo

Sarah Elizabeth on the train at VBS

Caleb going down the slide at VBS after party

Caleb's graduation

Caleb's Kindergarten Graduation

Yes it has been a LONG time since I posted anything! Sorry about that, I actually dread trying to upload pictures so I just put it off! I guess this will just be an update on what has been happening in the Parten household...

Caleb:
Caleb turned 6! WOW! My baby boy is growing up so fast! We had a water party for him and I think it turned out well. The dads had a great time as well, they enjoyed throwing water balloons at the kiddos! He has graduated from Kindergarten,lost his 1st tooth and started the 1st grade at West Alabama Christian this August and is doing great! His lowest grade so far has been a B+. We are so proud of him! He was given 4 weeks to memorize John 3:14-19 and mastered it within a week and a half!

Sarah Elizabeth:
This girl is a mess! It is so much fun to have a little girl in the house! She is learning to read! (Your Baby Can Read really does work!) She is also in the process of memorizing her brothers bible passage for school! She has heard it so many times that she started repeating it too! Makes me realize that kids are capable of so much more than we give them credit for! She has also mastered the potty!! YEAH!!

Marcus:
Marcus is still working for Dixie Pipeline, always trying to balance all his responsibilities! I think he is turning into my dad, on every non-paying board there is! haha

Brandi:
I am still working hard at being a stay at home mom. I really enjoy it and have recently started watching a neighbors child for a few hours a week.

Family News:
We found out that our family will have a new addition in January! We were all taken back by the news but are thrilled now! We are going to have another little girl running around the house! Wow!

So much for spring break!

2009-03-23T10:03:00.002-05:00

Caleb was out of school this past week for spring break, unfortunately it wasn't the greatest! Caleb was sick on Monday, got better and then daddy and SE got sick Tuesday evening! Daddy even had to stay home from work on Wednesday! We finally got better Thursday and me and the kids went to Enterprise to see Nanny and Pappy. Caleb got to go to school with Nanny on Friday and help "teach" the 4 year olds at Small Steps. They came home at lunch time and Caleb started complaining about a sour stomach! We attempted the park later in the afternoon and played a little while then decided it was time for supper! We went to eat at the chinese buffet, and Caleb had 2 bowls of sherbert ice cream. It stayed with him until we got to the parking lot! All that said to tell you that on the way home Caleb told us that he didn't want to be sick anymore, especially with an ear confusion! We all laughed so hard we were about to cry! He of course meant an ear infection! Thankfully, that was the last time for sickness with the exception of SE and her allergies! We went to Dothan on Saturday to watch Brandon (my nephew) play baseball. It was nice to see Paul, Dawn, Brandon and Bethany! I hope that their spring break this week is better than poor Caleb's! I wish I could post pictures of the good parts of the break, but my camera has met it's end. Maybe soon I will get a new camera!!

Sarah Elizabeth's Birthday Party Pictures

2009-03-16T15:25:00.001-05:00

Caleb lost his first tooth!

2009-03-16T13:28:00.003-05:00

About 5 months ago we took Caleb to the dentist and were told that his bottom 2 teeth were loose, we were finally able to pull one last night! His tooth has been quite loose for a week or so and we would wiggle it and tug on it but it wouldn't budge until last night. We were at Aunt Mary & Uncle Earl's house visiting and Caleb walked up to me showing me his loose tooth, so I pulled up his shirt and used it to tug on his tooth. Much to both our surprise, it came right out! I was shocked, and Caleb didn't even realize it had come out until he saw the expression on my face! We put it in a ziploc bag and came home to put it in the tooth fairy pillow. When he woke up (at 6:15!!!!) this morning he ran in to tell me that the tooth fairy had been and left him some money! Later that morning when we were making up his bed we saw where the tooth fairy had sprinkled some of it's fairy dust on his pillow and the special tooth fairy pillow!!!!! He was so excited!!! Our little man is growing up so fast!

