Just a thought.....

I haven't posted much lately, so I thought I would. I wanted to share my morning devotion from today. It was titled The Pursuit of Jesus and referenced the scripture Psalm 41:1. "Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble." This really hit home for me. It talked about how we should remember how Jesus was constantly pursued by so many people. He always helped those people and never complained. I can't remember one time in the Bible where He said get away from me or please quit calling my name. I thought about how many times a day someone "needs" me and how I respond. Some days I think if one more kid says Mrs. Tuggle or if someone else needs a favor or even if my sweet babies say mommy one more time I might go insane. I'm sure we have all been there. Don't get me wrong, I love to help people, I especially love my babies and I love the fact that I am "needed" in so many ways, but it gets overwhelming sometimes. The last part of that verse rings so true for me. The Lord has definitely delivered me in times of trouble........sooooo many times. I know that most of us are so busy and play so many roles in life and are so often needed and pursued by others. What if Jesus told us to leave him alone or that He didn't have time right now or that He needed time for HImself? That is what I thought about this morning as I read that verse because I had said all those things at some point yesterday. I am going to keep that in mind today as I hear Mrs. Tuggle I need this or Mrs. Tuggle can you help me... and especially when I hear Mommy........ I know that all too soon my babies may not need me as much. Just a thought.......

Way to go Chad!

Before After

I have learned that when Chad decides to do something he doesn't play.......he does it! A few weeks ago we discussed the need for new flooring in our kitchen and dining area. ALthough our house is only 4 years old, the linoleum was coming up in several places. I would NOT recommend the people who did our flooring! ANyway, we decided to go with hardwood. I came home the next day and all the linoleum was in the driveway and my stove was in the garage. It was a mess for awhile, but it was worth it! Chad did a fabulous job. I learned that you can survive without a stove and still feed a family of 5 as long as you have a microwave and a George Forman grill.

Let it snow!!!!

When Ian woke me up at 7:00 this morning and said it was snowing, this is what we saw out of our back window.......a snowy Smith Lake. It was really pretty. We of course had to wake Luke so everyone could see. We then bundled up and went outside to make snowballs. We didn't stay long because Ian has an ear infection, and both boys are very snotty and congested. I had to let them go out though. It's not very often we get snow. Poor Zeke got to look out the window. He too is snotty, and I decided it wasn't risking anything for the snow.........he won't remember anyway. The boys went outside and made snowballs, and I took a few pictures. Luke decided quickly that it was too cold for him and he wanted to go in and have strawberry milk and white grits. Ian had to be forced inside as he always is. They are like night and day!! Later, all 5 of us (plus 2 snowballs) loaded up to go eat lunch with Paw. We went to Ryan's where we ate way too much. We came home to a powerless house. It was ok though since it was during the day. It was nice to have a break from Dora and Handy Manny. I really hated that I couldn't do any laundry though! ;) Church was cancelled all day, so we stayed in and realxed (mommy), did laundry (daddo), played (boys), and napped (Zeke). It was a good day! Now, time to get ready for Monday.

Fun at AA

Friday night I did something I rarely do. I went out with some girl friends. We (friends from work) went to dinner at Cabos and then to AA. In case your wondering, AA stands for Art Affair.....not alcoholics anonymous! Art Affair is the Jasper version of Sips and Strokes. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed painting........it was very relaxing. Here is a picture of my creation. I was kinda proud of it. Maybe this is yet another backup career?????

I love Wednesdays!!!!!!!!!

