Tony, Rebecca, and Chip Sharp

Chose to pick the dandelions!

2012-02-08T16:14:00.007-06:00

We find ourselves in a place where we are shockingly blessed by the little things in life.

We appreciate those moments that we know are fleeting and that we realize are once in a lifetime happenings.

The joy and laughter that comes from those moments is music to our ears..... if that is what music is to my ears, I wonder how much more beautiful those moments are to our God!

What a thrill and joy I get when Chip is able to partake of something new for the first time, like apple pie...

or a sucker!

And I get so tickled at his excitement of singing silly songs with goofy hand motions in the car on the way to work!

These are but fleeting moments in our lives. Those moments when the dishes are piled up in the sink, the laundry is overflowing and needing to be done, and i have a million other things to do, that I chose to take advantage of the hidden opportunity to watch a Thomas Movie in my bed with chocolate morsels as a snack and LOVE every minute of it and not worry about anything that needs to be done.

Take those moments! Savor them! They are fleeting and rare!

Play until you can't play any more! Run until your legs are jello! Sing silly songs, make silly faces, pretend you are a kissing monster and steal all the kisses you can!

The time on this earth is fleeting, and our window of opportunity to be influential parents is small. Take it and enjoy the ride!

oh, and don't forget to stop and pick the weedy flowers in the yard! They are as beautiful as roses if you see them through the eyes of a child!

<>< Rebecca

fun to come

2012-02-06T17:51:00.000-06:00

So i haven't posted in a couple of weeks, and this is due to an EXTREMELY huge influx of busy that has incorporated our lives in the last few weeks, but i am going to try and post some fun pics of us from the last few weeks/months tomorrow or so. stay tuned :-) Rebecca

trials and tribulations

2012-01-25T08:42:00.005-06:00

So we are all a part of a world that is not ours and not in our control. Tuesday was absolutely one of those days that I was reminded at every turn that the world and my life was out of my control. I was also reminded at every turn that my prayer life and my choices were powerful and strong in battling every day frustrations and 'lousiness' of the world.

After a day that finished up with me having to shove Chip Sharp through a window to break into my own house (don't ask! I TOLD YOU it was a loooong day!), I ended up in bed in silence with a lot running through my mind. All I knew to do, was to not complain, not gripe, not fuss, not ask why, but to speak with the Lord and ask "What do I do with this?" All there was to do was to take my frustrations and my day and lay them at the Lord's feet and say, "here is all the crap and trash from today, Lord, now you take it, do away with it, teach me from it, and let's rest and get ready for tomorrow!"

I was speaking with a really good friend Tuesday night, just having a 'moment' as I like to call them, and we discussed that Jesus is the light of the world, yes, but He only promises to be the Lamp unto my feet - NOT the spotlight into my future. We also discussed that we are to "Be anxious about nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." That is great to tell other people, but when you have had the day like I had Tuesdsay, to make all of my requests to the Lord WITH THANKSGIVING (did I mention that i had the worst day and could find nothing in the moment that i was thankful for at all) seems impossible! That night, though, when I was in bed, I had read a little of a book loaned to me by a friend, gave me a lot of food for thought:

A creator's creation reflects the creator. Our creator is Christ. We long to be satisfied and fulfilled and, as it was proven Tuesday, things and people will never satisfy or fulfill. The only thing that can satisfy or fulfill us is what we were created for, and we were created for a relationship with the Lord. Only the relationship with the Lord will satisfy our deepest longings, hurts, desires and everything else. People will let us down, events will not always turn out right. In those moments, we are to turn to the Lord and let Him satisfy us. Let the Lord comfort our hearts and minds when it is all going awry. And as we will be there for every single thing that our children needs or even sometimes wants, so our creator, the Lord, will be there for every single thing we need!

That is the heart of a creator, to protect, satisfy, and comfort His creation. Isn't that the heart of us toward our children? If we are that way with our children, how much more does the Lord feel that toward us!

<><
Rebecca

Faith is sometimes making a choice "on your own"

2012-01-17T12:43:00.008-06:00

There comes a time in our lives where we realize we are at that fork in the road... that fork that we have always heard about. Sometimes we stop, look around, and with care and concern, we begin the evaluation process of deciding which path, the right or left, is the wise path to take. Other times we feel a little 'gutsy' with our decisions, flip a coin (figuratively or literally) and we make the choice of which path to take, and boldly go about our way down whichever path won the coin toss.

Now there are times in which one of these ways always works, but what about 'that time' that comes up in your life where you know you are at a fork in the road and you don't have the nerve to enact the coin toss method, and yet the evaluation method seemingly gets you nowhere. What then? This tends to be the moments in time where we seek wise counsel and are reminded of scriptures like Psalm 27:14 - "Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." and Isaiah 40:31 - "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

........ but what then? The question that has arisen lately in our life is "What now?" How long do we wait; and what exactly do we wait for? This is, I guess, where the true fork in the road makes itself very apparent. After it seems in my mind as though I have "waited long enough" and I still don't know which path to take, then what?

This is where I truly find what drives my faith. Is my faith based on what I can see and the results that occur or what I know to be true? Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as "the confidence in what we hoped for and the assurance about what we do not see." When the fork in the road is as big as it seems, what in the world does that mean and what does it have to do with making this HUGE decision in my life?!?! This means that in this fork in the road, at this point in my life where I am asking "what now, Lord?", I am to be confident that after prayer and supplication, and all my efforts to truly 'hear' God's plan, sometimes I am to choose one of these paths "on my own." In that choice, though, I am to have FAITH- I am to be confident in what I wish and desire to be around the bend in the path I choose, and I am to be assured that it is the will of God and that He will be glorified in the results of what is beyond the bend in the road that I cannot see.

Sometimes we are to make our own choice because the Lord has set it up that way. We make choices every day that the Lord has made available to us to make "on our own": to speed or not, to exercise, what to eat, to spend time with our family, to worship Him, etc. All of these every day choices, we take for granted and we forget their magnitude and their ordination to make these choices is from the Lord. It is in the moments where we are fearful of making a so-called "wrong choice" that we want God to "make the choice for us" or to "write it in the clouds" but this is not always His nature. He is a God of choices and a God of grace!

So, Lord, give me the FAITH (confidence and assurance) in my choice of path. Give me wisdom to chose the 'right' one. And just beyond the bend in the road that I cannot see where I stand today, let me not forget to give you the glory in what may appear!

<><
Rebecca

hmm...

2012-01-11T14:30:00.009-06:00

Not sure what to blog about this week but i do know that the world has kicked back into full gear now that Tony is back in school, the holidays are over, and everything else. We are super busy at work right now, which is a great thing, and then there are the other 'normal' daily tasks such as being a mom, wife, volunteer, etc that keeps me busy, too! :-) All of that to say that we're busy, blah blah blah, life is grand and moving right along, blah blah blah, and I'm just going to post pictures from New Years, random pics i found the other day, etc this week. Enjoy the pictures!!!!! I hope you get as much of a laugh out of some of them as i do! :-) <>< Rebecca

Chip and daddy 'hanging' out at Landmark Park

Just hanging out on the front porch of the General Store at Landmark Park

Hoppie, Chip, and Laynie setting EVERY Christmas puppy off in Belk
of Jackson, MS.... they were all singing and we were all laughing!!!
The other customers thought it was cute, but I don't think the employees
thought the same LOLOLOL

Popcorn and a train movie with daddy.... heaven! :-)

Give a boy a 'shubbel' and a field of dirt, and he is entertained for hours!

Matthew 6:34

2012-01-04T08:55:00.002-06:00

So I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the whole "New Year" thing. With resolutions and all, what makes a new year new? Is it that the number on the date we write down changes? Is it that we have an opportunity to do something new and different? Is it that we have a fresh start?

I think all of those things are a way of seeing the New Year. We see the new year as a new start, we see the new year as a new opportunity. But why is it that we lose the vision to see each day as a new start and a new opportunity? I have really been challenged in hearing about all the new year's resolutions out there to not choose the new year to start anew or fresh but to recognize and choose to live each day as a fresh start. The Lord gives us each day to wake up, realize that we have breath and an opportunity for a new day! I was having a conversation this weekend with my sister-in-law (the 'in-law' thing is weird to type, she is truly my sister) and we were discussing the timing of the Lord in his province to take people or leave them on Earth. We both agreed that if you are still here on this earth, then your greatest purpose in life has not been fulfilled or accomplished. What a thought, right?!?! What a reason to start anew each morning! The greatest purpose you have on this earth is not finished yet if you are still breathing. We are put here to glorify the Lord in all we do and spread his love.

People find themselves searching for a purpose and reason for living. It is such a common theme for people's lives that there are millions of books written on this topic! All we have to do is know that the Lord has us here for a reason, we are to live by His standards , strive to do His will, and worship Him as Lord and, through us, He will accomplish His purpose for our life here on Earth.

