My Parenting Place

Well, as you can tell, it has been a couple of weeks since I have done a blog post. Let's just say things have been a little crazy!! The story that I have for this post happened almost 2 weeks ago. I completely planned on posting that Friday after it happened but Momma called me and told me that Noah had fallen and hit his nose on the futon so I headed home from work and didn't have a chance to blog. Then, I had jury duty again last week -- but I will save that for another post! LOL!

I decided that since Keith had basketball practice that Thursday night that Noah and I would head to Dollar Tree and then get some dinner. I completely planned on us going to dinner together but that didn't happen.

The picture above is Noah pushing the buggy at Dollar Tree. You can tell that he is "Mr. Independence" - hum, I wonder where he gets that from! LOL! SO, we are walking through Dollar Tree and he is pushing the buggy because he would not let me. He kept pushing my hands away from the buggy and saying "NO". He is so strong willed - just like I was - and yes, I will definitely pay for my raising! Dad says that I already am!

I directed my child to the toy section of the store. I saw no reason why we couldn't go home with a couple of prizes from the dollar store. We went home with play dough and a new truck. Here is where I got put into my "Parenting Place" - He was looking at something and a little girl came up wanting to look at whatever it was Noah was looking at. She was probably 5 or 6. Her Daddy told her to wait her turn so she stepped back and watched Noah as she waited her turn. I noticed what was happening and told her dad, "it doesn't matter - it's fine. He's not looking at anything serious." Not thinking what I had done, he very politely said, "No, she needs to learn to wait her turn." I had NEVER thought about it. I just corrected this child and told her to go against what her Daddy had told her to do. Wow. How wrong was I? I have listened each time in any store since then and have noticed so many people doing this. People have even corrected my own child telling him something against what I have told him to do. We do this every day not realizing what we are doing. I know that this father did not intend it the way that I took it, but I will say that I will not correct another child like that. He did make me think!

~Randi

In Due Time

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that in due time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because He cares for you. .....And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you."

1 Peter 5:6-7, 10

I feel like all of my blog posts seem to be repetitive. I'm sorry if I am. I just keep writing what is on my heart and mind. A lot on my heart I can not reveal -- hopefully, yet. All would be great for our family but one would require a lot of time and effort but I feel would totally be worth it in the end. One that I can reveal -- I am praying hard about becoming involved with a group called HOLY YOGA. It is a yoga class set to Christian music with bible studies in each session. I would become certified to teach the yoga class. I have submitted my application and I have been approved to take the certification course, just need the $500 application fee. I am so excited about it either way -- praying it works out!!

We are just praying for God's direction on everything. Honestly, we would love for God's direction to be what we want, but that is just being selfish. We will tackle it either way. As the verse above says, IN DUE TIME. Just keep us in your prayers. The verse above is a constant reminder for us right now. Pastor Ron used this verse as a reference in his sermon Sunday and it really touched not only my heart but Keith's heart. (This all goes back to a post from a couple of weeks ago - God is still teaching me personal patience!)

Our family is holding on well these last 2 weeks. We have fortunately been keeping very busy. Tonight is Meghan's final FALL band concert. I am planning on taking Noah but I think he is fighting an ear infection so we may not be in the auditorium. I can not believe Meghan is a senior in high school. My sweet baby girl will be headed to college soon! Wow.

I'm gonna close my blog post with one final bible verse:

"...And God is faithful;"

1 Corinthians 10:13

~Randi

Powerless

"...we are powerless...we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You."

            2 Chronicles 20:12

I feel that I should first begin this post by saying that I have been working on this post for 6 hours now. Yes, my blogger has sat open that long. I have so much on my heart but my brain can not begin to put words together for me. I even had a post partial typed and erased it to begin again. That is how lost I feel today.

I decided to leave blogger open, knowing that I would come back to it soon and I began reading other websites. Its not important how I got there, but I came across a "Pastor's Reflections" on a church newsletter on their website and he referenced this verse. It says "...we are powerless...". That verse describes me perfectly today and I'm sure this week. BUT - it reminded me that I need to keep my eyes on God. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to fix it. I am just ... POWERLESS!

