10.29.2012

life

just wanted to write a little in this journal of ours...
hudson's eight month post will be a little delayed this month,
I will get some pictures and words up when I can.
suffice it to say, these last couple months he has transitioned from my little baby
into a pudgy little boy {grin}
he is busy, busy, busy these days. Don't you worry, I will fill you in on all the details later

life//
it has been a bit crazy these last couple of days
and yet, I am so reassured by the knowledge that God is truly in control...
so nice to know that what seems like mayhem and disfunction in my perspective, is an orchestrated masterpiece in His

discouraged, tearful, hurting, a bit road shy???
you bet I am...
especially since my dear husband was only home for the weekend and is now gone until next...
just trying to take it all in stride, and to keep my focus on the good and the beautiful in this situation.
here is some of my list, I need to write these down to help instill an attitude of gratefulness in my perspective right now//

nobody was significantly injured in the accident {whew, what an incredible blessing!}
husband was home {that is HUGE considering he has been traveling most weeks and is only home on the weekends now}
husband was driving {I think I would not have been able to handle the situation as level-mindedly as he did}
we were in a big SUV {the damage could have been so much worse, both for the car and for the occupants, if we were driving something smaller}
my mom and rachel were able to be on the scene and help with a very scared ellie while her daddy handled the vehicle situation and her mommy worked with hudson {Jay had to stay with the vehicles while I went with ellie and hudson in the ambulance to make sure hudson's arm was ok...having my mom in the ER with the two nervous children....invaluable!}

later Saturday evening, when we were all home, and numbly going through the bedtime routine
I overheard Jay talking to Ellie about the "big uh-oh", as she calls it
he said, "ellie, who all was there in the car?" 
she replied, "mommy, daddy, bobbi, and ellie"
and my hubby said, "darling, do you know that God was with us...He protected us...isn't that amazing?"
ellie replied with a big enthusiastic smile on her little face, "JESUS!!!"

how sweet and rewarding it was to hear her make that wonderful connection
and to hear the enthusiasm and affection in her voice as she said that One Name!

yes, yes, 
I have much to be thankful for...

so, while this was definitely not in my plans
I know that someway, somehow, it will all be ok
we will find a new vehicle if needs be
we will find a way to finance another SUV 
(after the other night, there is no way I am going to drive anything smaller!!)
and we will hopefully be a light for Jesus and an encouragement to all those that we meet in the process

and I leave you, my friends, with a fun picture of ellie
obviously from the much warmer days that are now history for another 8 months or so....ha


p.s.  I have now joined the ranks of all those that use and love INSTAGRAM!!!
you can find and follow me at "littleladyandbobbi"

10.28.2012

19 minutes

19 minutes.

That is all it took for things to change.

Yesterday, Kacey phoned at 4:20 to let me know that
she and Jay were on their way to drop off Ellie and Hudson.

They were going to have a date!

Nineteen minutes later, I get a call from Kacey.

There were nervous tears in her voice.

Mom, we've been in an accident.  Can you come?

Rachel and I hustled on over to the new stoplight in town.

Someone didn't see it and plowed into the back of Kacey and Jay's car going 40 - 50 mph.
(that is what I think - not necessarily what occurred)

Following the ambulance to the hospital with Ellie, Hudson, and Kacey inside was surreal.

I had just spoken to them.

They were headed over to our house.

Now we were headed to the hospital.

ALL IS WELL WITH EVERYONE INVOLVED!

Thank you, Lord Jesus!

Would you join me in prayer thanking the Lord for His providential protection?

Would you pray that Jay and Kacey wouldn't be discouraged in this setback?  (doesn't look as though the family vehicle will be worth salvaging and the other driver was uninsured)

Would you pray that there wouldn't be too much pain and soreness from the impact?

Thank you,
Jodi

10.23.2012

Under My Shoes

Here's what the last few days have looked like.

October 17


I was walking around getting my 17th photos, when the leaves under my boots started begging for attention.  

October 22


We called this weather phenomenon "leaf fall."  The leaves were literally falling in a steady stream from the trees overhead.  It was after the first night of frosty temperatures and my conjecture is that it triggered something that finally caused all the leaves to be cut off from the branches nutrition.


See, it was like snowdrifts, only leaves instead!  These are my dirty work shoes; I was on my way to do some landscaping.


October 23


We were blown away.  This came out of the blue.  Last night, the storm began before bedtime and everyone who woke up in the middle of the night kept checking to see if it was still snowing or had melted away.  It stuck!

Cold feet . . . does that mean I have a warm heart?  Ha, my family would inform you otherwise . . .

Moving on,


I built my first snowman!  Half size, at least.  The snow was perfect for packing. Isn't he handsome?


Just getting you in the mood for Christmas, a few months early . . . that's not a problem, right?

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly"
Sing it with me now 
"Fa la la la la, la la, la la"

:)

10.22.2012

This Morning/This Evening

This post is for all my San Diego friends.

This morning found us raking leaves.  Our lawns, the streets, and the sidewalks were all covered with leaves when we awoke.

It was so beautiful.  (these pictures are all from Ashley's phone.  Maybe Rachel will be posting some more beautiful ones from today)

 This is right in front of our house.


This was taken on the sidewalk in front of our house looking across the street.


Tonight at 6:00 Steve needed to come in from working outside.

This is why.  Our front steps and our front lawn.




We are actually very excited to see this

but

Very surprised at the quick change!

Wish you were here.
You would love it.
Jodi


10.19.2012

the party {ellie turns 2, continued}

{warning:  picture overload!}

Rachel did an amazing job capturing some sweet photos for me during Ellie's birthday party...thanks, sis!

Ellie had been talking about her birthday for weeks...saying in a sweet, sing-song way  "ellie bir-day"
pretty cute...she had been opening birthday cards that had come in the mail,
and she even had a mini-celebration with her Grandpa Franks a few days before the actual party...

this mama thought that the party would therefore be a breeze and that her little girlie would dance and smile and sing with glee on the day that was so anticipated...
umm...not sure what I was thinking...
not one smile came to aforesaid little girl's face the ENTIRE day!  Grumpy grumps came to stay, and they didn't leave until the guests began to depart...

oh well, at least they were all family, and do know how sweet and charming my daughter can be...
here are some of the pictures...
I just felt they needed a bit of a disclaimer {grin}

presenting:  the birthday girl!!


{decor}













{my little miss}






 this is where she stood practically the whole party//
waiting for cookies



{the happy little brother}








{the relatives}



{cake}





ready:set:blow!!!





{gifts}


























and just like that
ellie turned 2


10.17.2012

17th of October

A beautiful month.   Unfortunately,  some of the spots I've picked aren't the best colors around town, and next month everything could be covered in snow, but here are this month's submissions.

Notice the leaves on the ground, even though our trees haven't even halfway turned.
Notice too the scaffolding on the side; more on that project later.

The park.  Only bummer is that the mowers beat me here.

First Avenue Sidewalk  -   Can you see the tunnel the trees make down the sidewalk?

The courthouse with changing colors

The end of tenth street looking out to, yes, those snow-covered peaks

Ah, here are some of those famed colors with snow-capped mountains behind

The colors at Dry Bridge park

I liked both of these pictures for different reasons, but I love the water reflection in this one.