Monday, July 06, 2009

july 4 weekend...

Our 4th of July is less than exciting, this is due to the fact that Matt has to work every 4th. And, for the past 3 years, it's been at night, which means he's sleeping all day long and then works all night long. Spencer and I managed to get to the parade (where everyone thinks they are a celebrity) in the morning and then we did get to the pool with daddy in the afternoon for a bit. The highlight of my day was...a new oven!!! Yes, on Thursday it will be delivered and our junker will be taken away! I can't wait!
We had a great visit with the Samuels. Spencer and Negley are like sisters, even down to the bickering with each other. It wasa great time and we were very sad to see them go. Spencer was WORN OUT from their visit. After dropping them at the airport, Spencer passed out on the way home and didn't wake up until almost 7pm (this was after numerous trys!), and then didn't go to be until 9:45pm! But, we're back on schedule now.
On the 4th Matt taught Spencer just exactly how to use her lifejacket. She's a pro at rolling over and floating!
Spencer wasn't that into the parade, but was quite sure she needed to be waving a flag! That's my girl!
As I am typing, Spencer and Matt are overhauling a 30 year old wooden toy boat of Matt's. Spencer loves it, so they bought everything at home depot and are fixing it and painting it...pink of course!
My favorite float!
This car was the "Pail Out" car. Very funny. Last year, they were all "pro-Obama" floats...not so much this year.
This float had a whole band on it...and they were really good!
Nuf said about this one.
It's been great being home. Spencer and I leave for Jacksonville on Saturday for the week. Our nephews get here this Thursday, which will be good times!

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

my outings...

Here are some snaps from my time in Birmingham and New Orleans. I had a great time with my high school students and am really looking foward to this year with all of them. It was a great trip and the Lord really showed up in some cool and powerful ways!
This is Skylar (above) and she's been in my ministry since I got here 7 years ago. She graduated this year and I'm so very proud of the woman she's become. I'm going to miss her terribly this year, so to draw out our time together, she's interning for me this summer!
Crime Wave...comin' at ya!
Me and Robin...boy wonder.
Me and the ladies from my team. :)

Sunday, June 28, 2009

back from the traveling...

If you didn't know, most of my June month is spent traveling with my high school and middle school students. On June 10-19 I hit the open road with 14 other folks to drive to Birmingham, then to New Orleans for mission work. This high school trip was awesome and I was so happy to be a part of this trip. Although I physically planned it, the Lord's hand was clearly steering the wheel and what we came home with was so AWESOME!
I had about 35 hours at home and then on the 21st, early in the morning, I headed back to Cleveland, TN for The Great Escape with our middle school students. This is the largest group I have taken, yet, and it was a great trip as well. We had some typical "middle school" problems with the kids, but all in all, the camp was awesome! Our trip home was quite exciting, as well. About a half hour into the trip home (5am!), we woke to what sounded like a huge cooler of ice falling over. What it was, though, was the inside pane of glass on a window totally shattering! Thankfully, it's all safety glass on busses, so no one was injured, but I did have one shaken up 6th grader which the glass totally fell on. I took him outside, dusted him off, and prayed with him. He called his mother when we got to our first stop at 8am and I think that set his mind at ease.
I am very glad to be home. I came home quite tired and my day yesterday was spent with Spencer shopping and playing, making up for the 3 weeks that I had been gone! While out, we found this great ironing board and iron at a local toy store. My mom just sent some napkins and a tablecloth for Spencers table and chairs, so now Spencer can fully care for her linens! She loves it. This morning, she got up, ironed her tutu, put it on and was ready to conquor the world!

Sunday, June 07, 2009

the story behind it...

If you were thinking, "Sayward, you and Matt have been saying forever that you were only having 1 kid", then you are totally right! That has been the plan for some time now and we have the NON baby items to prove it! We've literally given everything away. This child has a crib and a stroller. That's it. The plan was "one and done".

About 6 months ago, during my morning quiet times, I began wrestling with the Lord about another child. I really did not want another one and found myself in tears over it. I really felt a sense of the Lord saying "you should have one more" and me plainly saying "NO"! Basically, in February, I ended it with the Lord TELLING Him that if we were to have another child, it needed to come from Matt (which I knew wouldn't happen).

Matt and I went out for my birthday dinner and right after the hostess left us, Matt said "I need to talk to you before we have anything to drink". (I was a bit worried from that comment!) He plainly said, "I want to have another kid". Basically, after all that we've been through with his mother, he really does not want Spencer to have to go through that, nor do I. I told him about my prayer time over the past 6 months and we both agreed that it was from the Lord. The funniest thing about it was that was a Saturday and I was to start a new pack of pills the NEXT day...talk about timing!

So, this was no accident. We were definatley planning it. We didn't think it would happen that quickly, but it did! I don't have doctor's appointment until the end of June, but according to the online website, I'm due around January 28.

More updates to come!

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

from june to january...

Spencer's taking a walk to think about all the fun she's going to have BEING A BIG SISTER!!

I'm pregnant!!!!!!!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

what day is it?

We're back from our second trip to Sewickley. It was a bitter-sweet reunion of sorts. Lots of friendly faces came from far and wide to celebrate Matt's mom's life. But, we miss her so.
Between visitations, we grabbed some dinner at Monte Cello's. I asked if it was tacky to take pictures while home for a funeral. We agreed to capture all moments! (Lipstick shot, compliments of Aunt Seaweed)
Beth and Mike...we love them so!
This photo was while we were still in Pawleys. Spencer loves playing with "boy Teddy", as her cousin is "girl Teddie".
Our too cool for school nephews for a photo op. The two oldest are coming to stay with us for two weeks! We can't wait!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

new day...new look...

I'm sitting here in Sewickley and everyone is fast asleep in the Carson home. It's 9am and my little girl is even asleep! I know she's so wiped out from all the time she's had with family over the weekend.

I know I haven't updated in over a week, but this past Wednesday, Matt's mother entered eternal rest with our heavenly father, which put Spencer, Hagrid and I in the car for a 10 hour trip back up to Sewickley for a celebratory funeral in Helen Jean's honor. We had Robert Manuel and Ramsey do some special music, which really blessed our family, and mom's good friend, Joyce, spoke...and she did such a fabulous job. We had a gathering over at the Carson's house, which went late into the night and was just what Helen Jean would have wanted.

So, I hope you like the new look of the blog and hope you'll continue to keep up to date on our little beachy life.