Birthday Girl

2009-02-09T09:20:00.002-06:00

We had Sarah Elizabeth's birthday party on Saturday. It was great, I didn't get stressed out! We had our family here, and it is always wonderful when everyone is together. Sarah Elizabeth was very pleased with all of the attention! She loved the cake, she would go up to it and say "Me Happy Day Cake!" She got lots of cute clothes and toys...The princess got her "big girl bed" for her birthday from Pappy & Nanny and the mattresses from Lulu & Papa. Her bedding will be in this week and we are excited! Most of all we are so thankful for the 2 years we have had to get to know this vibrant, happy, beautiful little girl. She has truly been a blessing to our family! With all the festivities over, we will now begin focusing on Caleb and his upcoming baseball season and school activities. His birthday will be here before we blink! Our family isn't nearly as busy as we will be in a few years, but for now we are really kicking into high gear. I will post pictures of the party soon, thanks to "memanda", as she is called by Sarah Elizabeth, for taking pictures for us!

Birthday Time!

2009-02-05T19:32:00.005-06:00

Sarah Elizabeth turned 2 today, and Marcus turned 30 something yesterday! Marcus had a cheesecake birthday cake and princess had a cookie cake! We are very happy to be blessed with these wonderful birthdays! I am posting pictures that we took today...Enjoy

kids

2009-02-02T20:10:00.002-06:00

I didn't mention something in my previous post, my kids! It is amazing to me, I never mentioned one thing to my kids, I tried to treat it as a normal day. However, my kids seemed to sense something. Caleb who is a major daddy's boy, kind of clung to me yesterday. It was really nice, even when he would be sitting with his daddy he would reach over and hold my hand. I love my kids...

11 years

2009-02-01T20:20:00.003-06:00

Today has been 11 years since my mom passed away. It is a VERY hard day for me. I always remember that this was the day that I last heard my mom tell me that she loved me. It is hard to think that I have been without her for so long or even harder that I still have the rest of my life to go without her. She was a wonderful, loyal, beautiful person. I have so many wonderful memories of her, and I am so thankful for each of them. In our last conversation, she told me that she was ready to go home. I know that she was talking about going home to Enterprise, but God saw it fit for her to go to her eternal home. I know that she is healthy, happy, and wouldn't come back even if God gave her the chance. I know that when we get to heaven there will be no comparing life on this earth to spending eternity with Christ. I don't begrudge that for her, not one minute, but for my own selfish reason I really wish we had just one more day together. I wish that I could ask her questions, like parenting advice, marriage advice, etc. I wish that I could hug her one more time and tell her that I love her. I know that she knew I loved her, I just wish I could tell her again. I wish she could see my children and my husband. I wish that she could see that all her prayers for me were not in vain. She had the most amazing laugh, I can hear it now. In church today we sang Amazing Grace and I could hear her singing, she had a beautiful voice! In this life she was very musically inclined and loved to sing/play the piano to God. I wish I had some of that talent!! I have a lot of "I wish" in this post. Sorry about that. I am not angry at God for taking her, I am glad that she is not in pain anymore. I still miss her though. However, above all else, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I will see her again! I am looking forward to the day when we can praise our Savior together, until then...I love you mom!

My little "big" girl!

2009-01-27T12:48:00.002-06:00

It is so hard to believe that our little girl is going to be 2 in just a few days! It has been so amazing having her in our lives! We really love having all the pink toys, purses, phones, dresses, etc... Today I was reading recipes (one of my favorite past times!) and she came bopping in the kitchen with her sunglasses on and her "keys" in her hands! She looked up at me and without missing a beat said "bye bye mama! Loves you"! She walked to the back door and attempted to open it! I got tickled at her and she turned around and walked back to me and said "door stuck mama!" It is unreal that 2 years ago, we were waiting to see our little miracle. Now she is here, healthy, happy and beautiful! We can't wait to see both of our kids grow up and develop, but as slowly as the Lord will allow.

