Change for the DeLoach household

There is a lot that comes to mind when I think of the word change.....new start, clean slate, scary, something different, the unknown. Then the phrase comes to mind, change for the better or worse.

Awhile back, I guess about four months ago now, my husband comes to me after the kids are in bed and asks me the question....what do you think about moving? As I dropped everything that I was doing in total shock of his question my first question was, to where? To which he responded still here in Birmingham, just a different area of town...East Lake. To those of you who do not live in B'ham or even AL for that matter, EL isn't the best area of town. There are better parts than others, but it's an area that has lots of poverty & lots of needs. For example 61% of the children are raised by their grandparents (what we've seen is generally just the grandmothers). EL is not somewhere you would move to have a "better" life for yourself. I use the word "better" as a worldly term - better things, nicer things, those things that are viewed great by us sinful people of this world.

My first response to moving was, BUT we haven't lived in this house long AND we just got a really nice privacy fence in the backyard AND we're in a great school system AND we live close to great stores & restaurants AND we have great neighbors AND then I said it...the big "C" word, I'm very comfortable here. As soon as I said it I wanted to take it back, I knew right then that a for sale sign would be in our yard not long after our conversation. Not that we aren't supposed to be comfortable, but we are to care for those who are in poverty. I know for me personally living in this nice house in my "280 world" I get caught up in my comfort and don't go & serve & spread the gospel like I am commanded. James 1:27. Again for those of you not from B'ham, "280 world" means Hwy 280. This is where we live currently and it has wonderful shops, restaurants, and some of the richest neighborhoods in the city.

Yes the thought of moving to an unknown area of town that will not be as comfortable as I currently am now is scary. The unknown, which we would experience anywhere we moved, is more scary to me than the area of town we'll be living in. I have been serving on a monthly basis (Ben more than that) in East Lake and the more I'm there & the more I get to know the people the less scary it seems. I'm not a person that really likes lots of change, but a couple of years ago I told God, my life is yours do with it as you please so that I may live so that You get the glory. Who am I to pick and choose what I do for God's glory? I'm either committed fully or not. If that means being a little scared of the unknown and of what God has called us to do then that's ok. After lots of conversations & tears I can honestly say that I'm excited about the for sale sign in our yard. I'm excited about that fact that we will be making serving & sharing our life and not just something that we have to fit into our already busy schedule. Even if it does means that change is required and nothing is going to be the same as it once was in our comfortable lifestyle. A verse that I quote daily is Joshua 1:9 "be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do."

I praise God for a husband that is a spiritual leader of our home and who loves God more than he loves me. And, in that, I am deeply loved.

Obedience

One of my all time favorite singers is someone most do not know, unless they attend worship at The Church at Brook Hills. I think Steven Sivley is #1 on my music hit list. A couple of years ago we sung a song in worship that I just boo hoo'd my way through so I got the words from Steven. This song has been my prayer many nights.


I WANT TO BE
Steven Sivley 2008

VERSE 1:
I’ve been justified, freely forgiven
I’ve been saved by the blood of Christ
But I don’t want to be the same person I once was
I don’t want to be me, I want to be like Christ

CHORUS:
I want to be holy
And I want to be righteous
In your sight oh God
All my days, in all of my ways
I want to be pure in heart
And I want to be sanctified
For You are holy, oh God
And I want to be

VERSE 2:
I am certain now of my salvation
I am confident now that I am saved
Nothing can separate me from His Spirit
Nothing can take me away from His grace

BRIDGE:
How can I say that I am His if I don’t show it by my life?
How can I say that I am His but walk away?
How can I say that I am His if you can’t see a change in me?
How can I say that I am His if I’m the same?


WOW! Those last questions of the song get me every time. I look at my life and think what do others see in me? Do they see Christ? Am I living a life that is pleasing to my Heavenly Father? Am I being obedient to God's command? Or am I just living a comfortable life? A life that is doing just enough good things to make me feel like I'm being totally obedient.

3...2...1...Blast off!