So change the world by changing your thoughts about life. Live each day as a new day, a new opportunity, and new chance to not do something for you by a "new year's resolution", but to do something for the Lord and to accomplish your greatest purpose for living. And that greatest purpose for living hasn't happened yet if you are still here! hmmm..... I guess we should live for today because we are still living!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2011-12-28T11:26:00.004-06:00

So from our family to yours, we hope that you had a beyond blessed Christmas! We let Chip decorate the Christmas tree this year ...
which meant every ornament except about 7 that I put up were on the bottom 2 feet of the tree.
It was the prettiest Christmas tree EVER! He had a blast doing it and was so proud of it. We had to have a looooong discussion about not taking the ornaments on and off but it worked out.
He did great!!!
We made the whole season with no ornaments broken and no gifts unwrapped prematurely. The tree began to fill up with gifts as the days went by and he loved just sitting there looking at them.
Tony and Chip made a quick trip to meet Gaga in Crestview to swap the last gifts as well as to grab a quick lunch and that was fun for the boys! We spent Christmas Eve in Georgia with Gaggy, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Dan, Aunt MA, Uncle Danny, Aunt Ann, Shawn, Trey, Day, Faith and Hope. OH YEAH, and us, Hoppie and Papa. Chip had an absolute blast while there. The best part was that he got to dig in the dirt and jump in the hole he dug, kick it, throw it, and do everything with it that a boy is supposed to do. We opened presents, ate a delicious lunch and then came on home to get ready for Christmas day. Christmas day came and all Chip wanted was to be able to play with the 'map' that Gaggy bought him for Christmas. So we decided that we would chose to drink coffee and spend time in the floor with Chip playing with his trains and his map.
That went on until Hoppie and Papa came over and then the fun began. We opened presents, ate lunch, got to "go to church" with Howard and Dana over LiveStream and played with Thomas the train until all our hearts were content.
Chip refused a nap but did sit still for about 40 minutes to watch a new "Beggie Tales" (translation - VeggieTales) and when the credits began to roll, so did he! :) at 7:30, though, the wheels began to fall off when i made him sit still to hopefully watch Dr. Seuss's Grinch, then went to bed to read the Bible and i was going to let him snuggle in the bed with us for a little bit when he popped up and said "I go get my bed, mama!" well, that did it for us! It was bedtime for us all and the day ended around 8:30 - WHEW!!!!!

things were really crazy so i'm posting the few pictures before and after that we got. Enjoy what few there are. Hope that you all had a great Christmas! We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and left it at that - besides, that IS what Christmas is - the birth of Christ! :-)

Carol-Van

2011-12-22T16:40:00.002-06:00

So today we went with 10 other people, that's right, there were 13 total, caroling. It was a beautiful time spent with friends and spreading a Christmas cheer that can only be seen through the eyes of those who we were singing to! It was an experience that goes beyond any description I can give. I wished we had either taken a picture or gotten someone to take pictures of us all in synch pulling in and out of all the houses, driveways, neighborhoods, etc. we looked like a mob! It was awesome!

Christmas is just around the corner and the celebration of the birth of our Savior is beginning. BUT, Christmas doesn't end with the birth of Jesus, but it ends on Calvary at the death of the King of Kings. Remember in your travels, gifts, eating, time with family and friends and everywhere else you go and in everything else you do this season that God loves you so much! Being the mother of a boy and only imagining how Mary felt when she gave birth to her son knowing that she would only lose him is humbling beyond anything else. Mary did you know........ Merry Christmas! <+>< the Sharps

oh the reminders...

2011-12-06T16:16:00.004-06:00

So today has been a day of reminders. Reminders that I am not in control, reminders that the Lord has us in situations and circumstances for a reason, reminders that the love of God surpasses the world, and reminders that we are to love God unconditionally and that we are to uphold Him as king of our lives. I am in a place in my life that I find myself looking to God daily for strength and purpose. I find myself asking "what about NOW Lord" about the same questions that i have been asking for over a year now. I live moment to moment and day to day knowing that God's plans are beyond any plans that I could have dreamed up. His plans display the ultimate purpose in our lives. By living through His will and staying connected to the Holy Spirit's guidance on my life, the Lord's will will prevail! Glory to God in the highest for He is the name above all names! Merry Christmas and stay the course!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-01T08:10:00.006-06:00

So this Thanksgiving was spent in Mobile with the Sharp family. What a house full of fun that was! 8 grandchildren, 8 children and their spouses, and 2 parents = FULL HOUSE!!!
There were fights over toys,
compliments about the great food,
hunting stories, and lots of lounging and catching up.
Two of my sisters-in-law took pictures throughout the weekend
and i thought i would share them with you all. What a blast we had and what great memories we have to be able to remember Thanksgiving 2011 with!
We have so much to be thankful for and I was reminded each and every moment how grateful I am for what the Lord has blessed me with! I have a beautiful family,
a home that is filled with laughter and love,
and a God that created the universe that loves me unconditionally!

I don't find it ironic that Thanksgiving comes immediately before we celebrate His birth. We are to enter his gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise...... and Thanksgiving enters us right into His birth with literal Thanksgiving! What a beautiful reminder of what He did for us on Calvary. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

a new year is on the way

2011-11-21T10:51:00.002-06:00

The year 2012 is setting up to be an absolute about face from the life we have been living over the last few years. We are moving our office, restructuring our company, and a ton of other things. The year 2012 is beginning to appear to be a transitional year in our journey on this earth. God is moving mountains and we are thrilled to be able to be in a position to watch Him work His miracles. Continue to keep us in your prayers as we walk this road hand in hand with the Creator of the Universe!

We are going to be spending Thanksgiving this year in Mobile. Black Friday shopping without my mom isn't ever the same but we all have to grow up and live without our mommas! :-) Anyway, I will be making the famous Virginia Hornsby Lemon Meringue Pies and Tony will be hunting some, I'm sure. I'm going to go on and take my Christmas presents down because I've gotten that shopping out of the way and we'll be headed back late Sunday night. Hope that this season brings you all a little closer to the Lord and a little more grateful for your family and friends and what you've been given. We are blessed beyond measure and all have more than we deserve in Him! God bless and Happy Thanksgiving from the three of us!

the big 3-0!!!

2011-11-14T09:03:00.002-06:00

So Tony left his twenties yesterday and found his way to the 30s! We had a great weekend spent kid-free and really enjoyed just being together. We layed in the bed 'til past 6:45 (which NEVER happens) and stayed up late talking. We spend those cherished moments of silence, just enjoying the other person's presence while the world continued to turn around us. We made a day trip to Blue Lake on Saturday which was refreshing to the Spirit and we laughed... A LOT! What a great way to spend his big day by making it a big weekend.

Chip spent the night with Hoppie and Papa which was, of course, a big treat. After every meal he got ice cream and cookies, got to skip his nap to play outside in the dirt with the trucks and tractors and had an endless supply of love, hugs, kisses, and giggles to top it all off.

What a great weekend we all had! How refreshing to be able to say that we spent it with family and we wouldn't have had it any other way. We are blessed beyond measure and we know it. We daily find time to praise the Lord as a family, whether in the morning or at bedtime, for what and whom He has blessed us with in our lives and the daily struggles are but a fleeting moment in the big picture. Take a moment today to thank your Heavenly Father for what you have and where you are blessed, because, we all, truly are, blessed beyond measure!

oh that time of year

2011-11-07T08:32:00.002-06:00

So it is that time of year again and i have to say that the season is drawing near just like i feel like the Lord is drawing near in our lives. I feel so strongly that the Lord is doing a work in our lives along with drawing us near to him in this season. I don't have much to say today but thought i would leave you with a few pictures of our trip to the pumpkin patch. Happy Thanksgiving season and God bless you all :-)

its just around the corner

2011-10-24T08:11:00.002-05:00

well, the season is drawing near that christmas music will be in all the stores, children will be making wish lists, and adults will be deciding what their new years resolutions will be. It is also a time of reflection for us as we look back on the past years losses, accomplishments, milestones and everything else. What an incredible year so far for the Sharp family here in Dothan! We began the couponing 'thing' this year and saved thousands, Chip grew leaps in bounds both physically and mentally, we will celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary in a month and a half and our marriage in this 6th year has been the best yet! what about you?

this weekend, we went shopping and got tons accomplished. Chip was getting over bronchitis (we went on and got that out of the way early this year with the weather change, apparently :-P) and so no outside fun for us on this beautiful weekend, but we got lots done. We did some major grocery shopping where we were very successful and we also did some christmas shopping! We got some great deals and even had coupons for the toys for all the 'littles' in the family. we saved over 50% average on all of our weekend shopping and what a nice feeling! Chip is feeling better, finally, and he doesn't sound like he has smoked for 40+ years anymore and so we are on the mend and grateful for what we have! Hope that this finds you grateful and doing well! Loving you all and missing you all even more!

Rebecca<><

a few pics

2011-10-18T08:33:00.003-05:00

how 4 weeks flies!

