A Day in Chicago

We woke up this morning ready to tour Chicago. We had decided the one attraction we wanted to see was the Field Museum.  There were many to decide from but we chose the Field Museum because we knew we wanted to be able to say "We were there and saw that." Below are many pictures of the Field Museum. We took over 100 pictures so I'm not about to post all of them but, here are a few. And I had to include a couple of pictures that brought us to Chicago in the first place Paul's new car!

The reason why we came to Chicago in the first place is Paul's "midlife crisis" Ha! I had to show you pictures of our new addition. He made a great choice. It is sporty yet the girls have their doors to get in and ride around with us. 
Paul with his new car. I was amazed last night when he picked us up at the hotel for the first time in his car that he learned quickly how to drive like Mario Andretti! Must be in the testosterone of these guys. The girls and I were a little scared on our way to eat at "The Cheesecake factory" Yum! Ally said to me "Momma why aren't you holding on to your handle?" 
Us beautiful girls posing outside the Field Museum. Very cold and windy!
Inside the Field Museum

This is a picture of Olivia's head in the mouth of a dinosaur skull!
This is a picture of Ally's head in  the mouth of a dinosaur skull!
Daddy and his Drama Queens!
The girls with the famous "Sue" dinosaur from the movie "Night at the Museum"

We love watching Food Network's Diner's Drive-in's and Dives with Guy Fietti. So, I'm notabout to leave Chicago until I eat at one of the famous restaurants on his show. We are still deciding which one to eat at. I'm so excited. I love food. I have lost 70 lbs and kept it off for over a year but I never deprive myself. So, I can't wait to indulge. It's a good thing our hotel has a fitness center. I will be on the treadmill tonight...burn baby burn!

Endurance to Chicago...

It took me forever to connect to Wi-Fi in our hotel. I finally managed to get connected to upload some of the pictures I took along the way to Chicago. We left Bentonville this morning at 6:30 and arrived in the outskirts of Chicago at 5:15 tonight. WOW! Long trip in a truck cramped with 2 little drama queens and a dog that will look at you like she needs to go Pee! Endurance pays off...I was so glad to see the hotel. I couldn't wait to open the laptop and post a new blog. 

As we would get closer to "The Windy City" Ally would get giddy and silly. So, I had to take this picture of her. 
This is a picture of a water tower painted with a big smiley face on it. It made me think of Wal-mart. Olivia used to see the walmart smiley face and say. "Live Better, Save Money, Wal-mart! Home Sweet Home!

This is a picture of Paul and Olivia in the truck on the way to Chicago. 

This next picture I had to take for my benefit to show that we weren't going in circles. We actually were getting close to Chicago! Yea!

This is a picture I took about 200 miles from St Louis. going toward Chicago. I thought it was funny. When I read the sign I saw "To: Wanda"! (Hi Mom) But actually this sign was in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes.

This is the view coming in to the outskirts of Chicago. I never thought Chicago was this flat, hence the windy city. Now I know why it's called the windy city. There are no hills to calm the wind so it roars in to the city. Well, we are about to go find a place to eat. We are tired and ready to crawl in bed. Tomorrow should be a pretty exciting day touring the museums and the famous Sears Tower. See you all tomorrow with a lot better pictures. 

Mid-Life Crisis to Chicago!

My husband is turning 40 this year and is supposedly going through a mid-life crisis. He traded his truck in for a sports car (Mazda RX8) over the phone today in Chicago and we are leaving in the morning to go pick it up. We are driving to St. Louis in the morning. Then Saturday morning driving the rest of the way to Chicago. The girls are so thrilled they can't wait to go to the Sears Tower and the Museums there. We will only be there to sight see Saturday. Sunday morning we will get up early and drive home 9 hours in the new Patrick-mid life crisis!  I am taking the laptop to keep my blog updated with pictures of all us in Chicago. I would appreciate your prayers for our safety.

You are Winter

The weather outside is still frightful...I hear rumors of school being cancelled again for tomorrow. The girls have enjoyed playing in the snow and ice today. Zozo has even enjoyed running around sticking her face in the snow. It is beautiful here. Although our power was out most of the day yesterday God still provided for us. Our electricity went out at 8:45 yesterday morning and didn't come back on until noon. God gave us an hour to cook stew, cornbread and mashed potatoes! Just enough time to feed us some warm food. It came back on at 5:30 for 15 minutes, just enough time to fill our bellies again with warm food. Both times as we sat down to eat the power went out. It made me realize that God was still taking care of us. He is an awesome God. It reminds me of a song Nichole Nordemann sings "Every Season"...

