Sorry::

Been a week or more since my last post...Sorry bout that, but I don't have the memory card to my camera...and without pictures I feel like my posts are boring!

Things are good out here at the Boyd house. We have been staying here since last Sunday. Dad's baseball team won the regionals so he leaves on Thursday for the World Series in New Mexico. So, he's in a pretty good mood. Mom is staying busy with her grandson and hanging out with Lauren before she goes back to school, as am I. Brandon is working his tail off and work and to make sure things are going well with our house. We are still closing on August 7th unless something blows up in our faces.

A praise - I have had one job interview this week, and I have another on Thursday. Not a PE Teacher job, but they are at Pre-Schools and private schools. Neither would be a PE position, but both have the plus of Brant being at the same place as me...which I LOVE! That would be great! Keep us in your prayers as we decide which one is best for the family, and that if neither is what God wants us to do then he will make that clear.

So those are the updates. Still kind of just in a holding pattern, wondering what God has in store for us. Thanks for checking in and keep us on your prayer list!

Love you all!

Hairspray::

This is a total plug for a movie...has nothing to do with my son!

Yesterday, I took a friend of mine to see "Hairspray". IT WAS SO GOOD! I didn't stop smiling or tapping my foot the entire time. I think I might have liked it as much as I did when I saw "Grease" for the first time.

I recommend it to everyone...especially girls, and if you like music. Its a MUST SEE!

That's all for now! Love you all...

WHAT A DAY!

Yesterday was very eventful in the life of the Arnolds. We started off our day by packing for Atlanta. We are staying at my parents while they are away this week to keep Sammy the dog, and for it to be a shorter drive for Brandon to work. Around 10 am, Brandon's parents came and dropped Brant off at the apartment since he had a sleepover the night before with them. By 11 am we were on our way to Atlanta.

The drive to Atlanta was very calm. Brant slept, and since my radio was stolen out of my car last weekend at my parents house, I even took a cat nap with nothing to keep my attention (sorry Brandon). We got to Atlanta about 1 pm, and everyone at the Boyd house was excited to see Brant, as they always are. Lauren and Pat played with Brant, along with Mom and Dad.

Around 4 pm, Brandon and I headed over to Wayne's house to finalize some more stuff on the house. Please continue to pray for us...we have till Thursday to make our final decision. We are praying that God would give us peace and help us not to be afraid of this huge decision. We are not called to live in fear, but in strength and wisdom being sure of God's presence in our life! Anyways - sorry for the side note - but while we were gone the family babysat and took Brant to the creek. SO FUN! I wish I had pictures...they said he was in the middle splashing and throwing rocks.

We ate dinner around 6 or so and then Pat headed out to SC. Lauren was sad! So, we all went outside to play. Brandon, Lauren, and I were hitting a playground ball and trying to see how many times we could hit it without it touching the ground. Mom and Dad were about to leave to go to get Mom's oil changed. Then things went haywire...

I noticed Brant heading towards the bank in the backyard that leads to the woods. I didn't think anything of it right away, but after he got on his hands and knees I didn't like it anymore. Brandon walked over to get him, and the next thing I know, Brandon is swatting at our son's head and running towards the house. It just plain scared me...and first I thought it was ants, or something like that. Once in the garage, Brandon informed me that it was YELLOW JACKETS! I was like - you have got to be kidding me. 2 trips to the ER, and now being stung by YELLOW JACKETS! We got him inside to see how many had stung him. As far as we could tell, only two got him. One on the back of his head, and one near his ear. As we were trying to make sure there weren't any more on him, one stung my jaw. IT HURT! So I knew that he had to be hurting. We got him in the bathtub, and tried to calm him down.

Let's just say the next 2 hours were not fun. Dad went and killed the hive...I'm just glad Brandon got to him when he did or else it could have been bad. He finally settled down enough to go to sleep around 9:45. So we put him down. However, about 10:45 he woke up, and poor thing, he was inconsolable. I don't know if anyone else feels me on this one, but that is one thing that breaks my heart, and inconsolable child, especially your own. He cried and cried until midnight and then finally went to sleep.

There are some pictures below of him playing, BEFORE the accident. Mom and Dad got him some golf clubs and balls, and he was loving them. Once again, I didn't get any pictures of him when he was hurting...thought it might be a little inconsiderate.

