EICH AT THE MIC...

Thought of the day.... Psalm 91:1

2012-01-10T13:40:00.001-05:00

Something that came to me (or overcame me) the other day and has been a constant reminder that I have been building on ever since....

"When facing the sun,

your shadows are always behind you."

translation...

"When you face the Son,

your past is always behind you"

I have been pondering this thought over the past 3 days, and it makes so much sense in my life. I struggle so much with all the mistakes of my past (and even still present). When I think about it though, shadows are constantly surrounding you, whether it be physically or mentally. You can see your shadows when you stand outside, always there (okay, maybe not so much at noon or at night), always reminding you that the sun is shining. When you face the sun, your shadows are always behind you though, never where you can see them. Now think about the shadows of your past, even though you can't physically see them, mentally they are there, a constant reminder of your sins. When you believe in the Son of God and are facing Him in your life, your shadows (past) are behind you, you can't see them.

Just a little something to think about today....and something I am continually building on daily.

Random-ness

2011-08-11T14:37:00.000-04:00

So many thoughts, so weak to write them down.

Today has been 1 year for our family. One year since we loaded up a big trailer in our driveway in RH and pulled it 2 hours south-west into Aiken. This is a day filled with many, many emotions. We have come a long way in 1 year, with many, many ups and downs, but knowing that we are constantly seeking God's Will for our family, keeps me going on.

I registered our 14-year-old for high school today. I am too young to have a high schooler and especially one that is 6'4". He is such a great kid with a really big heart. I just hope God has big plans for him in the future.

Our little, big guy, our 10 year-old, is playing football for a near-by town. It is a little scary seeing him out there, but I'm not too worried about him getting hurt...I'm pretty sure he will be the biggest one on any team they face. I keep telling him that God gave him these abilities to play sports and he needs to give Him the credit.

Our princess, 7 year-old daughter is going to be causing us many sleepless nights. She is such a girly-girl with a tomboy flare. However, she can't keep away from the boys.....uh-oh!!!

Our 4 year-old baby will be starting 5-day 4K this year. I am elated and saddened all at the same time. I can't believe he is already school age, but I am ready for some mommy time.

So, that leaves me feeling very confused. I am really looking forward to having a couple hours to myself everyday, but I'm feeling very guilty for feeling that way. Am I sad that my oldest baby is going to high school? Sure, but I don't feel I have the same sadness that others feel. It is weird how I feel so numb going through life...

I am officially looking for a direction in my life. I have felt pulled in many different ways, but it is time for me to find something I am good at and enjoy. I'm not necessarily talking about a job, but some hobby or something.

It has been an interesting year. I am ready to tackle all that God has planned for our family in the upcoming year.

It's a Wrap Up

2011-06-09T10:21:00.000-04:00

Although it has been a long while since my last post, so much has happened and I have so much to deal with that I just haven't had time to write.
A little update for some:

My mom passed away on April 30th. I was there with my sister, TM & our dad. Definitely the hardest day I have ever had in my life. It has been one of those suppressing images and feelings kinda day, still don't remember much.
We traveled to Indiana for my mom's services. Our family was blown away by the number of people who came out to see our family.
After returning home to SC, I had to get our home ready for company. We had several visitors for a couple weeks and it was great to be surrounded by them at that time.
We are adjusting to my husbands new schedule. He has started shift-work at his job, and although the whole concept is great, it takes A LOT of getting used to. To boil it down, he works 14 days out of 28 days, however, his days are 12 1/2 hours at a time and he rotates days and nights. During those 28 days, he gets 7 days off, which is great for us!
School has since ended and the kids are home and already bored. It is times like this when I wish we had 4-H programs and/or lived closer to friends.
I am now getting ready for my dad to come and visit next week. I know it is going to be very hard, but at the same time I am so excited because he hasn't seen where we live yet.
Finally, in less than 6 weeks, we leave for vacation for 2 weeks. One week in Tennessee with my husbands family and the next week in Indiana with my family. I am looking forward to both of these very much, as is the rest of the family.

Then once we get back, school sports start and school starts, so we are basically done with our summer.

Oh well, it's a nice concept....

Slipping away

2011-04-25T09:16:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since my last post, which is funny because almost daily I can come up with something to post about, but it never makes it to the keyboard. It is only typed out on the screen in my mind.

My days have been very hard for me lately. In my last post, I was replaying the last 7 months of my life, I rejoiced about my mom's recovery, but slowly I knew my mom was slipping away from me. At this point, I am not sure what is truly keeping her on this earth, only God knows, but I really hope and pray it is for something amazing.

There is an emptiness already inside my heart. An emptiness that yearns to be filled by something...something that only my mom and I shared. I doubt that will ever be filled and I know that over time, the emptiness will disappear, but for now, there is NOTHING that can replace a void like this. I regret that once I knew my mom was "better" back in January, I didn't call her like I would every day. I was waiting, waiting to make sure she was ok. And I got a call from her one afternoon and the words she spoke, still sting me today...

"Are you mad or upset with me? Why haven't you called?"

And those days that I waited to call her, I will never get back. It hurts me to know that my mom was upset with me at the same time for not calling her. For over the past month, she has laid in a bed unable to really communicate with anyone.

There are so many things I want my mom to see and things I want to do with her, but I will never have the chance to. I rejoice knowing she has experienced some of the new town I live in, but she won't visit my new house and see the wonderful nature surrounding our family. My mom taught be to love nature, birds, flowers, the smells. I want my mom to wake up in my house and enjoy coffee on our back deck over looking the woods. I want her to hold my children and teach them the nursery rhymes that they so much love and have grown to love, only because of her. I want her to call me up and tell me about the recipes she found in her latest magazine or on tv. It is these little things that mean more to me than most anything.