 And everything in time and under heaven 
Finally falls asleep 
Wrapped in blankets white, all creation 
Shivers underneath 
And still I notice you 
When branches crack 
And in my breath on frosted glass 
Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter 
You are winter

This is a beautiful picture of the birthday girl outside in the snow!

This is a beautiful picture of Olivia outside in the snow.

I did eventually have to pull out the freezer baskets and put them outside in the snow and ice. Our power didn't come back on until 10PM last night. And then it would flicker on and off so I decided to keep them outside. Didn't want that yummy ice cream to melt!

Doesn't Zozo look so cute here? She couldn't wait to get outside to run and play in the snow this morning.  I have enjoyed today with the girls. We are celebrating Ally's birthday tonight at home. Thank you Nana Ann and Papaw Bob for the gift. We will call you when she opens it. If we can get her to wait until dinner tonight!

Happy Birthday Ally!

Ally is 7 years old today! What can I say about this beautiful girl? When Ally was born she had a high bilirubin blood count. That is fairly common in babies born earlier than 40 weeks of pregnancy. I wasn't worried until she was admitted to the hospital a week after she was born. Her bilirubin was getting higher and the doctor couldn't find out why. I was scared when they admitted her. I knew I could only turn to the Lord in this time. The nurses shaved her head and inserted an Iv into her scalp. They placed her under the lights to get her bilirubin to go down. I knew right then, she was going to be a strong child.  She was a fighter! She grew and we knew we had a "strong-willed" child. God showed Paul and I how to break her strong will without crushing her spirit. Thankfully we mastered that when she was young. Today, She is a gifted child, very intellectual and balanced. She is a leader. She is not afraid to tell her opinion or how to do something effectively. Her grammer is precise and she is a perfectionist which can be bad at times! Her heart is tender and pure. She is one of those that people gravitate toward. She is bubbly and lights up a room with her smile and laughter. She reads her bible and loves Jesus with all of her heart. 

Ally, you are a gift from the Lord. We are grateful God put you in our family. You make us complete. I am so proud of you for the young girl you are and the young lady God is creating you to be.  My prayer for you this year is that you will continue to read your bible. That you will love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. He will direct and guide you. He loves you more than you could ever imagine. We love you so much! Happy Birthday!

Love, 

Mom, Dad and Sister

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful...

Oh the weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful and since we've no place to go...Let is ice, Let it ice, Let it ice...

Our power was out about 2 1/2 hours this morning. It came back on and has been flickering on and off about every 30 minutes or so. I was beginning to think I was going to have to pull my freezer baskets out of the freezer and put them out in the backyard! HA! At least my food would stay frozen. Who knows I might have to do that tonight. It is still freezing rain and will continue into the night hours. I'm sure there is no school for tomorrow. Ally would be thrilled if school was let out for her birthday. 

We have been playing games... Charades, Whoonu, and we started Monopoly when the power came back on. Yippee! I jumped up from my chair and started cooking beef stew, mashed potatoes and gravy and sweet cornbread. It was delicious! I never thought it was possible to cook beef stew in an hour...but it can be done! I was running around with my head cut off. The power would flicker on and off so I would run around having to restart everything...the oven for the cornbread, the dryer for the clothes and we must have restarted the TV four or five times all ready! Whoo....I'm exhausted. 

You don't realize how much electricity impacts our lives until its gone. Like, No coffee. I didn't think about purchasing instant coffee yesterday when I was stocking up on comfort food. Hello? I'm a coffee addict. Migraine...no coffee! Get it? 

The fireplace is wonderful. It has kept us warm and cozy. We will see how the electricity holds up tonight. We can always sleep by the fireplace. Thankfully, I am a woman who loves comforters and quilts. My hall closet is packed to the ceiling with those things! No kidding! I have enough blankets to wrap around the subdivision at least once. Well, ok maybe not that many but, you get the point. 

I'll keep you posted on the frightful weather...Stay Tuned!

Lost Tooth

Ally lost a tooth this afternoon. She pulled it herself. Isn't she pretty? Yea Ally, Way to go! I love that beautiful smile!

The girls got out of school early today due to the icy weather. We are home roasting by the fireplace. Not sure yet what to expect the next 24 hours. Suppose to be around an of inch ice and widespread power outages. We are stocked with food, blankets and lots of Dove chocolates! Yum! Ally is hoping to be out of school through Wednesday because Wednesday is her big day...her 7th Birthday! I'll keep you posted on the weather...

Ally's Celebration Book!

This past Friday, Ally was presented with a Celebration Book at school. A Celebration book is a book bought in her honor and given to her in front of the rest of the school. 