2011-10-17T09:09:00.002-05:00

Wow i can't believe it has been about 4 weeks since i have written a blog! It goes to show you that when you are keeping the roads hot, the time just flies by as you are trying to survive the unending piles of laundry, packing and unpacking, etc. In the last four weeks we have had the Dystance4Dystonia 5k, gone to Birmingham for a birthday party, Mississippi for a birthday party, cleaned out our garage, did a huge workday at the church and got lots done, and on and on and on! We have had a great four weeks, though. Chaos and all, it has been awesome! Tony got As in his classes, we raised over $13,000 for Dystonia research, spent great time with both sides of the family and have had some amazing things happening at church! Will load pictures of it all soon and hope you all enjoy them!

ahh... fall

2011-09-19T17:17:00.002-05:00

Oh, fall, how I love thee!!!!! I am sitting outside, having gotten away from the office a little early today so that Tony could dodge out early to a meeting and am thrilled to be able to sit outside on my front porch while Chip Sharp is enjoying being a pure boy! He has gone from pulling leaves off the bushes to sliding down his slide, to digging dirt and now he is in the garage pulling out more toys..... here comes the tri-cycle! I love the cool weather and being able to let him be outside and 'just be'! What a blessing, thank you Lord, that he is able to be outside this fall. Last year we were under such attack with his allergies, letting him out to play was tough, but now, we are loving it! Things have not, in fact, slowed down here since September hit. We ended up having to have kitchen work done, chip got an ear infection, tony has had tons of school work, the Dystance4Dystonia 5k is this weekend, and then September will be over! Whew! What a start to the fall - but how beautiful to be a family that loves the Lord together, enjoys being together, and prays for each others' challenges, struggles and difficulties. We are looking forward to Laynie's big 3rd birthday in a few weeks and getting some vacation time over there with them! It seems like time has flown by so fast and that they have grown up so fast. What incredible milestones they hit in these early years and how incredible it is how fast they learn! anything, from songs to colors, to their alphabet and scripture, how they retain it at such an early age!

We have had some great times and are getting ready to go in and fix dinner, so for now, i am going to dodge. Be blessed and look around for a few minutes and realize how beautiful the world is, how fleeting the moments are, and how vivid the colors of the world are! Don't miss it! Take a day off early to sit on your front porch and be blessed, too! This has been good for my soul!

<><
Rebecca

September, how nice of you to be here!

2011-09-06T08:22:00.002-05:00

So gosh we are all, as a family, so grateful that September is here! Yes, we got tons of rain this weekend and it was grey skies for this holiday weekend but how sweet it is to be able to spend the entire weekend with just the 3 of us as a family! September is beginning to fill up already as we are planning our 2nd annual Dystance4Dystonia run in a few weeks and the numbers are shaping up quite nicely! We are almost at $7,000 raised if my 'ish-numbers' are correct and how excited we are to be able to say that! I am so blessed that people are stepping up and are joining the fight for a cure and awareness of Dystonia! The year 2012 will be a fun new year in our lives as i have a couple of 'missions' that i have my mind set on for Awareness and we will see how, if at all, all of those ideas pan out. We hope that you will decide to join us for this amazing run/walk, even if it is for just the raffles we have! There will be gift cards, awesome gifts, great prizes and tons of opportunities to learn. If you can't join us to run or walk, please make your way over to http://www.dmrfevents.org/event.php?455233 and make a difference and help find a cure! Also, encourage your friends and family to do the same! It is totally tax deductable and the best part is that all of the 'new money' we raise, will be matched penny for penny up until December 1 so your $25 will really be $50! How amazing that your monies are really doubled! God be with you and bless you this week!!!

<><
Rebecca

P.S. Congrats to Deanna and Scott who got engaged this weekend in New York! Love you both!

CHOOSE victory!

2011-09-01T06:41:00.003-05:00

So i've not gotten a clear message if i'm blessed because of all the poo-poo things that seem to be going on, if i will be blessed for surviving them, or none of the above, so i'm just going to choose to be blessed and share with you all about it! This August has been one of quite honestly, organized chaos in our lives. We have been out of town and apart as a family more than we have been together! I am so glad that on Monday, we had our first cooked meal that we sat down as a family and ate in the entire month of August! All of our experiences that we have had in August have been beyond amazing and excilting. we are overflowing with knowledge and love for others as we have had 'mountain top experiences' that have helped give us a vision of people and situations through God-lenses, and what an incredible way to view the world! Of course, though, with all good things, they must come to an end and with all God things, they must come with spiritual warfare, so i should have been a little more mentally prepared than i was for the drama to come! We got home and ended up filing an insurance claim for a 'bow in the floor' of our kitchen which turned out to be caused from our dishwasher. The claim is for approximately $3500 worth of repairs to be done to the kitchen - replacing the floor, laminate, removing the cabinets, resetting them, blah blah blah. The house will be a construction zone for a few days, for sure! Then yesterday morning as we were going out the door to go to work, the back driver's side tire was flat, and i mean FLAT! As i walked closer, there was a screw that was just as pretty as you can please in the tire! Well..... here, we go, get the spare, put it on and go to Scott Stevens Tires! They fixed it for us for FREE (praise the Lord) and we were still able to get to work by 9:00! Next, we came home last night from a meeting only to find our AC is broken. We thought it was just 'frozen up', as there was definitely ice on the outside of it, but i don't believe that ice has anything to do with the fan spinning! LOL..... so yet, again, Murphy's law won the battle, but our God will win the war, i promise! The spirit of our family is not broken! we slept with the windows open last night, which was actually refreshing, and our attitudes are that of laughter through this! What else can you do? well, actually, there is a lot of things we could have done - argued, cried, acted in anger, gotten discouraged, felt defeated, etc etc etc. But we choose the victory that we are promised in Jesus! Thank you Lord, for the situations in life that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are in control and that you have the final victory! We hope that YOU have a great day and that the little things in life, instead of frustrate you, remind you of the final victory that Jesus has! XOXO - Rebecca

Sweet Home Alabama

2011-08-22T12:49:00.002-05:00

SOOOOOO i have had such a wonderful couple of weeks but i am so glad to be back home! This past weekend mom and I made a quick, whirlwind trip to Chicago to the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation's Children and Family Symposium. What an experience that was to say the least! We were able to meet some amazing kids, brave parents, and beautiful people all around! There were people that have known they had dystonia for 50 years and there were people that were just weeks into a diagnosis. What a beautiful experience to watch as people connected through something so bizarre and so devastating but it creates such a beautiful bond among people! I am so blessed to have been able to go and hear the most recent on research developments, medical advances and all kinds of other things. Thanks to DMRF for the opportunity that i received and the blessing i got from it! WOW..... it will go with me forever!

California update

2011-08-18T11:42:00.002-05:00

what a beautiful and learning experience we had in California! We went out to Saddleback Church (Rick Warren and John Baker) to a Celebrate Recovery conference. Celebrate Recovery is a Christian based 12-step ministry that Tony and I participate in through Covenant UMC in Dothan. Tony leads worship and I help out in the kitchen and we got the opportunity to go to this conference and what a blessing! We came back with immense amounts of knowledge that we are going to be able to implement in our ministry to continue to grow the Kingdom of Heaven through this ministry and also lots of great ideas to be able to reach out to all that are hurting. Pictures are coming soon but i'm actually leaving AGAIN tomorrow to go up to Chicago for a Dystonia Medical Research Foundation function. August has proven to be a busy, travel-filled month but what an experience! hope this finds you all well!

oh, PS, for those who want to know - Chip stayed in Mobile with GaGa and PaPaw and loved every minute of it. he got to have soy-butter and jelly every day for lunch, went swimming, to the movies, and ruled the roost (i'm sure) while he was there. He was in Hog Heaven! :-)

Love to you all!!!!! xoxo ~Rebecca

quick

2011-08-10T06:50:00.002-05:00

so a quick note to let you all know that Tony and I are actually in California. I am going to post next week with pictures, etc. Will 'talk' soon :-)

pictures

2011-08-01T08:46:00.006-05:00

SO I said last week that this would probably be a picture update, which seems appropriate! Hope that you all enjoy them! I will be out of pocket for a possible couple of weeks due to travel so for now, enjoy the pictures :-) ~Rebecca

wow! 3 in a row

2011-07-26T14:44:00.002-05:00

well, so we have been doing great this past week. Last week we started our allergy shots and he did great with them.... as good as can be expected, at least. He got one in each arm and was very brave. today he went back and decided he was going to have a moment about it, but like tony said, "he will have to learn how to deal!" We all know that this is best for him and will not stop now!