It is so hard to explain to our children or to others, the sadness of losing a parent. I have never experienced anything like this and I can say....

It hurts.

7 months...and counting

2011-03-16T13:11:00.001-04:00

Today has been 7 months...7 months since I uprooted a comfortable life, to follow, what we are hoping, is God's calling for our family. Seven months ago this morning, my husband walked out the door to start a "new" career and my children walked out the front door to new schools. All this was going on around me while I sat at home with C.R. surrounded by palmetto bugs and unfamiliar territory.

So, here is a short recap of the last 7 months:

Moved 2 hours further south, to Aiken, SC (in less than a week)
Husband and 3 of our children started new adventures
Started looking for homes right away (not great living conditions)
Found a foreclosure, but didn't feel it was right for us
Continued a 2 month process of house hunting
Went back to foreclosure and bought it
Remodeled, re-carpeted, painted and moved in 9 days
Expected my parents to visit for Christmas but mom broke her femur bone
Celebrated the holidays with other family and friends
Spent 17 days in January with my mom, dad and siblings in Florida
Spent a week mourning the possibility of losing my mom
Went back to Florida to celebrate her recovery with my husband and kids
Still riding an emotional roller coaster with my mom's health

I am now trying to gather my thoughts and feelings on how fragile life is. So many, too many, friends and family members are hurting with illness, death and uncertainty. It is very hard to believe that our Lord's hand is moving in every single one of our lives. It is the decision to step back and believe that He is in control and will guide and direct our future.

2011-03-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

My kids came home this week with a note from school stating that they will no longer be able to sell ice cream at school due to a recent Healthy Eating law that President Obama passed. Now let's really think about this people...they are removing ice cream, that has to be bought by the elementary aged kids. Let's not talk about the soda and candy/chip machines in all the schools. Really? First of all, the parents would have to give their kids the money to buy the ice cream. So, parents, step it up in your children's eating habits if they really don't need ice cream. Also, why do we need the President of the United States to pass a law regarding this issue.

I have really been struggling with healthy eating in our house. It is a shame that it costs more money to buy healthy food, this is the type of problem we are facing. Not ice cream in the schools. It amazes me that the price of everything is also dependent on the price of gas. Ok, off that tangent, but anyways, we have a child with a little bit of a weight issue, my husband is starting to have some health related issues that could be controlled with diet. I have been thinking about starting a blog on healthy eating and how much is costs to actually eat that way. Along with this, I am also cooking for like, 8 people. With growing boys in my family, if they are going to eat as much as they do, it needs to be healthy and then I won't care about them taking second helpings at dinner.

Remember too though, that I was raised on Amish cooking, so most of my meals are meat/potatoes/starches. Our mindsets will need to change from those foods to more vegetables and fruits.

I guess, we will see how far I get with this....

Lenten Season

2011-03-10T10:22:00.001-05:00

Last night, we joined with Ebezener Church of the Nazarene, the Ashes to Fire bible study from Ash Wednesday through Pentecost. It was a great night of singing and explaining how we could participate in Lent. Although we have never been involved with a denomination that participated in Lent, I have always tried to "give something up". Well, Pastor Ben challenged us to subtract a negative and add something good in its place. As I was challenging myself to this, immediately I thought of Facebook. I'm not going to admit I am addicted, but in a recent devotion, it was made clear that "Anything that you desire more than Me becomes and idol." If I choose to sit down in front of my computer, before doing my devotions, then there is something wrong. But that is not my biggest struggle in life. It is my attitude towards my family. (Okay, so this could get long, because many thoughts are running through my head now).

I love my family, my husband, my kids, my parents and my siblings. And the reason I can love them, is because of 1 John 4:19. "We love because he first loved us." I can love my family unconditionally, because I love my God and he loves me.

The problem is, I tend to hurt those closest to me. So here is the funny thing, last night it was made clear to me that I need to subtract the negative behavior in my life. This is really hard for me. It's not that it is a struggle to be nice, I don't have a problem being nice (to others), but I am not always nice to my husband and my kids. So, when I went to do my devotion this morning, what verse was it tending to??? Of course, Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,"
And it does continue in verse 23, "gentleness and self-control."
I believe that with an understanding and attention to the first 7 "fruits", the gentleness and self-control will follow. So for now, I am going to spend the next 7 weeks, focusing on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness.

Side note: Because I am the mother of 4 children and with all the daily distractions, with running kids to and from school, laundry, dinners, sporting events, grocery shopping, etc. a mommy is bound to be moody sometimes....come on!!

Ok, so here I go...

Back at it...Again

2011-03-10T09:33:00.000-05:00

I am going to try and give this another shot. I've felt more and more pulled toward blogging again. I also feel like this is a way to put in some updates, with out everyone of my friends/family members to read all that is going on in our lives. I, hopefully, have disconnected it from my Facebook account, so only those that know about my Blog will be reading it and keeping up with it. So, welcome back, to Eich at the Mic...

Stay tuned.

An Eichelberger Update

2010-10-06T09:10:00.000-04:00

First of all, we would like to thank those who were praying for us during the transition to Aiken and our house buying process. Second, I would like to announce that it is finished (well, hopefully)...here is our "new" home.

Here is our story...this house was the very first home we looked at in Aiken. It is a foreclosure and it was not going to be suitable for our family. After many weeks and many houses, we decided to take another look at it. (The price had also dropped $5,000) We went in last Friday and really examined the space. We love the neighborhood and it is in the schools our kids are currently attending. So, we looked over the space again, prayed over it and realized with a few changes, we could really make this house, OURS!

