Adoption!!

Yeah I know it has been a while....i won't go into appologizing again. It is what it is!

We have decided to adopt! I would type out the whole story here, but if you follow the link below it will explain in more detail! I hope you enjoy reading it!

Thanks!

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April Rocked The House!

       Lol ok, so I am REALLY slack about posting daily or even weekly! So, I am going to stop apologizing and just start writing when the mood strikes me! If you haven't gathered by now, I really LOVE "!!!!" explanation marks :)  This is my blog so I can do anything I want.

      Recap of what has been happening since the last post on April something.  Our daughter, Penelope turned 3 years old! We had a great butterfly party at the park with family and friends.  She is one kinda spoiled little girl.  Below you will find some really awesome photos taken by 2 great friends of ours.  I decided to "hire" a photographer this year because quite frankly there is just too much to be done to have to worry about taking pictures also!  So if you have a party coming up and have never hired someone to do that for you, I highly recommend it!



Color your own butterfly

Pinata

Blowing out the candles to the start of a fabulous new year!

Flying through the air with daddy



Butterfly toppers made by my mom from www.pinterest.com





Happy Family!

          Hmm I need to figure out how to move my words back to the left again :(  I have tried clicking the left align button with no luck..well as I am typing this very sentence the words magically move! lol AWESOME!

          As you can see from the pictures, Penelopes party was a success! We have once again hit another milestone in our awesome lives.  I have realized that kids bring on a whole new level of everything into your life the moment they are born.  A part of you is taken away, but replaced by this tiny little person who looks to you for everything.  From food to comfort and playing you are their 24/7 convenience store.  I am reminded daily that the love I have for her is huge enough to overflow my own heart, but isn't near the amount of love that God has for me.  The more I care for Penelope the more God cares for me.  He love has overcome such tremendous heartache and loss.  He gave his only son, Jesus, to die on the cross so that if I believe in Him I too can have everlasting life (live for ever and ever) with Him in his house (heaven).  I wouldn't want to be separated from Him in heaven so why be separated from Him here on Earth.  Check out John 3:16 (in the Bible) for more information :D

           God has blessed me and my family so much over the years!  Alongside those blessing we have definitely endured heartache and loss.  We have ventured out on our own because we thought we knew what was best for our lives.  We hit rough patched and realized that no matter how crazy or absurd we think of God's plans, His are ALWAYS better that what we could ever dream up on our own. 

           There have been new developments in the next chapter in our lives, but due to timing we aren't able to make any really big announcements yet! Please stay tuned for further information as we begin this clear path God is beginning to unfold for us!

Thanks for reading yet another installment of pbwash! Until next time....

Happy Reading!!







Update Part 1:

     First off let me apologize for not having made a blog entry in....well, forever!  I kinda got busy and had writers block sort of.  Well, here I am to let you know that from this day forward I will be posting something every night.  Some days may not be as fun or exciting but others days will!

      Today's post will be a recap of what's been going on since my last post!  On Friday January 20, my sweet Penelope had her second set of ear tubes put in.  They are T-tubes so they should keep her from having any ear infections for a good many years! They typically last anywhere from 3-5 years! So far she's doing great with them!

post-op!

Not a whole lot happened after the surgery.  Chad was getting everything together for his trip to India and I was mentally preparing for him to be gone for 12 days!!! I managed to talk my mom into coming for a visit for about a week while he was away!  We had a great time!  The next blog entry will be from Chad about his trip!  He has some amazing photos to share, great stories of healing as well as yummy food!
   I'll end this post with a few more pictures.  Sorry if this is a rambling post...lol...I am a bit rusty!

Warm winter day for a beach trip!

 My hot surfer boy!

 Shopping time with daddy!

 Cool kids surfboards!

Favorite Snacks!

Our house!

(it needs a bit of TLC in the yard...we aren't good yard people :(

Well folks, that's all for now.  Hope you have enjoyed the latest installment of PBW! 

Until next time....

Happy Reading!

Happy 10th Birthday Mason....