Ally was so shocked. She didn't even realize she was the "Allyson Patrick" they had called to come to the stage and get her book. Me, Dad and Olivia honored her for her 7th birthday coming up on the 28th. 

The name of the book is "Big Words for Little People" By: Jamie Lee Curtis. When you open the book it has a picture of Ally on the left inside cover. And inscripted, "This book was donated by: Mom, Dad and Olivia, In honor of Ally Patrick, Happy Birthday to our "exquisite" girl. We love you! Mom, Dad and sister Olivia."

When Ally was two years old, she came up to me while I was washing dishes and said "Momma, you're exquisite!" Therefore, She is our "exquisite" girl. We love you Ally!

Rat Poop!

Olivia bought a rat with her Christmas money a few weeks ago. After dinner tonight I was washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen when she runs into the kitchen screaming..."Thats disgusting, oh my goodness, while holding a brown something that very much resembled her rat's poop. She then preceeded to put it in her mouth. By that point I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I was so stunned I couldn't scream fast or loud enough, "get that out of your mouth. What are you doing.? You are going to be sick". She then laughs so hard...Yes, I realized I had been punk'd It was a small piece of tootsie roll which she made look like rat poop. The kids are growing up! Yippee! Lord help me now!

Mom, I love you, I'm so proud of you!

Last night Olivia, my eight year old typed me a letter on her computer. I wanted to share it with you. I will type it in the exact words she used. She did a marvelous job, which brought me to tears.

To: Mom

Subject: I love you, Im so proud of you!

I love you. you are so sweet to me even though we get on the wrong foot sometimes I still love you in that momint. You take care of me. you even stad up all night in the hospitle with me. Now that is true love. I love you mommy. I'm so proud for what you have done. you have taech me so much about God. Thank you for that. Thank you for everything you have done mom. But most of all thank you God for making my mom. I love you. 

Love, Olivia

P.S. have a happy night.

When I read that letter, my heart sank, my eyes flooded with tears. I felt utter love, gratefulness, appreciation, and sincerity from my daughter. When we stop to appreciate and thank God for all He has done for us and is doing for us, think of the feeling of pure love, gratefulness and appreciation He must feel. It gave me hope back that I am a great mom. So many times we lose that hope and focus. I am only this great mom because I yearn on my knees for God to teach me how to be a pure, tenderhearted, yet just mom. He is the best parent we could model. yes, we all have our short comings. Thankfully He is there to forgive us when we mess up. In reading her letter, this is the blessing of being a stay at home mom, teaching my children of Jesus and His infinite love! 

"Her children stand and bless her. her husband praises her also: Many women do noble things but you surpass them all!" Proverbs 31:28-29

Thank you Lord for your grace in parenting my children. I would'nt want to do it without you.

Harper Brown Stamps

My friend Kelly went into the hospital yesterday to have her baby. We were all so excited to finally meet baby Harper. Kelly was so excited to finally be induced and meet her new, beautiful baby. Harper was born weighing 9 lbs 12 oz. She was born in critical condition not able to breathe. The hospital flew her to Tulsa to a NICU hospital to treat her. She was born with pneumonia. She will have heart/lung bypass today. My heart is heavy for Kelly and Scott. I feel as though I have been there with Kelly and experienced a lot of her pregnancy with baby Harper. I was up all last night (literally) praying for this family. God has a perfect plan for Harper. We dont know what His plan is but I know God is Sovereign and He will receive the glory, honor and praise through this. It brings me to the verse in Isaiah 55:8-9, "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Pray for this family. They are precious people who love the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind. I love you Stamps family.

Blessings,

Bethany

New to blogging!

I am really new to this blogging stuff. I have been following my friend Kelly's blog for some time now. I will add her blog to mine in case you would like to follow her too. Paul was really shocked that I started my own blog. He was really proud of me. Thanks Honey!

I thought this would be a great way for family and friends across the miles to stay in touch and know what is going on in our lives on a constant basis. 

The girls came home from school today happy it was Friday, The Weekend! Ally, my first grader had received a boy's phone number today. Supposedly she sent him back my cell phone number. Smart Girl! She is so beautiful inside and out. She has one of those personalities where people flock to her. Especially the boys! She said today. "Momma, Luke writes in his journal at school everyday, "I love Ally". But, Momma I don't love him." Daddy is saying "Thats my girl!"

Olivia my 2nd grader had a great day at school today. Yea! we finally made it a whole week at school since the last month. She suffers from Migraines, which she has battled for two full weeks in December not being able to go to school. Then she came down with Strep throat, Ear infections then Pneumonia. She has Asthma, so winter is not good for her lungs. Through all that we go through with her. God is with us. I feel Him here. I am blessed. 

Blessings!

Bethany