My heart is so empty. I long for just one more moment with my Grandma. I prayed on the way to the hospital the other day for her to hold on and wait for me to get there. I did not know that she was already in the arms of Jesus. I wish that I had known. Why didn't I know? Was I not paying attention? I woke up that morning thinking about my Grandma. I stood in the shower wondering who would sing at her funeral. Morbid, I know but I have no idea why that thought came over me. It scares me, it really does. My heart sunk when the phone rang not 10 minutes later and it was Dorinda. I knew something was wrong when Dorinda was calling me at 6:55 am.

I will forever remember how I felt as I said goodbye to her earthly body yesterday. I just stared at her, trying to take in every inch of her. I looked at her and remembered so many happy memories but my heart hurt so badly knowing that I can not make more memories with her. I did not want to leave her. Just wanted to sit there with her the whole time. I know I couldn't. I do chuckle though --- the funeral home told us that there is a side hidden pocket in Grandma's casket. They told us that we could put items in there if we wanted to. Now, I am not one for putting pictures and letters and whatnot in the casket. It is a little weird for me. But ... there are 2 things in there with my Grandma: a beautiful orchid corsage from my Nanny and a pack of juicy fruit gum. I know, that is a little weird, but..... juicy fruit was obviously Grandpa Dison's favorite gum. He even told Amanda one time that he had a tree that grew juicy fruit. So, the juicy fruit gum is not for Grandma but for Grandpa.

I have worried mainly for my Mom. She has taken care of my Grandma not just for the past 5 years when she got sick but ever since the day my Grandpa died - March 1976. I wrapped my arms around her at the hospital and told her that I promise to take as good of care of her that she did Grandma. She was incredible with her - and it was not an easy task. Not easy at all!

In talking with my Mom about the verse that I found, she told me her favorite verse and it is also a great one for us to think about in the coming weeks:

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge..."

Psalm 91:4

We do have a peace about us and we are sure that Grandma is spending eternity with Jesus Christ. And just like my Dad and Bro. James said in her funeral yesterday - yes she loves us dearly but if given the option of coming back to earth to be with us, she would not come. She would rather stay where she is. So with that, no matter how powerless we feel, we will keep our eyes on God and know that he will cover us with his feathers and we will find refuge. 

~Randi

Not my way but God's way

I seriously thought that this post would be an exciting post with wedding pictures of Keith and I. Today is our 5 year wedding anniversary. It was a beautiful brisk fall morning when we married at 10:30 am at Huffman Baptist Church on Saturday, October 29th, 2005.

Instead of posting pictures, my heart is saddened to say that my beautiful Grandma Dison went to Heaven yesterday. She was such a special person and I loved her so dearly! Instead of celebrating our anniversary, we are celebrating the life of my Grandma!

She was rushed to the hospital yesterday morning with a very low blood pressure and being unresponsive. She stabled out and they planned to admit her but we feel the aneurysm got her. Mom said that she was waiting on a cat scan and complained that her stomach was hurting really bad. It wasn't too long after that and she was gone.

We rushed to the hospital to find out that she had already gone. I will never forget walking in the ER and seeing my mom and dad standing in Grandma's room. I looked to catch a glimpse of Grandma and instantly knew that she had gone. I absolutely fell apart!!

God placed some very important people at the hospital yesterday. It was so amazing to see God's good works in such a hard time. To preface my story, Mom and Aunt Irene were the only ones at the hospital with Grandma. Dad had gone back to work and Uncle Rudy had gone to the dentist. We all had the understanding that she was stable - and she was. A very important member of Huffman Baptist was also in the ER. Because of that, Ron, the new pastor of Huffman and Larry Smith, the adult pastor of Huffman and Pat Ray were there. I am very fortunate to say that they were with Mom right after Grandma passed. They knew when I walked into the room with mom, I think because they heard me crying. Ron was the first one that I saw and of course I cried on his shoulder. (Hello, you don't know me well but I'm crying on your shoulder!) Then I cried on Larry's shoulder. It was a comfort to have them with us. Chris Howell also came in the hospital to be with us also. Chris is always been faithful to visit with Grandma and the family each time she has been in the hospital. It was only fitting to have him there with us. He was wonderful to stay until Grandma left.

So, it looks like we will be celebrating my Grandma's life on Sunday - which is Halloween. That was not my plan to do on Halloween but it is not like I have much of a choice. My cousin Amanda pointed out that their must be a heck of a reunion going on in Heaven. My Grandpa Dison died 32 years ago so I know that Grandma was excited to see him and I know that he welcomed her with open arms!!