Today, I will introduce you to the baby boy I never got to bring home.  This day 10 years ago I gave birth to our first child, a son named Mason, who turned our worlds upside down.  I could go into all the details of the pregnancy, but I don't feel that is relevant anymore.  What is relevant is what transpired from that moment on.  It in the wee hours of January 17 2002 when my water officially broke while laying in the hospital bed on day 5 of bed rest.  Dozens of doctors and nursed flooded our little delivery room, expecting the worst, but completely unsure of what was to come.  I began pushing around 10:150am..I remember looking at my nurse and begging for the epidural, she sweetly smiled and said "it's too late, you need to start pushing!" I didn't push long, maybe 20 minutes or so before the final big push and our beautiful, ever so quietly squeaking boy was born.  It's difficult to describe in words what I felt or what I saw the moment he was born and I saw him.  I'll try my best, so please bare with me.  At that moment he was born I remember sitting up and looking towards the end of the bed where the doctor was standing, cover from head to toe in blue scrubs holding my tiny 1.5 pound 12 inch long squeaking baby boy.  The room went dark, all noises ceased to exist and there was this light on Mason.  Kinda like a spot light but softer and calming.  There was for a brief moment a peace that all in the world was going to be ok and this is going to be the strongest and bravest battle I'll ever have to endure.  Just as fast as that moment arrived, it left.  I was surrounded once again with the noise and chaos from everyone rushing and fighting and trying with all their might to get this boy stable.  I was 21 and barely knew how to be a wife, let alone a mother who fully understands the concept of what was happening.  The reality hadn't set in...sadly that didn't really set in until a few years later when I broke down and beat myself up with the "What ifs".  Things were touch and go over the next few weeks.  I was restricted from driving for 2 weeks.  With Chad going to school and working full time it was very difficult to go anywhere.  We needed him to work and with one car I was stuck at home.  I relied on a few friends who randomly offered to take me to the hospital.  Usually, Chad and I would go for an hour or two in the evenings after he got off work..There wasn't much to do in the NICU, neonatal intensive care unit, expect watch Mason lay there helpless in this isolette bed having a million tubes coming out of every available vein on his tiny body.  He was being supported with a breathing machine and holding him was out of the question.. There was no bottle feeding, no diaper changing, no clothes to change, to rocking, there was nothing I could do except hold is hand waiting for the day this would all be behind us and we'd be a normal family.  Little did I know that this was our normal family.  I never would have ever imagined the amount of time I would have with him physically in our family.  Well, those two weeks went by fairly quickly and he was progressing at such an alarming rate that the doctors comments at how well he'd been doing!! We were excited over the little accomplishments he was making! We went and visited him one evening, like we had been doing, we some the most amazing thing ever. He was looking at us!!! Our boy's eyes came unfused earlier that day and he had the most beautiful bluish/gray color ever.  There was depth to him.  He looked at us and watched us walk from one side of his "bed" to the other! It was awesome!  The nurse came up and asked if I would like to do Kangaroo Care with him! Kangaroo Care is where a preemie is strong enough to be outside of his "bed" for a short time, of course with all his tubes and what not.  They lay the babies on your chest, skin to skin.  It's suppose to help them and make them feel like they are still in the womb.  He was two weeks old that day, his eyes had opened, and I got to hold him for the first time in both our lives.  They only allow one parent to hold and each Kangaroo Care session. Chad of course gave the opportunity to do this first!! I am forever grateful for his allowing me that pleasure!  His nurse said they would do a trial run for a few minutes then check to make sure he's still doing ok, liking it.  She came back and he was doing great! He couldn't move his head or anything but his eyes stayed open the whole time.  I got to soak up every minute in the HOUR he was out! I can still close my eyes and remember every detail of that hour.  