Let me start off by saying that my kids have the best aunt in the world! My sister is Aunt Kay-Kace and all three of my kids think she hung the moon! Kacy has just recently moved to Huntsville, AL to attend UAH. When she was telling the kids about her new apt. she told them that Huntsville has a place where you can see rocket ships ....well to two little boys that translated into Kay-Kace lives in a ROCKET!! COOL!!

This past Saturday was a beautiful day so we decided to head up to see Aunt Kay-Kace's Rocket.





I had done some research before we left checking on prices to the Space & Rocket Center and if you know me very well you know I looked everywhere for some coupons or discounts. Unfortunately I didn't find any this time. Prices were $25 for adult & $20 kids above 5. My parents had come down for the day as well and we all decided that we could see the rockets just fine outside....for free.



The boys really love Star Wars and this sign was a major hit! Although I think I may have to start saving now so we can go back and actually go inside when the Star Wars Exhibit gets there in June.







We were able to go inside the gift shop without a museum ticket....imagine that.



Growing up just an hour away from Huntsville I had been to the Space & Rocket Center when I was younger and a very fond childhood memory was the Astronaut Ice Cream...yummmy! We HAD to get some.



You know what, it wasn't as yummy as I remembered, but the kids loved it! So now it's a yummy memory to them.

After lunch at Taziki's one of my all time favorite restaurants we headed back to Aunt Kay-Kace's apt. (which didn't look anything like a rocket).



The kids decided the ice cream wasn't enough, they needed to make some cookies.



You can't be around boys and not fight, wrestle or whatever it was they were doing with PopPop.



It was a perfect day visiting Aunt Kay-Kace! I'm thinking next time we may need to have a spend the night party. We may have to make sure the roommate is out of town though.



Yes, it was a perfect day!

Mr. Creative

I am a person with a plan, an agenda, a schedule. Yes I have realized that being married to minister means you HAVE to be flexible and I think for the most part I have become just that, but I will always have my calendar & eraser by my side. It just helps this mom get through the days, weeks, months....

Speaking of flexible, this past Valentine's weekend didn't go as planned. Ben & I didn't have definite plans, but even those not so definite plans went out the window on Friday night. Momma got the big ole stomach bug!! So as I was in the bed (and bathroom) all Friday night & Saturday AND Sunday even Ben had to run the house solo. Since we knew we were not going to be going and celebrating just us two, Ben got the kids involved and got creative.

This was my breakfast, lunch, and dinner.



And this was my Valentine's gift :)

Happy Valentine's Day



pictures inside the book....

Ten Years of that love holiday



but no time for us if the kids have their way



from loose teeth and potties and rough wrestling



to "we're really not tired" and "rock me and sing"



Our life together is never a bore



And I look forward to years of loving you more



Happy Valentine's Day from your crazy crew



From daddy, your boys, and Izzy-boo too



This was the last page, which was made from things around our house. I love it!

I wish I had shopped ahead, but instead from my bedside this is all I came up with for a gift in return. I find it very appropriate for my creative man! I love you babe :)

Teacher Gifts

I wish I could say that I baked all these goodies, but I didn't. I purchased them from one of my favorite places, Edgers Bakery. Then added the ribbon & tags. I hope they are as yummy as they look!

XOXO

One of my favorite things to do is crafts. One reason I love teaching preschool! With Valentine's Day approaching I went searching for cute valentine's day cards I could do with my kids so they could take to pass out to their friends at school. While searching I found my new favorite blog, Skip To My Lou. I was looking for something simple yet cute and that wouldn't take long to make and of course free or close to it. I also wanted the kids to be able to help make them and it not just be me making them by myself.

The boys are still into crafts somewhat and Izzy is into all the glitter and glam. So for the boys I kept it more simple. I downloaded a cello bag topper from another favorite blog The Celebration Shoppe. Then I had the boys write their names as well as their friends names on each bag topper.

Great writing practice for them.



We filled the bags with Hersey's kisses and heart peppermint candy.



Then stapled the toppers on the bags.



Simple enough.

For Isabel I went with a cute butterfly template. I downloaded and printed it on PINK construction paper.



Izzy added the glue & glitter.



Then I added the suckers & little faces.



There was paper, glue & glitter everywhere! It was so much fun!

