Proverbs 3:5

There's this country song in my head and I don't even remember who sings it. I don't remember all the words, but I have one particular line going through my mind like wildfire today. "I wanna be somebody else for a little while."  Why do I say this, you ask?

Let me start by saying that I have more going on in my life right now than I care to even elaborate on. The main thing here is that you look around and see carefree happiness everywhere. I don't wish for them to not have that, but I envy what they do have. I do wish that I could have a day where nothing is stressing me out so badly that I am on the verge of a total breakdown. I want to sit on the back porch at a barbeque and just watch the kids run and play. I want that. I do. I want to go watch a ballgame with my friends and blast our favorite music on the car ride home. I want to take my daughter out to the movies and see that excited and anxious look on her face just before the movie starts. I want the time to do these things - enjoy our life instead of just managing it. Time is not my friend these days - and luck a determined sidekick. 

So, what I have to ask myself are the following two questions:  Is this satan pushing my buttons and trying to drag me down? OR Is this me expecting to do too much in too little of a time frame?

I think it's both maybe. I expect to squeeze so much in one day, because I feel like I have to. I think when satan sees me doing that, he takes it and just runs with it by throwing in obstacles for me to jump over. Or is this God testing me, watching how I will handle things? Sometimes it's just so confusing trying to figure these things out. I guess I need to stop doing that. So, I am repeating this verse to myself hoping that it will overtake the other line that has been running rampid in my mind today.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 

Fun in the snow.....

Faith finally got to sled today!  She has been waiting for this since the first day it was cold outside.  She had so much fun.....here are some pictures.

Life is such a whirlwind....

I hadn't realized how long it's been since I last posted. Our lives over the past year have been entirely too crazy. I took an offer to go back to work at Mid Missouri Credit Union in January. I continue to take care of the finances for Vivid Impressions as a side job and am still doing photography....but mostly for family and only for fun!!Faith turned 7 in April and finished the first grade with excellent grades.I turned 29 in July. Faith started the 2nd grade in August. Faith was nominated to be a candidate in the Plato Carnival Royal Court along with her cousin Tillie. They were in the same category and Tillie won Junior Princess. I was very proud of Faith...she wanted to give all of her donations to Tillie for this competition. She was a very big girl that night! She has been doing very well in school and loves her teacher this year. Things are going well, I will try to update again before next fall!

Halloween Festivities

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Gymnastics

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Just dropping in....

I'm just dropping in to let everyone know that we are still alive. I know it's been a while since my last post, so I don't really know what I haven't put on here. So, here's a summary of what's been going on lately.

Faith is doing very well in the 1st grade. Her academic reports are great, her teacher seems to really enjoy having her in class and she hasn't been "in trouble" once yet this year....not even for talking! :)

Girl Scouts started up again for the school year. They will be making a trip to the Pumpkin Patch tomorrow and Faith is looking forward to this. Cookie sales are just around the corner, so some of you will be getting a visit from Faith. :)

Faith has started gymnastics classes. She's doing really well. This type of thing is right up her alley. She loves to flip and jump and do tricks. Her most recent accomplishment with gymnastics is climbing a rope to ring the bell three times in a row...."She's a very strong little girl" is what her instructor was telling me.

I have been working a lot lately. With school pictures, sports pictures, studio pictures and weddings, I have been putting in a lot of overtime....along with all of my coworkers at the studio. October has slowed down a little bit, but we are still staying very very busy. FYI - if you want to get an appointment before winter hits, you should call the studio asap, because the appointment spots are filling in quickly. We are doing a "Christmas Special" right after Thanksgiving, it's a great opportunity to get that one really good family photo for Christmas cards! Call for more details.

Well, I guess that's it for now, I'll try to post some Halloween pictures in a few weeks. Faith is going to be a Musketeer (from the Barbie movie "Three Musketeers")....she's going to be super adorable!!

Faith Lost Her First Tooth..........

1st Day of 1st Grade...

Today was Faith's first day back to school. She was very excited to go and she even got a little frustrated with me for driving her to school this morning, because she really wanted to ride the bus. She said that she had lots of fun and she likes her new teacher, so we're off to a great start. This is Faith and her best friend, Lexi, shortly after they spotted eachother on the playground this morning. They're so cute!.....and so much alike!!

(And, both their Mom's are named Jennifer!)

Here's to hoping that Faith's excitement about school will last until May! :)

School already?