How he smelt, his softness, how stuffy it was in the NICU, all the beeping going on with all the babies, but most of all I remember his small body laying on my chest wrapped up in my shirt to keep him warm and his middle finger on his left hand scratching my! lol I can still feel those scratches today! Well my hour was up and back in his bed he went.  We kissed him good night and left the hospital. That was a Thursday night.  Friday evening everything changed.  Our world and our faith began falling apart.  Evil had found it's was in and was ripping up this happy, young, struggling family.  Mason had gotten sick and they didn't know why...the days that followed were medically and emotionally challenging.  They tried everything but he wasn't getting better. They ran test but everything was inconclusive (they had no clue what was going one).  Our families came into town that following Saturday and wanted to see him fro the first time.  I on the other hand didn't want to see him in this state. I wanted my warm and strong son back.  I gave in a we all went to the hospital..I called back to the NICU and said I was coming back. The nurse on the phone said NO! lol tell a mother she can't come see her baby, I don't think so....I went running to the NICU, only to find him slowly loosing the biggest fight of his life.  I didn't know what to do! God was definitely our strength that week.  We had prayed about what to do and how to make decisions that seemed impossible to even comprehend.  We both woke up that Saturday morning with a peace and comfort.  We had no clue what that was around for.  Little did we know that later that evening we would be holding on to that same peace unable to be comforted by His presence.  Mason wasn't going to make it.  The whole family was giving a private section of the NICU and Mason was baptised and prayed over.  Our families went to wait in the lobby.  Chad and I were lead to a small private room with a door.  The nurses and doctors were at Mason's bed unhooking all iv's and breathing tubes.  They wrapped him up in a blanket and put a hat on his head.  The door, Mason was placed in our arms, and we fell apart.  I remember I said "God, if this is supposed to be one of your miracles, you should probably hurry because he's fading fast." We took turns hold and kissing our sweet boy.  Telling him how much we loved him and how much we'd miss him. We knew deep down inside this miracle wasn't going to happen.  About 30 minutes later, something amazing and sad happened all at the same time.  The room once again went dark and there was this light and such an overwhelming since of God presence filled every square inch of that tiny waiting room.  Just as fast as that that presence was there, it was gone, and with it was our son forever.  Mason had passed away.  All we had left was his body that we held on and thought for maybe by some small chance God would change His mind or that He had made a mistake.  Unfortunately that wasn't the case.  Mason was gone and we were broken, emotionally and spiritually.  Nurses came in and took him away from us and we watched her walk down the hall and disappear down the elevators.  Chad and I were lost.  What are we going to do now!? I didn't understand what happened or why it happened.  All I knew was that God had a plan, albeit at the time a crappy plan in my opinion. 
Looking back over the last 10 years, we have questioned our faith in God, His reasoning, His plans, His timing and His will.  Even though we are no closer to the answer today than we were 10 years ago, I can saw that we are at peace with what happened. We have moved forward one day at a time.  We did have a fairly rocky few years in there, but all in all we are a whole family today.  Sometimes I think about if I was ever given a "do over" would I take it? I can honestly say that I wouldn't take the "do over"! I know your probably saying "what?! why wouldn't you want your son here with you?!" Well that answer is easy! I wouldn't be the same person today if things had gone differently.  I wouldn't be laying on my bed, at 4:40 in the afternoon, on a Tuesday in January, writing about the son who we were blessed to have in our lives even for a short time, all the while our daughter laying beside me laughing and talking to a Kipper video on my phone.  Our relationship with each other would be completely different.  It would have been like a whole different life.  I love my life.  What we went through made us stronger as both a husband and wife, but more importantly as a family in the body of Christ.  "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13.  I hold that verse very close to my heart and who I am as a woman, wife, mother, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Mason at 1 days old.

