Oh where oh where has Whitney gone???

I didn't disappear off the face of the world, just the face of blogging. It's not possible to catch up on the last 3 months. It would be enough to say that life is INSANE, and God is super AWESOME at keeping me from losing my MIND! Well, ok, i lost my mind, but He is still SUPER AWESOME. I figure I didn't really need my dumb mind anyway. It always gets me in trouble with it's crazy thinking and stuff. 8-) Oh well, to inform anyone that cares of the important news I will just say this. Isaiah is crawling everywhere and pulling up. YAY! He also climbs stairs which has proven to be not so fun due to fact that he comes down much harder than he went up. We have sold our house. That has been an adventure. Here's the adventurous part. We don't know where we're going to move to. We are living with Andrew's mom and dad right now. Yes, I guess that seems crazy. I don't have any explanations for such actions other than, God told us to. If it's good enough for me then it will have to be good enough for everyone else too. 8-) Andrew's fingers almost got cut off in the process. The truck that was pulling the trailer was backing up to the steps and it jerked pinning his hand between a brick wall and the trailer. It was HORRIBLE! God was all over it though. His fingers only required stitches. No broken bones, or torn ligaments. The doc said there would be no permanent damage. HALLELUJAH!

Oh, the madness. I would have to write a book to even begin to fill in the last three months. I can't even keep up this blog, much less write a book. To spite the insanity things are actually going really well. I know that God is stretching me and growing me in ways that wouldn't be possible without trial. So I guess, bring it on. It's all worth it in the end. Not that I am ready to be at the end. 8-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my AMAZING, BODACIOUS, COLOSSALLY CARING, DASHING, EXTRAORDINARY, FAR OUT, GRACIOUS, HANDSOME, INSANELY INTELLIGENT, JIVIN', KOOKY, LUMINOUSLY LOVING, MAGNIFICENTLY MAGNANIMOUS, NOTABLY NOTEWORTHY, ORIGINALLY ORIGINAL, PLEASANTLY PLEASING, QUIRKY, RADICAL, SUPER-SEXY, TOTALLY TERRIFIC, UNBELIEVABLY UNDERSTANDING, VIRTUOUSLY virtuous?, WONDEROUSLY WONDER-IFFIC, X-TREMELY X-CELLENT, YUMMY-LICIOUS, AND
Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z(oops, I fell asleep)8-) HUSBAND!

AHHH, THE BEACH

In just shortly less than 3 weeks we will be sitting on the beautiful beaches of Charleston, SC. I am so ready. You know, actually more than being ready for the beach I am ready to spend a full week just soaking up my sweet family. Andrew and I need this time with our babies and each other so badly. Life gets so crazy, and time flies like nobody's business. We need this week to just enjoy the stage of life we're in. After all, we will wake up tomorrow and these precious babies that still want to sit in our laps and hold our hands will be having precious babies of their own. Then we will be OLD! Like we're not old now. 8-) I saw this guy I went to high school with the other day, and when I first looked at him I was perplexed. I thought, "that looks just like a guy I went to high school with, but that can't be him because that guy looks old". Guess what, it was him, and the reason he looked old is because WE ARE OLD. Oh well, I don't feel old. That's what counts.

In other news, there is no other news. You know what they say, no news is good news. That's not even true. There is lots of news that is good news.

PRAISE!!!!!!

This afternoon at about 1:00pm Nathaniel, my seven year old, accepted Jesus as his personal Savior. We were in the middle of doing schoolwork when he started asking questions. I got to watch my baby pray and receive Christ into his life. It was amazing! God is so AMAZING! My son is now also my brother. That's kinda freaky!

Toe infections make me sick!

My stupid toe is infected and it totally bites. It is just my toe. It's not like my arm is infected or my heart or my brain. IT'S MY TOE, but it hurts so bad!!!!! Pain is pulsating through my foot and up my leg. I am having to go to the doctor so he can examine my BIG TOE! I can't even walk. It's making me so mad. People in my family always get the most ridiculous ailments. Like sore BIG TOES!

