You see that picture below That is what my family and I are counting down to... approxmately 54 days from now, we well be putting our toes on the warm, white sand of Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Yes, I know, I live in Florida, but I have not been to the beach in about three years. 

I must be crazy!

So, the husband and I (well, mostly the husband) found this awesome deal online, and we booked three nights on the beach for an amazing deal. For the hotel room and several meals at the hotel restaurant included, we're still under $200!

I cannot wait! This will be the first family vacation we have taken together, just our family and no extended family coming. I cant wait to see Bradley playing in the water, and Jacob playing in the sand (and eating it, I'm sure). It will definitely be memorable. 

Huh?

The night before last in the middle of the night, Jacob had a low grade fever, so I gave him some Motrin and put him back to bed, and didn’t think too much of it - he is teething, so I just figured that came with the territory. Yesterday morning he was fine, so I went about my normal "day off" routine, and went to the mall and ran some other errands. However, yesterday afternoon he started to feel warm, so I took his temperature – and it was 103.1!

I called his DR and Jake was otherwise acting fine, but they wanted to see him. They checked him out and said his ears were clear, but that his throat was red so they wanted to do a flu test. By this point the second dose of Motrin had kicked in and his fever was down to 100.4. Well, even though he had his flu shot a couple months back, my little guy has the flu. Type A they said… WHAT?

Of course my next statement after that was - "But he had a flu shot. Isn't that supposed to prevent this?!" - and I already knew the answer, but I was a little upset... I mean, he got the stupid shot, shouldn't that have prevented my little guy from being all miserable?

The nurse informed me that it prevents most cases, and should have prevented Type A - but it didn't, so the only thing we could do is just treat the symptoms. The only real symptom he has is the rediculous fever... He isn't coughing, and his nose isn't runny or stuffy anymore. So, its Mortin every six hours until this fever breaks. Otherwise, he is the goofy, happy kid that he always is!

Please just keep Jake (and the rest of us Rellers!) in your thoughts and prayers that he recovers soon, and that the rest of us don't get sick!

-Kim

Sunday Afternoons

I think one of my favorite times of the week are Sunday afternoons. When we get home from church and after lunch. Bradley goes and plays with friends, and once Jacob is down for a nap, that is usually when Hans and I just lie back and catch a Marlins or Rays baseball game on TV, and just breathe and relax. Most of the time we catch a catnap while the kids are occupied or napping themselves.


There is just something about that time that is so peaceful - the space between the morning servce and the evening service. Maybe it is because it is the "end" of a long week, and we've been refreshed by the Holy Spirit at work in the morning service, that we know we can simply... rest.



Just an observation I have made - it's something we enjoy as a family. What is your favorite time of the week?



-Kim

Newborn Jacob

I came across this video today that we took of our youngest when he was only about four hours old, in the hospital. Now let me start off by saying when I was pregnant, this kid had the hiccups at least twice a day... as you can see, this did not stop right away!

I miss him being this tiny... he is going to be a year old in 33 days!



-Kim

Peace and Quiet...

Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy friends out there! Today has been fantastic so far. Jacob only woke up one time last night to eat at 4:00am, the hubby let me sleep until 9:00am, and when I woke up he had eggs, bacon, and toast made for me along with flowers and cards for me from him and the kids. He even had Jacob scribble on the card and held his tiny hand so he could "sign" it... it was adorable.

Even with all that today, the best gift I could ask for is occuring right now... peace and quiet. Hans is asleep on the couch, Jake is asleep in his high chair (aka his "napping" chair), and Brad is at a friend's house playing until 5:30pm. I am thinking I might just join them for a nap soon!

(Nevermind, Jake just woke up. Gotta go!)

-Kim

"The Motions"

Today while I was out running errands, I was listening to a local radio station, called Spirit FM (90.5FM) which is based out of the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. Their songs are wonderful, but there is one song in particular that caught my attention today. It is called "The Motions", and is sung by Matthew West. It gripped me during my drive, and when I came home and I searched online and found that there is a video as well. It had me in tears. It made me realize that I do have problems that I face in my everyday Christian walk of life, and I (like most humans) do tend to "put God in a box" and think to myself "this is petty, I can handle this, I can do this on my own" and not ask for even the little things from my Lord. Today, this day, I am committing to trusting HIM and not just going through "the motions" and thinking that I can handle life on my own. I can't. No way. If he is not 110% in it ... my life will never be what God intended it to be.

I really felt compelled to share this video and song with everyone today. Feel free to comment and add your thoughts...

Tuesdays at the Table

The rules are simple: If you would like to post, do so on your own blog, and then mention the original poster, Andrea at "My Chihuahua Bites" - in your post. Then go to her blog and sign the post with the link to your recipe. That way, there is a collection going... make sense? :)

Here is my recipe for today. Whenever we have a pot-luck dinner at my church (being a Southern girl and a Baptist as well, this occurs quite often!), there is always a wonderful elderly lady at the church who makes sure to bring the Banana Pudding. Here is the recipe.... it is SO GOOD!

*Banana Pudding*

INGREDIENTS

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 bananas, sliced
1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.

Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.

So tired...

What is it about nighttime with me? I promise every morning when I wake up exhausted that "tonight, I am going to go to bed early". Sometimes, I even verbalize this to my husband, and he just nods and passes by... he knows that I won't - I almost NEVER do! The only time that I go to bed early (before 10pm) is if I am not feeling well.

So here it is again. I am wiped, but my mind can't shut off. It is "10-ish"pm... going on 10:30pm right now. I am watching the Rays play the Red Sox, Hans is over at our good friend's house helping them paint (such a good neighbor!), Brad and Jake are in bed. And my mind is just going. Nothing in particular stressing me out by any means, just winding down from a long day. Worked from 8:00am to 6:30pm, came home and cooked dinner (well two dinners since I hate stir fry, but just because I don't like veggies doesn't mean I will ever deprive my family of them!), then talked with our neighbors for a bit, and now... I am finally settling down.

Now that I think of it... I am tired. It's time for bed.

Goodnight,

Kim