Mason at 2 weeks old (he was having a good day, so his nurses "posed" him for a picture)

Kangaroo Care..Best hour of my life!

Over the past few weeks I've been telling Penelope all about Mason.  She has an understanding of where Jesus lives and she knows that He isn't down here in physical form.  She also knows that Mason lives up in heaven with Him.  In His kingdom, getting things ready for us to return!  I have a reoccurring thought that always makes Mason around 5 years old!  I miss him everyday! I love him with all my heart! He will always be our first born!

This concludes today's installment of PBW. I hope you have enjoyed my post today.  Until next time...

Happy Reading!

Today my heart speaks...

I woke up today with a heavy heart.  For the past few years since I've been attending Life Community Church, we have been doing a corporate fast.  It's based off the Daniel Fast.  Anyways, the first year we a complete bust.  Instead of focusing on the reason of the fast, to be drawn into a deeper relationship with God, we put all of our energy and focus on what we could/couldn't eat.  So, last year since we knew what to and not to eat, we focused more on our walk with God.  I know some pretty awesome things happened, but can I recall what it was? NO! Why? oh becuase my memory is shot! lol  I do know that it was pretty amazing and we had an awesome year! We are currently in the second week of this years fast and I can say that it hasn't been nearly exciting or positive.  I decided not to do the Daniel Fast partly because the food you are supposed to eat, we have included that in our normal everyday diet.  Instead, I have decided to fast Facebook, Pinterest, and all things to do with the T.V.  The object of the fast is to remove the "distractions" that wold pull you away from having  quiet time devoted to reading the Bible or praying or simple spending time with God.  In the begining I would say I did pretty well!  I didn't look at Facebook or Pinterest, although I did catch myself watching Penelope's movies and shows.  I know that during the fast you can pray about something specific like, marriage issues, financial breakthrough, children, jobs, etc.  Some just take this time to let God move where He wants to in their lives.  For me, I did pray from something specific.  I had believed that God would hear my prayer and answer it!  So yesterday when it was crystal clear that He hadn't answered it, I became sad and angry. What?! A Christian got angry at God?! Heck yes I did and I told Him how I felt He had let me down.  I had prayed that He would bless us again with another baby.  All I have ever wanted to do and become is to be a supporting and loving wife and a mother of a houseful of kids running up and down the halls!  I am almost 32 and have 1 sleeping in the room across the hall  and 1 playing somewhere up in Heaven talking and walking with the One who I felt hadn't heard my prayers!  What am I supposed to do when all I have ever wanted to do, does not come easy to me, nor do I have any control over it!  How do I lay my control down so He can do what He's planned to do the whole time.  Why is that so hard for me?!  I do confess that I do have control issues, that range from my husband, money, Penelope, myself, and especially my life.  I sometimes feel that I know what's best for me and my family but in the end God has the final word!!  One of my biggest questions is why can't God's final word be audible for me to hear? Am I not praying the right words? Is He to busy to hear me? or Am I so stuck in the controll department that I can't hear Him?  Today after feeling let down I decided that I could just get off my fast and check out Facebook! What what the harm? According to me my fast was over.  My answer came yesterday. So as I was reinstalling the app on my phone my heart began to beat 3 times as fast as normal and my hands became damp from nerves! Nerves?! Why was I nervous? It wasn't like it was doing something was sinful, I didn't go behind someones back and do this. So what was the problem?!  Well, the problem was that on January 9th I made a promise, so to speak, to NOT look on FB during this 21 day fast.  I had chosen to not keep up that promise!  I immediately text my husband and asked if I was going to hell because of this! I knew the answer but needed to hear it from someone else! He definitely confirmed my answer with a NO! lol But still I felt that I had let Him, God, down.  I had just done the very same thing that I got so upset with Him about!  I promised not to go on FB and did.  He promises everything our hearts desire. 

Psalm 37:3-7 "3-Trust in the LORD and do good.  Then yuou will live safely in the hand and prosper.  4-Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires. 5-Commit everything you do to the LORD.  Trust him, and he will help you. 6-He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn adn the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.  7-Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act..."

I know for a fact that God does NOT renig on a promise!  He promises us an eternal life with Him in His kingdom if we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and saviour. John 3:16.  I did have a choice today.  I coudn't have choosen to NOT log in to FB, but I did.  God didn't turn away from me.  He wants me to stop doing things on my own just because I think I know better.  God's way is ALWAYS better, even though we may not understand or see that right now!  I shouldn't get angry because I'm not having another baby. I should rejoice in the Lord for the little girl I have sleeping in her warm and cozy bed.  She looks up to me as her provider and protector.  She trusts me with everything she has.  I can see that trust in her face when my arms are stretched out and she leap off her changing table, suspended in mid air for a split second, before she is safe in my arms again.  A friend once said something in our mommy's group that brought me to tears.  She said in time of sorrow and pain, don't look to God with anger or frustration as if he was our enemy, but instead picture God with us in that moment.  His arms wrapped around us in the most comforting embrace we couldn't ever imagine.  For at that same moment God isn't celebrating becuase we are hurt, He is hurting becuase we are hurt.  We are His children!! He doesn't want to see us in pain or hurt, He wants to see us happy and rejoice for all that He has done.  He is our everything. I need to step back an reevaluate why I really went on this fast in the first place.  Like I told my small group, I don't pray for something specific, (i felt emabarassed telling them my real prayer) I allow God to move in my life where He wants too.  I ask Him to continue working His will in my life.  That is honestly my hearts desire for the remainder of the fast! 