At least we know one thing, he's not allergic to Yellow Jackets! Go Tech...Right DAD!

Funny Story::

Today - as I was in the bathroom, Brant was playing quietly in his room. Quietly, with my son, I have come to learn is never a good thing. I quickly finished and went into his room curious to see what he was up to. Here is what I saw...of course - I didn't have the camera in my hands so I chased him to the living room to capture the moment.

So, after I went and did some investigative work, I figured out that Brant had somehow gotten the diaper rash cream off of the top of a set of drawers...they aren't THAT tall...and then proceeded to rub it all over his face and furniture in his room. He did not look like this before I went into the bathroom...so don't ask me how he did this so quick. Its like he was just waiting for me to go away. Brandon likes to call it "plotting". Brandon must have done a lot of this when he was growing up...that is my only explanation.

So, after we got cleaned up. We played some more in the living room. He likes to hide under our TV table, he thinks it is his own clubhouse of sorts. No, he does not play with the cords behind him...he has learned what no means. Anyways...this pic was too cute not to put up!

We love you all!!

NEW HOUSE!

So it looks like we might actually have a contract on a house! The sellers have verbally agreed to our offer, but they still have to sign the contract for good. So, unless something goes HORRIBLY wrong, the Arnolds will be moving to Bridgemill in Canton, GA on Aug. 10!

Here are some pictures to wet your appetite! Everyone will have to come and visit once I make it look nice! But unless I get a new kitchen table, we will have to eat in shifts since I can only sit three at the table! --Thanks Lori!--

I just put some pics of the outside and one of the kitchen...didn't want to bore you with the rest. You can see in person when you all help us move in!!! HA!

Long Time No Post...I KNOW::

So, here's the deal. Its been a BUSY week. On Friday, I headed up to Acworth to my mom and dad's house. Brandon has been working in Atlanta since last Thursday, so we decided we needed to get serious about this house search. Friday night we ate dinner with the MacMaths. Always a pleasure...its amazing how my son's face lites up when he sees those kids!

We looked all day for houses on Saturday with Wayne and found one we really liked. We have made an offer, or are in the process, I will post as soon as I know something...and if we get it I will put up pictures. No need to get excited - I'm still praying that if it isn't right then God will shut a door.

Saturday night we went to dinner and music for Mike's Birthday. Fun times at Red Top Mountain State Park...gotta love Bluegrass Music. Sunday was church and more looking at and thinking about the house...and hanging out with my sister who got home on Saturday.

Monday night was girl's night at the Braves game. Lauren and I went with Joni, Danielle, and a new friend Sarah. We had a blast, even though the Braves lost...thanks again Jonesy! We got on the big screen as you can see, and we also were on TV, in my mom's words..."looking like idiots!"

And now I am back in Macon, staring at my apartment wondering how I am going to get everything packed up and into another house in 2 weeks or so...of course, that is if we get this house in the first place. Keep us in your prayers and ask specifically that God would work in this situation. If we are not supposed to get this house, pray that God shuts a door and does it so there is no doubt. Pray that if a door is shut, we know where to begin again and soon. Pray that as long as we are making steps towards our destination that we include God in every decision and walk in the way we are meant to go.

Love to all!

ER SCARE::

On Thursday morning, around 9:30 am, we were all just relaxing, considering getting ready to go to the beach. It smelled like Brant had a dirty diaper, so I asked Lauren to check. As some of you know, Brant is WAY attached to his blanket. If it is in sight, he will be carrying it around the house or wherever we are with him. Now, Brant is not very tall, and so he trips over the blanket a lot. This usually doesn't have much of an affect on him, since most of our floors are carpet. However, at the LOVELY beach home that my Dad so GRACIOUSLY rented out for us, this was not the case. They had mostly stone, or tile, flooring throughout the house, except for the bedrooms. My guess is because of the sand, but I don't really know.

So, as Lauren went to check his diaper, and Brant of course tried to make a get away...he tripped and fell face first on the tile floor. He did brace his fall with his hands, but took most of the blow on his chin. As he got up, blood was coming out of his mouth and from his chin. He was screaming and wouldn't let anyone look at it. He was covering his entire face with his blanket. As far as I could tell, and Brandon as well, it looked as though he had slightly bit through his lip during the fall. I didn't like the thought of that, so after consultation with MiMi, we decided to head to the ER. It wasn't far down the road, about 10 minutes or so. Lauren and Pat went with Brandon and me. We got there and after about 30 minutes we were called back.