Tony finished up his classes this summer and finished with As in both Accounting I and II and has a few weeks off before fall classes start. He will be taking intermediate Accounting, Finance and Management ( i think). He is doing so great and i am super duper uper schmooper proud of him for it! Work is going ok. So far, monday proved to be a tough day, just one of 'those' days, but i'm "More than a conqueror in Christ!"

some fun things that chip does and says now - for those interested in a great laugh:
1. "can i eat the lick?" - translation: "Can i lick the spoon?"
2. *knocking on the door in the morning* "it's me, Chip!!!" - translation: "GET UP!!!!!"
3. he loves to watch "Beggie Tales" (aka Veggie Tales)
4. he got a guitar for his birthday and he and daddy like to sing and make up silly songs, the latest of which "in the barn" is sung OVER AND OVER to the tune of Old McDonald LOL
5. Thomas the Train is still at the top of our list of favorite things in life
6. we put a sheet over our train table at night to tell them good night and in the morning, we take the sheet off and with EXCSTATIC enthusiasm, we say " *GASP* Good Morning, Everyone!!!!!!" right after i open the door as he is telling me that "it's me, chip"
7. Soy Butter/Jelly "toast" aka sandwich, is our FAVORITE thing to eat
8. we have almost conquered potty training during the day (nap time and bed time, not included)
9. he officially has the 'coolest' Thomas the Train, big boy room, with Thomas the Train sheets on our bed and great red and blue curtains in our room
10. he is "free years old!" to those that ask - translation: "i am three years old"

i think that is it for fun stuff and not much else to report on. next week is likely going to be picture updates! Hope all is well with you and will post again next week!

yay! so far so good

2011-07-18T08:10:00.002-05:00

ok, so far this makes 2 weeks in a row that i've posted! YAY ME :-) lol.... ok, now to the important things! our life:

So last week was filled with allergy testing for Chip. We had 2 days worth of testing because of his size. So Tuesday proved to be a particularly tough day as he was tested for 32 things. The tests proved to be really informative, actually, as he is essentially allergic to every tree known to man, dogs, and the 'inside' mold. At this point, with the extreme allergy to the trees and dogs, we chose to go ahead and proceed with the other 20 tests that his back wasn't large enough to test for. We went back on Thursday to do these and it stayed right on track with what we expected which was more trees. Even the trees that aren't here in Alabama, like Maple, were off the charts. Due to the results, we chose, excitedly and gratefully, to begin a 5 1/2 year regimen of allergy shots. We start those, actually, this week, and the schedule will be every week for 36 weeks, then every other week for the next 5 years. We are hopeful and believe that the Lord will bless and cut this cute toddler some slack from the allergies that have proven to be so tough to deal with for 3 years. Will let you know how this goes throughout....

this is Tony's last week of class for the summer. after Wednesday, he will have had taken Accounting 1 & 2 in 8 weeks (4 wks for Acct1 and 4 weeks for Acct2)! We are excited that he has done so well and he loves it so far. he has had a great professor that he has really been able to learn a lot from and pending his final on Wednesday, will have made and A in both classes! YAY TONY!!!!!

Work is great. Had a closing last week, and have about 3 in underwriting right now that are looking to close in the next 3-4 weeks. The market seems to be looking up and getting busier and busier.

I guess this is it for my quick update this week. i hope that this finds you all doing great and loving life!

<><
Rebecca

mid-year's resolution

2011-07-11T15:12:00.002-05:00

OK, so i have been personally convicted at how terrible i have become at this. i have to understand and appreciate that not everyone has Facebook and that this is a great way to journal for chip to have when he gets older. so i have auto scheduled @ 8:30 every morning that i am to journal for 10 minutes :-) we'll try and see how the reminder works with this task!

I'll go from the 'older news' to the newer news. We have had a medical scare recently with him that lasted a whopping 3 hours but i was convinced that it was an entire week. When you are potentially looking at emergency surgery for your baby, time stands still and the fear is unexplainable! LOOONG story short, and to spare you the gory details, he was diagnosed with torsed testicular appendix, which is a mile-long diagnosis for the fact that the appendage that would have become the fallopian tube had he been female (that serves no purpose) became twisted, bruised, swollen, etc. Created an immense amount of pain for him and a scare for us all. Praise the LORD, the whole process from beginning of walking into the pediatrician's office to walking out of a urologists office with a diagnosis was a total of 3 hours. i was super grateful at the response of everyone involved as it could have been much worse!

we have recently begun potty training and are actually having great amounts of success with it! We still don't make it through every night with a dry diaper but 50% of naps and night times end in a successfully dry diaper!

His allergies are still at a standstill, actually. we go tomorrow to be tested for more environmental allergens and depending on results will begin allergy shots soon. We continually pray for healing from this but know and understand that the Lord has blessed us in so many ways regarding this situation! He sure is a healthy little boy with lots of energy and a beautiful smile and we are well beyond blessed.

He just turned THREE YEARS OLD........ can you believe it!?!? I can't believe that three years ago we were talking about how he had entered our lives and captured our hearts! We had a fun party on Saturday the 2nd that was full of nothing other than Thomas the Train! That has been our obsession for about a year now! Dana decorated a perfectly fitting Cake with Thomas the Train coming out of a tunnel and it was delicious! There was a slip-n-slide, pool, sprinkler and water guns and beautiful weather! Fun was had by all and it was a great day!

We have just recently changed churches to where the Lord was calling us. He has been working on our hearts to step out and change lives for about 5 months and when we finally said 'yes, Lord' the call came the next morning by Heather Peacock coming into our office asking if we would join her ministry at Midland City UMC. She had a heart for the people there and believed that the Lord had laid us on her heart to ask to join her. how could we say no!?!? Anyway, last night we kicked off a 5-week long event of Block Parties, inviting all of Midland City to come and hang out with us each Sunday for 5 weeks. We were well beyond blessed and pleased at the response we had a total of about 50-60 people there with 12-15 of those being from the city. Praise the Lord and we look forward to the other 4 weeks!!!

i think this is it for now and I'll be back Monday! :-)

wow i'm pitiful

2011-01-27T10:16:00.002-06:00

i can't believe it has been so long since i have blogged. just got busy i guess. we are doing great. we have outgrown the allergy to corn, rice and soy! this has opened up a whole new world for us with food. We also made it through christmas very well! Chip got an entire train table with all of the Thomas the train tracks and tons of trains to go along with it. We are doing great, pictures to come soon! miss you all and wish you all the best!

chip's 2nd Birthday pictures

2010-08-07T22:49:00.014-05:00

Rodan + Fields

2010-06-22T14:50:00.003-05:00

So you guys all know that i am not the 'mary kay'-type girl but i have to share with you a product that i have found that i am in love with! Not only has it taken the puffiness away from my eyes and from under my eyes from stress and lack of sleep, but it has DRASTICALLY helped Chip's eczema! Check out these pictures! Do you remember back in 2009 when he looked like those bottom 3 pictures!?!? And recently, we fight the eczema on his knees, ankles and wrists all the time! Well check this out! It is the Rodan + Fields SOOTHE regimen that i am able to put on him, bathe him in and it did the difference in the top 2 pictures overnight!

there is also this excellent REVERSE regimen that takes away dark sun spots and the dark spots some people get from pregnancy. I have a girlfriend who had them and they are TOTALLY gone!!! There is then an ANTI-AGE regimen that they have that i use at night and it is clinically proven to reduce fine lines and wrinkles! This isn't just some fluff! Check out Chips pictures and the difference and then get with me!!! I really want you to try it... OH and i forgot to mention the best part: 60 day money back guarantee!!!!! just get with me and i will let you try it!

the pictures i've promised :)

2010-05-08T20:17:00.005-05:00

Eating my Frozen Yogurt!!!

trying new things

2010-05-08T16:18:00.001-05:00

so lately, i have been trying to step out and experiment with some recipes for 'normal' toddler foods that can be Chip-Friendly if they're done right and so far, so good! I have found and altered an excellent cake recipe (2nd birthday, here we come!!!), some chocolate chip cookies that are my new favorite over anything i have EVER had, and today's experiment: Frozen yogurt - Chip Style! we'll see! i'll let you know as soon as i know! LOL :-) hope all is well!

We are BIGGER!!!

2010-05-07T07:19:00.002-05:00

So we made a huge accomplishment yesterday! An accomplishment so big, that mommy, here, had a mini crying moment! After starting in November, weighing 16 pounds at 16 months, wearing 3-6 month clothes and having -0- words, yesterday, May 6, 2010, Chip Sharp graduated from Speech Therapy!!!!! I am so proud of him and so grateful to our speech therapist "Miss" Kelly for being what she was to us in these 6 months! Aren't you proud!!!!! I know I am!

On another note, last week, chip got to spend a few days with his GaGa while Tony and i were in Atlanta at a conference with our church. it was a great time for us all while we all found ourselves with some personal time to just be. OOH, and i did it.... if you know me well enough every 18 months or so i have to chop all my hair off and start something new and i've done it. I have gone for a short 'pixie' look. If you've seen the movie Twilight, it is similar to the haircut that 'Alice' has in the movie.

other than that, the world is still turning, Chip Sharp is still growing, and we are all doing fine. Hope that you are doing well and i'll talk again soon. hopefully with pictures next time! I've got to wake up Chip, now, though, and start getting ready for the day!

whew... we've finally recovered

2010-04-18T15:33:00.002-05:00

Well, we found ourselves all sick AGAIN last week. I ended up with a terrible eye infection and Chip got 2 more ear infections. UGH! At last, though, we are over the sick hurdle! Fun news: Tony got offered a job at the church leading worship for the Children's service which will allow him to be able to quit the gym which means TONS more family time! We are all really excited about that and can't wait! Not much else has gone on. Fun pics to come soon of Chip! Hope all is well with all of you!

still sick... ugh

2010-03-28T14:54:00.001-05:00

So now instead of the stomach bug, we've all got this miserable head/chest cold. Chip has ended up with an ear infection and Tony and I both have lost our voices. I guess this is what happens when you have kids: sickness gets passed all around. We are all on the tail end of this junk so i'm hoping for a happy post soon! Hope that you all have had a great palm Sunday!

sickness is everywhere!!!

