Rachel got her first pedicure yesterday. I have never seen her be still and quiet when she is awake. She had such a good time. We will definitely have to do this again.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Holding On...
This past Friday was not a good day for me. I can't explain it, but a lot of things came down on me like a ton of bricks...or three! I spent the majority of the day crying because of everything that is happening, and I felt near wits end. Don't worry, no one is sick or anything. Our family is going through a lot of changes right now, and the changes are all for the better, but the journey that will get us there is going to be rough (as most journeys are). Friday night, I went to bed feeling so lousy. All day yesterday, I tried to hold it in, but I kept thinking about it all, I became extremely discouraged about everything.
This morning, Rusty had an extremely bad headache which usually gives me a good excuse to skip church. (This is horrible, but as busy as we are, I'm always looking for an opportunity to relax). I resisted. I got all three kids up and ready to go, and we were at Church on time! I have to sit in the front row of church, otherwise, I get distracted. Today, I am so glad that I went...even if I did sit in the front row alone. Usually, Angelyn sits with me, but she sat with another friend today. I'm so glad she did. I am so glad Rusty had a headache. I had ZERO distractions. It was just me and Pastor Kent up there as far as I was concerned.
I learned so much this morning. The sermon was from a passage in Acts 27: 30-31. Basically, it spoke of how Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved". Even though it seemed that they would surely die if they stayed in the ship, they were told to stay anyway. God told Paul to tell them to stick with it even if it had reservations. Adversity is a painful teacher. "Bailing out" would be the quick fix to their problems just as it would be the quick fix to mine.
Pastor Kent's "4 Reasons to Bail Out"
1. It's Over My Head -
David & Goliath. Everyone knows this story...or should know this story. David, a little man, stands up to the feared, Goliath, a giant. He didn't let Goliath's size overwhelm him. David's "Rock" was the key to his victory (God being the Rock here). He killed Goliath with the rock physically, but it was the "Rock" that gave him his strength to overcome. His heart was in it. He may have been physically scared, but he had his heart with God, and God protected him and pulled him through. (I Samuel 15)
2. It's Not What I Thought It Would Be -
Getting a new job can be scary. It could turn out to be more difficult than you initially expected. There are three things that you could do. You could quit, you could decrease your work quality, or you could be convinced that you can make it work how ever hard it seems. If your heart is in the right place, and you trust in God to get you through it, you'll be fine. Just don't quit!
3. Life is unfair -
Read the book of Job. Job's life is the best example of "unfair". He was in a great position to bail out. His wife even encouraged him to turn away from God saying that God could fix all of Job's problems if he wanted to, but He didn't. People have unrealistic expectations of what God should do for us, but what are WE doing for God? God died for the church, but yet we still expect Him to fix all of our problems. What are WE doing? (Job I)
4. I've Been Tricked -
Jacob fell in love with Rachel. Her father told him that if he worked for him for seven years, he could marry his daughter. After the seven years were up, Rachel's father gave him her sister, Leah. He told Jacob that if he wanted Rachel, he had to work another seven years. Jacob stayed for another seven years and married Rachel as well (Acceptable in Bible times). He had children with Leah, but none with Rachel. When Jacob was buried, he was buried next to Leah rather than Rachel. I read through Genesis 29 today, and it seems that Jacob was a pretty busy man when it came to the women. Rachel and Leah both "gave" Jacob their maids in the Biblical sense, and both of them also had children with Jacob. Nonetheless, had Leah's father not tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, the 12 Tribes of Israel would have never existed. God has a plan. Jacob could have quit once he was first tricked, but he kept on track.
Today's sermon was enlightening. You can listen or watch it for yourself here, if you would like (1/25/09). Pastor Kent is much better at this than I am, but I wanted to share with you what I learned today.
God is doing something with me and with the Corley Clan, and I realized this morning that even though it's getting hard to deal with, this is the right path for us. It's going to be difficult, and there are going to be "things" that get in our way and try to discourage us, but we can't "bail out". We can't quit.
We're gonna hang in there. We're not gonna quit or bail out. We're gonna hold on.
Watch this!
Print this post
This morning, Rusty had an extremely bad headache which usually gives me a good excuse to skip church. (This is horrible, but as busy as we are, I'm always looking for an opportunity to relax). I resisted. I got all three kids up and ready to go, and we were at Church on time! I have to sit in the front row of church, otherwise, I get distracted. Today, I am so glad that I went...even if I did sit in the front row alone. Usually, Angelyn sits with me, but she sat with another friend today. I'm so glad she did. I am so glad Rusty had a headache. I had ZERO distractions. It was just me and Pastor Kent up there as far as I was concerned.