The picture I posted on my blog is of my Grandma holding Noah when he was about 3 weeks old. This was the first time that she had met him. I am so thankful for this picture. I knew that I would be!

Please keep our family in your prayers, especially over the next few days!! We love all of you!!

~Randi, Keith and Noah and the whole Dison family

Personal Patience

"WHATEVER happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. "

                 ~Philippians 1:27

This verse has hit me hard this week so I knew that I had to share it. It is SO easy for us to get down in whatever is going on in life. Life brings us down. It is easier to get brought down than it is to be lifted up. We're human. That's the way life happens. But this verse very simply reminds me that NO MATTER what happens or what I/we are going through, we should praise God. I know, much easier said than done. But this is my focus and my goal for now.

Life is still so up in the air for us right now. It's so frustrating. It's easy to blame Keith or get mad at Keith (which I don't - only in my head) but by any means, it is not Keith's fault. I know that God has HUGE plans for our life. Not sure what they are, but they are HUGE, and great! I feel it coming!! And I am excited about it. But only in God's time will it happen. It may be 6 months or a year from now, who knows? God knows!

My biggest weakness is patience. God did not give me a lot of patience when it comes to something I want to do or something I want to happen. My Momma would 100% agree with me on that statement. I have lots of patience with people, elderly and sick - which is why everyone says I would make a great nurse, but I do not have personal patience. That's what I am gonna call it - personal patience. I do have a dream to go to nursing school ... maybe that will happen one day.

God has been doing some great things in our life recently. One being a car for Keith. This was a HUGE blessing for us. Keith sold his car 2 years ago; one reason was it was about to require some major work done and two, we needed the money to build Noah's bedroom and Maggie a fence. Since the selling of it, he has been driving my GrandDaddy's 1985 Toyota truck. While it was a great truck back in it's day, it is on its last life. GrandDaddy had already driven the wheels off of it when he died. In fact, he was getting ready to buy a new truck when we found out he had cancer. He decided to wait until after his surgery, and well, that didn't go according to our plan. But, anyway. Keith has be gracious enough not to complain and drive the little "putt-putt" truck. Maggie loves the truck and the two of them looked great riding in it. It was a picture from a magazine.  

We have been looking for a car for Keith without looking for a car. I honestly figured that we would get something for Noah and I and Keith would take my car. We found out a couple of weeks ago that a family friend had a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee that they did not drive and had considered selling. We instantly jumped on the opportunity. Keith and GrandDanny went to look at it on a Friday and Saturday night it was ours. Boy, it feels great to pay cash for a car. This Jeep was nothing but a pure God thing!!! Keith is loving driving it -- no, I did not get the Jeep. Keith deserves it! Besides, he seems to be driving Noah more lately than I do! Oh, did I mention that I found a car seat at the Thrift Store for $9.99?? It was is perfect condition and fits Noah perfectly. Just needed a good cleaning!

Keith is still looking for a ministry position without actively looking for a ministry position. I know, that doesn't make sense. He would LOVE to be a full-time recreation minister but knows that he must complete seminary first. He has started the application process for seminary and is following the correct steps to get to that point. We know several people who are full-time ministers who have found positions in other cities and states. It is a scary thought to think God may have a church for us outside of Alabama. If He does, then off we will go. Would that be my first choice, absolutely not!!! I asked Keith if I could preference a few cities that would be my first choice! Ha, I know that is not how it happens though.

So, we are ready to tackle whatever God has in store for us - the good, the bad and the ugly! I am again learning personal patience. Boy, God has such a sense of humor with me and my personal patience!!

~Randi

AFS Fundraiser

Come paint a beautiful "Funky Tree" picture to display in your home for Christmas. The local chapter of AFS (American Field Service) is having a fundraiser to raise money so that we can do some fun things with our exchange students while they are here. It only costs $35 and a good portion of the proceeds comes directly to us! Come help support and have fun while there!!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

2 pm - 4 pm

Japan Internation Karate - Trussville, Alabama

227 Main Street

Trussville, AL 35173

$35 - supplies included

To register for this event, go to www.everydayartist.net and click on UPCOMING EVENTS and click on the link for the AFS Fundraiser.

Call me if you have any questions!! I hope everyone plans to come!! We're gonna have a blast!!!

