Sunday, January 30, 2011

New Shoes

I love buying things for my kids. The latest of these being new shoes. I am pretty sure I have my mom to thank for this passion of sorts. Like her I love buying, making, giving or cooking for others. It brings joy to my heart.

Funny though...the greatest joy comes not from things but from knowing Christ. I hope I do/will do as good of a job imparting Biblical wisdom and a true passion for the Lord.
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Saturday, January 29, 2011

Old

When Sam's and grocery shopping are the highlight of your day, you know you are getting old. Thankfully, I will be doing it with my family as everyone is feeling much better than earlier this week!!!
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Friday, January 28, 2011

Flu and Randomness

Sunday morning Austin Kieff was not feeling well. By Sunday night he was running an extremely high fever. We were off to the doctor first thing Monday morning. Dr. Block was booked up, so we saw Dr. Lawrence. After a series of questions, a few pokes, prods and ahhhs, Dr. Lawrence was leaning towards strep. One throat culture later and a rather uncomfortable nasal swab it was discovered that influenza B was making my little boy feel so bad.

You might be thinking, "what about that flu shot he received last Fall?" You mean the one that left a knot the size of a golf ball, caused a rather high fever and left my little boy feeling miserable for almost a week? That flu shot? Well that vaccine, which supposedly provided some protection against A, B and H1N1 didn't do a thing for Austin Kieff!! We hoped it might work this year ...you know, since it did not last year...neither of the two vaccines as he had all three strands.

Tamiflu for all us it was!

So, needless to say Austin Kieff has been one sick puppy this week. David stayed home with him Tuesday while I went to work. Also on Tuesday, Caroline was sent home from school. Wednesday I stayed home. Thursday and today they stayed with Grandmomma. Two words...spoiled rotten!!!

Caroline went back to the doctor today. She is scheduled for several tests on her kidneys next Friday at Baptist East. We were told to be there at 7:00. Hopefully that will be her last appointment for awhile!!

Tonight we are enjoying a quiet family night at home. Tomorrow will be a long day at work for me and hopefully a fun day inside for the kiddos if they are feeling better. If not, good luck Dad, ha!
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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Nervous Excitement

We are in a state of nervous excitement at the Jordan House!!  Please pray for our family as we seek out the possibility of making big changes for our family.  We are seeking opportunities that will have a significant impact on our family.   Please pray for God's will in our lives and that we be open to accepting His will.  With several disappointments lately we are hesitant and yes, nervous...yet truly excited about what may be in store!

Monday, January 17, 2011

SSMT Verse #2

My second memory verse was selected based on our Family 2011 Focus Word - OBEDIENCE.  We are working on obedience in all forms this year...especially obedience to God.  So, here is the second entry in my spiral:

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:


Deuteronomy 28:1-2

I also thought I would post "the rest of the story" [book]:

Here are the blessings:

  • Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
  • Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
  • Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
  • Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
  • The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
  • The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
  • The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.
  • And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
  • The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
  • And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.
So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Deuteronomy 28:3-14

Just as God blesses obedience, He will curse disobedience:

But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.

 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

 Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

 The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.

 The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess.

 The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.

 And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.

 The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth.

 Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away.

 The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed.

 The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart.

 And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.

 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes.

 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them.

 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand.

 A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually.

 So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see.

 The LORD will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.

 The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods—wood and stone.

 And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the LORD will drive you.

 You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it.

 You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.

 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.

 You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity.

 Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.

 The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.

 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

 Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.

 And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever.

 Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.

 The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young.

 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.

 They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you.

 You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you.

 The sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind, so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.

 The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter, her placenta which comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.


If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses. Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed. You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God. And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.

Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known—wood and stone. And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. In the morning you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see.

And the LORD will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, ‘You shall never see it again.’ And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

Deuteronomy 28:15-68


thankful

Today I am so very thankful for a wonderful husband who is also a wonderful daddy. I am praying for God's will in our lives and am looking forward to His plans being revealed. We are definitely receiving lessons in patience!!

Happy Monday everyone!
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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Caroline Update

Caroline is still feeling pretty crummy. What we thought was something viral turned out to be a UTI. Only took her momma three days to do something about it :-(. Poor thing received two shots of antibiotics in addition to having her finger pricked and few other uncomfortable procedures. She was so pitiful saying "no do that."

