Hot, Hot, Hot

It is so hot right now. It's been hot since we went to Pawleys. I was hoping it would get better, but it's still really bad! Samuel and I took a stroll on Tues. and Wed. morning, but that was enough for me. Between the humidity and the heat, I couldn't take it again. Our humidity here makes it so much worse.

Another thing that concerns me is the fact that it's too hot for the county to spray for mosquitoes. They had been spraying via plane, but this weather is prohibiting it. The paper said they can't spray if it's more than 85. Samuel seems to get bitten as quickly as Jeremy does, and the poor thing has several bites now. It probably doesn't help my paranoia that a 7-year-old died about a week ago from a mosquito borne illness. Now I'm super paranoid about mosquitoes. YIKES!!!

Samuel is talking more each day. His latest words are: wa(tch), be(d), door, shoes. The reason I put parentheses around the consonants is that Samuel hasn't gotten them out yet. He's also saying some of the body parts like nose, head, and ear. The cutest thing he does is that he walks over to the refrigerator door when he wants a snack or milk and says, "door". He says "door" when he sees other doors too, but I think it's cute that he tries to get me to open then door to give him a drink or a snack. I've been teaching him to say, "open". Now he can say, "o".

If I haven't said it enough, let me repeat that Samuel LOVES books. His favorite thing to do these days is to take a book and sit on the bottom step of our staircase. It puts a smile on my face. His teacher and mother hopes he continues to love books. Yes, I'm going to be his teacher from now until he goes to college, and Jeremy is going to be the principal. I think Jeremy just wanted a title... I guess we'll call it Holloman Academy. :)



Jeremy is still on Pawleys and will be there for awhile. I was going to join him there for the weekend, but since he will have to work non-stop, that seemed like a long way to go to be alone. Jeremy has lots of work to do; unfortunately, it's 3 hours away from me and Samuel.... Not only that, but there is another dentist job in the works in Rock Hill, which is about 2 1/2 hours from here. That means even more time apart. During this time, all I can do is trust that the Lord knows best and has a plan in all of this. I definitely wasn't cut out to be a single parent. I'm just taking it one day at the time.

I'm going to start a list of our prayer requests in the right margin. If you feel led to pray for us, you can look there. I will keep it up to date. So many of you have been faithful to pray for us over the years, and we appreciate it! If you would like us to pray for you, please let us know via e-mail or comment. We would love to lift you up in prayer.

I just finished the Firstborn series by Karen Kingsbury and am taking a little break from reading. I watched a wonderful movie this afternoon after I put Samuel down for his nap. It's part of the Janette Oke -Love Comes Softly series. I ended up renting the 3rd and 4th ones since our library only had the first two movies. I loved the 3rd one and will probably watch the 4th one tomorrow while he naps. I recommend the 4 movies. They are on my Must See list in the right margin. They are good movies. Not only are they fun to watch, but they are also encouraging since they are Christian movies. If you're not into movies, you could always check the books out from the library or buy them online at Amazon or Half eBay. I love Amazon because shipping is free if you spend $25 on things strictly sold by Amazon. Half eBay is also a cheap place to buy books and many other things.

Have a wonderful day!

Bad news and prayer request

Tonight I got some bad news. I never like getting the news that someone has passed away. It's very upsetting... As most of you know, I taught at HE McCracken for 3 years before Samuel was born. Richard Hitch was my principal the first two years. He had heart problems while I knew him. I learned tonight that he had a lung disease and couldn't have a lung transplant because of his heart problems. He died at home today. I am saddened by this news. He was only 62 years old. That seems young to me now that I'm in my 30s and have a mother that exact age. I have a lot of good memories of my two years under his direction, and I know many of us will miss him. His memorial service is scheduled for tomorrow in Beaufort, and my mom will watch Samuel while I attend it.

The prayer request is for you to pray for his family during this difficult time. Please lift them up in prayer. I know his wife and the rest of his family would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Marianna

Not enjoying this...