Bedtime Hi-Yah

I have always wanted to be a mom and have loved being one since I became one almost 7 years ago (wow how time goes by quickly!). I will definitely say being a mom it is a lot harder than I ever could have imagined. When the first child arrived I realized wow, I am really selfish with my time and then the second child arrived and again I realized I am still really selfish! Then the third comes along and there is no time to be selfish anymore...although when I find myself getting really impatient with the kids, I realize it's when I'm selfishly wanting to do something for myself.

Speaking of getting impatient with the kids, bedtime comes to mind. I don't know about your house, but bedtime is one of the longest most dreaded parts of my day. It is an hour long process and more than that some nights. Every night it's the same thing. First we do bath's or shower's now for the boys. Which is nice, the boys can get in the shower by themselves and bathe so really I'm just having to get Izzy in the tub. Although, both boys would use an entire tank of hot water just standing in the water and never touch the soap. So I'm constantly having to say "Carter/Caden hurry up", "have you even started washing","your brother would like some hot water too"...the list goes on. Once we are all out of the tub & in PJ's we go to brush our teeth, which usually goes pretty smoothly. Yes I have to go in after wards and clean up all the toothpaste that has gotten all over the sink, toilet, and floor, but nevertheless teeth get clean. I hope. Then we all pile up on mom & dad's bed for family worship. Which lately has been reading through the Bible with the kids Jesus Storybook Bible. Then off to the bedrooms. I take Izzy and rock her for just a few songs. Her favorite is the Gigi Song. This is a song my mom a.k.a. Gigi started singing to her, where we go through every member of the family and say they love Isabel. Gigi loves Isabel, PopPop loves Isabel, Kay-Kace loves Isabel too. You get the picture. Ben takes the boys and that is where the challenge comes. Caden is usually fine, he's usually ready. However the boys share a room. Carter is the thinker and he knows how to get his dad. Since it's right after family worship Carter usually comes up with questions like, dad, "how is God three person's?", "where do we go when we die?", "where is Heaven?" and Carter knows Ben can't resist to not answer these biblical questions :) If he's not asking Biblical questions, it's, mom, "what's for lunch tomorrow?", "After school can I have a snack?", "who's picking me up from school?".....the list goes on!
However last night Ben and I thought, the kids really didn't seem all that tired. The boys had a birthday party earlier that day, but didn't use ALL their energy. It was bedtime and we had finished the pre-bedtime stuff. So we asked ourselves the question, how do we get them tired enough so that they will stay in their beds and NOT get back up for one more question. Then Ben had the thought, he used to take Karate, why not teach the kids. What a great idea!! So we pushed the couch back and for 30 min. straight they stretched, kicked, and punched. Not at each other of course. It was their own little workout session. You know what, it worked :) Not one time did any one of them get up to go potty one more time, ask for water or call us in their room for one more question. This may become part of our pre-bedtime routine.

The day has finally arrived!

Flashing back to 2004 when I had two little baby boys who were 11 months apart. I had lots of bottles to make, clothes to wash, messes to clean and the biggest of them all both boys in DIAPERS! Flash forward to April 2007 Carter was 3, Caden was 2, and baby sister entered our world. Caden was still not potty trained at this point, but was shortly after Isabel's arrival. Flash forward again to February 2010, I can now say that the DeLoach household is now diaper free!



I had tried a few times before now to get her to go potty, but you know when a little one is not ready, they are not ready! She has been going some at school for one of her teachers. Her friend Elory goes, so she was inspired :) Sat. morning woke up dry....so we tried to go potty and we went! All day Sat. & Sun. we wore big girl panties and only had one little accident.



We luckily had some big girls panties already, in what other color than pink! Izzy bear LOVES pink! Since this picture, we have purchased another set of pink Minnie mouse and Tinkerbell.




I had told Isabel awhile back that if she would go potty she could get M & M's. Of course she remembered that, but not just ANY color would do. She wanted PINK M & M's. Lucky for us it's Valentine's month....the pink month :)



I'm so excited to say that Isabel is now a "big girl". As a momma though it's also a little sad that I have no more in diapers! Where did my babies go? Maybe I should bring up that adoption topic again with Ben. I have always said I wanted four :)