Thanks for the prayers and calls!!
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Sick!?!

Seems like one of the kids is always sick...and while I truly hate the thought of one of them being in pain, I am so very thankful for the extra cuddle time!

We were told in Sunday school last week to seek out the blessings God has for us in the day-to-day. Well, I could say I have been inconvenienced by having a sick child. However, I believe I have been blessed with a little extra time during the part of the year I see them the least!!

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Friday, January 7, 2011

Christmas!

Christmas came and went way to fast for the Jordan household!  We enjoyed a spectacular Christmas program at Church that portrayed from the Angel visiting Mary to the wise men visiting baby Jesus.   It was phenomenal!!  The sets were truly amazing as were the costumes.  The only thing better was the message!!!   I was on  the Christmas Party Committee at work (co-chair which means I am heading up the committee next year...).  We had a great party for employees after work on Friday the 17th.   The kids had their parties at school the same day and  then we went to the Karate party as a family.  We  definitely had a good time everywhere we went!  The next week was a gathering of our Sunday School class.  It was a nice night out with free nursery for the kiddos!  The 23rd we went to Cullman so that we could go to Christmas Eve breakfast at David's Grandmother's house in Logan.  We had great food, great fellowship and great fun!!  IT was a short visit as we had to return home for Santa to arrive. 


Our tree Christmas Eve.  Austin Kieff made the angel on top.

Santa came!

Please note, this motorcycle has no remote control!
(for anyone remembering the ordeal last Christmas!!)



I cannot help but think of sugarplums dancing  in their heads...

Christmas morning...this little boy was VERY excited!  In fact,
he did not want to open a single present after he saw the motorcycle.

Both kids love the gumball machine at "the Mexican place,"
so Santa brought them one for home!


Told you he was excited!

Thank you Bubba!!


Chef Caroline




We stopped at the top of Grandmomma and Papa's driveway
so that Austin Kieff could ride his motorcycle up to their
front door!


More presents at Grandmomma and Papa's!  Santa
even left a few here, too!


Caroline's new baby whose eyes open and close!


We left Grandmomma's and Papa's  and returned home for quick showers.  We left for Pensacola as is tradition in our family.  Almost everyone was there this year!   Spencer and Alison even made it from Texas!!  Mike was able to visit, too.  Uncle MT, Aunt Ann and Marty came as did Uncle Stewart and Aunt Sandra.   Of course Nanny was there!!   My parents missed the trip this time as did Aunt Loke and Uncle Tate from Tuscaloosa.  We had a wonderful time with  more wonderful food!!

Marty, Austin Kieff, David and Caroline

Nanny


Austin Kieff, Amen and Bella

We came back home the day after Christmas to open presents  with Grady, Mary Margaret, Jacob and Lily.   We had even more fun and the kids had the best time.  I am still looking for pictures from this day...

We celebrate Christmas with David's family at New Year's.  This year we left on Thursday because I wanted to be home Sunday ( Monday was  the first day of overtime for us).  We had a great drive up and  made  our  customary stop in Alabaster.  It was nice to  arrive before 10:00!!  We went to bed early and had the most wonderful breakfast.  David's mom fixed homemade biscuits, bacon, sausage and eggs.  I think Austin Kieff ate more than he had in a month at that one meal!!   After breakfast, everyone went outside to  enjoy  the beautiful weather.





Caroline and Ella Grace
These girls LOVE each other!!


We do not make a trip to Grandmother  and Granddaddy's
without playing a little football.


Granddaddy and Major

Caroline and Ella Grace

Who do you think won?


Major, Granddaddy and Grandmother (making calls to  let
everyone  know her kids were home and to come visit!)

Caroline and Ella Grace

L-R
Ella Grace, Jeremy, Grandmother, Granddaddy,
Major, David, Caroline and Austin Kieff

Jeremy giving Lindsey a spin!  Jeremy has been in Maryland for
quite some time.  I know his family was  SO VERY GLAD to have
him home for the  holidays. 


Caroline had to have a turn on the motorcycle.