In other news, the Maxwells have officially started homeschool for the year. I know, late start, but what are you gonna do. We'll just be schooling into June. That's ok. Anyway, Maxwell Academy is underway and in full swing. I am so not a scheduled person, so it's an interesting adjustment. I know my hubby will be happy when we are settle because he loves structure. I say, "GET YOUR ORDER OUT OF MY CHAOS"! I function better mentally with a little commotion going on. Unfortunately for me my children DO NOT. They need the order of a structured environment. So I say, "Ok God, you called me to do this, now I am asking you to reprogram my brain and make me a scheduled person."! He said ok, but that I have to be willing to put down some things that I thought were necessary to everyday life. Like socializing with friends, hanging out with my brothers and sisters, going all over the city just because I want to. You know, things like that. I know he will bless the obedience, but first I have to be OBEDIENT! Surrender! I have to surrender. I'll let you know what the outcome of all that is. At any rate, the kids like doing school right now. They haven't figured out yet that this is an everyday all year thing. 8-)

Life is stressful right now. It makes me so grateful that I have a totally DEPENDABLE and LOVING God, an AMAZING and STRONG hubby, and SWEET babies that I love with ALL MY HEARTS AND CIRCLES. Now if my toe would just quit hurting. 8-(

When life gives you lemons, make pink lemonade.

This blog is just hard to keep up with ya know. Too much goes on in my day and in my head to stop and figure out what is blog worthy and what should just remain locked away. The fact of the matter is that I am busy with a whole lot of nothing. I feel like my days are swamped, but if you asked me to recap I would be hard pressed to come up with anything terribly pressing or for that matter interesting that I have done today. I do make a lot of meals and change a lot of diapers. I give baths and wipe noses. I read books and clean up messes. I make tents and referee a lot of battles. To me these things make up a very full and exciting day, but to the rest of the world it's not much to blog about. Anyway, I do enjoy reading the blogs of other people.

So, what's new? There really isn't anything new, just consistently crazy. We're getting ready to start school in a few weeks. I will be teaching Nathaniel(2nd grade), Madelyne(K5), and Gabriel(K4) this year. How do I feel about this? I am both excited and terrified all at the same time. It is a little scary having the fate of your children's education resting on your mostly inadequate shoulders. I do know that God does not call us to do ANYTHING that He hasn't already equipped us to do. Now, there have been several times when I did things on my own without consulting God first only to realize about half way through that He hadn't equipped me because he hadn't intended on me doing it in the first place. On the flip side of that I have succeeded in things only to find no joy in it because God's hand wasn't in it to begin with. What is the moral of this story? Confer with God daily on where He wants you and what He wants you to be doing. It's the best sure fire way to find peace and joy in everything you do. 8-) Consider that your tidbit for the day.

God really is so good to me. Even when He is teaching me a lesson and because of my stubborn nature I have to learn it the hard way. Just the fact that He continues to teach me is testament to what a great and loving God He is.

!SURPRISE!

So, Andrew arranged for his mom to come and get the kids this evening so that he could take me on a "birthday date" because Monday is my birthday. I have been asking him for days where we were going and he wouldn't tell me. He kept saying it was a surprise. I was all ready to go when he got home from work. Now, where we were going I had NO clue, and to top it all off he blindfolded me when we got in the car. I rode the entire way to destination "surprise" blindfolded. I thought I was going to throw up by the time we got there. He was not kind with his driving either. Lots of sudden stops and speeding. Anyway, when we got there he helped me out of the car, ya know because I couldn't see and all, and he led me down a little pathway. When he took my blindfold off I was standing in front of my sweet friends and my babies and they all yelled "SURPRISE!". I cried! It was so sweet. I love! love! love! being with people, and to have some of my most favorite people in the whole world gather together to celebrate my birthday with me was just amazing. I was stunned. As a matter of fact I was so stunned that it took me forever to gather by bearings and talk and enjoy everyone. I really hope they all realized how excited I was because I was just in shock for the longest time. They had decorated with pink, and of course "pink is my signature color". (If you've never seen the movie "Steele Magnolias" then you will not get that line, and if you've never seen "Steele Magnolias" you need to get off the computer right now and go rent it because it's like the best movie EVER!) They had a pink birthday tiara for me to wear that was fabulous. The cake Andrew had gotten had a beach scene on it, and if you read my previous blog then you know that I LOVE the beach. 8-) I got some really precious cards and sweet gifts. The whole thing was just precious to me. Here's the deal. For as long as I can remember I have wanted a surprise birthday party, but you can't tell someone you want a surprise party because then it's not a surprise. So over the years I have had wonderful regular birthday parties, but no one has ever cared to surprise me. So this was an incredible gesture to me. I was absolutely honored and blessed by every ones presence tonight. You thrilled my soul, and I was TOTALLY caught off guard. THANK YOU to my sweet husband, the friends who helped put it together, and the sweet friends and family who attended. I love you all with all my hearts and circles!