We strongly believe God led us back to this home. This house is way under the budget we were looking at and it has many features that we were looking for and didn't find in other homes. Our ultimate goal in living a life for Christ is living a debt-free life and this home should provide us with that opportunity. It's amazing that after looking at brand new, hassle-free homes, this one is perfect for our family.

GOD IS GOOD!!

Here goes...

2010-09-22T09:14:00.000-04:00

Today is hard... Yesterday was harder... I took the time this morning to read a blog of a family going through a really, really hard time. It puts into perspective what hard times are. It broke me down and made me realize my issues are nothing. They are selfish and undeserving attention.

Here's my problem...

After a whirl-wind move to a new place, again, I sit everyday in self-pity. I sit with our 4 year-old son and mope over our situation. We had it "made" in Rock Hill, SC. We had a big house, a great church and great friends. We were all involved in many activities. We functioned day-to-day in our school and work schedules. But then it all came crashing down. I left for a long vacation and came back to having to pack up our home, family and life and move within 4 days. And a week later...it was just me and Caden. Everyone left for school and work. Everyday, everyone.

I am ashamed. I am ashamed of the house we are living in. I'll admit. I'm ashamed that I turned my nose up to this house. I'm ashamed that I can't be happy with having a roof over my family's head, a bed to sleep in and food on our table. I can't break down the selfish being that I am, thinking that people will "label" me because of where we are living or what we are wearing. There are so many thoughts and feelings running through my head everyday thinking that I have to "impress" people. What is it about me that makes me this way? Why do I have to feel that I'm better than someone else?

I know where this is coming from...we have looked and looked and looked at homes to buy. We have exhausted our list, for the most part...why do I say that, because there are homes out there that we could potentially buy, but we won't. They might not be "big" enough or in the nicest area...whatever. God has a plan for our family and for right now, we just need to....

"Be still and know that I AM GOD"

It takes God to break us down to draw us closer to Him.

New Favorite Link

2009-09-02T11:35:00.005-04:00

Here is a link to a site I found while trying to get ideas on planning family meals. I have a very hard time getting ideas for meals and having them planned out ahead of time. I believe this is because we never know how our evenings are going to turn out. So, I thought I would share this site with all my fellow readers.
http://www.familieswithpurpose.com/
Maybe something on the site will benefit you as well!

Humbled

2009-08-25T13:27:00.003-04:00

One word....that is all that I can use right now as I read my devotion this afternoon...

Humbled.

This school year has started out very busy for one of my children, Colin. He debated over the summer about whether or not he wanted to play football. At the end, he decided not to play. Then I ran into one of his coaches and he asked me where he was and I filled him in on his decision not to play and asked if Colin would please give it a try. So he did....and so he loves it. Along with football, Colin was asked to join the Beta Club. This is like a middle school version of the Honors Society. WOW! Knowing the grades and attitude I had in school, this was a big shock for me to see my child have an opportunity in such a club. But today, I opened an email from Colin's guidance counselor and his band director has asked Colin to be the Band Assistant to the 6th grade band this year. He will be giving up a Spanish class and will take it next year instead. This has really made me think all day about the impression that Colin is leaving on those at this school, both teachers and students.

I have been reading through Matthew, Mark and now Luke. And the first chapter of Luke speaks about the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. And speaks of how and why they were conceived. Colin is such a special child for those that read this and know his beginning, but God has truly blessed me with Colin and I am forever grateful for what he has accomplished in his young life thus far.

I am not trying to toot my own child's horn by any means, I just realized from my reading that I tell Colin how proud I am of his accomplishments, but I am more humbled by what he is doing in his life and in those around him.

Lastest reading material

2009-08-24T12:47:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I had sent a call out on FB about what I should read over vacation this summer. I received some feedback and ended up reading My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Excellent book and easy read. I was so impressed with her writing and how each chapter in the book was from the perspective of each of the characters. I loved the story line, even though it was very sad and now I am not so interested in seeing the movie.

Which brings me to my next book (series). TWILIGHT

I get many ill remarks from my friends about these books, but I am wow'd by how REALLY good they are. I had several people mention them to me and my interest never really fell to them, but I thought I would give it a try.

Note: Prior to reading My Sisters Keeper, I mostly read christian fiction like, The Shack, Karen Kingsbury and Francine Rivers books, so this was a big style change for me.

Anyways, I am now obsessed with the Twilight Series. The most disappointing part was that I had seen the movie prior to reading the book. But, I loved the movie and was glad there were no gory, vampire parts to it. So, after reading 497 pages of Twilight, I have now moved on to the 563 page New Moon book. And the next 2 books in the series are even longer. I had someone tell me once that they read the entire series in a weekend because they couldn't put the books down. I give a thumbs up to that one because it is very hard for me to stop. And I hate finishing books because I want them to keep going. I want more and more and more.

One downfall for me is that I now have the Twilight movie and watched it again over the weekend since I had just finished that book. It really disappoints me that movies and books cannot coincide with one another and bring all the greatness of the books into movies. It is somewhat irritating to me, but at least there is something to watch to go along with it.

So where will I be on November 20th.....? That's right, at the debut showing of New Moon.

Ok...ok...ok...Already!

2009-08-14T17:40:00.002-04:00

I guess since it is the end of summer and I will no longer have 4 children in the house keeping me insane and busy, I will continue my blogging experience at this time. Well, maybe, ok, well at least for today.

I don't really have any real reasons for not blogging except that Facebook holds my attention for hours on end. As if I don't have anything better to do than read what other people are, or are not, doing. And don't get me started on Bejeweled! I can't stay away from that game and my continued playing of the game comes from the fact that each game only lasts 1 minute. Try to justify not playing that one. At the start of each game I tell myself this is it, last game. Ok, well maybe just one more.