Hunter, Austin Kieff and David
More football

No, Caroline was not supposed to have the shirt on...
The outfit actually was an winter white sweater  dress with
a pair of adorable snowmen tights...but, Ella Grace gave her
several things she had outgrown and Caroline LOVES wearing
hand-me-downs from her cousins.  Caroline and Major had their
own game of football.

Caroline and Aunt Judy

Do you  think Austin Kieff made the tackle or jumped on him
after he was already down?  Isn't there a penalty  for that?

Granddaddy and his girls


Major is too cute and so very sweet!  He also doesn't
mind having his picture taken (see  shots below)



After some time playing and a  quick trip to town it was time for another Christmas Dinner!  The food was great and afterwards it was time to open presents!!

Uncle Chris received a giant bucket of bubble gum from
Ella Grace and Major.  He is well known for supplying gum to
all  the nieces and nephews.

Caroline or should I say  Snow White!

After presents we had fun decorating cookies.  All the kids enjoyed eating decorating...








Saturday was game day and time to go home.  It is always sad  saying goodbye but also nice to get home.  We went to church Sunday  morning.  We have new Sunday School teachers and are looking forward to the  new year and class material.  Austin Kieff asked  to go to "big Church."  He did pretty good. 









Thanksgiving

I know I am late posting about Thanksgiving, but I thought I would post pictures none the less!!  We went to Pensacola for Thanksgiving this year and spent the day (David, the kids and I) and the weekend (the kids and I).  It was a wonderful time with family.

Family gathered at the Braithwaite House as is our custom.  For several years it served as the Boyd residence with Nanny and Pa staying there while Bob and Susie were  in New Orleans.  Aunt Susie is back  in the Braithwaite House now and with Pa having passed Nanny has moved to the Penton House on Ten Mile Road.   Holidays aren't quite the same, but the location and hospitality cannot be beat!! 

The Braithwaites (Uncle Bob (from NOLA), Aunt Sue (Pensacola) and Mike (Pensacola)) were present.  Spencer and Alison were unable to make it over from Houston.  The Pentons (Uncle MT and Aunt Ann (fondly referred to as Amen by the kiddos) were there from Seminole.  Unfortunately Marty was sick and unable to attend.  The Lamberts (Grandmomma and Papa) were there from Jack.  John Wayne was working as is usual of late.  The Williams (Grady, Mary Margaret, Jacob and Lily) made the drive from Auburn.  The Jordans (David, Laura, Austin Kieff, Caroline and Sally) made the drive from Jack as well.  We missed Uncle Stewart and Aunt Sandra from Orange Beach who just happened to be in Birmingham with family waiting for the Iron Bowl which was on Black Friday in Tuscaloosa (we Bama fans didn't know how black it was going to be...or I guess I should say Blue/Orange, ha!).

If there is one thing we all can do, its eat!!  From turkey to pink stuff, we LOVE it all, ha!  It is always so nice to gather with family.  The men generally graduate down to the Florida room.  Most of the sisters and Nanny stay around the kitchen/dining room unless they  move out onto the deck.  The nieces and  nephews (including the greats) generally sit in the living room or move out with the sisters on the deck.  At some point, almost everyone ends up down at the water.  Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving Day:

Austin Kieff has one of the most vivid imaginations of
any toddler I have ever been around.  He not only enjoys
dressing up in various costumes, but also creates some of
the most elaborate stories I have ever heard.  You never know
who he is going to be or what he is about to do or have
just done...


Austin Kieff and Jacob

Caroline and Lily

Amen and Caroline

Pretty arrangement

Caroline, Austin Kieff (Ironman, Jacob (Spiderman)
and Lily (Wolverine)

Caroline outside

Lily and Austin Kieff...go ahead and sing it moms of preschoolers...
"Down by the bay, Down by the bay
Where the Watermelons grow..."

Lily, Austin Kieff and Jacob playing in the water

Caroline had to join the fun...the diaper didn't last long

Lily and Austin Kieff

Caroline didn't care for the sand too much

Isn't Lily beautiful?

Austin Kieff and Jacob lost their clothes, too


All the Cousins

Mom and Caroline (I was playing around with photoshop)

The Sisters and Nanny
Aunt Ann, Mom, Nanny and Aunt Sue