MADNESS

So, I'm having a hard time keeping up with this thing. Andrew has a blog and he hasn't had an entry since January or something absurd like that. It's driving me INSANE! I still check the stupid thing like every other day just to see if he has graced us with another entry. I think he only has 3 entries on the whole thing anyway. Oh well. The truth is that the things we find thrilling in our lives aren't exactly exciting to the rest of the world. I think that is God's grace for us in this season of our lives. He gives us excitement over the little things in life. 8-) Like for instance, Isaiah has started rolling over. Now when we share this with other people they're like, "yeah, sure, that's great", but we are just beside ourselves. I mean, it's like the most thrilling thing in our lives right now to sit around and watch Isaiah work his way from his stomach to his back. Everyone in the family gathers around and watches in anticipation, and then when he finally flips we cheer like he's the first person in the world to accomplish such a feat. Now does that sound like fun to you? Probably not, but we think it's an evening of extraordinary entertainment. The killer thing is that this will be one of the sweetest times of my whole life. Watching my sweet little babies grow into big people. I hear older women say to me every day that they long for the days when they could pick their babies up and hold them in their arms. I want to cherish every moment of this precious season of my life even if I do smell like spit-up and have dried up crusty boogers on my shoulder. 8-) I know, it's so gross, but I love it anyway. What I don't get is how he can make me smell so bad, and yet he still smells like heaven. Hmm..., it's a mystery.

Oh well, I warned you in the beginning that my thoughts are like cotton candy. Sometimes they're sweet and fluffy, and sometimes they're just a big sticky mess.

LONGING! I am longing and desperate to get out of town and get to the beach. The youth at our church(New Hope Baptist Church) left for camp this afternoon in Panama City. I am so jealous! I wish I could tell you I am just jealous of the incredible spiritual experience they're going to have, but I would be lying. I'm pretty much jealous that they get to go and sit by the ocean. What's even better is that they get to go grow spiritually ON the beach. That is like the greatest combo EVER! That is one of my favorite things to do in the whole world. Vacation at the beach. I have loved it my whole life, but since I have gotten married and have children it's even better. The beach is twice as much fun when you get to watch your babies play and be amazed at all they see. Oh, and romantic, the beach is soooo........ romantic to me. Going with the man that you are in love with is just amazing. The very first time Andrew and I went to the beach together we stopped to check into the condo, and I hadn't seen the ocean yet but I could smell the salt in the air and I was so excited. Anyway, he looked at me and told me how beautiful he thought I was and that was it. I knew that being at the beach with a husband that I loved was going to be even more fun than the beach had ever been before.

So LATE! It's 2:50am and I just cannot make my mind slow down long enough to go to sleep. Andrew and I went out this evening and enjoyed time with our sweet friends Trisha and Justin at Starbucks. Evidently either the conversation or the coffee was just too stimulating because now I can't make my mind stop going. 8-) It was probably the amazing pink playing cards. We played hearts for hours using solid pink playing cards that I found at Walmart today, and let me tell you they are positively magnificent. No, really, they are so pretty. I am fairly certain I am the only one who enjoyed the pinkness of our playing cards. Trisha did say she liked them, but the boys seemed to be a little overwhelmed by them. Ok, enough about pink cards. We really did enjoy our evening.