I learned so much this morning. The sermon was from a passage in Acts 27: 30-31. Basically, it spoke of how Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved". Even though it seemed that they would surely die if they stayed in the ship, they were told to stay anyway. God told Paul to tell them to stick with it even if it had reservations. Adversity is a painful teacher. "Bailing out" would be the quick fix to their problems just as it would be the quick fix to mine.
Pastor Kent's "4 Reasons to Bail Out"
1. It's Over My Head -
David & Goliath. Everyone knows this story...or should know this story. David, a little man, stands up to the feared, Goliath, a giant. He didn't let Goliath's size overwhelm him. David's "Rock" was the key to his victory (God being the Rock here). He killed Goliath with the rock physically, but it was the "Rock" that gave him his strength to overcome. His heart was in it. He may have been physically scared, but he had his heart with God, and God protected him and pulled him through. (I Samuel 15)
2. It's Not What I Thought It Would Be -
Getting a new job can be scary. It could turn out to be more difficult than you initially expected. There are three things that you could do. You could quit, you could decrease your work quality, or you could be convinced that you can make it work how ever hard it seems. If your heart is in the right place, and you trust in God to get you through it, you'll be fine. Just don't quit!
3. Life is unfair -
Read the book of Job. Job's life is the best example of "unfair". He was in a great position to bail out. His wife even encouraged him to turn away from God saying that God could fix all of Job's problems if he wanted to, but He didn't. People have unrealistic expectations of what God should do for us, but what are WE doing for God? God died for the church, but yet we still expect Him to fix all of our problems. What are WE doing? (Job I)
4. I've Been Tricked -
Jacob fell in love with Rachel. Her father told him that if he worked for him for seven years, he could marry his daughter. After the seven years were up, Rachel's father gave him her sister, Leah. He told Jacob that if he wanted Rachel, he had to work another seven years. Jacob stayed for another seven years and married Rachel as well (Acceptable in Bible times). He had children with Leah, but none with Rachel. When Jacob was buried, he was buried next to Leah rather than Rachel. I read through Genesis 29 today, and it seems that Jacob was a pretty busy man when it came to the women. Rachel and Leah both "gave" Jacob their maids in the Biblical sense, and both of them also had children with Jacob. Nonetheless, had Leah's father not tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, the 12 Tribes of Israel would have never existed. God has a plan. Jacob could have quit once he was first tricked, but he kept on track.
Today's sermon was enlightening. You can listen or watch it for yourself here, if you would like (1/25/09). Pastor Kent is much better at this than I am, but I wanted to share with you what I learned today.
God is doing something with me and with the Corley Clan, and I realized this morning that even though it's getting hard to deal with, this is the right path for us. It's going to be difficult, and there are going to be "things" that get in our way and try to discourage us, but we can't "bail out". We can't quit.
We're gonna hang in there. We're not gonna quit or bail out. We're gonna hold on.
Watch this!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Good-bye? Kitty?
It is official. It has been one month since the Corleys have seen Kitty. I'd say that she's gone to a better place now, and one day, I hope to get another "kitty", but not any time soon.
Kitty was a good cat. She was rescued from the shelter a little over 6 years ago. Rusty didn't know what kind of cat he wanted (Rusty's a cat person whereas I am a dog person), but he knew that he wanted an older one. There is a weird phenomenon called "a kitten" that drives you mad, so we opted for the older cat.
When we brought Kitty home to meet Susie, it was some wonderful entertainment. They both made a lot of strange noises. Over the next two or three nights, Kitty made her mark "literally" with Susie, and she officially became the BOSS, even if Susie didn't like the idea. After quite some time, they became the best of friends, but neither of them would ever admit it.
Kitty shed. A LOT. I couldn't even pet her without getting a piece of fur in my nose. And then, I would sneeze. And sneeze. And my nose would itch, and it would be all over. Every time I walked up the stairs, she would be there to greet me on the banister, but I could only ever pat her head for fear of me getting the sneezes.
If I did branch out and pet her, it was only a matter of time before she drooled on me. Yes, she was a drooler. She drooled on everyone that pet her for more than a minute. She loved the attention. She loved it so much, that if you pulled your hand away, she would reach out and grab it to bring it back to her head to resume scratching.
I think that Beth was Kitty's favorite Corley. Beth would pet her no matter what. She loves cats so much. She would sit out there on the porch and talk to Kitty like they knew each other from college. It was pretty funny. Kitty's "voice" was rather unusual and scratchy.
