Georgia Trip

Well, we are home! The trip was lovely. I was in absolute happiness driving and seeing all the scenery. The trees are so beautiful this time of year. Once your near the Florida state line, it starts to remind me of Kansas a bit. There are green fields, some hills, horses, cows, and trees that are more familiar. Not to mention that the temperature actually felt cooler. We got to wear jackets! Can you believe it?!?! So nice!

I told Eric on the way home that it would be nice to just pack up and move there. We had decided Savanna would be nice, until Eric reminded me of their crime rate! (How does someone know crime rates off the top of their head?!?!) So we're staying in Florida, at least for now! (Wishful dreaming.)

Anyways, we're happy to be home! The new van made the trip beautifully and Caden picked out a souvenir from Georgia. Surprisingly it made it home in one piece. (I'm talking about the leaf!) What do ya think?

New Purse

When Caden first arrived, I converted to a huge (and I mean huge!) purse. I knew I'd have to carry a lot around and it would be so much easier to just be able to pack it all in my purse (since the diaper bag was full to the max already). It did come in handy but it came at a price. It was always heavy and very disorganized. If you know me well, you know that I am an organized person, I have OCD and enjoy things being clean. So while the purse was big it wasn't convenient overall.

Now that Caden is a bit older and doesn't really require as much, I decided to convert back to a medium sized purse. My back is so appreciative.

Here's another snapshot of my new fall inspired purse. I'm going to attempt to keep this one receipt free (as I usually love to keep all my receipts stacked in my purse!) Look at how organized it is...just my style!

Play Ball!

Sure we are rooting for the Rays (they are on their way to the World Series!!!) But its even better to root for Kaila! She loves playing ball and Caden gets a kick out of watching her too.

A Big Thank You!

Rose brought us the most delicious oatmeal cookies for Friday Night Bible Study. Eric doesn't usually like oatmeal cookies but he has declared these his favorite! (As you can tell there's only 4 left from the whole plate full she brought over!) And of course, they came just in time as I was reminiscing about my own Granny's baking!

Fall Season

There is just something about this season that I just absolutely love. I love Christmas too but there’s something about walking into a store and seeing beautiful pumpkins, leaves, colorful squash and assortments thereof that just gets me all giddy. Some things I look forward to:

1. Pumpkin seeds

No, I don’t like them but I am looking forward to making them. Why? Well, because both Eric’s mom and my mom made them for us growing up. I didn’t like the seeds then and I don’t care for them now but I cherish that memory. So it will be tradition within our own family.

2. Fall Décor and Fall Scented Candles


I keep the ghouls, witches and skeletons to a minimal in our own house. Instead I focus on pumpkins, fall colored fresh cut flowers in fall colored vases, along with one other essential item. A fall scented candle, either pumpkin spice or pecan pie scent. I love to light up a fall scented candle; it brings back such lovely memories. It reminds me of Thanksgivings back home. Particularly all the yummy treats my great granny Eva Lee used to bake. Oh goodness the joy! I miss her chocolate drop cookies, banana nut bread, pumpkin pie, pecan pie… (oh yes I could go on and on!) So anyways, even though a pumpkin spice scented candle wouldn’t be my every day choice of smell, it’s a must during the fall season!


If you’re not a big pumpkin spice or pecan pie scent fan but want to fill your house with holiday scent, don’t go for the expensive candles (they tend to have a stronger cinnamon scent) instead go with a “middle class” candle that lets off just enough scent to fill the room pleasantly, not overwhelmingly.

3. Candy corn and candy in general

I have a sweet tooth, its true! What other time of year can you nibble on candy corn (one color section at a time of course) and all those other goodies?!?! A small candy dish is another must during this season.

4. Thanking God for the small stuff!

It doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to thank God for all the wonderful things He does for us. I am so thankful that He gave us memories. I am so thankful that He gave us the sense of smell and the ability to trigger certain memories by it. Take time to thank God for all the blessings He’s given you…even if they are small!

Obedience

For the past week, as I’ve waited for Caden’s bus to drop him off, I’ve taken some alone time to read through the gospel of Luke. I’ve read this book several times but for some reason, I’ve hung on every single word – I’ve been engrossed in every miracle, every parable, and every word from our Saviors mouth. As I read through the pages that serve as a record of Christ’s ministry, a sense of shame came over me like never before.



