Update

Just wanted to post an update and let everyone know dad came through his heart cath just fine. There was only 30% blockage and it can be treated with meds. Thanks so much!

Prayer Request

Hi Everyone!

I just have a quick prayer request. My dad is going in for a heart catherization tomorrow morning. Our hope is of course that they will not have to do open heart surgery but if they do, surgery will most likely take place tomorrow. Please just pray all goes well and we get a good report. Thanks so much!

Being Grateful

I had a bad night with the kids...it was just crazy. I complained to Brad and allowed myself to get way too stressed out over some crying and temper tantrums. It was just bad and I couldn't wait until bed time...but it didn't actually come for Gabby until an hour after I tucked her in. What a night!
You're probably wondering why I am starting off my blog like this. Well, as you read this, there is a man by the name of R.D. Reid lying in a hospital bed in Indianapolis. He is my age, has a very loving wife and cute little girl and he was involved in a horrible lawn mower accident almost 2 weeks ago. I have never met them but they are good friends with one of my good friends and so she has passed on their story in hopes of increasing the number of prayers going up for them. I have been keeping up with them through the Caring Bridge website and recently was reading about how he was doing. He has been told that he is paralyzed from the waist down and he suffered horrible burns over 30% of his body. His prognosis is not good but he will live. PLEASE PRAY FOR A MIRACLE!! He is a pastor trying to spread God's word.
I tell you this because in a recent post, his wife was sharing about how hard it is to stay positive right now so she has begun listing praises for things that she is grateful for. The praises are simple but they are real......something I know I need to be more focused on and not let myself get out of control when the kids are screaming. I'm sure the Reid family would do anything to get their old life back.....just a thought! And please keep the Reid family in your prayers.

Rainy Day fun and other stuff we've been doing.

I thought it was time for an update. The Beeman's have been busy this summer, I often look back and wonder what we've been busy doing but thoughts of playing outside and watching Gabby run through the sprinkler often fill my mind. I have very much enjoyed the summer as well as watching the kids play and interact with each other more and more each day. No....not always in a positive manner and some days I just wish I could lock them each in their own separate rooms. While I hate to see the summer go, Gabby is looking forward to preschool with much anticipation and that is exciting for me to see her so pumped about something. I may feel different about that September 8 but for now, I'm happy too. O.k. I'm going to make my first honest attempt at getting these pictures up. Gabby loves playing in the rain and I usually don't let her indulge but this week I was feeling "fun." We also spent our Saturday at Mounds State Park in Anderson with Brad's extended family. We gather there every summer to celebrate all the kids' birthdays and enjoy time together. Woo Hoo! Myah will be so proud of me for getting these pictures up. With a little help from Brad......THANKS BRAD! You're the best! We got this to work. Enjoy the pics of my 2 beautiful kids! They may not be placed real well in this blog but I'll keep working on it!

Stepping Out in Faith as Parents

I love reading other people's blogs. Really, I don't even have to know them, I just love having a peek into another person's world as they see it. The past week, I have read two blogs from people who I know that are parents also. One has teenagers and one has daughters that are both graduated from college, one just this year. Why do I tell you this? Well, this past week both of these people have shared about how their children are travelling far from home without them and how hard it has been. I have found myself reflecting on that as I am getting ready to send my firstborn to preschool in just over a month. For me, this seems like "stepping out in faith." I want to believe that since I'm sending her to a "church preschool" that she will never come across anyone that will say mean things to her or laugh at her for something she did. I can't imagine the day that she tells me she is choosing to travel thousands of miles away whether it be to do missions, vacation or a job she is feeling led to do...........I hope I will be able to step out in faith as these parent's did and let her go with confidence! Just a thought....

Pesky Bee

Gabby reached another milestone today. She got her first bee sting and I must admit, it was one of the bigger ones that I've seen in my life. My sister in law and niece came to visit us for a couple of days this week. We had just finished having a picnic at Solomon Farm and were walking around when it happened. Of course, it got her right on the bottom of the foot because she stepped on it. Tears and crying immediately followed and we hurried her to the car to go home and treat it. She handled it like a champ and by the time we got to the car, she was done crying. The best part of it (if that's even possible) was that she wanted to tell everyone how "pesky" those bees can be and when Brad got home and they were talking about it, she told him, "Daddy, I didn't even see it comin!"
I told her it would all be alright but part of me wanted to tell her that she would experience many different kinds of "stings" in her life and that it won't always be o.k. right away but if she can look at it with a "pesky bee" attitude, she would be just fine.

Blueberries

As a child, one of my fondest memories is going blueberry picking with my grandma and cousins. My grandma would have all of us (anywhere from 6 to 9) grandkids over for a slumber party the night before. We would play games with my grandparents until it was time to go to bed. Then, she would tuck us all into sleeping bags out in their living room and tell us to get our rest so we could go picking the next morning. Needless to say, we layed on the floor and giggled for quite a while and sometimes she would come back out and say, "Now, if you don't get to sleep, we're not going in the morning." That was the point we knew grandma meant business. Once we finally got to sleep, it wasn't long and grandma was standing at our toes telling us it was time to get up. She would wake us around 5:30 a.m. and we'd get dressed and ready to make the trip to the blueberry patch. We didn't have one close to where we lived so we would drive approximately an hour to an hour and a half into Michigan. On the way there, grandma would get us breakfast at McDonald's. As a kid, who doesn't like breakfast at McD's??? I'm almost 30 and still enjoy it from time to time. So we would pick berries until we had enough to take to all of our families back home and then we'd load up in her van and hit McD's for lunch on the way home...AGAIN! It was the only day of the year we got to eat fast food twice in one day. I won't ever forget those times in the van and the slumber parties with my cousins. Many fond memories were made during those times.
Well, I took Gabby blueberry picking this morning and she had a great time. No, we didn't leave at 5:30 a.m. the patch is just down the road from us but seeing the dew on the grass and feeling the hot early morning summer sun brought all those memories rushing back while also making new memories with my daughter. I wondered to myself if there would be a day many summers from now that she would let me have her children overnight and then take them blueberry picking and I also look forward to the day that Carson can join us but for now, he is just enjoying all the "fruits of our labor" and Gabby and I are enjoying the one on one time alone that we so seldom get anymore. I used to always think back to my childhood, every time I saw blueberries but now I'll also think of my little girl! I love my little princess even more than the memories.