"Comand them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life"

- 1 Timothy 6:18,19

What an amazing weekend we had with Ellie. She was truly a blessing from above!


I met Ellie Friday afternoon. Her "family" had to leave early for their daughters football game, so I met her about 3:30 and brought her back to Fun Source to work for our last hour. Yes, I introduced her to the world of inflatables. No, she didn't get to jump in one, but I did reassure her to wait until Noah's birthday party! There will definitely be some jumping going on there! HAHA!


We headed home after work to meet Keith, Noah, my mom and of course, Maggie. I for-warned Ellie about Maggie - told her that Maggie would be excited at first but would then settle down. And that is exactly what she did. If you have read Maggie's blog, then you now that Maggie and Ellie shared a blanket. I told Ellie that was a true sign that Maggie has welcomed and accepted her into the family. Noah liked Ellie also. He showed her all of the "hikes" that he has (ie: footballs) and showed her his slide. He even walked her to her bedroom and showed her how he can get on her bed.


 We took Ellie out to eat that night - and boy was that an experience. It is always an experience going out to eat with Noah. Ellie had not had the opportunity to experience a true hamburger so we went to Red Robin. I think we overwhelmed her with amount of choices. We enjoyed a great meal and just a time of getting to know each other. After dinner we headed to Target -- I had to get a gift for a baby shower. Ellie had never been to or heard of a baby shower. I explained to her that it was a time of giving gifts for the expectant mother - I had to explain that it was not giving the baby a physical shower. They do not have baby showers or teas in Italy. Instead, they go to the home of the baby following the birth and visit with the family and new baby and take their gift then. It sounds like a "Sip-n-See", which is not very common in the South.


Saturday was a great day - once it got started. Noah woke up early which in turn woke up Ellie. I felt so bad for him waking her up. She said that she slept well (which was a relief because I always worry about that!!) She was excited to sleep in the queen sized bed because she had never slept in a bed that size. I knew she would be comfy because she is so tall!


We headed to the Galleria so that I could participate in a Flash Mob for Breast Cancer Awareness. The link is on youtube so I will find it and post it on here. We enjoyed lunch at the Galleria following the flash mob but that is about as far as Noah would let us go. He had been up so long at this point that he was ill as a hornet! I promised Ellie a better trip to the Galleria, probably Noah-less and we could shop all day long!! We took Noah and Keith home, met Nina and Papaw there, left Papaw and took Nina to the baby shower with us.


Saturday night was filled with Domino's Pizza, Alabama vs Florida football game (which Bama dominated in) and fireworks from the neighbor at halftime. YES - I fed Ellie Domino's Pizza. Dorinda laughed asking if I was seriously feeding an Italian Domino's pizza and yes I did! She liked it though. AND - would you guess that Ellie and I like the exact same pizza?? Ham and pineapple - YUM!!


Sunday was filled with church and lunch with the family. I introduced Ellie to Huffman Baptist and then we went to Irondale Cafe for lunch. Keith's family joined us for lunch which was such a joy for them to spend some time with her. Nina and Papaw joined us as well as a couple of people from Papaw's church. Mrs. Rosemary was dying to meet Ellie since her family was originally from Italy. Her mom and dad were actually born there.


Sunday afternoon as relax day. Saturday was SO crazy that we were exhausted on Sunday. Dorinda, Meghan and Katelynn came over to spend some time with us. Poor Ellie, she tried to study but Meghan and I wanted to show her Rock Band. (She must have been able to study anyway because she made a 100 on her test!!) We had a great time playing Wii!


It was time to take her home Sunday evening. We waited as late as possible to head home but neither of us wanted to go. She enjoyed her stay at our house this weekend and I was so excited to hear that. Said it was the best weekend she has had since coming to America. YAYY for us!! (I was afraid I had worn her out too much!)


We are hoping to plan something for next week, if it is ok with Ellie's new family. She moves to a new home tomorrow so we are praying hard that this is a better fit for her and she will enjoy it. I stressed to her that she is welcome at our home any weekend that she wants!


I posted a few pictures that Ellie took this weekend. I'll go back and post the others -- it is so much fun seeing our world from her perspective! The pictures were taking at the train tracks at Irondale Cafe. That reminds me -- gotta go get "Fried Green Tomatoes" for her to watch! :-)


~Randi