I have been very busy with visitors, vacations and saying good-bye to friends. My sister-in-law (SIL) and I traded kids this summer. My niece, Grace, came and stayed with us, while Caleb went to spend time at their house in Indiana. It was so much fun and VERY quiet at our house for 8 days. Then the kids and I made the long trek to Indiana for the fair. I have decided to rename that trip now...it is now the Paulus family vacation. Since I only get back to Indiana once a year (for the fair), that is time spent with my parents and siblings. I love being with them and miss them dearly so I can't say I am strictly going back for the fair. Even though that is where the majority of our visiting takes place. I also laugh that this is where I spend most of my time with my sister, Tara, who just happens to live 30 minutes from us. But we go to Indiana to hang out.

After the fair this year, I drove back to Indiana with my own children. We unpacked, shopped and repacked for a weeks vacation with the Eichelberger family at Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee. What normally is a 7 day vacation, from Saturday to Saturday, lasted one more day this year. It was great at the time to spend one more day together, but whoa, made up for the lack of sleep all week this week.

Since the beginning of summer, my mother-in-law visited us and we spent a wonderful time at Carowinds and Charleston. Rob turned 40-something and I turned 30-something and we celebrated our 10 year anniversary! Time sure does fly when you have children and full schedules.

Now that school is approaching, our baby girl is going off to Kindergarten! She is very excited and she will have the teacher that we really liked. Caleb is going into 2nd grade and is again with a friend, 3 years in a row. Colin is in 7th grade and has decided to try football. He has had one practice and was very sore this morning, but our church youth group is white water rafting this weekend, so he is missing 2 practices. We are proud of him for trying football, not really sure how much he will enjoy it, but at least he is trying. Caden will be attending 2-day a week mothers morning out at our church. I am looking forward to those 2 days and either working out or working on my side job. As for Rob and I, well we are still surviving, keeping our heads just enough above water to enjoy the view. I can't complain about much, just the lack of time we get to spend together, but I guess that comes with parenting and growing up.

Stay tuned for further updates...as time permits.............
Until next time!

1 Timothy 2:15 - Motherhood

2009-05-08T10:01:00.002-04:00

"But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety." 1 Timothy 2:15

I have a hard time believing I was called to be a mother. Ok, yes we have 4 wonderful children, but I lack several attributes of mothering. One of those being self-control. I often retaliate back at my children by how they are acting. I usually wonder if I do this because I was the youngest and view my children as a younger sibling to me, so I fight back at them in the same way.

I just listened to a talk radio show about mother's and how they are sanctified by childbirth, whoa, I am still wondering when I will feel that? That knowledge of knowing that I am meant to be here, in holiness, for my children. I pray God opens my heart and mind to my motherhood for my children.

Happy Birthday to Caleb!

2009-04-27T08:05:00.004-04:00

On April 22nd, 2001, Caleb Mancel Eichelberger was born weighing in at 10lbs. 8 ozs and 22 1/2 inches long. He was HUGE! Probably the worse of my 4 deliveries, but what a complete blessing he has been to our family! He turned 8 last week and his excitement and enthusiasm is unbelievable. (As you can see from the above photo.) Since he was turning 8, a grown up age, he had been asking for a pocket knife. We believed that it would be a great gift for him since he is showing signs of maturity and responsibility. He was very excited. Rob had given him advice and lessons as to how to use the knife, including how to open and close it. (Rob needed his own lessons because he cut himself as he was teaching him) Caleb took it with him where ever he went that night and started whittling wood at Colin's baseball game. He was very good at using it correctly and taking care of it. Well, that didn't last 24 hours...you see the next day he and Chloe were fighting over a QUARTER! It was Chloe's quarter and I asked Caleb to please return it to her, so he did, and he stepped outside our front door and by a window, that was opened, and stated to Chloe that he was going to pull his knife out on her. So, the knife is now sitting back in its case waiting for the day that Caleb shows a little more maturity and self-control! But Happy Birthday Caleb!

Sent Away...and funny!

2009-04-16T08:40:00.002-04:00

Two of our really good friends, R. and D., took Caleb and Chloe with them for a few days to the lake. A very nice treat for me, but I miss them dearly. Anyways, last night R. called me and told me the following story...
They were all sitting down to eat dinner and they were having a hodge-podge of items. One of those being homemade mac and cheese. Now my kids love my homemade mac and cheese, but Chloe decided she really didn't like it. Which was fine, but Caleb turned to R and said, "It's okay, she's a vetra-narian."

Oh, I love my kids!!

Redeeming Love

2009-04-15T07:37:00.002-04:00

A wonderful friend of mine here in South Carolina introduced me to a Christian author that I had never read. Her name is Francine Rivers. She has written several books as a Christian and one of hers has over taken me. Redeeming Love is a book based off the biblical story of Hosea and Gomer...WOW! I am not going into detail about the book at this time, but I cannot put this book down and I do not like to read. (Ok, well maybe it is just because I don't have the time)

If you are looking for a good read, check out this book and many of her others. Truly amazing reads!

http://www.francinerivers.com/

Updates

2009-04-14T12:53:00.001-04:00

So, after sometime, I finally figured out how to make my blog pretty! I hope ya'll enjoy the new color and design. Keep coming back for more updates!

Trying to stay afloat

2009-04-14T12:46:00.002-04:00

Spring Break is here. We have had a sick child, Caden, since last Thursday and today he is finally on the mend. Sunday and yesterday were pretty scary, as we thought he was getting dehydrated. But he woke up this morning and had a wet diaper. We are very thankful for not having to take him to the doctor or hospital for fluids. We are without health insurance at this time and were not sure what would have happened had we taken him. There are definitely times to praise God and this was one of those times! Thank you!!!!