It really seems like the summer has flown by this year. Faith starts the 1st grade on Tuesday. Seems like she just graduated Kindergarten! She's very excited about seeing all of her friends again, she hasn't visited them much this summer, so she's super anxious to talk to them all. Tomorrow night is open house, we'll get to meet her new teacher, who I have heard great things about. There hasn't been much going on around here, just the same old stuff. I've had a very encouraging couple of days and things are finally starting to fall into place. I'm getting used to the new routine, which is going to change a little when school starts, but not much. Josh has been gone for 5 weeks now, so he'll be preparing for Afghanistan next week. He's doing well, anxious to get gone, so he can get home again. So, things are going well right now. Nothing unpleasant to report. We'll be school shopping this weekend...which is the only kind of shopping I really enjoy, I love going with Faith and letting her pick out her new school things, it gets her even more excited about school. Let's hope that her excitement can withstand the next 12 years of school....and hopefully another four to six years of college after that. :)

Graduation

Faith graduated Kindergarten last Friday. Here is the cap and gown picture that was taken the week before, I don't have the graduation ceremony pictures at home yet. She looks so big here. She is a 2009 Kindergarten Graduate and if she continues to do well in school, she will be a 2021 High School Graduate. It seems so far away, but I know we'll be sitting in that crowd watching her get her diploma in the blink of an eye!

Symbicort

Faith's appointment went okay this morning. The doctor confirmed that it is pnuemonia in her lungs (and not damage from her asthma) and also that it is beginning to clear up a little. He switched her inhaler from Qvar to Symbicort (which has a steroid in it similar to pulmacort). He will see her again in two weeks to follow up on the pnuemonia and make sure it's all cleared up and also to see how things are going with the Symbicort. If she is feeling well by then, he's also thinking about doing another allergy test. He thinks she may have developed a new allergy since her symptoms have been worse this spring. So, that's what we found out today. She does seem to feel better. She went on a hike with her Girl Scout troop this afternoon and she did great. She was one of the few girls who didn't slow down for even a second and her asthma didn't bother her at all while on the hike, so she must be feeling much more like herself! :)

I did want to see if anybody who reads this has had any experience or knows anyone who has had experience with Symbicort. I haven't heard great things about it and I am kind of worried about her being on this inhaler. She didn't do well with Advair and this is a similar inhaler, so I'll be on my toes watching for side effects, but if you have anything to say about it, please let me know. Thanks!

Weekend

Faith was sent home from school on Thursday with a fever, which was only 101.5 at the time. By 2:00 am Friday morning it was reaching 105.0, which pretty much scared the daylights out of us! So, to the doctor we go on Friday. The doctor found an infection in her lung, which she wasn't sure was pnuemonia beginning or damage from her asthma (which has been worse lately). So, they did a chest xray and some blood work. The Xray confirmed that something is in her lungs and they started her on an antibiotic. We haven't heard back on the bloodtest yet, but I am sure it's fine. She started sleeping better this weekend, which was awesome. We go to see her asthma doctor tomorrow morning and I'm hoping that he'll have a better opinion on what is going on with her lungs. Maybe things will go well tomorrow and she'll be back to her typical self soon! We had a good weekend. Grandmaq and Grandpa came to visit Friday night and Saturday, then we headed to Springfield Saturday night to spend the remainder of the weekend with Sam, Susie and Little Miss Olivia. So, all in all..the weekend went great! Lots of fun visiting with family and Faith is getting more sleep, which means happy faces for us all! :)

Stinkin' Weather

I just need to vent for a minute...... This stinkin' weather has Faith's allergies/asthma all messed up. When all this green starts to grow back and it can't decide if it is going to be dry or wet outside, her body just doesn't seem to know how to react. She has been coughing non-stop and when she lays down at night it just gets worse. She is so tired all the time now. I called her doctor and he said there isn't anything he can do for her, so he referred her back to the allergy & asthma doctor is Springfield. He is a great doctor and will hopefully figure out a way to help her breathe easier without adding to her list of medications. I feel like I have been living in "zombie" mode for this past week, just going through the motions until I can lay down and try to get some rest again. With how tired I am, I can't imagine how exhausted Faith must feel. And, gosh, there are parents out there who only get a few hours sleep each night, I feel like such a wimp sometimes. Anyway, Faith will see the doctor next Tuesday, I hope we can all figure out how to get some rest until then.

We were at my sister, Jamie's, house on Thursday and she and her husband took Faith out to help gather chicken eggs. They gave her several to bring home with her. We came in the door and I went about my business of cleaning up some things. She came running to me and here's what was said:


Faith: Mom, come see!

Me: Ok, what's going on.


She took my hand and lead me into her toy room with my eyes closed.


Faith: Okay, you can look now.

Me: Honey, why are the eggs in your toy room and not in the kitchen.


Faith: Mom, look...they can hatch now!