Protective

2009-01-25T14:31:00.003-06:00

I have been known for being very protective of my family, even though I was the baby I always was willing to "fight" for my family. Well, it seems as though Sarah Elizabeth is also taking on this role. Marcus "tussels" with Caleb very often and Caleb will "scream" while he is of course laughing. The screams seem to greatly disturb Sarah Elizabeth. She will go into a full fit of screaming at whoever is "hurting" her bubbie! She is heard yelling "NO! NO!" I think it is precious, Caleb is of course protective to an extent of his little sister and there is NO doubt that they love each other very much. They play so well together, so long as Caleb doesn't mess with Sarah Elizabeth when she first wakes up! I will try to get one her "fits" of protection on film and post it soon!

2009-01-03T15:53:00.000-06:00

christmas and racoons!

2009-01-03T14:21:00.005-06:00

We had a great christmas this year! Sarah Elizabeth was great about not messing with the decorations, except for the one tree she knocked over! Caleb got a drum set, cowboy sheets and a dry erase board from Santa. Sarah Elizabeth got a kitchen, elmo doll and dress up stuff...

While at Pappy & Nanny's for our christmas visit, we got to meet the racoon family. Nanny feeds the racoons bread and butter cookies, and Sarah Elizabeth could often be heard saying "I do it, I do it!" when she wanted to feed them! Caleb on the other hand, was more interested in eating the cookies and bread!

(sorry about the video, turn your head to the side and it will look right! Also, the video is dark, we had to leave the light off, or else they would run away!)

Sea Legs!

2008-11-11T15:29:00.002-06:00

Marcus and I went on a cruise last week and we had a great time. It was hard to adjust to being by ourselves, but we managed! We left out of New Orleans on Thursday and arrived in Cozumel, Mexico on Saturday morning. We explored a little and then came back in to watch the Alabama/LSU game. Actually I ended up taking a nap and Marcus watched the game. At dinner that night, Marcus began getting a little sea sick and had to go lay down! He survived and was better the next day. We arrived back in New Orleans on Monday morning and we drove like crazy to get back to our kids! They were glad to see us, but not as much as we would have liked! We tried to hug, kiss and squeeze and they weren't really interested! I guess that is a week with grandparents for ya! Monday night we started getting "sea legs" where you are kinda dizzy...And today we are worse than last night! We had fun though, but are glad to be home!

A month later! Pictures of Caleb, Sarah Elizabeth will be next...

2008-10-25T14:54:00.004-05:00

Caleb fell asleep on the way home from me purchasing ferns one summer, how cute!

Caleb had a conversation with the alligator at Original Oyster House, the summer before the hurricanes...

With a sucker at the beach, I bet the sand sure tasted good!

Pappy, Caleb and Daddy at Pappy and Nanny's lake house...

Bubbles, and my sweet baby boy, he has grown up so fast!

We finally got the DSL hooked up a couple of days ago! I never thought they would get it done but it is! YEAH!! The pictures may be old but they are all I had access to for now...

News!! Exciting and... Interesting?

2008-09-19T10:14:00.005-05:00

Caleb came home with some exciting and interesting news from school yesterday. The interesting thing was that he came running to the car with a ziploc bag in his hand. The ziploc bag had a pickled pigs foot in it! His teacher had brought some to share with the class and each had at least taken a bite. Caleb said he thought it tasted like hot bacon. He was proud of himself, I was proud that he was willing to try something new. However, I don't think I will be purchasing any to keep for afternoon snack! The exciting news is that his teacher sent home a note and said that he had read a First grade reader! I was floored! He has really been doing well, and is starting to take an interest in trying to read on his own, but this was amazing! Marcus and I are very proud of him!

We also found out that we should be able to get DSL out here within a week or so! That is going to be great, I will finally be able to post lots of new pictures!!!

Pictures!!

2008-09-08T18:13:00.000-05:00

Ok, I finally was able to get pictures on the blog!!!!!!!!!

Mom's day out

2008-09-08T11:16:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday mornings Sarah Elizabeth goes to a mom's day out. It is a chance for her to get to play with her friends and for me to go to Wal-mart by myself! I know it sounds selfish, but those of you that have small children know that as much as you love your children you also need a little break every once in a while! This morning I was checking the blogs and Sarah Elizabeth got SO excited when she saw her fellow playmates from mom's day out! She would point to them and babble out her version of their names!

ATTACK OF THE RED BUGS!!!

