Thanksgiving

Wow has life been hectic lately! We went to Oklahoma City, OK for thanksgiving last week. Had a great time seeing my family, who I miss more than I thought. After a full day of eating and spending time together, my dad, whom I adore, had a heart attack! It was truly by the grace of God that he didn't have a major heart attack. He wasn't feeling well and broke into a sweat. There were 30 people in the house, so we just assumed he was hot. We all were. He said he wasn't feeling normal and wanted to go to the hotel to sleep. So, off they went. Well, his wife called us about 30 minutes later and said he felt no better, and we all agreed that an ER visit was necessary. So, off we go. By we, I mean me and his wife. We got to the ER and they took him straight back and hooked him up to the EKG. They then esnt him back to the waiting room. Since they took him back to the waiting room, I felt safe to go to the bathroom. WRONG! A team of people came running out and off he went. I came out of the bathroom looking for them, and they were GONE! Tammie (his wife) came looking for me and told me they hooked him up to machines and were starting medicine and IV's. Then, the head nurse (who was terrible by the way) told us that he was having a heart attack. I went numb. I'm shocked I was still standing. After all that, he had 2 stints put in on his right side. He had 100% blockage. In his left side, he was 80% blocked in one artery, and 40% in the other. He's going to have to have a bypass or more stints. We aren't sure which right now.

What upsets me the most about this (now that I know my dad is ok) is how my friends handled the situation. Zach and I had to switch phones for the night because when I went to the ER with my dad, my phone was on its last bar. So, I had his phone. I called everyone I had numbers for (at midnight mind you) and only ONE of those people called me back. Rich is the only friend that prayed for my dad and called to check on me. Even now, a week later, NO ONE that I called and left a message for has called. This really has put things in perspective for me. Friends I thought we had, we don't. Friends I have invited into my home, fed on a regular basis, and felowshiped with, can't even call me back to tell me they got my message and are praying for our family. I was so angry at first, but now i'm just sad. My heart is filled with a sadness because what I thought was true, was not.

On a brighter note, the kids are great! Emma is getting so big. She has started to get a personality and is becoming a very fun baby. Her whining is starting to dimish...now if only that would be the case for her sister!

Isaac is fully potty trained! PRAISE THE LORD!! Yes, hes 4. We had a battle of the wills and we won.

I look forward to Zach starting his new job this week. His first day is wednesday! A new routine will begin for us. I pray the kids will adjust well, and pray even harder than I adjust well:)

2 months has gone by already?!?

So...now that it has been 2 months, I figured I should blog again!

Zach and I, and the children of course, sold our house in Mobile and moved to Birmingham, AL. Gardendale, AL to be exact. Some think this was sudden and not planned out, but we had been praying about selling and moving for a while now. The Lord just worked everything out perfectly and allowed us to move. Why Birmingham you ask? Well, we wanted our children to grow up knowing their grandparents and their cousins. Zach's oldest sister, Shauna, has 3 kids. Ridley is her oldest, and he is 7. Jeb is her middle son, and he is 8 months older than Isaac. Abby is the baby, and she is 3 week younger than Hannah. So, our kids will always have someone their age to play with. How can I ask for better friends for my kids then their own family? More importantly, Shauna and her husband Chris raise their children to serve and love the Lord, and her kids are perfect examples of the types of children I want my kids to be around.

Zach doesn't have a job just yet...but he is looking like crazy. He had 2 interviews with the same company this week, so we hope to hear tomorrow is he got the job. Please pray he did! If not, I know that the Lord has better things in mind for him. However, it is becoming hard for me to have patience and trust that the Lord is in control!

So...here we are....in Birmingham. I wasn't sure if I would like it...i mean, my inlaws are here, I don't know the area, it's a large city to learn, and we had to find a new church! ACK! Now, hold up, I didn't say living near my inlaws would be bad, i just wasn't sure how it would all workout. We've never lived near them before to know how the dynamics would be. However, I must say, they have been wonderful and I could not ask for more. I'm hoping that my mother in law and I can become good friends. So far so good. She taught me how to make whole wheat bread, and even gave me all of her equipment...AND 90lbs of wheatberries!

Church...we found an incredible church. I mean, incredible!!! Reformed theology, wonderful people, and lots of young families! When we visited the first sunday, we were shocked by how genuine and nice everyone was. It was like we had always belonged there. Incredible!!

I hope to update more...and I have some ideas for how I want this blog to go...so keep with me!

Jessica

Dream dinners

So, a little while back my mom's playgroup went to dream dinners. If you aren't familiar with dream dinners, it's a place where you make meals to freeze. I couldn't go that night cause one of my kids got sick. However, Julie (a woman in my group) was gracious enough to ask me to go with her to the sneek peek. I made pulled pork for sandwhiches. I came home that night and promptly froze it. Well, this morning I pulled it out and defrosted it in the fridge. Tonight, I had a screaming child and 2 toddlers that were not helping me at all! I pulled out my defrosted meal, put it in the pan and in 20 minutes dinner was served! It was great!! They even gave me bread to eat it with!!

At first glance it seemed expensive. However, after tonight with screaming children, I became a believer in the frozen meals. Tonight i would have ordered in for pizza cause I was at wits end with the kids. I didn't have time to make dinner. So, i'm going back next saturday to make about 8 or 9 new meals! YAY for making my life easier!

My first time!

So, we have finally joined the blogging world! How exciting!! Not sure what to say exactly, but I will be updating with pics of the kids, news about our family, and eventually my weight loss journey...when I start it:)

Stay tuned!

Jessica