Thanks for letting reading today installation of PBW.  Had no idea where it was going when I began to type. Untill next time....

Happy Reading!!

Weekends go by too quickly..

Hey :D welcome back! Today has been a great day! First of all it's Sunday, which means CHURCH DAY!! It was a good service.  Although unrelated to the teaching, I had a problem.  I love taking notes about what is being preached but I am horrible at note taking. :(  I try will all my mite to keep up, but every time i fail.  If you took a look at my note book it would appear as if about 2/3's into the note taking something comes up and my poor notes and pen have been abandoned.  It's not that I don't care, it's that i can't keep up!  Chad on the other hand is awesome at note taking but rarely does it because he has a great memory. Although, once service is over and I ask him about a particular part, he can't remember.  So I guess it's a lost cause.  Haha maybe I should pray for new memory storage! lol, crazier things have been done, so what's the harm in asking. 

Today was a beautiful day: sunny, clear, and cold.  We didnt' let that stop us though! We packed some blankets and lunch and headed over to Wallace Park for some play time!  Below are a couple of pictures from our adventures!

family picnic despite the cold weather..Chad's the shadow!

from my spot on the blanket,

Chad and Pen are on the swings. Unfortunately you can't see that in the pic.

tree, playground, and sun

what I was doing with my spot on the blanket!

out cold on the way home with her bag of Cheetos. Found a half eaten one in her hand after we got home.

We all had nap time today!  Slept a little later than I planned on though.  We have a small group on Sunday night from 6-9p and I was planning on making a pasta dish to take tonight! Unfortunately that didn't get done because we rolled out of bed at 5:45p...YIKES!!  We make it to group late and unprepared.  I was supposed to recap chapter 1 from a book we are reading, Love and War by John and Staci Eldridge. Totally dropped that ball too!  What have I been doing with my time...Got to get more on track this week! Wish me luck, I'll need it!

That's just about it for today.  Sunday's are pretty mellow and chill for us during the winter months here at the beach! I love every minute of it though.  Below are a few pictures of Penelope playing outside yesterday morning! Got to love a 2.5 year old!

never a dull moment around here...

Thanks for reading yet another addition to PBW!! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend as I did. Until next time...

Happy Reading!

Bathtubs and India

Hi ya everyone!  Well, I have made it through yet another day! HURRAY!  Today was good actually.  My husband was working over at a friends house and Penelope and I had the morning to ourselves.  We took this time to clean the house!  I started in the bathroom, I know this is exciting stuff here.  Last week I made home made laundry soap, which is AWESOME by the way.  I got the recipe through Pinterest.  If you haven't had the joy of visiting that site, you totally should!  Anyways I decided to try to see if it would work on cleaning soap scum out of the bathroom tub.  Well, to my surprise it DID!  I have never seen my tub look so great.  It only took about 15 minutes, which is normal time when you have a 2.5 year old "helping".  Below is a picture of the miraculously clean tub and part of my daughter!

 

The rest of the day was pretty much boring...I cleaned and read some more of my book Once A Runner by John L. Parker.  I started reading this book before Christmas and got inspired to start training for a 5K I signed up to do on March 3.  It's now January 14 and I have yet to get started.  I even bought an app from active.com called Couch to 5K.  Tomorrow I am going to start the training, not another day will go by without me doing it!  I will keep you updated on my progress!