Psalm 138

2009-03-18T17:32:00.002-04:00

I just opened my Bible to this passage, please read the scripture and what follows...

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
before the "gods" I will sing your praise.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
When I called, you answered me,
you made me bold and stouthearted.
May all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord,
when they hear the words of your mouth.
May they sing of the ways of the Lord,
for the glory of the Lord is great.
Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly,
but the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
with your right hand you save me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O Lord, endures forever
do not abandon the works of your hands.

This passage has a lot of meaning this afternoon....

Please remember us in your prayers right now!

Childs humor

2009-03-16T09:36:00.003-04:00

Here is one for the baby books...

This morning, Rob was looking at a book that Caleb had wrote for school. The title of the book was..."The boy mets the doods. Vrgin two"

Translated..."The boy meets the dudes. Version two"

This book is very graphic coming from a seven year old, but the boy in the story was actually standing up for a bully. The title completely caught us off guard and Rob looked at me like, what is this? We got some good laughs after he left.

Discouraged

2009-03-16T09:30:00.002-04:00

I have to tell ya'll that I have been too discouraged to update, because my husband and I never had a date night. He ended up working until 7 that night, so I again got my hopes up to do something fun and got shot down. So, although I did not make it to Ikea with just my husband, we did load up the kids and "ran" through the store in about 1.5 hours. I still enjoyed it and we got some great ideas. Now I am ready for some updates to our house!

Since then though we have been to Illinois and back for Rob's grandpa's funeral, got stuck in a rare snow storm in North/South Carolina for 3 hours and dealt with sick kids for the past 2 weeks. Our house has some sort of contaminant in it and it won't get out. Everything from fevers to throw-up and today, I believe I have been hit with the butt flu. Awful!!

Tonight!!

2009-02-21T08:06:00.003-05:00

I just had to add another post...ha ha ha, maybe this will be a trend! Anyways, tonight my husband and I are going out on a date!! I am so excited. Even though we have nothing big on the agenda, we will probably eat some where VERY cheap and then we are heading to the new IKEA that opened up this past Wednesday!! I love IKEA and cannot wait for this evening, to actually walk around the entire store with no children in tow...that in itself is an awesome date!!

Attempt

2009-02-20T11:13:00.006-05:00

For those of you who do come and visit my blog, here is my attempt to update it. There is so many things that I can write on, but it is so hard for me put all the thoughts that go through my head into words and then onto the keyboard. So, here are some events that have been happening in the Eichelberger household.

- The boys are full-swing into basketball. Caleb plays 4 days a week, 2 days of practice and 2 days of games. Colin plays 2 days. Saturday's are crazy because both the boys play usually a couple of hours apart at the same gym, so we run to the 1st game, grab lunch and head to the 2nd game. Caleb is having a blast learning the fundamentals of the game. We have been working with him on staying under the basket to get rebounds. Since he has caught on, he has scored quite a few points. Colin is learning to be strong under the basket. He is definitely one of the tallest on the court, so can post up well, however, he is a little timid and can get pushed around some. But, he can really make a great jump shot from the block once he gets the ball.

- Baseball starts next Saturday for Colin, so he will be doubling up on sports for a few weeks. He will go to a skills evaluation next week and will then be placed on a team from there. We are excited about him playing in a really competitive league this year!

- I have been overwhelmed since the beginning of the year with the yearbook for Caleb's school. Wow, what a task to oversee and tackle. I really enjoyed getting into the school and taking pictures of all the kid and getting to know the teachers better. Everyone at his school is so great and I am looking forward to seeing the final outcome!

4. Rob is very busy at work right now. His hours are crazy and his boss just has him running everywhere. I miss having him at home, but I know we are getting a paycheck right now and that is a blessing in itself.

5. Chloe is really growing up on us. It is very depressing knowing that she will start Kindergarten in the fall. She recently attended the Father/Daughter Valentine's Dance with Rob, of course, she had a blast and enjoyed having daddy all to herself that night.

- Caden is your normal 2 year old! I can't say he has exactly hit the "terrible twos", but he has his moments. He really is an awesome kid and has made us laugh many times! Right now he is very into Thomas and Cars. He started into Cars recently and tries very hard to make a revving (sp?) engine sound. He can be very funny sometimes. He has really been a blessing to this family and everybody loves watching him grow in language and activity.

Well, I think that is about all from the South. Please keep us in your prayers as we feel that God has some really big plans for our family in the future. We don't know what it is, but right now we are being still and knowing that God is in control!!

First snowfall & no school

2009-01-20T10:07:00.008-05:00

Here is a video of our first snowfall this year! School was cancelled at 6am this morning....

A little rediculous, we think!

God's Miracle

2009-01-16T08:20:00.004-05:00

"Miracle"???? on the Hudson

The media has again taken something that obviously had the hand on God all over it and turned it into an heroic act on the pilot. Granted, the pilot did an outstanding job taking control of the situation and the plane and bringing 155 lives to safety. Listening to the news casts this morning shown a light on another miracle. As some passengers recalled the events that unfolded 15 hours prior, they all talked about prayers. Once the announcement was made to brace for landing, many, if not all, the passengers started praying. One born-again Christian even started praying over the intercom, a passenger commented. I firmly believe that God was with those birds, with everyone on the plane and all over the air making sure no other aircraft or watercraft were involved. And maybe God just needed to bring one of the 155 passengers on-board into his loving arms and through the incident brought two or even more. We may never know, but this was no Miracle, it was the work of God on the lives of lost people in this world.