2008-09-04T19:52:00.000-05:00

The red bugs have attacked Caleb, shall we say, "below the belt"! Last night we attempted the usual clorox bath, calamine lotion drill and unfortunately, it wasn't very successful. The itching returned several times during the night and at school today! We decided to try the clear nail polish trick tonight after Caleb's bath, that was when the "fun" began! Of course the polish stings a little, and Caleb was ok with that on any bite AWAY from sensitive areas...Sarah Elizabeth offered Caleb a fish bath toy to bite and held his hand as he was making us understand that this was not his idea of fun! It looks like we have a little nurse on our hands, as well as a few red bugs! If anyone has any other remedies we would be happy to listen!!!!

Proud Mama!

2008-08-19T10:03:00.000-05:00

This is just a blog to brag on Caleb! He started off this week to begin memorizing his 3rd bible verse for school and and brand new one for bible drills! I am getting overwhelmed trying to keep them straight, but not him! He has completed his first reader, begun mastering his writing skills (after figuring out that getting frustrated about "not being able to do it" and bumping his nose into the couch and causing a bloody nose, wasn't the best option!) Miss Toya actually mentioned that the class might actually be reading by the end of August! That is huge, considering that the first goal date we were told was to be around October or November!

1st bible verse memorized:
The discerning heart seeks knowledge Proverbs 15:14

2nd bible verse memorized:
Avoid every kind of evil 1st Thessolonians 5:22

3rd bible verse that is being memorized:
Many are the plans in a man's heart Proverbs 19:21

Bible verse being memorized in bible drills:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth Genesis 1:1

We are also working on memorizing the first 5 books of the Bible
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

Kindergarten Here We Come!

2008-08-08T10:44:00.000-05:00

Caleb started his first day of kindergarten this past Wednesday at West Alabama Christian. He has been so excited about getting to go to "church" school! As part of his curriculum, Caleb will be learning a bible verse each week (YEAH, this will help me memorize more scripture too!!), anyway, we started working on learning it the night before school. I really didn't think that he was paying much attention to me, but we repeated it over and over, and over, and over again! The next day I found out that he PROUDLY recited his verse in chapel! "The discerning heart seeks knowledge Proverbs 15:14" My little boy is growing up! We really feel like God is going to do a great work through him one day! (That is our prayer!) We really have such an amazing church family, staff and school that is so dedicated to helping us raise up our kids in the Lord's will.

THE WIGGLES!!!!!!!

2008-08-03T15:25:00.001-05:00

Ok, for those of you that do not know, Caleb is a HUGE fan of The Wiggles! He is literally infatuated(sp?) with them! When he was 2 years old we took him to see the concert in Birmingham and he loved it! We decided to take him again this year, however, we wanted it to be a surprise so all he knew was that he had a special prize that we had to go and get. Well, we are driving to the civic center in Mobile and Caleb thinks we are going to some kind of toy store, we walk in the building and there is the booth of Wiggle items, he of course is excited and wants to buy everything! He still doesn't realize what is going on though so we take him into where the concert is going to take place and he realizes what we are doing. Marcus and I had packed his Wiggle outfit (which looks exactly like Maury the Wiggle's outfit) and Marcus then took Caleb and changed him into his costume. We get to our seats (which are on the first riser from the floor) and Maury runs up the aisle right next to us! We are screaming for Maury to look at Caleb, but he totally glanced over him! I then decide I am going to sneak down to the floor level in hopes of getting Caleb closer, I was just waiting for the security guard to come and ask me to leave! (The things we will do for our kids) I told Caleb to run down to the stage and maybe the Wiggles would see him. He started down the aisle and Jeff (The purple wiggle) saw him and asked Caleb "Do you love Maury?" and all Caleb could say was "Uh huh". (By the way, I had the camera and was trying desperately to take pictures of Jeff and Caleb talking but was so excited that instead of zooming I was cutting the camera on and off!!!) Anyway Caleb came back down to me and I sent him right back again to try to make eye contact with Maury. HE DID!!! Maury waved at him!!! I was on cloud 9! Caleb and I went back up to our seats to finish watching the show and all of the sudden Maury is getting ready to do his guitar solo and he mentioned that he had just seen a little boy that was dressed up just like him and wondered where he had gone to! I start hitting Marcus in the arm saying "That's Caleb, they are talking about Caleb!!!!" Marcus had gone off into la la land and didn't realize it!! Marcus came "to" and said "Should I take him down there?" I was like "YES!!" So he did and down they went, they stopped the concert and talked to Caleb! Caleb got on the stage and strummed his guitar with Maury! I have never been so excited in my life! I am going to post pictures as soon as I can get to Marcus' computer!!