2010-03-21T17:33:00.002-05:00

So we have all passed around a stomach bug here in the house and now chip has a head and chest cold. This has been such a rough 2 weeks! When Tony and I ended up with the stomach virus, we had it on two Tuesdays ago within 3 hours of each other (9:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.)!!! This left nobody to take care of Chip. That meant only one thing... call in the reinforcements! At 2:00 a.m. a phone call was made to Hoppie and Papa for back up! They came with gatorade for mommy and daddy and armed with masks and germ-x, they took chip out of his bed @ 2:00 a.m. to take him to their house and there he stayed until Saturday. MIND YOU i was supposed to be in a class from Wednesday til Friday and ended up, obviously, missing that! Well, Chip got home, all was grand, we all went back to work on Monday, life was great, Tuesday rolled around, the world was rolling right along and i was set to start class on Wednesday. Thuesday evening, 6:00 p.m., we are pulling out of the office, and the projectile vomiting ensued from Chip.... AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Well, what do you do, but put your big girl panties on and make it happen. I cleaned him up and dried off his carseat enough so that i could at least get him home and then realized, who is going to handle this tomorrow!?!? - i've got class!!! Well, daddy was left in charge and they did great! I got through my class, chip got better but then he got a head and chest cold and a TERRIBLE attitude. so now, i'm dealing with a toddler that is pushing terrible 2's anyway, on top of one who hasn't felt good for about a week, has a terrible cough and can't breathe out of his nose.

OH YEAH and just to top it all off, i won the award this morning for the worst mom in the world! Chip, apparently, gagged himself on phlem when he was coughing and vomited in his sleep and i never knew it until this morning when we all woke up....

so all of that to say, "whew! I'm tired and ready for us to all feel better!"

Hope that this finds all of YOU feeling fine and doing well. Hope that the next post will be fun and exciting with happy news and fun stories!

80s party pictures

2010-03-08T15:30:00.005-06:00

So this weekend Tony and I went to our Sister-In-Law's 40th birthday party. It was a 1980's themed party and we dressed to the 'nines'. We left Chip with Hoppie and Papa and of course, he came home SPOILED ROTTEN but he was great and had a good time too. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

been a long time

2010-03-06T06:32:00.002-06:00

So it has been a long time since i've posted. sorry! Things lately have been really busy and full of fun. tonight, chip is having his firs sleepover at Hoppie and Papa's house! Tony and I are goign to Mobile for a party tonight and are going to let him stay with mom and dad. We played in the snow a few weeks ago and those pics are to come. But other than that, things are going great! He weighs 23 pounds now which is 7, yes SEVEN, pounds more than he weighed at thanksgiving! All is fine other than all the great news and just really busy. Hope this finds you well and we love and miss you all!

WHO DAT!?!?!?!?!?

2010-02-08T07:21:00.003-06:00

So we watched the Super Bowl last night with mom and dad over and chip partook of the food with us! He ate ribs like they were gonig out of style and it was sooooooooooooooooooooo funny!!! Watching him gnaw on a rib was great and even later he and I were playing and as he smiled i saw that he had some stuck in his teeth! We had to go fishing that out! LOL. It was tons of fun and by the way, GOOOOOOOOOO SAINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

updated pictures

2010-02-07T07:05:00.004-06:00

So i haven't posted pictures in a while and decided that while Chip is eating breakfast that i'd post some of my favorites from lately.

Playing with Mommy's snuggie:

Check out the belly button, i drew a picture on it!!! lol:
Nothing better than playing in a big ol' box!:

"HI DAD!!!!"

YUMMY!!! Jelly on a biscuit (and me, and my jammies, and my hair....)

WOW My first Oreo (Chip friendly, of course!!!)

You know, if you lick the apple butter first, then eat the toast, it's better that way:

wow at thigns to catch up on

2010-02-01T17:36:00.002-06:00

Oh my goodness, when life seems slow, and you say "lord, i sure wish that my life had some activity" HOLD ON TO YOUR PANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So where to begin:
i guess i could begin with the infamous 'cheerio story' that has been the center of frustration for the mom of this house! LOOOONG story short, Chip was hacked at me during a prayer service at church (the only reason i had him in there with me was because i was wanting us to pray over him for his allergies) because he had outdone beyond what i expected of him and he was getting restless. i chose (UN-wisely) to let him hold his cup of 'chip friendly cheerios' and then he decided he wanted to walk up and down the pew with the cup. well of course, he could fall so i leaned over and whispered 'no' to him and he went: ughhhhhhhhhhhhh as loud as he could and then, yes, are you prepared!?!?, THREW the cup cheerios!!!!! Oh yeah, that's right, chunked them as hard as he could. i decided right then and there he was a LUCKY LITTLE GUY that we were in a prayer service, otherwise someone would be praying to raise him from the dead! I WAS READY TO KILL HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!! so as i drag him out of the sanctuary, now our ughhhhhhh had turned into a full blown fit, he went 'boneless' as we call it and so i was, literally, carrying him upside down by his ankles out of the sanctuary, scattering cheerios everywehre as they are falling out of his sweatshirt. well after the service was over and i had, in fact, prayed for him and us as a family (that is some GOD that i could pray at that moment! LOL) i asked one of the staff members for a broom to sweep up all the cheerios. oh yeah, let me just tell you on a hard, stone colored floor, a) cheerios blend in and b) they scatter EVERYWHERE!!! they were at the front of the sanctuary and we were sitting on the back pew!!! needless to say, everyone BUT myself found it amusing and made tons of jokes about college pitching scholarships and everything but i was soooooooooooooooo mad and embarassed!!!
lesson learned: CHIP SHARP CANNOT SIT THROUGH A CHURCH SERVICE FOR EVEN 5 SECONDS ANYMORE WITH MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so after that, things around here have been comparitively quiet. We did try to introduce rice to no avail. it left us very broken out and sick for a few days and we have found tons of fun new foods for him to eat. the latest favorite: chip friendly oreos!!!

i hope that this has caught you up to now and given you a laugh. hopefully no more stories of that nature for a while or someone will be calling DHR on me for sure for "beatin' my youngin'" as my mother would say! :-) love to you all

here's a pic of our shiner... :-/

2010-01-11T16:49:00.000-06:00

our first shiner

2010-01-10T21:01:00.002-06:00

ooooh, the day has finally arrived! We were @ mom and dad's today after church, eatin chili and enjoyin some Wii when, the inevitable occurred. Chip was playing with dad, running and 'attacking' him, when he ran into him when dad wasn't expecting it, hit him hard, bumped belly to belly and then, we all looked over to see his face bouncing off the hearth of their fireplace. Yes, i am the mother that is supposed to put the quilt over the bricks, but yes, i am also the mom that said 'ahh, don't worry about it, he's been GREAT about it so far!"..... we see where that got me. So we have ended up with our first shiner and it's a good one. The perfectly straight purple line that is gracefully placed perfectly along his cheek bone screams "brick"! Well, we picked him up, kissed on him, put ice on it as long as he would stand for it, and then of course, he went right back to playing and rough housing while mom (Hoppie) found herself devastated at the thought that it was her house and it was on her time with him. it didn't matter that he is a toddler, and it was bound to happen, but i bet i could guarantee you that no matter my opinion from now on, there will be quilts or the equivalent on the hearth from now on. Picture hopefully to come tomorrow of it, but just know that we are so thankful that all it is is a little purple line with a tee-tiny break in the skin vs. a busted face with stitches. Our fate could have been much worse! :-) oh the joys of parenting a toddler!!! :-)

2010-01-04T15:30:00.000-06:00

2009-12-22T16:14:00.001-06:00

all is well here in Dothan. Just anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa! Boy are we excited! We are staying home to see what all Santa brings and then spending the rest of the day @ Hoppie and Papa's house. New Years eve we are all (Hoppie, Papa, Tony, Becca, and Chip) going over to Jackson, MS to see Howard, Dana, and Laynie to spend a late Christmas with them. We are thrilled and will post some BEAUTIFUL family pics that we've recently had made soon! 'til then..........

2009-12-09T09:22:00.002-06:00

wow! I can't believe Christmas is almost here! I hope that this find you having settled in after Thanksgiving and doing all you can to stay sane through CHristmas. Let us not forget one thing. The reason for this season is not found in gifts, food, music, or anything else we associate with it! The reason for the season is the birth of Jesus Christ who came to this earth to die for our sins so that we may be seen as clean before the Lord! We so often get hung up in finding the 'perfect' gift when sometimes the perfect gift is a little extra time spent with that person or even a sweet word of encouragement when things are tough. I hope that you all remember that as i am trying to remind myself of that daily!

Chip and us are doing really well! We ran into some Dextrose the other day and have blown up but we're starting to deflate (FINALLY). We re-introduced Soy and i THINK/HOPE that it is going to be soemthing we can, in fact, have. We will have to wait and see but so far, so good with it. Other than that we are just hunkering down through this crazy weather and trying to really lean on the lord during tough times. The mortgage industry is a tough place to be right now...... but we're leaning on God through it!