New Year's Resolutions

2008-12-29T08:08:00.002-05:00

Here they are. Our pastor's sermon yesterday touched on New Year's Resolutions and it hit me pretty hard that most of my Resolutions do not include any spiritual changes at all. And though I never keep my Resolutions...this year, maybe, could be different. So I am publicly proclaiming my goals here:

1. To grow my spiritual life. I want to move forward and to not dwell on my past.
(More on this later)

2. Run everyday!

3. Unrevealed. This one is too personal to reveal on here, but Rob knows what this is and hopefully he will be able to hold me accountable for this. (And lots of prayer)

So, there they are. Each one of these I believe will help me in my daily activities, I really believe I want to move towards more of a Proverbs 31 woman, and this is my start.

My one confession about these goals is that I do think about Resolutions every New Year, but have never followed through with them. Rob and I discussed this yesterday, stating that he never makes them due to the reason that he would fail and does not want to be a failure. Me on the other hand, I obviously fail a lot. Here I am making, three new Resolutions only to know that I am going to fail. I find this a little troubling, but then I look at my life and realize that I have failed in almost every area of my life. So, this takes me back to Resolution #1...I no longer want to dwell on my past, whether is was 30 years ago or yesterday, I want to move forward.

Free Jewelry

2008-12-20T20:52:00.002-05:00

I added a side note on my blog about Free sterling silver jewelry! I found out about this site through the Woman's Day magazine article back in June and have now enjoyed countless free jewelry offers. It really is beautiful jewelry and all you pay is $6.99 shipping & handling/piece. Click the link on the right-hand side and take a look at what all they have to offer.

Just an FYI for all my friends and family out there!

Strange things are happening...

2008-12-18T12:57:00.002-05:00

So for the past 3 days, I have worn flip flops and short sleeve shirts!! With that in mind, I have sent the boys to school in shorts and Chloe to school in skirts this week.

A little strange for December 15-18th, I hope we get some snow at some point this winter season.

Webcams...

2008-12-09T20:25:00.003-05:00

We bought a new webcam to replace the non-Vista compatible webcam we had. We are having such a good time with it. The kids are making funny videos and we get to send greetings out to family members too.

So, I am going to try and attach a file to this post and you can see our greeting to Grandma Eichelberger. (Plus, the video wouldn't send over email, so hopefully she will see it here!)

Caleb's performance

2008-12-08T17:19:00.003-05:00

Here is a video from Caleb's performance at our church with the "K"ids "F"or "C"hrist choir. He in in the back row and the 4th from the right in a red shirt.

Click on the KFC Thanksgiving video to view.

Click Here for link

Contemplations...

2008-12-08T13:26:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I am now done with my Christmas decorating...except for finishing the tree, but the kids will help with that. And I have rearranged some areas of the house and have found an undesirable amount of clothing and toys that I don't know what to do with. One would say..."Good Will, baby", however we could really use the money from the clothes and toys.
With this...I am thinking about opening a consignment store. You might ask why not just send it to a consignment store and not hassle with it? Well, I have enough items to fill a store with baby clothes, toddler boy clothes, and girl clothes...then there are the toys, games and movies.

I would love feedback from anyone that wants to offer up some advice. (Pros and cons)

Holiday Decorating

2008-11-22T08:41:00.004-05:00

I believe that I can justify Christmas decorating when it is 19 degrees outside right now. To those of you up north, this doesn't sound so cold, but it is really cold here! As I am typing this, however, I am listening to "White Christmas" and am actually holding out hope for a white Christmas this year. If the temperature is this low, then it is actually possible. Oh wait...that would mean we would have to get precipitation as well, ok maybe it isn't possible after all.

By the way, Rob always holds to his guns about listening to Christmas music or decorating before Thanksgiving...it is a no-no in his world. He will have a wonderful surprise when he gets home this afternoon! :-)

Doggy Doorbells...Really Work!!

2008-11-20T15:02:00.002-05:00

On Saturday night, we had some friends over for dinner. There were like 9 kids and 5 adults, so it was a house full. The kids were running in and out, playing tag and jumping on the trampoline out back. Caden was already in his pajamas, so we were not letting him outside and he was pretty mad at us for not letting him. He was standing at our back door waiting for someone to come in, so he could sneak out. Well, none of the kids were coming in so finally he thought of his own way out...

Well, to our surprise, I heard the bells on our door ring, so I instinctively got up from the table to let our dog outside. At the same time, all the adults sitting at the table looked up to see Caden bending over to ring our dog's bells with his nose. The laughter rang through the house...yet Caden still did not get out.

Our Terrific Kid

2008-11-06T09:36:00.003-05:00

Rob and I actually have 4 terrific kids! However one particular one, Caleb, has again proven to others that he is a "Terrific Kid". This morning was the "Terrific Kid" program sponsored by the Rock Hill Kiwanis Club. This was in recognition of demonstrating a positive attitude, good character, and responsible citizenship. Caleb really works hard in the classroom and to be friends with everyone. So, we wanted to share with all of you our "Terrific Kid"...Caleb.

Halloween

2008-11-02T13:47:00.003-05:00

Here are the munchkins from trick or treating. They were real troopers and had a great time!

Ah, debates!

2008-10-31T13:20:00.003-04:00

It seems as though the latest post has sparked some interesting conversations. I love it!

(Sorry to those involved, but this is fun!)

Two Different Morals!

2008-10-30T13:33:00.004-04:00

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself

MODERN VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, President Obama approves the EEOC draft from the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed, when he was in office, from a list of single-parent welfare recipients. The ant loses the case. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2008!!

No Title for Laziness

2008-10-13T08:38:00.005-04:00

The title pretty much sums it up. I have been very lazy in posting, mostly due to being in Indiana and then catching up last week on things that needed to be done. But I will fill you all in on some of the excitement here in South Carolina.