Now on to something a little less carefree.  I am going to introduce you all to my awesome, fantastic, hot, sexy husband Chad.  He's heading to India at the end of February for a missions trip with our church Life Community Church, it's in the mall!  Anyways, i'll let him tell you more about what he will be doing there.. So let us welcome Chad to the blogging world [insert applause here]

Chad here...

I am going to India, more specifically The Andaman Islands, February 27th - March 9th.  I am going with 4 other guys from our church to work with a YWAM missionary there.  We will be hosting some pastors conferences for the local pastors there, working with the missionary to help equip them to grow their existing ministries to the local people there.  We will also be working to establish a deeper relationship with the missionary and other ministries that we will continue to work with in the future.  This trip is laying the groundwork for years of ministry in the future to multiple places in India.

Now for the part where I ask for something from you.....

#1 - PRAY for us.  Pray for the 5 of us going, pray for the people and pastors already there, pray for our families that are staying home, just pray for us.  Beyond anything else you can give, prayer is the most valuable.

#2 - Money.... I only need $1500 to be able to go.  So, if you feel lead to give, feel free.  You can either contact Rebecca through this blog, or just send your gift/donation to:

Life Community Church

attn: Mark Tippett / Chad's India Trip

PO Box 3489

Wilmington NC 28403

There will be more posts by me in the coming days and weeks, many of which will be regarding India among other things.  So stay tuned to see and hear more about the trip!

Thanks for listening reading, and we will now return you to your regularly scheduled programming....

 Welcome back, thank you Chad for letting us in on a little of what you will be doing in India.  While he is away I will be updating for you on what's going on over there :) 

Guess that just about wraps it up for this addition on the daily blog.  Join us next time to see what drama or fun stuff happens in the PBW world.  Until next time....

Happy Reading!

Yesterday wasn't so long ago....

Hello and welcome back!! Hope you all have had a great few days.  As you can tell I never got around to writing anything yesterday, even though I had every intent to do so!  My plan is to catch you up on went down in the PBW world.  I have decided that I am really loving the name Peanut Butter Wash name more and more everyday.  It definitly fits our family, normal simple words that go together in a crazy mix!

Yesterday turned out to be a great day. Woke up about 9am, got me and Pen breakfast, then promptly went to my comfy place on the couch under the most amazingly softest blanket my sister gave at Christmas from IKEA (LOVE THAT STORE). Anyways, as I was lounging there sipping my coffee and eating home made granola, I was thinking about my day, what I wanted to do! I was looking out the window at the time and noticed how spring the outside looked, despite being in the begining of January.  I then began thinking that if it looks like spring then it should feel like it too!! Excited to find out, hopped of the couch and opened the door wide as it would go! At that moment it was as if I had been transport to a special place where life never ends and all is right with the world. It was as if the sun came down and kissed me. (I assumed that's what is meant when someone says they are "sun-kissed").  I had a joy in my heart and a hop in my step! Today was going to be great. I went back in and resumed my spot on the couch, still looking out the window when I noticed this....

The cutest little birds finally eating from the feeder again! It's been a long few months with out being able to watch these amazing creatures, created by God's hands to fill our hearts and homes with joy!  I was so shocked to see them, but then again outside didn't feel like winter!  I decided to check to see if my Camelias were blooming too and to my surprise they are!

It's a triple happiness day for me!  After seeing and feeling all that I knew I was going to blog about that! Today on the other hand is no good...it's cold and windy :(