It's been awhile since I have posted, so I thought I'd give it a whirl this morning. I am obviously working hard here at my job. No, really it is Wednesday.....which has become my favorite day other than Sunday. We have fine arts here at West Jasper on Wednesday which means extra planning (or free in Mrs. Tuggle's case) time. I don't have my laptop here, so I can't post pictures, but I will add those later. I have some really good ones that I have taken lately. Believe it or not there isn't all that much going on with us right now. Ian is growing so fast. He had a few rough weeks at school, but is being an angel now. He is such a good big brother. He is Chad's little shadow. Luke is still Luke! He is absolutely rotten! (I guess they all are though!) He has a new girlfriend at school, Addi. Apparently they are pretty serious.....he dropped his old one of over 2 years for her. He loves to read and sing anddance. He is quite the entertainer. Zeke is fabulous! He is growing way to fast. He is eating 2nd foods already. He sleeps about 11 hours every night. He rolled over at Grandee's yesterday, and is starting to learn to sit up. He "talks" ALL the time........he fits right in at our house! He is always happy and smiling and laughing. We went back to the ENT the other day and his ears were clear.......Yay God! That means no tubes right now. We have been going to the chiropractor which I believe played a big part. I am doing fine.........just busy and crazy as ever! For some reason taking care of3 kids, a husband, and a house, a dog & 4 puppies, teaching 4th and 5th graders, sponsoring SGA and doing the school newspaper, staring a girl's group with 5th grade girls, helping teach youth girl's discipleship class, hosting a ladies prayer group every week at my house, and sometimes finding time to sleep have become somewhat overwhelming! No, really I love every second of my life and wouldn't change a thing! I feel so blessed to have all the opprtunities I have and all the people I have in my life. Well, you should well know by now that the Tuggle's will always throw a curve in things. Poor Chad has discovered that he has what we think is a hernia. It was very suddenly that he discovered it. He went to Dr. Jud who said that is probably what it is and referred him to a surgeon. He will go to St. Vincent's next Tuesday to see him. He was able to get an appointment with the surgeon who took out my gallbladder last year. He is awesome! We like to really get use out of doctors! Anyway, keep him inyour prayers. We aren't sure what will happen yet, but they say probably surgery. If you know Chad, you know that will not be easy for him. He is very active, and it will be hard for him to be out of commission.
Well that's how we are all doing. We had a great Valentine's Day. I was able to attend the big boys' tea party at school. They looked so handsome! I'll post pics later. We spent the actual day together at home and had a nice dinner.......chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. I guess I should end this now before I go insane......I might change my name. If I hear Mrs. Tuggle one more time....... (Oh- just so you know- I am not just playing on the computer and ignoring my students. I share a room with another teacher who has students right now. It is actually my planning time. Think of the 5 loudest, silliest, wildest kids you can imagine....multiply that times 10 and you have the group of kids I am listening to! I might should be planning how to escape!! ;) Have a Happy Wednesday!!!!!!!!

They're here.........

Zig-Zag had her puppies last night. She had 8, but only 4 made it. :( They are very cute and loud.....they cry and whine constantly. They are in the garage with a heat lamp as it is so very cold. The pics aren't that great, but the mommy wasn't all that happy about me taking their picture. I'm thinking about a new career in canine obsterics........

Things we did or didn't do......

Here are some things that we didn't do this past week:
-Have a stroke- This week was the year anniversary of my stroke. It has been quite emotional for me. I would wake up and think, Wow a year ago today I was rushed to the hospital by ambulance or I woke up and my left side was paralyzed or I had terrible seizures. Then I would think, Wow God is so awesome! I didn't dread having to get up and go to work........I felt so very blessed to be able to get up and shower by myself and go to work and walk everywhere with no special equipment of any kind. I remember all the talk about shower chairs and walkers and canes, etc. I never once used anything......not even the brace they sent home with me.
-Cook supper-I did not cook an actual meal even one day this week. We were so busy! I di however skip my class at the gym to make it to church to eat meatloaf!
-Go to yoga-I went to yoga for the first time last week. I am by no means flexible or graceful or any of that stuff, but I really liked the class. It was very relaxing and all the stretching felt great. I didn't fall down or hurt myself, but I did giggle a lot at the names of the poses. I do believe the downward dog is my favorite. I didn't go because I had to go to family night at West Jasper.
-Clean my house- I am learning to not be so anal and let the things that aren't that important go. I have decided that a spotless house is one of those things. We did straighten and do the basic stuff but no major cleaning this week.

Here are some things we did do:
-Lost a dear sweet family friend- Rejina Keeton went to live with Jesus on Tuesday........that's how Luke and Ian understand it, and I like that view myself. We will all miss her!
-Get hit by a speeding motorcycle- This would be Chado........He did get smacked by a crazy motorcycle man who was trying to get away from state troopers. The guy flew into the bed of his truck onto many bags of garbage.(I knew there was a reason to throw that garbage there!) He jumped ou, took off, and has yet to be found. Thank God Chad is ok. The truck is messed up but drivable. When someone makes a movie about the crazy life of the Tuggles, we'll be sure and put in this scene!
-Eat 19 chicken nuggets at Wendy's- This one would be Luke and Ian. Our boys can eat!
-Find Booger- Poor Luke lost Booger.....his favorite stuffed elephant(I jokingly said we should name him that and Luke thought it was hilarious so it stuck). Thankfully bubba Ian found him!
-Prepare a place for Zig-Zag, our dog, to have puppies- Of course I did this.......Chad can't even stand the thought. Poor Zig-Zag is so incredibly huge that she can barely walk......remember she's only got 3 good legs. She was whining and being all weird, so I figure they'll be here any moment. I hope this time goes well. Last time she did great, but the time before that I had to actually do most of it. I even had to tie off their little cords with thread. You should see Chad when I talk about it.;) I'll post pictures when they arrive.

This post could go on forever, but I must try to sleep.........morning comes quickly and there isn't enough coffee in the world to make Monday mornings good!