Miss you all and wising you all the happiest holiday season! xoxo

my new 'adventure'

2009-12-06T20:50:00.003-06:00

So ive decided to actually make a blog for all of my announcements and cards that i've got and then to expand on it a little at a time and do this for a 'second job' type thing. The web address for my other blog is www.sweetimagery.blogspot.com. check it out and let me know if i can do anything for any of you! Birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, holiday cards, baby announcements, etc. I'd love to do it and i'm really excited about what this could be. It is one of my favorite things in the world to do so i hope you enjoy as much as I enjoy doing it! :-)

Christmas Cards

2009-12-02T10:00:00.017-06:00

So ive decided to be creative and frugal this year and design and make Christmas cards for friends after a swift push from Tony and a few friends. If you would like to 'order' some, just let me know! of course, they are personalized and you can change the colors, sayings, scriptures, etc. to what you want. I'm asking $1 a card and if you order more than #20, i'm only going to charge 75 cents. no tax and they come with envelopes. let me know what all of you think! I will edit them and email them to you with your changes so you can see them before you order. No suprises!

*to see them larger, double click and they will open in a new window*

Birmingham update

2009-11-13T15:33:00.002-06:00

So on Wednesday we had an appointment at Childrens Hospital in Birmingham @ the UAB clinic and saw a pediatric Immunologist/allergist. We got results that we weren't thrilled with but the results that we somewhat expected. There was a little difference in what we were told there vs. what we had anticipated but we now find ourselves with a game plan and lots of steps in the right direction for all of this and for all of us.

The results were: egg - DEFINITE 'true' allery; milk - DEFINITE 'true' allergy; peanuts - UNCERTAIN 'true' allergy; with everything else being considered 'irritants' such as corn, soy, rice, etc.

We have been given daily allergy medicine that is dye free and 'corn' free as well as have been told how and when to reintroduce things. eggs, milk, and peanuts will not be attempted for 2 years and BEFORE they are attempted, they will test in the office and if the tests come back negative, they will introduce IN OFFICE, not at home! (whew!!!) Corn, soy, etc. that are considered 'irritants' are to be attempted every 6 months and trying those at home are ok because of the non-histamine type reaction we get from those is not a life-threatening thing. We were all exhausted from the trip and are just glad to have some answers as well as a game plan. i hope that i explained it all well enough and will post pictures soon! i've got some really cute ones coming up!!!

playing at Hoppie and Papa's

2009-11-02T17:59:00.007-06:00

So yesterday we got to spend a BEAUTIFUL day outside at Hoppie and Papas house. We were blessed with great weather and we received TONS of things to laugh at that Chip discovered or did.

just to name a few:
1. heaved the wagon with ALL OF HIS MIGHT through the whole front yard!
2. DISPISED when he fell down in the grass. He would absolutely not put his hands down to stand up. If he was within arms distance of the concrete, that was fine, but any further away, not happening. He pure fitted for 10 minutes while i stood there and watched him! THEN, i made him touch the grass every time he fell to try and de-sensitize him to it but to no avail (YET!!!)
3. we played in the gravel at the end of the driveway and thought it was just the coolest thing! Dirt and rocks = a boys best friends!!!
4. we rode the rocking chair like a real life cowboy! Yee Haw!!!

mario, Luigi, and princess

2009-11-01T08:48:00.001-06:00

Halloween 2009:

Pumpkin patch and Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T08:05:00.006-06:00

Oh yeah! i'm proud! i took these pictures ALL BY MYSELF!!!
pumpkin patch at 1st United Methodist here in dothan:

Check out my new 'recliner'! lol

2009-11-01T07:46:00.003-06:00

Watch me get in this thing! Just like a big boy!!!

newest allergy update

2009-10-31T11:15:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday, as i said, we went BACK to the pediatricians office to touch base and see what the next step was for us in this whole process of finding out answers. We were referred to a pediatric allergist/immunologist in Birmingham and will be going on Wed, Nov 11 at 2:30 p.m. We are really thrilled with the idea of getting an answer and finding out hoepfully a certain diagnosis. Until then, we will be dressing up this evening in our halloween outfits, and having a good, safe time! Will post again soon with pics from tonight!

allergy update

2009-10-28T11:48:00.002-05:00

So i have had lots of people wanting to know how the allergy follow-up went and i really have been avoiding it but i need to post because you all do care and love Chip as we do and want to know.

Monday, we went back to the allergist to get the results of our allergy testing by blood that we had drawn 3 weeks ago and the results shocked everyone including the doctor and nurse practicioner. We were fully planning on having results coming back that he would be allergic to quite a few items of food and trickling down into reactions to some environmental items. However, the test results actually came back startlingly different. the ONLY thing it showed him allergic to (in the IgE test which is a histamine reaction test) was egg. Mind you the egg is a true deadly allergy. his control 'normal' reaction number was 71 and his reaction to the egg was 6,993 so this is CERTAINLY something to be cautiously andd respectfully fearful of in his system.

the confusing thing and the thing that the doctor and np could not explain was that his histamine reaction to the other things that we KNOW FOR SURE create a terrible skin reaction came back normal. this being the case, we have an appointment at 1:15 today with our pediatrician to re-evaluate our position on all of this and begin running more tests to determine what, in fact, is creating this reaction to certain things.

ALSO, all of this to say, we are at 16 monts and have 0 words. we will be pursuing a speech therapist for some early intervention therapy to try and get his speech kick started. is it related to this other stuff we've got going on? possibly, but we hope for answers this afternoon or at least a step in a right direction.

FINALLY Laynies 1st Bday pics

2009-10-28T11:34:00.004-05:00

STILL NO PICS

2009-10-20T22:04:00.002-05:00

OK, so still no pictures... it is late but I'm giving a quick update about us here in Dothan since I've not posted my pics. We went BACK to the doctor again today to be told that the croup was seeming to get better but it appeared to be heading toward bronchitis. The doctor said that he 'heard some movement in his chest but nothing seemed to be obstructing his breathing.' We are now coughing so hard that we are on the verge of vomiting and I'm just praying that the end of the week results will come BEFORE the end of the week. We are now on a cough medicine, antibiotic, steroid and pedialite *thanks to all of the meds giving us a TERRIBLE tummy*. The pedialite is really bothering our allergies so we're battling that, all, too. Boy the end of this chapter in our lives can't end fast enough!!!

We do go back to the doctor in enterprise on Monday and get our allergy test results. so keep us in your prayers about that!

Hopefully healing and pictures here in Dothan will come sooner than later. For now, good night and sleep well!

croup has hit dothan

2009-10-19T12:14:00.002-05:00

so pictures havent been posted yet based on the fact that we are SUPER sick here in Dothan. We have got the Croup and are barking up a storm. Hopefully will get pics uploaded during a nap sometime this afternoon.

Laynie's 1st Birthday

2009-10-15T13:26:00.002-05:00

So this past weekend was so much fun! We went to Brandon, MS to celebrate Bug's FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh my goodness i cannot believe both she and chip are 1! Chip and i came back with pretty bad colds *you know..... going from 84 degrees to 58 degrees and then back to 84 degrees in 4 days will KILL YOU!!!!!!!* but other than that we are great! We had the best time and got some good time in with Howard and Dana. Chip and Laynie really got to have fun together and even though we had a few meltdowns over cups and toys, we all survived! I will post pictures in a few days when i get them all uploaded. Until then i can't wait to show you pictures of what we are going to do for Chip for Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is the cutest idea EVER

doctor's visit today

2009-10-07T15:48:00.002-05:00

Ok, so today was one of the LONGEST days i've had in a while when it comes to Chip! We had an 11:30 apt with an allergist in Enterprise and i got there at 11:00 to fill out paperwork. Well, we waited and waited, and Chip was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! When we finally got the doctor in the office (after speaking with nurses and a Nurse Practicioner) i was so pleased with his plan of action! He is re-testing him for food allergies and also testing for enviornmental and insect allergies. The NEGATIVE part is........... this was a blood test. DOH!!!

Well, after we got some allergy medicine from the doctor (yes, MEDICINE!!! what a NOVEL idea!) we went across the street to the hospital lab where the worst thing i have had to endure as a mommy was about to take place. Not only did they have to get some blood, but they had to draw a LOT of blood and bless his heart, his veins rolled, he kept moving and it took about 2 1/2 minutes for them to get a vein! I told them that i needed a break (i was sobbing!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and as they were pulling out the butterfly needle, they got the vein so we all froze! I squeezed Chip tighter to keep him from moving more, they held his arm tighter, but we got it! WHEW!!!

Chip got lots of yogurt bites for being so brave and such a GREAT patient and mommy got a butterfly sticker! :-)

We go back in about 3 weeks to find out results and to decide a plan of action from there but i am so pleased and satisfied with whose hands we are in! Thank the Lord for giving people wisdom and knowledge to be able to help my baby!!!!!

pictures

2009-10-04T07:19:00.007-05:00

ok, so much for loading pictures a few weeks ago. So here they are plus the ones from Mississippi last weekend.

yumm-o! Lunch time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hmmm... which toy to play with next

*this is my favorite picture... black and white and a frame for sure*

so far, so good... playing nice up until now

Laynie chasing him... and him beating her to the toy! lol

what? We're not doing ANYTHING wrong!

reading a book with Bug and Aunt D

Papa and his babies

Tony and I at a wedding reception last weekend

My new car that Gaga bought me

MY ball!!!

i LOVE to play outsisde

weeeeeee

peek-a-boo

ohhh... daddy's guitar. Can i play?