For so long I’ve considered myself to be a faithful and obedient child of the Lord. I can’t count all the times I chose right over wrong. I can’t count how many times I’ve sacrificed willingly for God’s purpose. But the words in Luke really pierced my heart as I thought about true obedience. Jesus walked the earth sharing His love. It just poured out from His body not even His power could not be contained (think about the bleeding woman who simply touched His cloak and was immediately healed from 12 years of bleeding. (See Luke 8:40-48)) While He was sharing and teaching the Word, He was also preparing to be faithful and obedient to it. There He was being completely unselfish during a time that most of us would spend just thinking and doing for ourselves. He knew what was to come and still He poured out his love and wonders. How awesome!



I pray for that kind of obedience. When I’m exhausted from a long weeks work, I want to still share in the Word with others. I want to be the servant He’s molded me to be. He has plenty of awesome things in store for me, I just have to surrender to Him and be obedient in my walk. I look at Caden and think about how loving he is. The love just pours out of him. It cannot be contained. (Sound familiar?) He did not get this from Eric or me. While we show love – it certainly doesn’t always come in the pure way Caden’s does. I guess I had to become a mother to really get it, to really experience that. I now understand what Jesus was talking about when He said to become like little children . I am in awe, honestly! (Luke 9:47-48 & Matthew 18:3)



It’s no longer enough to do just enough, I want to do more. I want to be more. I want love to pour unselfishly from my heart - faithfully with obedience.

October

This month has been quite a busy month for us- so far:

- We launched a new Young Adult group at church. We meet every Sunday night.
- We started teaching a new study for the youth group. We meet every Wednesday.
- Bible study group is almost finished with our very tough to hear study. We meet every Friday.
- We made Caden's adoption official, last wednesday. (see http://caden.eberhardt.us for more details).
- We've been swamped at work - we have like 15 new clients - no joke.
- Caden is walking around everywhere, and exploring non-stop!
- And since he's walking...we started potty training Caden and allowing him to help out with little things around the house (like, picking up toys, wiping down the coffee table, etc.). (He's so helpful by nature and it's not like he even makes a dent in the work or anything but we like to encourage him! His favorite thing to do thus far is wiping the coffee table.) It keeps us busy though.
-We've been taking turns being sick. All 3 of us, Eberhardt's. So not fun!

Last week was so busy that I didn't have time to plan out our family meals this week. We ate the pizza that was for last Thursday, just last night --- pretty bad! It was delicious though.

I'm not complaining though...I'd rather be busy than bored out of my mind. There are blessings in all that I listed though, every single thing has made a positive impact in our life some way some how. I am so thankful for the daily blessings God sends us!

One of the best things is that Caden's school has 2 new kiddos riding the bus, so his pickup time is a bit later. No more waking up at 5:30 am and rushing to get out the door! We can actually breathe a little. Praise the Lord!

Weekly Meal Menu

We're finally home from our weekend vacation. We went to Rock the Universe at Universal and while it was tons of fun, I am completely exhausted.

So I was actually excited to sit down and plan out the meals this week. I needed some down time while I waited for Caden's bus to drop him home from the Learning Center.

Monday -
Lunch: @ work.
Dinner: Spicy Parmesan Coated Pork Chops
Roasted Potatoes
Corn on the Cob

Tuesday -
Lunch: Turkey and Ham Wraps w/ Veggie Chips
Dinner: Pepperoni Pizza (We decided we're going to eat 1 pizza from the store once a week to save on $, it's a good idea, look for pizza's under $6)

Wednesday -
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: @ Church

Thursday -
Lunch: American Sandwich with salad
Dinner: Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese sandwiches

Friday -
Lunch: @ work
Dinner: Pot Roast w/ potatoes, carrots, sweet onion and celery.

Saturday and Sunday - I'm leaving open as we're unpredictable people on the weekends!

Eric's Birthday

Jackie and I had an absolute blast planning Eric's Birthday party. It wasn't great having to "sneak" around but I spilled all the beans in a poem we wrote and read during the party. It was entitled "The Lies I've Told in the Past Week". The poem made plenty of references to iParty and little incidents that happened during the planning stage. Jackie read it in an English accent so it was a big hit to say the least.