We will definitely miss our Catalina Kitty, but we will always remember that Kitty made her mark in the Corley Clan. Maybe one day, she will come back and surprise us all...until then,
Kitty was a good cat. She was rescued from the shelter a little over 6 years ago. Rusty didn't know what kind of cat he wanted (Rusty's a cat person whereas I am a dog person), but he knew that he wanted an older one. There is a weird phenomenon called "a kitten" that drives you mad, so we opted for the older cat.
When we brought Kitty home to meet Susie, it was some wonderful entertainment. They both made a lot of strange noises. Over the next two or three nights, Kitty made her mark "literally" with Susie, and she officially became the BOSS, even if Susie didn't like the idea. After quite some time, they became the best of friends, but neither of them would ever admit it.
Kitty shed. A LOT. I couldn't even pet her without getting a piece of fur in my nose. And then, I would sneeze. And sneeze. And my nose would itch, and it would be all over. Every time I walked up the stairs, she would be there to greet me on the banister, but I could only ever pat her head for fear of me getting the sneezes.
If I did branch out and pet her, it was only a matter of time before she drooled on me. Yes, she was a drooler. She drooled on everyone that pet her for more than a minute. She loved the attention. She loved it so much, that if you pulled your hand away, she would reach out and grab it to bring it back to her head to resume scratching.
I think that Beth was Kitty's favorite Corley. Beth would pet her no matter what. She loves cats so much. She would sit out there on the porch and talk to Kitty like they knew each other from college. It was pretty funny. Kitty's "voice" was rather unusual and scratchy.
We will definitely miss our Catalina Kitty, but we will always remember that Kitty made her mark in the Corley Clan. Maybe one day, she will come back and surprise us all...until then,
R.I.P.
Catalina Kitty Corley
2002 - 2009 (plus)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Emmy - 6 Weeks Old
Miss Emmy changes so fast! Here are some pictures of her at 6 weeks old. She is generally sleeping through the night. We put her down at around 10:30 and she wakes up around 6:30. She started daycare last week, and brought a cold home, but overall, she is a wonderful baby and is in good health! She has definitely shown that she has the temper of a red head.
The Directions are Right There, Honey!
My cousin, Allison (from Florida), got the kids this tee pee / tent thingy for them to play in. Michael came over for dinner this past weekend, and he and Rusty decided to tackle it head on. The first thing they did was to throw the instructions to the side. Naturally. Who needs directions?
The kids are having a BLAST!!
Happiness Is...
Every time we change Emmy's clothes or give her a bath, she grunts, gurgles, and eeks.
I think that I could have 5 more kids if they all did this...
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Back To Reality
I started back to work on Thursday, and it was very hard. I dropped Emmy off at daycare, and Sam's teacher saw that I was flushed.
I don't know if anyone else has ever experienced this, but when you cry uncontrollably for so long, and then you finally get control, you lose it ever so quickly when someone asks you if you've been crying. Well, Sam's teacher noticed that I was flushed when I dropped Emmy off, and she did it. She asked me if I had been crying. Yes. I lost it!
I'm better now. I must admit that as much as I did not want to go back to work on Thursday, it has been nice to have some sort of schedule back and to have adult conversations. I was welcomed back with open arms. Apparently, I am valued at FedEx which is a nice feeling. One of the Region Staff members called the office, and when I answered the phone, she screamed in excitement that I was back. That was nice.
I'm glad to be back at work, but I would never had gone back if I didn't absolutely have to. The 6 weeks that I spent with Emmy was the best 6 weeks of my life. She is amazing! I remember holding her in front of me wondering what she and the other kids would grow up to be. I wonder which one is going to be the one that takes care of me and Rusty in our old age. I wonder which one will have the most kids.
Family has ALWAYS been very important to me, but looking into Emmy's eyes for 6 weeks has made me think of what the future holds for the Corley Clan.
I would never trade the past 6 weeks for anything in the world. It was such a special time, and I am thankful that I was able to experience it.
Print this post
I don't know if anyone else has ever experienced this, but when you cry uncontrollably for so long, and then you finally get control, you lose it ever so quickly when someone asks you if you've been crying. Well, Sam's teacher noticed that I was flushed when I dropped Emmy off, and she did it. She asked me if I had been crying. Yes. I lost it!
I'm better now. I must admit that as much as I did not want to go back to work on Thursday, it has been nice to have some sort of schedule back and to have adult conversations. I was welcomed back with open arms. Apparently, I am valued at FedEx which is a nice feeling. One of the Region Staff members called the office, and when I answered the phone, she screamed in excitement that I was back. That was nice.
I'm glad to be back at work, but I would never had gone back if I didn't absolutely have to. The 6 weeks that I spent with Emmy was the best 6 weeks of my life. She is amazing! I remember holding her in front of me wondering what she and the other kids would grow up to be. I wonder which one is going to be the one that takes care of me and Rusty in our old age. I wonder which one will have the most kids.