Long story short, they took a look at him, after another 30 minutes of course. They said what probably happened is that he bit his lip on the inside and then the chin was more of a FORCE wound on the outside. No stitches, just an antibiotic. Although, on Friday we had a scare when he broke out into a rash. We thought he was allergic to the medicine, but mom determined that it was from some sunscreen that got into his eyes and had irritated him badly.

Needless to say, we are nearly 13 months old, and have now had 2, yes 2, trips to the ER. There is all the proof you need that he is going to grow up and be just like his Daddy. Brandon's mother could tell you countless stories about all of Brandon's scars and injuries. Many, Many, Many ER trips for Brandon. Lets just hope we can hold off on the ER trips for a while...please PRAY!

I wish the picture above was better, but it is from my cellphone. Sad to say, I was really upset I forgot my camera. I need proof of all of these incidents for when he is older and thinks I am making them up. You can't see his wound very well, but it had stopped bleeding by this time, Praise the Lord!

Love you all - sorry to leave you hanging about the ER trip. Hopefully, none of you had any bad dreams about it!

Routine::

We are home and there is something to be said about routine! Not that Brant was an unhappy baby at the beach, but his house, his bed, his toys, and so on, communicate to him that he is safe and that makes him happy!

He is down for his nap as we speak, and I am doing all of my motherly/wifely duties of laundry, dinner, cleaning, catching up on emails, and not finding a job. The last one is not by choice, just because apparently God has not found a job he wants me to have yet.

We are in full swing of moving back to the Atlanta area. We have begun our home search and are trying to nail down a time to get there and look at them. Until then, we are still here in Macon, with Brandon beginning his commuting later this week. We are excited about this time in our life, but also anxious about what God has in store. We want to make sure we are on the same page with Him, not hoping He's on the same page with us, if you know what I mean.

As I was cleaning, I found a few pictures on my camera worth posting from the vacation. The rest are on my dad's computer that I will get when we are at my parent's this weekend. Also - side note - pray for my parents because until we find a house or temporary apartment, we will probably be staying with them. They OFFERED, because that's how great my parents are. I just hope that we don't interrupt their lives too much and wear out our welcome! But, they seem to not care about anything as long as it involves Brant. We don't matter anymore, just Brant! --I know that's not TOTALLY true Mom!--

Here are the pictures...They are from the last night at Dinner...

Home!

We are home in Macon. Once I get all the pictures off of my Dad's computer I will post some more. We had a great time, except for the ER scare on Thursday. More about that later.

Thanks Mimi and PawPaw for a great week with you!

Video::

Day 3 at the Beach::

So, we have had an improvement at the beach. As Amelia and I were walking down the beach yesterday, we noticed a family who had brought a baby pool down to the beach and filled it with water. The baby was inside playing with toys and looked relatively excited. We thought that maybe Brant would enjoy having that option at the beach.

Dad and I traveled to CVS today and made some purchases. We bought a tent for the folks who "can't handle the rays -- according to Bryan--". We also bought a baby pool for Brant. HE LOVED IT! Not only did it make him like being at the beach, but he actually wanted to get out and play in the sand. That posed a problem though once he got his hands really sandy and tried to wipe his eyes.

After a while of playing, I took him out in the water and we were wading for a while. He really liked being out deep in the water. MiMi and PawPaw were out in water together and we decided to go out and join them. Brant wanted to get out on the boogie board. I will post a video in just a little while of what happened while he was on the boogie board...so cute. He had all the people around us on the beach laughing and awing at him. Such a good memory! That's why I will post it on here to let everyone join in.

Also, here are some pictures from today. Brandon is on his way as we speak, and will be here the rest of the week with us! I can't wait to see him...you miss your family when they aren't with you!

So Far at the Beach::

Well...we have officially had 2 full days at the beach. My brother Bryan and I have determined that Brant has what we like to call "texture discomfort." Just as shown earlier in the blog when Brant got icing on his hands at his birthday party, getting sand on his hand is NOT his favorite thing.

Other than the beach, he has been having a lot of fun. I am not going to lie, I haven't been doing the best job of taking pictures...but I will begin making a conscience effort. Here are some pictures from the first two days...mostly Brant::