History of Me

2008-07-22T15:11:00.001-05:00

There are things that I tend to keep to myself. Not that my past (at least this part) is something I had any control over, but it is the part of me that I tend to keep to myself. However, looking back now, I can see how God has saved me from so much. I realize now that God deserves all the glory for my entire life. Maybe I can start here trying to recognize that fact. I was born to a 16 year old girl, Teresa. She was young, neglected, nieve. She had no clue how to be a mother, although she did try a few times. I won't go into all the details of what our short life together involved, but it was very bumpy to say the least. The majority of my life I pretended that that part of my life never happened. I have never been interested in meeting my biological family before, not until I went through a bible study that seemed to slap me across my face about forgiveness. See as a child I never wanted to be adopted, I wanted to be biologically my parents (James & Linda) child. I never wanted to talk about it, I would get upset if my parent's mentioned it! I wanted to be like Paul (my older brother, and my parent's biological son). I believe that I actually hated my biological mother for most of my life. I didn't understand what had gone on, what her weaknesses were, nor did I care. Now with God's help, I can forgive her and actually understand that it wasn't all her fault. She could have made different choices, but I can see more of her anguish now. Teresa died in 2000, I was never able to meet her and extend a hand of forgiveness or friendship. I met my biological Aunt not to many months ago, she is the ray of hope I was always looking for. She was able to make the good choices for her life, she is a christian, and get this her husband is a PREACHER!! She has given me answers to questions, understanding, and even compassion for Teresa. For the first time I understand that Teresa was an addict, from a very early age. My aunt gave me a picture of myself as infant, until this time I never knew what I looked like as a baby! God waited until I could handle the information that I now have concerning my past, and he gave me my aunt to help me process it. I believe that being adopted is the best miracle I could have received from God as a child. There are so many other things that I want to say and then again I don't want to say. So I guess the best thing to do is say Praise God for saving me, loving me and giving me the unbelieveable life, love, family and friends he has given me!

I was adopted at 3 1/2 years old. My parents were amazing (although human!) They put up with a little girl that had every intention of making them choose daily to continue to love me. I guess I wanted to make sure they were in it for the long haul. They were! My mom (Linda) passed away when I was only 20 years old. That made me very angry because I had not long decided to try to be my mom's friend instead of her worst nightmare. She was amazing, she was involved in everything that had to do with our family! She was fiercly loyal and loving. I know now that she always loved me in spite of myself! My dad (James) is still here with me (PRAISE GOD!) He has shown me what love from a dad is all about. I was truly and still am daddy's little girl! My older brother is one of my greatest hero's although he doesn't know it. I admire him so much!

So long story short, Christ saves even when we don't deserve it.

First time for everything!

2008-07-18T16:12:00.000-05:00

This is the first attempt I have made at blogging! So I guess what I will do is let you know about our family. First, there is Marcus, he is my husband. He is a complete goof ball! I wouldn't have him any other way though! Really he is quite amazing, next month we will celebrate our 9th anniversary. He is an avid hunter, an amazing father, wonderful husband. I am very blessed to have him in my life. I am a stay at home mom, who never stays at home! I have 2 beautiful children, Caleb is 5 and adores the wiggles and anything musical, and Sarah Elizabeth is 17 months, and a dare devil! Caleb will start Kindergarten in the fall. I am not sure how I feel about that. Some days I am ok and others not...I have really enjoyed having him at home with me this summer.

We are on dial up (not by choice!) so I don't know how easy it is going to be to post pictures but I will try!!!