Family has ALWAYS been very important to me, but looking into Emmy's eyes for 6 weeks has made me think of what the future holds for the Corley Clan.
I would never trade the past 6 weeks for anything in the world. It was such a special time, and I am thankful that I was able to experience it.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Treasure Hunting Corleys
We are officially "treasure hunters" thanks to Angel. She told me about this thing called Geocaching. Apparently, if you have a GPS device, you can participate in this really cool, world-wide treasure hunt. You simply punch in the coordinates (Latitude / Longitude) of the location, and go!
We started this adventure last weekend. I am always looking for ways to get out of the house, but it seems like every time we go anywhere, we spend money. Now, we just go.
We have officially found two and have not found two others. The first one that we went on was right near our house. We strapped on the Snugli and hiked through Indian Mounds State Park. The GPS took us right to the treasure. I bought the kids each a compass, and they were thrilled. They moved the camouflage (sticks and moss) off of the box and opened it up. Inside were several different items to look at. Typically, there is a journal that you can log your GeoCaching Username in, the story of GeoCaching, and some items to trade. The kids brought along a toy that they could trade. Sam traded a piece of his play money for a beach ball, and Rachel traded a necklace charm for a key chain. They were so excited! Of course, I forgot my camera for this trip.
This past weekend, we took Beth and Joey along with us (and the camera) on our treasure hunt! I'd told Joey about our last adventure, and he wanted to come along this time. The more the merrier!
We set out for three locations. We had the GPS and walkie talkies in hand and we were off!
The first stop was a find that we looked all over for last weekend, but couldn't find. I emailed the hiders, and asked them if it was a joke because we couldn't find it ANYWHERE! I guess that's gonna happen from time to time. We looked everywhere, and we still didn't find that one!
The second stop on our treasure hunt was called "McGinnis Landing Micro" (micro means that the container is a 35mm film container). McGinnis Landing was a boat launch to Lake Jackson back before the sink hole got to Lake Jackson and took all of the water out of it. Lake Jackson is getting better, but it's not back to where it was before the sinkhole formed. We looked EVERYWHERE, but didn't find this one either. We found an animal skull on the information board that I thought was the hiding place, and Rusty found a pretty clever hiding place, but we didn't find any treasure. It looked like it had been moved. We did, however, find a few weird things. I found an animal bone, and Joey found a minnow skeleton.
The third stop was really cool. This one was called "2nd Verse, Same as the 1st". The location was right on the edge of the other side of Lake Jackson (the Richy rich side). This one was a small Tupperware container with a green lid that was hidden in a tree that was right off of the edge of the park. These were just any ole' set of trees though. It was a place that I know I would have played in when I was a kid. The trees were smooth, big, and well separated, but was still extremely well hidden from the "outside" world. This container had a small frog, a dragonfly hair clip, and a guitar pick along with the journal log. One of the local churches had hidden this one! We didn't trade anything because the container was so small.
Hopefully, there are several more treasure hunts to come! When I go on the website, there are 700 locations that come up for my zip code alone! I think we're gonna have a blast with this!
We started this adventure last weekend. I am always looking for ways to get out of the house, but it seems like every time we go anywhere, we spend money. Now, we just go.
We have officially found two and have not found two others. The first one that we went on was right near our house. We strapped on the Snugli and hiked through Indian Mounds State Park. The GPS took us right to the treasure. I bought the kids each a compass, and they were thrilled. They moved the camouflage (sticks and moss) off of the box and opened it up. Inside were several different items to look at. Typically, there is a journal that you can log your GeoCaching Username in, the story of GeoCaching, and some items to trade. The kids brought along a toy that they could trade. Sam traded a piece of his play money for a beach ball, and Rachel traded a necklace charm for a key chain. They were so excited! Of course, I forgot my camera for this trip.
This past weekend, we took Beth and Joey along with us (and the camera) on our treasure hunt! I'd told Joey about our last adventure, and he wanted to come along this time. The more the merrier!
We set out for three locations. We had the GPS and walkie talkies in hand and we were off!
The first stop was a find that we looked all over for last weekend, but couldn't find. I emailed the hiders, and asked them if it was a joke because we couldn't find it ANYWHERE! I guess that's gonna happen from time to time. We looked everywhere, and we still didn't find that one!