2009-09-23T13:44:00.002-05:00

i'm going to try to post pictures tonight while i'm cleaning but no promises. I did want to update that the soccer ball obsession has curbed slightly. It is still a favorite but it is no longer a 'freak out' obsession.

Also, last night, we had our first bloody lip. I'll be honest, i couldn't help but chuckle a little when it happened. He was reaching as far as he could to reach into a basket that was sitting on the coffee table, where usually he just tips over the basket. Last night, though, he chose to not turn it over but to just stand on his 'tippy toes' and reach in. WELL.... of course you know what's coming..... the tippy toes aren't the best of balance yet and he lost his balance, bounced off the edge of the coffee table and popped his lip. Yes, there was blood but not much, however, enough to certainly say we had our first bloody lip. We cried as if the world was over and held our breath for a moment, needed our poppie (pacifier), and then the world settled back in to some kind of normalcy. After we settled down, what did we do?!?! We went right back over to the basket and FINALLY were able to get the thing he wanted in the first place, sat down right there, and played away while the world kept turning! hehehehehe

2009-09-21T14:48:00.002-05:00

ok, so things are going pretty well around here. The new thing happening lately is an IMMENSELY insane obsession with a soccer ball. We have majore meltdowns if someone even ATTEMPTS to touch this thing! Video of it will be coming soon!

updated pics

2009-09-09T20:54:00.005-05:00

CHEESE!!!

I love playing peek-a-boo in my tent!

Mommy andd daddy

YAY!!! I'm in the Pool!!!

hee hee... arent i cute!?

My favorite! Mom is 'vrooming' me around the pool!

Me and mom... hangin in the pool.

Dad told me to say "whatsup"

Do my feet really have to touch THAT STUFF!?!?!?

These Jammies have an AU on the shoulder, too bad you can't see it! They're GREAT!!!

14 Months!

2009-09-06T22:21:00.002-05:00

So oh my goodness, my baby is 14 months old!!! Can you believe it!?!? It is as if it was just yesterday that he was born and now he is walking and being inquisitive (i call it nosy!!!), jabbering and pitching fits. I cannot believe it! Things around here have been immensely busy so i will post pictures probably tomorrow but i hope that this finds you all doing well.

Do keep mom in your prayers. She had her rotator cuff operated on Thursday and so i've spent a lot of time over there lately trying to help out. Don't kick me off your favorites because i've not posted lately but pics coming tomorrow, if all goes as planned! Have a good evening and i'll post tomorrow.

walking down the hall

2009-08-21T13:11:00.002-05:00

the latest pictures

2009-08-21T13:06:00.001-05:00

my "game face"... our newest trick

I wish i could go out there and play!

Weekly update

2009-08-21T11:37:00.002-05:00

So things have been going really well around here! We're really getting the whole walking thing down and now just if Chip could learn to stand up without pulling himself up on whatever is closest! It is so funny to be playing with him and he will be walking back and forth from me to tony and back and somewhere in the middle he will fall. He looks at me, then looks at tony, decides which of us is closest, crawls over, pulls himself up and goes again! It has to be one of the cutest and funniest things ever!

Last weekend mom and dad were in Birmingham and stopped in at Whole Foods (a wholesome/organic-ish grocery store) to look for Chip some new things that he's not been able to eat and came home with a few good catches! They found some cinnamon raisin bread that he LOVES to have for breakfast, some cookies that he can have (he's never had cookies before now!) and some 100% pure maple syrup to go with our recipe we found for 'eggless pancakes'. They also found some Agave nectar that is called for in a lot of recipes i've found for him. It is used as a sweetener similar to honey. Anywya, things on that front are doing pretty well. Wednesday we ate supper at the church for a kick-off dinner and we took him some spaghetti from the house that he's had TONS of times and it ended up breaking him out. Thursday he woke up with hives EVERYWHERE and puffy eyes. I think that what happened was that he had it on Monday, then ate it Wednesday at church and it overloaded his system. We will see though. But since then, we've been doing Atarax and Benadryl and i have had a groggy, grumpy baby that last 2 days. Other than that, things are going great! Hope this finds you all doing just as well!

picture updates

2009-08-09T16:13:00.003-05:00

what a week

2009-08-09T13:06:00.003-05:00

So it was a NUTTY week last week and that is why i didn't even have a chance to post last week. We're still working at the walking thing and we're continually getting better and better and braver and braver. We are still talking up a storm and just as busy as ever.

I have to tell you a story of what happened this morning. SOOOOOO... last night we noticed a rash on his 'trunk' that really just looked like heat rash at mom and dad's house but we didn't leave 'til later so we just put him straight to bed when we got home. Well he woke up this morning and it was still there so we fed him breakfast and then we decided to put him in the tub. While in the tub, of COURSE he pooped. Well, like any good mother, i scooped it as it fell out of his hiney, put it in the toilet, took a wascloth out of the cabinet, wiped the bootie and went RIGHT back to the bath like nothing had ever happened. A few minutes later, the straining insued again and he pooped AGAIN!!! Well, this time i called tony to help me, we took the poop out of the tub AGAIN and AGAIN continued with the bath. well at this point i was getting ready to take the water out of the tub and clean the tub and his toys and then REFILL the tub and bath him when next thing i know, a COW PATTIE appeared under his hiney. i told tony i QUIT and that he could come scoop that poo out of the tub and deal with it! I would wash the toys and REbath the baby when he got it taken care of but until then, i quit! LOL anyway, by the end of it, we all three needed another shower before church and it wasn't even 9:00 a.m. yet! What a morning for sure but we laughed it off and made a mental note to tell all of our friends that have babies that POOP IN A TUB is one of the things that people don't tell you when you have a baby.

posting pictures this aftenoon so check back for some fun pics coming up soon!

birthday pictures

2009-07-31T17:25:00.002-05:00

check this out!!!

2009-07-31T17:10:00.003-05:00

our one year check-up

2009-07-26T07:30:00.002-05:00

So I didn't know if in fact we would be getting our shots for our one year visit due to a runny nose but for sure we got ALL FOUR!!! We weighed in at 17 lbs 6 oz and measured a WHOPPING 27 1/4 inches long!!! YAY FOR GROWING!!! The doctor said that everything looked great and that he was growing right on track so we are very pleased! We do still have a gross little nose and a hacky cough but we think that it is just due to some fruit he got his hands on that had something in it he is allergic to. This is our future, for a little while, i guess. So anywya, all is great and healthy and we're just as busy as ever!!!

just a swingin'!

2009-07-19T14:38:00.003-05:00

Weekend update

2009-07-19T14:20:00.004-05:00

Well, we've finally made it to the weekend and we were able to pull our video camera back out and start filming fun things again. We were able to get all of his new 'tricks' on camera which was tons of fun plus him just playing and having a good time. His new 'tricks' range from clapping 'Yay!' to shaking his head 'no'. He is really working hard at trying to stand up on his own (he can for sure do it in the pool just in the house is a little tougher). He loves to make noise by moving his hand over his mouth while squealing and he for sure tries his hardest to wink but all we get are both eyes blinking quite firmly. He still loves to eat and our new favorite thing to do is to go out back and swing in our swing and play in the pool. A video of him swinging is to come and pictures from the weekend below.

pool pictures

2009-07-15T07:57:00.001-05:00

cake pics

2009-07-14T20:41:00.001-05:00

ok, so i know everyone has been asking for the cake pictures but come to find out, all the smash pictures got taken on every camera BUT mine! AUGHHH. so now i'm having to 'round 'em up. I'll be posting them soon. for now, though, we did spend some time sunday in our birthday pool for the first time! Chip thought it was the coolest thing and played for 2 hours! Beyond that, he went to sleep at 6:45 that night and slept 'til 7:30 the next morning! Looks like much more pool time is in our future! LOL

birthday pics (cake pics to come... they were on other camera)

2009-07-07T23:20:00.002-05:00

birthday party fun!

2009-07-06T09:22:00.003-05:00

Hello to all! So today is the official big day but Saturday was just an absolute blast! Today Chip is officially a whole year old! Saturday, we found ourselves surrounded by friends and family with lots of laughter and a great meal! Chip really was into his cake and thought that it was just yummy! He feasted and became covered with it and then we realized he was itching all over due to it! We took him out of his high chair and went straight to the tub with him and bathed him off. He did, in fact, have hives and was broken out because of it but we quickly gave him some benadryl and put his cream/lotion on him and by Sunday morning, it was practically gone. It is amazing at how fast his skin revolted against it! For sure we won't be giving him cake or cookies anytime soon! Tony and I gave him a swing and a baby pool for his birthday which he thoroughly enjoys! He got some other great things including lots of noise making toys (THANKS HOWARD AND GAGA!!!). We are trying to recover today and the next few days we will get some pics up showing all the fun. Hope all is well and thanks to those who came and made his day even more special.

sorry i've been slacking!