1. I have to say going back to Indiana brought back strong feelings for wanting to be back with great family and friends. However, spending any amount of time outdoors, was a good enough reason to want to be back in the south! It was freezing and we did not have the proper attire with us to enjoy the outdoors either. I even had to do a little shopping before we left to provide some of the kids with warmer clothing. I think it was 33 degrees the morning we left...brrrrrrrr!

2. We would like you all to meet Teddy! He joined our family on Sept. 19th and has really been an excellent addition. We can't complain, yet. Some funny events have happened with him...we had to take him to Indiana with us and he ended up having worms. So, my cousin's wife, M., came to the rescue and brought him some deworming pills and then we ended up having him neutered while we were there. It was something that needed to be done, and it was by far cheaper in Indiana than down here. He is a cockerpoo, he is very good, obedient and a great coat. These dogs don't shed, so it is the perfect pet for this family with allergies.

3. Last week Caden and I joined Chloe's preschool class on a trip to Cotton Hills Farm in Chester, SC. It was a good time, we did a wagon ride through some great fields, talked with the owner about farming, petted some animals, walked through a corn maze and picked pumpkins. We enjoyed the day, the weather was perfect! Here are a couple of pictures to enjoy!

Boys' Baptism

2008-10-13T08:15:00.004-04:00

Colin and Caleb were baptised yesterday morning at church. What a wonderful testimony for our family! Here is a link to watch the video from the baptism. (Thank you G.S. for providing the video!)

Obituary

2008-09-30T22:59:00.001-04:00

Grandpa Paulus

My Grandpa, Arthur Paulus

2008-09-29T11:08:00.003-04:00

Arthur and Helen Paulus

6 Children: Fred, Carolyn, Don, Bob, Denny and Byron

16 Grandchildren: Tracy, Trevor, Tara, Tami, Jacklyn, Jonathan, David, Trena, Heidi, Robin, Benji, Brent, Brad, Aaron, Robyn, and Nathan

23 and one on the way Great-Grandchildren: If I could name them all without a misspelling or missing one, I would, but there are 23 and one coming in March.

What a legacy that was started with two wonderful people!
Thank you Grandpa & Grandma Paulus

Updates

2008-09-23T09:33:00.004-04:00

Since I get so many complaints that I haven't updated our blog in sometime, I figured I will get you all a 1 - 2 punch on what has been happening here. We are completely overwhelmed right now with 3 birthdays in 15 days. And that is just our family, our extended family has 9 birthdays in one month. That is crazy! It takes a lot to remember which day is whose...it's a good thing there are parents and in-laws to remind us. Lucky for us, Caden is too young for the BIG birthday parties, he just doesn't have that many friends yet. But Colin's party is this weekend, we are expecting a visit from my parents, hopefully next week, but that is hinging on my grandpa's health. And then finally, Chloe's birthday is next Friday, Oct. 3rd and her party is that weekend. So many things to do and no time! Maybe I shouldn't be sitting at the computer right now then?????
Rob's official first day of work is tomorrow. YEAH! We are really excited about his future with this company, but very worried about the economy right now. We just trust that God will take care of us and believe that He will be with us through this transition. It has turned into a very good thing to be moving into a new job, so there is no doubt this was in the plans for our family.
I think that is about all from here. So, until next time...

Thursday, Sept. 18th, 2008!

2008-09-20T07:22:00.004-04:00

It was baby Caden's 2nd birthday! It was a very sad day for me, I never thought that it would affect me the way that it did. I can't explain what it was that made me sad, but the day just was sort of...different. Maybe the fact that I know the baby years are leaving us and the time is closing in on no diapers and preteens! YIKES!

It was a great day! Caden's new love is Thomas the Tank Engine and he got his fill of the stuff. From pillows to blankets, and sippy cups and toy trains. He just couldn't get enough.

Here are some photos from his special day:

2 Weeks

2008-09-09T10:01:00.003-04:00

Two weeks, that is how much longer my husband, Rob, will be working at John Deere Landscapes. Rob put in his 2 week resignation letter today and is very excited about his (and our) future. Rob has accepted a proposal with a local hardscapes company here in Rock Hill, SC, Gulley Hardscapes. He has been hired on to be an operations manager with the intent to gain partnership in the company.
We are very excited about this new stepping stone in our lives and truly believe that God had his hand on this situation. All the doors were open for us to take this leap of faith and Rob will finally be able to do what he loves most...making landscape look beautiful.
I don't believe I have seen such a relief on his face and a happiness about him like I have in the last 2 weeks. Please keep us in your prayers as we venture into the unknown!

Chloe's 1st day of preschool

2008-09-02T14:06:00.003-04:00

Boo hoo hoo! I cried this morning as it hit me hard to let our little girl off at her first day of preschool. I don't know why it was so hard for me, but it was. The 3 hours she was there went by really fast. She came out of her class this afternoon beaming from ear to ear with a smile so I knew she had a really good time. Here are some pictures from her first day!

Chloe with her best friend, Laura, they are in the same class and are only 4 days apart in age!

Chloe loves her new princess backpack!

Our Weekend

2008-09-02T11:20:00.004-04:00

We had an amazing weekend with some friends in Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, NC. This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. I wish we could have shared it with everyone we know. The kids had a blast and we know they will remember this for years. Please enjoy the following photos from our weekend.

Yes! I actually got into the freezing cold water, but it was worth it!

This is the house we stayed at in the woods. It was so peaceful!

Delimas...why?