Me: No, honey, these are eggs for cooking and not for hatching.


Faith: But, Mom, I have a lamp and everything just like Uncle Robbie. If we leave them here for like a whole week, they will hatch.

Tillie

Tillie is at home recovering and is doing very well! She will have a follow up on Monday with the surgeon. Thanks for all of your prayers and support for Tillie and her family....it is appreciated so much! You can sign up to view Tillie's carepages website at http://www.carepages.com/.

Tillie

Please keep my niece, Tillie, in your prayers. She has surgery tomorrow to correct fluid on her brain stem. The surgery will be 6+ hours long and she will have to lie flat on her back for three days after the surgery, so this will be hard for her and Mommy and Daddy. I will keep you all updated on how she is doing. Thanks.

Easter

Easter was fun again this year. Jack gave an unforgettable sermon on Sunday, then we had lunch at their house and let the kids hunt eggs in the afternoon. They had to hunt them inside, of course, because of the weather....but they still had a great time. Angela and I sat down while the kids were resting and we counted out how many eggs each child could find and told them all to stop hunting when they found that amount. We also gave them specific instructions to leave a certain color of egg for Evie (she's the youngest) to find, so that it would be fair for her as well. They all did such a great job of following instructions, I was very proud of them all. Little Miss Evie's color was yellow and she could pick up any yellow eggs....she found a half yellow/half pink egg and left it there, because she didn't think she could pick up the pink....I thought that was really awesome! We actually had to convince her that it was okay to get that egg, because it also had yellow on it. Let's see, then when 3 of the 4 children were done hunting their 16 eggs, we all looked around for the very last egg, which was nowhere to be found. So, we all load up at the end of the day and go to Jon and Angela's house where we get a phone call from Wanda to let us know that she had found the missing egg - on the spare bed behind the pillows. Anyway, it was a day full of laughs....as always with the Littlejohn family! :) Here are a couple pictures of Faith with the Easter bunnies we had at work.....which she offered to trade her two dogs for!! (I tried to get Ormsby to accept her offer, but he wasn't going for it.)

Faith is 6!!

Yes, that's right. Our baby is 6 years old! It seems so crazy and I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. Faith had a wonderful birthday party last weekend. We had a "rockin" dance party for her this year. All of the kids really seemed to enjoy it....and I even saw a few adults having fun as well! :) Here are some pictures from her party at home and also a couple from her party at school. Her 6 year pictures are done, you can view them at Vivid Impressions.

Let it snow....

The snow we had last week brought a lot of fun with it. Faith built a snowman and did some sledding. Faith really enjoys the snow and doesn't seem to get cold at all, she would stay in the snow for hours if we let her. I kind of hope that we do have one more round of snow this year, so that she can enjoy it again. The snow is almost gone in our neck of the woods now, but the weather is still very chilly. The wierd mixture of snow, ice and rain left us with some very slick roads last week. Faith got to have almost the entire week off from school, so she got a fun little break. I got stuck three times in the car...and am very thankful for such great helpful men in the community! My car was stuck in the driveway on Tuesday, so my neighbor came over with his tractor and plowed the driveway for me so that I could get in and out. My boss picked me up for work one day and helped get my car "unstuck" on another day. Another nice guy in the community helped me to get my car out of my sister's driveway on another morning last week. To say the least, it was pretty crazy for anybody to get from one place to another last week. So, I'm glad that is over with. :) Maybe the next snow will be easier to get around in! :) I hope everyone has enjoyed the snow and any time off work or school.

On another note, my niece Tillie had her surgery recently and everything went very well. She is at home and recovering wonderfully. Thank you all for your prayers and for all the phonecalls while she was in the hospital. We really appreciate it. Also, our nephew Koen had his adenoids removed last week and is also doing wonderfully. God sure takes care of our little ones!

(I recently got to practice my photography skills on Tillie...here is one of the photos from that session with her...she's just beautiful! - ps...the surgeon didn't have to shave any of her hair for the surgery, so she still has all that pretty blonde hair!)

Christmas 2008

We celebrated Christmas a few times this year and were able to visit with most of our family. We had a great time, but we were pretty tired when it was all over. Faith had a wonderful time opening all of her gifts, singing at the programs and getting to play with all of her cousins. It would take me days to post all of the pictures from our Christmas season, so I just randomly picked some from here and there and made this slideshow. You can see that all of the kids (and the adults as well) had a great time!

We got exciting news twice during Christmas. Jon and Angela are expecting their 4th blessing next year and Tom and LeAnn are expecting their 2nd blessing next year as well. Congratulations to both families - it's always heartwarming to hear of a new baby on the way!!! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!