I read something from a Beth Moore study that I have done twice in one year, and it has just played over and over in my mind. She was talking about the different kinds of people amongst the body of believers and how there are two extremes in the area of believing in what God can or will do. She said that to one extreme people don't believe that God is in the business of doing miracles this day in time, and to the other extreme there are those who focus and obsess on God doing miraculous things all the time. She made the statement that people can become more concerned with what God "can do" rather than focusing on who "He is". I have come to the realization that I have spent much of my Christian walk asking God to "do" things and not nearly enough time just praising Him for the awesome God that He is. I'm quite certain that if we open our eyes and look at the amazing work of God all around us we can find a miracle in everything He has had His hand on. When my 5 year old daughter goes to God in prayer most of her words are thanking Him for anything and everything. That is the walk that I desire to have with my Creator, my King. Don't you know that He would be so pleased if I spent more time talking with Him about how amazing I think He is, and if I showed Him proper gratitude for the miracles He does in my life every day. After all, that is why He created us. If He never gave me even one more breathe in my lungs He has given me more than I ever deserved, but He loves me so much that He continues to bless me.

Alright, if I don't somehow make my mind stop and go to sleep I may not make it tomorrow.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

My time for writing is limited due to the insanity of this week. AHHHHHHHHH! So here is the quick recap.

Tuesday was my 8th wedding anniversary. WOW! Eight wonderful years. They really have been the best years of my life. I'm not saying that they have been the easiest, and they have definitely been full of some really crazy times. They have, however, been so beautiful. My husband is so amazing. I have felt 100% unconditionally loved since the day we got married. He is so thoughtful and caring. The icing on the cake is that he is such a great daddy. It means EVERYTHING that he loves God before he loves any of us. He is such a great leader in our home. Ok, I am just feeling really mushy in this moment. So I do apologize for all the sap. 8-)

Anyway, I'll finish this later. I have to go do Father's Day lunch. Everyone is yelling at me to get off the computer. It's just so hard to make time to blog.

Sunday, not so much a day of rest

Ok, yesterday was Madelyne's very first dance recital. It was so cute. It was much more elaborate than I had envisioned a little girls recital to be. There were dance teams of all ages that performed. They held the "show" at TPAC. There were big lights and big sets and big curtains. The key word here is "BIG" in case you hadn't gotten it yet. She was amazing of course. Her tap routine was especially cute. She can really shake her booty. Anyway, as much fun as it all was, it was totally exhausting. It consumed the whole day. There was walking around down town and running up and down stairs from stage to dressing rooms and quick costume changes. There were half naked kids everywhere. Pretty much this whole week has been consumed with getting ready for yesterday. It was all worth it I suppose. She loved being on stage, and I of course loved seeing her on stage.

That all brings us to today, Sunday. When we woke up this morning to get ready for church I just couldn't do it. I was just way too exhausted from the past week. I'm not sure what has happened to this supposed "day of rest" and keeping it holy. I assure you there is nothing holy about me killing myself to get 4 children and myself ready to be at church by 9:00am all while they are screaming and crying. Sunday mornings are never pleasant. I'm sure it's just Satan trying to steal the joy of the day. Were we to get ready any other day of the week it would be fine. It makes focusing on God and His special day very difficult. 8-) So what's the answer? I just don't know. I totally believe we are to go and worship with the body of believers. Why can't we just get together and worship a little later in the day? I really like that whole Saturday night church idea. We should do that. Then Sunday would truly be a "day of rest".

maybe i will or maybe i won't

As part of my first entry to this journal of sorts I would just like to say that this may or it may not be something I keep up with. I would like to think that it will be a good outlet for my thoughts and all that jazz. I enjoy reading other peoples blogs, but life is also a little crazy right now. It's a little presumptuous of me to think I will have the minutes in a day to sit and type my thoughts. They may have to stay locked in this treasure chest I call my head for now. Although I 'm not sure how much treasure is hidden away there. Having just had my fourth baby(Isaiah) only two months ago I tend to think my thoughts are more like cotton candy than treasure. Sometimes they're sweet and fluffy, and sometimes they're just a big sticky mess. Pink cotton candy of course. (Sometimes I even make myself sick 8-) Anyway, if you're reading this and you think you might journey back to this blog sometime I just wanted you all to be warned. This blog comes with a big fat CAUTION SIGN!