Anyhows, we were aiming for classy and elegant (with a man's touch of course). So the color scheme was black, white and silver. It was an intimate dinner scene that we shared with our closest loved-ones. While Eric wasn't totally surprised, he was shocked at how many people there were and how elaborate everything was. Here are some photos of the set-up and place settings.





And the final layout for the place settings...


Here is a snapshot of Jackie putting some extra touches on the place settings. As you can see we set up shot for quite a few people.


We had Hors D'oeuvres, wine, and catered dinner from Olive Garden. While it was a blast planning everything, it was even more fun celebrating and sharing in that moment with Eric and our friends.


Here we are sitting around the table just talking, laughing and enjoying the company.


and here are some more photos...


I special ordered Eric's birthday cake. We opted to stick with the color scheme and do black, white, and silver. It was white cake with fresh strawberries in the middle. So delicious.

We topped the cake off with sparkler candles and set out to sing happy birthday to the man of the hour. Here he is blowing out the candles.


Overall the birthday was great fun (at least for me) and we are so blessed to have such sweet friends. I want to send a special thank you to my great friend Jackie for being my right-hand lady as we ran around getting everything ready.

Happy Birthday, Eric. May you have many (and I mean many) more!

Memory Monday's

Sometimes life gets so busy that I forget to just stop and take in the Word. It's so important that we spend time in the Word and actually meditate upon it. So to help, I'm going to start Memory Monday's. Each week I'll post a new Bible verse to memorize. This weeks verse is:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. - Psalms 1:1-2

Our Men

I’ve been asked several times about the following scriptures and how women in today’s society should interpret them. No matter your life situation – there are lessons to be learned here. I am a professional in society, a successful business woman, a loving wife, a caring mother and a home-keeper.

Ephesians 5:22
(22) Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. (23) For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. (24) Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

First, seek guidance from God and then search deep within. Personally, I feel it should be interpreted just as it says. God’s order of things is very specific. God intends for the man to be the head of the household. Ladies, don’t count your-selves out though! Even though our husbands are the head, the wives are the heart. God calls us to keep order within our homes and make it a safe haven for all that live and enter its doors. We have a large task of keeping it clean, tending to the children, keeping ourselves healthy (inside and out), emotionally and physically, as well as being a devoted wife who “respects” her husband. In some cases, women still earn a living and still have the great task of being the heart of the home. It is not an easy task but necessary.

Ephesians 5:33
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Even if your husband does not act as the “head”, you should pray and encourage him to be. Why? Because that is how God intended it to be – that is what pleases him. As wives, we are called to respect our husbands even with all his faults (and don't we have many faults too and still want to be loved and respected?) I believe that men hold respect in high regard and many men would choose to live without love rather than to live without respect. When we pray for God’s guidance in our husband’s life, we actually open the door for God to restore order in our lives, marriages and home.

Ephesians 5:31
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."

Even if your husband doesn’t pray for you, you need to ask God to help you to not hold that against him. Pray for your husband daily, because it works and ultimately pleases the Lord. Remember, you and your husband are one flesh…you would not pray for one half of your body and not the other now would you? When you pray for changes in your husband, remember to pray for changes in yourself. It may be hard to take criticism from others but you can easily search within and find imperfections (and if you can’t, God will let you know where to start!)

PRAYER

Lord, I feel a deep need to pray for the men in our world right now. Our men (husbands, brothers, uncles, fathers, sons, leaders, pastors, friends, etc.) need encouragement and support to step up and be good examples by seeking guidance from you, listening and following. We need them to be strong spirit-filled leaders and rebuke the things of the world. Lord, give us the tools and understanding to hold their positions in higher regard and encourage them in any way possible. Help me to not hold things against the men in my life but to be humble and to be slow to anger – easy to forgive. I know this pleases you Lord and I need help. Amen.

Thankful Thursdays

I thought it'd be nice to share some things I'm thankful for, especially since its always great to give thanks to the Lord.

The little blessings of our last 3 weeks...

* The rain. We’ve been going through a drought but we’ve been blessed with rain everyday for the past week.