I have to say that I don't know how my mom has done it all of these years. Ever since I can remember, my dad has regularly traveled out of town for business. I guess it's something that my mom has gotten used to. I, on the other hand, can't see myself ever getting used to being apart from Jeremy. I don't like it... He will be gone for 6 days. I was planning on going up to stay with him for 3 or 4 nights, but the electricians ruined that plan. They were supposed to be in and out by Wed., but now they will be there until Friday. That leaves me here missing Jeremy for 6 days.

For all of you military wives: I admire you because I DON'T know how you do it. It's hard work taking care of a child or children on your own. Not to mention the fact that a wife needs her husband!

I will pray for Jeremy when I'm missing him and hope that the time passes quickly. That's all I can do.

Here's a picture of my sweet husband one day last week. We met him for lunch at a cool restaurant a few doors down from the job site. (In case you ever visit Pawleys Is., the restaurant is called Quigley's Pint and Plate and it's at Mingo, which is a new complex with townhomes and businesses. )

Toddler recipe

Thanks to Mandi Peek for this healthy pumpkin muffin recipe. She let me copy it out of a toddler cookbook she had. The only sugar in the recipe is 1 tbsp of maple syrup. I actually added 2 tbsp. I think it could use more than 1 cup of pumpkin. Next time I'm going to try an entire can. The best part is that you don't even need a mixer to make these! I made mini muffins because they are easier for toddlers to eat. Enjoy!!!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp canola oil
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 375. (I used a dark non-stick mini muffin pan, and I changed the temp to 350 after I got my first muffins too dark/hard on the bottom)

Whisk together yogurt, milk, eggs, maple syrup, and oil until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add the yogurt mix and the pumpkin and stir well.

Bake 20 minutes. I recommend storing them in the refrigerator. I learned the hard way... They started growing things when I had them in a covered sheet cake pan.

Videos from Pawleys Island, SC

A Video of Samuel's 2nd time in the ocean
Pawleys Island, SC 2007




Video of Samuel playing at the beach house



Video of Samuel playing in the sand

Home Again

Samuel and I are back in Beaufort. Boy, is it hot here! We came home to the air conditioning trying to keep up with the heat index of 115. Not an easy feat... Since Samuel is so warm natured, I decided to let him nap and sleep in the office (downstairs) for a day or two until it's not as hot outside. I got him to bed last night before 8:00 PM. He was doing just fine with the sheets I had put up to act as curtains and his sleep machine was going, but I forgot one major detail. I forgot to unplug the light from the timer I have it on. Big oops... It normally comes on around 9:00 PM. At 10:00 PM I heard Samuel screaming bloody murder. I think it was a nightmare even though the light was on when I went in. I don't think a light would cause a baby to scream like that. Anyway, I unplugged the light, and tried to get him back to sleep. Last night at bedtime and then again at 10:00 PM I sang him a song to get him back to sleep. It was amazing because he acted a little unsure of things before I sang to him. A simple "Jesus Loves You" did the trick. Thank you, Jesus, for that!

As if that wasn't enough drama for one day, at 6:40 AM our smoke alarms went off waking me and Samuel from a deep sleep. Did that scare me! I panicked and called my neighbors (Thank you, Zoe!) and my dad (Thanks, Dad!) since Jeremy wasn't here and I wasn't sure if there was a fire. Zoe came over, which was sweet of her, but, of course, they stopped once she was here. I have to be thankful that they stopped though. I meant to call my dad back to let him know that all was well, but I forgot. He showed up a few minutes later to check on us. I was actually trying to get Samuel back to sleep by that point since it was still early. Samuel was tired enough that he went back to sleep once my dad checked the house and detectors thoroughly. Both of us slept until 8:45 AM, which was so nice since I stayed up late and got up early the week that we were on Pawleys Island.