The second stop on our treasure hunt was called "McGinnis Landing Micro" (micro means that the container is a 35mm film container). McGinnis Landing was a boat launch to Lake Jackson back before the sink hole got to Lake Jackson and took all of the water out of it. Lake Jackson is getting better, but it's not back to where it was before the sinkhole formed. We looked EVERYWHERE, but didn't find this one either. We found an animal skull on the information board that I thought was the hiding place, and Rusty found a pretty clever hiding place, but we didn't find any treasure. It looked like it had been moved. We did, however, find a few weird things. I found an animal bone, and Joey found a minnow skeleton.
The third stop was really cool. This one was called "2nd Verse, Same as the 1st". The location was right on the edge of the other side of Lake Jackson (the Richy rich side). This one was a small Tupperware container with a green lid that was hidden in a tree that was right off of the edge of the park. These were just any ole' set of trees though. It was a place that I know I would have played in when I was a kid. The trees were smooth, big, and well separated, but was still extremely well hidden from the "outside" world. This container had a small frog, a dragonfly hair clip, and a guitar pick along with the journal log. One of the local churches had hidden this one! We didn't trade anything because the container was so small.
Hopefully, there are several more treasure hunts to come! When I go on the website, there are 700 locations that come up for my zip code alone! I think we're gonna have a blast with this!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Hello? Kitty?
Every year, we all load up the van and go on vacation. Each year, we either take Susie to the vet or she stays with Grammy while we are gone. Kitty has free reign on the house. We even have a doggy / kitty door that the animals can come in and out of the house as they please. While we are on vacation, we just set out a ton of food and water for kitty, and we let her do her thing.Each year, kitty somewhat pitches a fit when we are gone, and we completely expect this temper tantrum. She usually spits up a fur ball on the floor while we are gone, but that has nothing to do with us being gone for a week...she can do that at any point in time. She is a cat.
The major aspect of Kitty's "temper tantrum" is that she doesn't come home after we get home. It's almost like she is punishing us by not coming home. We do deserve it, by the way. We did "abandon" her in her time of need. She "needs" to be petted, rubbed, and loved on. Kitty will be gone for DAYS after we get home from vacation. I have no idea where she goes, where she sleeps, or where she gets her food, but I do know that she wants NOTHING to do with The Corley Clan.
This year, we left our normal buffet of food and water out for Kitty while we were on our Christmas excursion. We got home December 28th. We were only gone for 5 days this time around, so Kitty should have been less "mad" with us, but here it is, January 9th, and still no Kitty.
I asked Rusty if he "took" her somewhere, and he says that he didn't. I'm wondering where she has gotten off to. It's very upsetting, but at the same time, relieving. Kitty has become VERY destructive in her old age. She got into our heating system, and completely destroyed it. Rusty and Joey spent an entire afternoon under the house fixing her catastrophe! She sleeps on anything that I want to keep clean, and she is obnoxious at the most inopportune times.
Rusty and I talked about getting rid of her (giving her to a church family or someone that we know will be good to her), but we never made any decisions. We only talked about it a couple of days before we left. Rachel thinks that she heard us talking about getting rid of her, and she took it personally. Imagine Kitty walking down the street with her "hobo" bag slung over her kitty shoulder. Who knows.
Wherever you are Catalina Kitty, we hope that you have tons of love, food, toys, and catnip! If you decide to come home, you better behave yourself, Missy! Whether you believe it or not, Susie misses you greatly!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
A Little Toilet Humor
Normally, I'm not one to elaborate on a little toilet humor...much, but this one that Angelyn sent me is priceless. Not to mention, I loved Cagney and Lacey, and I LOVE Tyne Daly.
You have to watch the reactions of the girls in the mirror. It takes about 45 seconds to get going, but your stomach will hurt from laughing, if you can hold on...
Hysterical!
Hysterical!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Emmy - 1 month old
Emmy is one month old! She has changed SO much in the past month. I can't wait to see how she is going to change each month. She was born with eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair, but her eyelashes grew overnight, and she started to get tears the other day. She is slowly getting more comfortable with taking baths, but still has a little protest left in her at bath time.
I have STILL only had one night's worth of sleep since I was 4 months pregnant or so. Emmy wakes up for at least an hour each night for her "middle of the night" feeding, but that's normal. I think it was 4 months before Sam slept all night long.
Cody, Rachel, and Sam have adjusted wonderfully to Emmy's arrival. It is so special to me how each of the kids interact with her. Rachel wants to kiss her and hold her constantly, and Sam just wants to touch her and look at her. Cody is secretly excited to have yet another sister, but don't tell him that we're on to his game.
Birth
One Month
Bath time Fun!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
New Years Resolutions
I have always been one to set New Year's Resolutions, but I have never followed through with them. This year, I have decided to not even bother with any resolutions. None. Good luck if you choose to set resolutions this year.
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