It was closing in on lunchtime now and by this time I had already played with Play-doh, dolls, changed diapers, gotten snacks, juice, more coffee :D I LOVE COFFEE! We sang and danced and watched a little bit of Mrs. Spiders Adventures (kinda creepy looking, but she likes it). We had a surprised visitor yesertday for lunch! Daddy came home to eat with us! We were happy to see him. She began telling him all about our morning and ran around in the house saying "can't get me!!" squeeling while running down the hallway to our room to "do hide" as she calls it! She is the most awesomest kiddo ever!  She is growing and changing everyday into a very smart and beautiful little girl! Where did my baby go? Guess it's time to start thinking about number 3! Daddy's lunch hour went by quickly like normal and he was heading back to work.  By now its getting to be nap-time, which mean blog-time to me!  I decided to let her jump around and roll all over me and my bed to wear her out! We/she did that for about 30 minuted straight. 1:00p she was in the bed and no kidding 1:05p she was out cold! SUCCESS!  Now it was my time.  I settled down in my "blogging spot", my bed under a blanket propped up with some pillows :) I pulled out the computer opened my page and .........NOTHING! What, I couldn't think of what I was going to write about. I knew what i was going to say, but for some reason the words were just not there. I felt defeated for the moment. I closed and moved the computer. I rearranged the pillows and dove in my other passion, READING!  I pulled out my Nook, thanks to my awesome parents for that Christmas gift!!! So, this is what the follow few hours looked like.....

I'm currently on Chapter 11.  this is a really good book and an easy read! I consider this part of my inspiration and training for an upcoming 5K I am participating in on March 3 2011.  I definitely would suggest this book to anyone.  Just a quick heads up, this book does have some "potty" words, so if those offend you I would suggest to use your judgement.  Don't ask me if it's fiction or non-fiction because I could never tell the two apart.  To me it's a book with words and characters.  When I read books, they come alive to me as if they were real. That's basically how I read everything. :D

Now we fast forward to my favorite part of Thursday's aside from being with my family all day....I am taking the Course 2 cake decorating class from A.C. Moore from 6:30-8:30p.  This month we are learning about royal icing and all the awesome ways it can be used.  Last night was the first class and by the end I made 30 violets and 10 pansies! It was so much fun! What's so great about the royal icing is that once you have made the flowers and left them out to dry for a few days you can keep them basically FOREVER! In class the longevity of royal icing flowers was compared to that of a Twinkie, which in case some of you didn't know went bankrupt like 2 days ago!! No more Twinkies EVER...what are my kids going to eat now?? Wait, she's never had it before, too much sugar! haha. Anyways here's a picture of the flowers.....

How cute are those?!! They have definitly began to harden.  I have to keep these up on a high shelf for my little sticky fingered child will have eaten them all, paper included! LOL

Well, that was basically all that was included in my yesterday, aside from Pen not wanting to go to bed so she sat in ours watching Yo Gabba Gabba on our phone until 1:00AM...Good thing I'm a SAHM!  I hope you all have enjoyed reading this post today, now that it took up almost your whole day! LOL

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Happy Reading!



Rain, Coffee, and Ear Infections...