* Pool days. We always enjoy a family dip especially under the hot Florida sun!
* Walking. I LOVE when I can actually get out for a good walk!
* Kaila, our lab who is absolutely the cutest dog and is so good with the baby. She is a protector.* Having a wonderful visit with Caden's nana (my mom) and my aunt who were visiting all the way from Kansas.
* Eric’s had some late nights at work, but we’ve been able to spend the hours he’s not working talking and reflecting before bed. That’s always nice!
* Caden is starting to venture on his own. He’s been suffering from separation anxiety but it seems like he’s getting more comfortable. I think he realizes he is stuck with us! J
* Our work. We’ve been praying for new business and when it rains, it pours. The Lord sent us a handful of new clients in 1 week. A record! Amen to that!

How has God blessed YOU this week??

I'm Thankful for...

Mommyhood! It is the most amazing thing ever (besides wifehood of course!) I have been employed by the best little man on this earth (maybe I'm a little bias?)

Here are a few things I enjoy about mommyhood so far:

• how he "talks" to me and his daddy
• that just holding your finger is sometimes all he needs to do to calm down
• how he laughs when other people laugh
• how he mumbles words between bites when he really enjoys what he’s eating
• how he also squints his face, squeezes his hands and shakes when mommy or daddy aren’t being fast enough
• the way he slowly leans in to give kisses
• how he's ticklish everywhere but his feet
• how soft his back is and how he loves mommy to rub it when he’s tired
• the “quaking” sound he learned from grandpa, which he uses during dinner time and bedtime often
• his sweet smell
• how he likes to throw toys over his shoulder
• how he tilts his head to the side when he’s confused or in wonder (he also does this when others do it and when we do it with his teddy bear, he likes to mimic)
• how he likes to snuggle before naptime and bedtime now
• how he likes to play peek-a-boo out of the blue
• how he climbs up on his daddy when he wants to snuggle with him
• how he stands on daddy’s lap when he wants hugs and kisses
• how he loves to go on walks with daddy
• how he falls asleep when we all go out to walk the dog
• how he occasionally gives me hugs during the day
• how he wakes up with a smile on his face
• how he reaches out for his mommy and daddy
• his little sound he makes all the time when he wants something
• the way he crawls when he notices mommy – its like a power crawl, so cute
• his slobbery kisses
• the sound he makes when he’s about to get dinner – he loves when mommy is cooking
• the face he makes when he’s really upset, it’s a face I cannot resist
• how he likes to cross his feet when he sits in his highchair
• how he chases Tinker around the house just to pet her
• how he leans his head towards you when he wants a kiss
• how he nuzzles his feet

Caden is home!

We want to thank all of our friends and family who have been offering prayers and support as we experience the road to parenthood. Caden is home now and is doing quite well. Everybody is adjusting quite well to the changes. We are so very happy and feel so very blessed right now. Praise Yahweh for his faithfulness and grace!

Prayer works - baby Caden is proof!

Receiving End of Frustration

Today has been a tough day in our home. The stress of work has every one down in the dumps- especially Eric. Eric is the cornerstone of our business, he has a tough job and it keeps him very busy. I have always been better than Eric with handling my stress and it seems like no matter what I suggest - it just won't work for him. (So he says!) And you know, I won’t lie it is hard to be on the receiving end of frustration but I cope by remembering the pain he’s feeling when he gets fed up. I remember the true things behind that frustration and somehow at that moment my focus is on being strong for him.

So many people ask me how I do it. The truth is we do it for each other. Giving grace isn’t always easy but sometimes necessary. There are days when I wake up on the wrong side of the bed and Eric has to be the strong one. I will be the listener and live in understanding without complaining because I know when given the chance; he’d do the same for me. A true love goes deeper than that, it isn’t about keeping score on what I do for him or what he does for me. It’s about loving each other no matter what especially through frustrating times.

No one’s relationship is perfect and no doubt certain circumstances make keeping a healthy relationship that much harder. I’ve learned that marriage is and always will be something two people have to work at. Failed marriages usually start when one person stops working. So Eric and I consider ourselves workaholics in that sense!

So maybe today is a bad day – perhaps tomorrow will be too – but it is what we make it and the more support we give and receive the easier it will be to breath and just let it go.

PRAYER:

Lord, help me to let go and not hold any harsh words or actions against my husband. Help me to be understanding and to be there for him as he deals with this stress. Give us both the tools to communicate our needs and help us to be supportive of eachother. Amen.