Speaking of Pawleys, I have some photos and a few videos that I took on the beach and at the house. The only problem is that I left my cords in the office with Samuel. I will work on that once he goes to bed. Samuel and I went out to the beach by ourselves 5 days, and we went as a family on Sunday since it was Jeremy's day off. Samuel and I had fun in the sun, but boy was it hot! I took him around 9 or 10 each morning and stayed for about an hour since I am super careful not to stay in the sun too long. After my dad having melanoma when he was in his early 30s and then watching my mom have several skin cancer surgeries, I have decided to lather up the sun screen when we do go out and try to avoid the sun between 10AM and 3PM. One day I was out past 10AM, but I normally don't do that. I know some of you probably think I'm over cautious, but I am determined not to end up under the knife nor do I want that future for my children. Did you know that teenage cases of melanoma are higher than ever? The sun is a scary thing...

Not only did Samuel have fun in the sun, but he also enjoyed the company of Lane Harrell, the 7-year-old daughter of the contractor for whom Jeremy works. Lane entertained Samuel on many occasions and loved on him! Thank you, Lane! I know Samuel is looking forward to seeing her again, which should be soon since they live 3 doors down from us.

It was so nice to be at the beach with other people and have a chance to get to know them more. We spent time with Daniel, his wife Merritt, Merritt's family, and Daniel's parents. Also, Spencer was there working with Jeremy. It was a lot of fun!

We also had a chance to visit a church while we were there. We picked Pawleys Island Community Church because Jeremy had seen it and I was pleased by their website. I had a chance to look at it before we left. (While we were gone, we had no internet access.) It was surprising though that I didn't know any of the worship songs. I was shocked since I've been singing forever and listening to music constantly. Their pastor is also the worship leader. I started to wonder if he wrote the songs. Who knows??? Anyway, they are doing a sermon series on the Fruits of the Spirit and this one was on Self Control. Pretty convicting... Samuel did cry when we left him in the nursery, but he must have stopped quickly because they didn't page us, and he seemed to be content when we went to get him. They said that he did really well. Good job, Samuel!

Jeremy should be here in an hour or so, so I should get going. I will post pictures and videos soon.

Blessings,
Marianna

busy, busy, busy

We've been busy. On Monday morning, we were still getting ready for the Realtor Open House. Afterwards, we were pleased to hear that 17 realtors stopped by. They filled out comment sheets with a lot of positive comments and a few negative ones. There isn't much we can do about the fact we don't have a garage or that we have a small living room; although, after reading their remarks, we are considering staining the deck and are toying with the idea of adding screen to part of our porch. We will see....

Faye and Jack were in town until this morning, so we spent a good deal of time with them. We enjoyed their company! It was nice to have 8 days with them since most of the time they come for a long weekend.

Oh, yesterday while I was shopping at Wal-mart, Samuel was with Jeremy and learned how to climb up on the couch. I missed his first steps and now this... Here is proof that he was on his way. He tried to climb out of the rocking chair in his room. You can see his leg up. I took this on his 15-month birthday on Friday:



Yesterday after Samuel woke up from his 3-hour nap, Faye and I took him swimming, and we had a lot of fun. Samuel loves the water! It's amazing how he doesn't mind being taken under water. Also, at one point he saw his boat on the other side of the pool and acted like he was going to swim to it. I helped him "swim" to it on his belly. So cute! Once we got home from the pool, I made chicken tacos and Faye joined us for dinner. After dinner, I thought Samuel still seemed hungry, so I gave him a few bites of a tortilla. I turned around, and he grabbed the rest (the majority) of the tortilla and went to town. I have a video to prove it.



Jeremy and Spencer headed to Pawley's Island this afternoon, and Samuel and I will be going that way on Friday to spend a week at the beach and with Jeremy. Jeremy will be working, but it will be nice to have some time with him at lunch and at night. I prefer that over being alone at home. The bad news is that there is no internet access where we will be staying, so I won't have a chance to blog while we're gone. I will take lots of pictures and videos to share when we return.

I almost forgot. Samuel wanted to say "thanks" to Grand-Mom for the card she sent in the mail from San Francisco. He enjoyed his card and didn't want me to take it from him...



Have a blessed day,
Marianna