Well, now that the first post is behind me I figured it's time for post #2! Thanks for reading my last one, which would have been my first one. I hope you enjoyed it! As you can tell I LOVE using ---> !!!!!! those little guys! It makes me happy, like I have a personal cheerleader at the end of everything I say! hehe Anyways, today has been good so far.  Woke up this morning to what I thought was a loud crack of thunder, but my husband, Chad, claims to have not heard anything. As I have leaned recently, he doesn't have the best hearing in the world so I can't really rely on him for noises!  Either way today has turned out to be a rather rainy/drizzly day. I never used to like the rain, had bad memories that were associated with rain.  But I have grown over the years and have come to appreciate and "soak up" the rain.  The rain reminds me of a pause button sometimes.  Like I said before I am a stay-at-home mom and my days can get super busy with cleaning, cooking, taking care of my sweet girl, blogging, etc. this list could go on forever really. If you are a SAHM too, you understand!  So today when I saw the rain falling down so softly and being welcomed by my dying plants, I decided to "pause" and slow down my day.  I had a couple cups of reheated day old coffee, not as bad as you would think, made a quick turkey sandwich and sat down on the couch.  My daughter ordered me to take my clothes off and promptly threw pajamma's at me! She knows what's up when it rains! We snuggled up on the couch under a fleece blanket and watched an episode of Caillou for a bit before nap time. My poor girl isn't feeling quite well today, she's been battling an ear infection for the past 7 weeks! YIKES! Well she is a trooper with it all, not really complaining, just super cuddly.  I definitely won't be complaining about that because she's not a cuddler at all. So I love it! This isn't her first run in with ear infections.  when she was 8 months old she got her first one that never went away. She had it from Dec 10- March 5 2010. Don't freak out people, I had her in the pediatricians office every week until they FINALLY referred us to and ENT. She was in and out of that office until she wouldn't respond to a heavy steroid medicine AND she had a 15-20% hearing loss in her ears. They decided it was time for tubes! Praise God for that one. My girl wasn't sick from March 5 2010 to November 18 2011. I'd say we had a great run. Friday, November was her last check-up and was clearing 100% to having clean clear ears with the tubes out. They fall out on their own as her ear tube mature and grow! Man was I a happy momma! Then Sunday came around and she spiked a fever to 102!! My first thought was, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!" Over 1.5 years with no sickness of any kind and 2 days after getting a clean bill of health she gets sick?! Well we watched her for a few days until her fever got as high as I can stand seeing it. It spiked even higher to 104.9. Off the the ER at 11:30pm Monday night.  After some meds and a chest x-ray, doctors confirmed psneumonia in her left lung, BUT clear beautifully healthy ear! Tuesday was a check-up at pediatricians office and her ears were still good! I called the ENT and they definitely wanted to check her over too. I thought awesome, no problem because she's good there. Boy was I wrong :( (insert crying here) She was the highest rating of fluid on her left ear. Antibiotics were ordered. Now let's fast forward to today...The last 7 weeks have been horrible on her ears, but other than that just by looking at her you couldn't tell she was sick :) Today we saw the ENT after having been on antibiotics for the last 7 weeks without a break and guess what.......FLUID ON EARS!!! >:(  (insert super defeated angry face here).  I do love our ENT though, he ordered another 2 weeks of anitibiotics AND this is the best part....he's agreed to put in some NEW tubes!!!! HURRAY!!!! She goes in next Friday January 20 to have T-tubes placed in her ears. Praising God way more on this one!! HE definitely answered my prayers! The T-tubes stay in much much longer. They stay for 3-5 years. I am looking forward to years of a healthy super hyper happy child :)
If you are evening in the Wilmington NC area and need and ENT, I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Botros at Dr. Pollock and Dr. Botros office. He is a phenomenal ENT specialist.
Well, nap time is winding down and my little one will be up and wanting to play...I appreciate you reading my post today! I hope you enjoyed it. As you can tell by today's blog I am detailed in my posts.  You never know when someone is going through the same thing and the details help. I love details, it helps me!

My goal is to post at least once a day...since it is still early in my day, who knows what's in store for the rest of the day! Until then, happy reading!

In the begining...

Welcome to Peanut Butter Wash!! This is my first blog ever! Im so excited, I have always gone back and forth about starting one but never got around to doing it. So now I bet you are wondering, "what in the world does Peanut Butter Wash have to do with anything or how in the world did you come up with that!" Well, that's a simple and fun answer!  I was in the kitchen this eveing preparing dinner which is a warm quinoa, butternut squash, and kale salad! I had the most delightful sous chef helping me out, my 2.5 year old daughter Penelope.  I was struggling with a name all day and I simply asked her for a name.  We were munching on peanut butter sandwhiches, standing by the sink. She thought for a minute and said Peanut Butter Wash. We, my husband and I, laughed and joked about using it. Well now you know that I decided that it was unique and fun enough to use! Kids are so fun at that age, partly becuase I haven't gotten any further that 2.5 years lol.  She difinitely has an active imagination.  For Christmas this past year she got her first baby doll that she promptly named her Pencil!

I am not sure what "standard" blog beginings are, so I'll give it the ol' college try.  This will be my space to write (I love writting or I wouldn't have started a blog hehe), to express my feeling on my faith, maybe have some devotionals added in there somewhere. I also love food, crafting, music, reading, and fitness (ok maybe not love as of yet!!).  I asked my husband Chad if he would like to add some posts on here too and he gladly accepted my offer! So from time to time or when the mood strikes him, you will get to read what's going on in his head! There is no specific topic with my/our blog, but I hope you enjoy it anyways! 

Fell free to comment or "like" the blog!