2009-07-01T18:24:00.002-05:00

So i'm trying to do better but lately it has been NUTS-O around here! We are getting ready for our first birthday and things are a little busy. Gaga is here with us as we're preparing to have a party and cleaning and all that goes along with having a party and otehr than that things are as they were Thursday! His rash is practically gone and now we're weaning off of the breast milk and onto cows milk................ ask me later how i feel about that! Having diaper issues and pooping issues with it all but the end result of the removal of food from his diet has been great! Please feel free to drop by between 2 and 4 on Saturday, July 4th for a big ol' birthday bash. Cake, ice cream, burgers, ribs and all the fixings with HOMEMADE ice cream is going to be on the menu! Hope to see you all soon!!! xoxo The Sharps

allergy update

2009-06-25T16:59:00.003-05:00

So on Monday we went for allergy testing and the results came back that he was in fact allergic to some things but the things that he was allergic to are not things we can't live without. The scariest allergy is his allergy to eggs. The eggs are the 'dangerous' allergy and there are other mild allergies that he has. Those are shrimp, soy, corn, rice and peanuts. These are tough things to get around as babies eat rice cereal practically every morning for breakfast but it looks as though oatmeal is calling our name for a WHILE!!! In a month or so we will begin re-introducing the 'mild allergens' slowly and one at a time while still avoiding eggs for sure. No scrambled eggs for breakfast on his first birthday....... guess we'll have oatmeal instead! ;-)

just a few pics

2009-06-21T14:00:00.006-05:00

me and daddy snoozing during the Jungle Book

look at my hiney hanging out!!!
hehehe

We've learned how to wave!!!

almost father's day!

2009-06-20T10:44:00.005-05:00

Well, tomorrow is Tony's first father's day and what a change of our lives and change of pace from 3 1/2 years ago to now! Today our focus is around "has he pooped today?", "what did he have for lunch?", and "Are you going to bathe him or do you want me to?" where as then it was around, "where are we eating dinner tonight?", "Do you want to go to the late movie?", and "Let's go on a road trip!". What a sweet blessing though in our lives to have a little guy as cute and as friendly to bring a joy into our lives that we otherwise would have never known. Yes, it becomes a little hairy during times such as this that lots of questions are in the air about his health and when he is trying your patience by the contsant clinginess he has when he is teething but in the end, the sweet smile and gummy wet kiss that you get and the giggle he lets out when you're tickling him or playing peek-a-boo with him makes these days unique and priceless in their own!

texas pics

2009-06-19T18:37:00.005-05:00

Quick TX update

2009-06-17T20:43:00.002-05:00

So real fast (i'll post pics in the next few days) about texas: It was hot, busy, and great to see all the family. We spent most of the day on Friday at Schlitterbaun (SP?) the water park. The kids had a great time. Then saturday was spent with the guys playing golf that morning (Tony's team won!!!) while the mommys lounged around, then lunch and hanging around the pool that afternoon. That evening was a dinner followed by a slideshow and video about the Hobbs family history with lots of stories and great pictures. Thursday and Sunday were our travel days. Praise the Lord, Chip flew great! The plane didnt' bother his ears AT ALL and he napped and made friends with the people on the flight. Not saying that the next flight trip we will have will be this good but i couldn't have asked for a first flight with a baby to have been any better! I don't have many pics but the ones i do have, i'll put up in a few days.

Chip is going on Monday to get tested for food allergies. We are having a terrible time with it! Hives, extreme eczema and swollen eyes for 3 weeks needs to end for sure and hopefully and prayerfully, monday will bring some answers so keep us in your prayers for sure!

prayer for Chip

2009-06-08T19:56:00.003-05:00

So i havent blogged in a while but i wanted to post real fast before i got wrapped up in preparing for TX. We leave from ATL at 1:30 cst and land in SAT at 4:00 cst. So far the baby is doing better. Fever has finally gone away but he still has a funky rash and we went outside for a total of 25 minutes at the max and his left eye puffed up and looked like i pure punched him in the eye. Lord, please heal my baby and allow the allergy thing to be pushed aside by your healing hand!

fever update

2009-06-05T08:34:00.001-05:00

Soooo... at 6:45 the fever was at 97.7 and now, at 8:30 its at 100.0

and the drama continues...

2009-06-04T21:51:00.002-05:00

Soooo... i thought today was going to be the turnaround for us and all this mess but NOOOO! This afternoon he spiked a 102.8 fever! We made the THIRD trip in a week to the doctor to only be told that it seems like a virus and to go home and deal with it for 3-5 days. I was not pleased to say the least. SO, now we've been on Motrin all day and now at bedtime, the temperature is 103.2! This is going to be a long night waking up every 3 hours and giving this baby medicine. Pray for us here in dothan! Mommy is almost at her wits end. We've got plane tickets for San Antonio on Thursday so we're going to see what comes of this over the weekend... boy with that be NOT pretty if we have to cancel this trip! I'll be disowned for sure!

pictures

2009-06-02T21:04:00.006-05:00

So here are the pictures of Chip in 'jail' and then a few of his skin. Bless his little baby heart, it itches and is just miserable! ***Check out the picture of the meltdown***

something else

2009-06-02T21:03:00.001-05:00

so i forgot to tell yall that Laynie and Chip cut the EXACT SAME TOOTH while we were in Mississippi... boy was that a room full of grumpy babies!

these babies.... goodness

2009-06-01T18:39:00.002-05:00

i for sure loved being in Mississippi but i sure am glad to be home! Especially with what we woke up with this morning..... grrrrrrr... the things no one tells you when you get pregnant! SOOO, what is it, you might ask, well, we've struggled with eczema since Chip was born but now we've got a bacterial infection IN HIS SKIN!!! GROSS... so we're on an antibiotic and a guh-ross ointment three times a day and are stuck in 'jail' on a sheet, inside for the next week AT LEAST.
Well, to top all that off, Dana took Laynie to the doctor this morning, too. The jury is still out as to what she's got but these babies are just a mess!
For those who are keeping up, Laynie weighed in at 18 lbs and 15 oz and Chip weighed in at 16 lbs and 10 oz. They are both growing up faster than we can count! Hope all is well and will post a picture of chip in "Jail" later on.

Mississippi trip

2009-05-31T20:38:00.005-05:00

So ive been in Mississippi all last week helping Howard and Dana move into their new house (B-E-A-UTIFUL, might i add!) and we had the best time! We spent lots of time unloading boxes but also spent time watching the babies learn each other and play and learn new (sometimes not such good) habits from each other. From the driving range, to blowing bubbles outside to watching them eat dinner and other meals and snacks together, there was never a dull moment! Enjoy the pictures!

bath time pics

2009-05-23T08:14:00.005-05:00

The things that we take for granted are the very things that just mesmerize a young child. Chip is absolutely enamored with running water! He thinks it is just an absolutely amazing thing. In one of these pictures you see him trying to grasp it. He tries and tries to catch it but just can't get it. It is hysterical!

scrub a dub dub

2009-05-23T07:13:00.003-05:00

'YA YA YA YA MOMOMOMO BABABA'

2009-05-22T18:17:00.002-05:00

So my child is CRACKING ME UP! He is sitting here in his high chair just gabbing away at the world as tony and i sit and watch and laugh. his 3 sounds that he makes over and over is babababa, mamamamam, and yayayayayaya, it is sooooooooooooo cute. AND on top of that he has food and a 'cookie' all over himself. He is in just a diaper and as cute as ever! Man, i love this little boy!

more lake pics

2009-05-20T07:38:00.001-05:00

Watch out world!!!

2009-05-19T18:11:00.003-05:00

We're walking (with help)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lake pics

2009-05-19T17:53:00.004-05:00

spaghetti dinner

2009-05-17T09:03:00.002-05:00

aww... man so the spaghetti dinner video was too big. AND tony cancelled the postings of the lake pictures so we're trying again tonight.

woops

2009-05-17T08:59:00.002-05:00

ok, so tony accidentally took out the memory stick from the computer when i was trying to load the spaghetti dinner video. here goes one more try. then i'll load the pictures from yesterday at the lake. We had such a blast! all the families were so kind and warm and we stayed for a shrimp boil dinner. It was such a fun time! Chip got in the water for just long enough for us to get a few pictures but he didn't like it so much. I think it was a little cooler than his bath usually is!!! Lol anyway, we had the best time and Chip just thought the outdoors was the coolest thing ever. There was lots of laughter, lots of noises, boats to watch, Kids to envy, and attention for him to get being that he was the youngest there! All the bigger kids thought he was great and just loved all over him and played so sweet with him. A brief shower came up (welcome back summer!!!) and so we were in a tent for about 10 or 15 minutes and he just hammed that up! He was so good and he even got a 2 1/2 hour nap at around 2 oclock our time. We absolutely had a blast and will certainly be making more trips as a family to the lake! Enjoy the video and then enjoy the pictures!

2009-05-15T18:43:00.003-05:00