2008-08-27T21:05:00.003-04:00

Colin has started swim team practice this week. We get to try the team for 2 weeks for free and then will need to pay for a year of swimming. He enjoyed it, not a lot, but he really wants to try it for a year. I am all for it, however, I have been asked to coach the Junior division of 8 & under. I think the coach sees something in him and maybe Caleb because she has inquired a lot about their history with swimming and mine. I am so psyched about coaching, especially swimming, however, it would be for 1 hour a day from 4:30-5:30pm, plus weekend meets in town and out of town. Of course Rob is not home, I could get childcare for the kids, and we get a significant discount on the cost of participating...what to do...what to do...?

Back into a routine

2008-08-23T16:00:00.003-04:00

It feels so good to think about a routine again. However, with the start of school comes the start of sports. We are debating on the swim team of Colin and Caleb would like to try football, but I think he is too young for that. Swimming will take up quite a bit of time, but I loved being on the swim team when I was younger, and would love for my children to participate too. We are still contemplating this though...more for the reason of money than anything. Wow, is it expensive!

Tonight

2008-08-16T22:02:00.004-04:00

Tonight, Rob, Chloe and I attended an engagement party for our friends, Jessica and Garrick. The real reason we were invited is because Chloe will be a flower girl in the wedding on April 4th, 2009. She is very excited and we believe she will be the most beautiful flower girl in Rock Hill, SC. Ok, well she is sharing the title with another little girl, Justina, but they will both be the cutest flower girls on April 4th. These are some photos from our evening and of the dresses they will be wearing.

The Dog Days of Summer

2008-08-16T09:35:00.002-04:00

The "dog days of summer" are among us. School is starting in 3 & 4 days, the schedules are quickly filling up. My softball season is over, Rob's is still in regular season and soon to be tournament. Then I found out this week that there will be a fall woman's volleyball season and a co-ed softball season with our church may start soon too. YEAH! Well, yeah to the volleyball, I love playing volleyball!

So, the busyness starts and the routine of school and activities will again need to be coordinated. I realized this week what my days will be like. I will leave the house at 7:20 to take Caleb to school, get back to the house around 7:45, get Colin and Chloe ready then we will leave around 8:15 to take Colin to school. I will then take Chloe to her preschool by 9. Return home with Caden for 2 hours, then go back and pick-up Chloe at 12, eat lunch, pick-up Caleb at 2:25, and then Colin at 3:30. So, somewhere in there I will get Caden to nap and maybe find some other families to carpool with, otherwise, I will have to find a job just to pay for the gas I will be going through.

September is also a very busy month for us too! Caden's 2nd birthday is Sept. 18th, Colin's 12th birthday is Sept. 28th, that same weekend, Rob has inventory at work which lasts all weekend long, and Chloe's 5th birthday is Oct. 3rd. Wow...I will be swimming in chaos for a little while!

I will give out another holler when I get my head out of the water!

Correction...

2008-08-11T08:36:00.003-04:00

I am eating my own words this morning. Last night after I posted about the "girl's" gymnastics, a "woman" from Germany, a 33 year-old at that, participated in the vault and did an amazing job. She gave all credit to gymnastics for saving her son's life. He was diagnosed with leukemia several years ago and she moved her family to Germany for better health care. Now she is on Germany's Olympic "Women's" Gymnastic team!

I love the stories of people's lives that participate in the Olympics!

What a great weekend!

2008-08-10T20:37:00.002-04:00

We had a great weekend! It started with us finding out that Rob now has to work only every third Saturday and he got this weekend off. So he has not worked a Saturday for like a month now. I really enjoy having him home on Saturday's so this was a sweet treat for us. We ended up doing yard work on Saturday morning. I touched a lawn mower for the first time since I moved out of mom & dad's 9 years ago. I have a good friend, R, who mows her yard all the time, so I think she was a little impressed that I finally mowed, a little. After that, R's husband, D, took Caleb and Chloe to Carowinds and Rob met them with Colin a little later, so I got to stay behind and give Caden a nap and enjoy a quiet house. That evening we went to R and D's for dinner and let the kids play hard for a while. Then we came home and watched Michael Phelps start his gold medal journey! GO MICHAEL!!
Today the boys had a birthday party, so Rob, Caden and Chloe took a nap while I did more research for Rob's family vacation next year. We found the lake that we want to keep visiting, we are just looking for a place that really fits the whole family comfortably. We then took Chloe and Caden swimming and met up with the boys after the party at our friends house for a little bit.
Now, I am patiently awaiting another gold medal night for Michael Phelps and watching the girl's gymnastics. (I have a hard time calling this event women's gymnastics when none of the females competing are out of their teens!)

One hottie and his son...

2008-08-08T09:06:00.001-04:00

Ok, even though he is 40 years old. He is one HOT man and has a very cute son!! Ok, just had to add that to the list of posts!

School Shopping

2008-08-08T08:24:00.002-04:00

Begin soap box...
I started our school shopping last weekend, since it was Tax-Free weekend in South Carolina. I am not saving a ton of money, but it feels good. Anyways, as I was shopping I realized something about my children's clothing. It is very unsettling the graphics on kids t-shirts.
I am very excited that as Colin enters 6th grade in a middle school there is a required dress code. He has to wear solid colored polo shirts, with NO pockets, emblems, or logos on the shirt. This is great, and I am glad that stores are moving past the basic navy and white for shirts. We actually found orange, red, blue and green. For pants, he has to wear any shade of brown khakis and/or navy blue. They can be shorts or long pants, but there can't be any logos on the pockets. All shirts have to be tucked in and he has to wear a belt! Oh, and the pants have to be worn at the natural waist line. Well, since Colin doesn't have a "natural" waist because he has no butt, this should be interesting. The reason I am so excited about this dress code...Colin will finally be able to dress himself EVERY morning! He has matching issues since I would just go in a lay out his clothes everyday for him. He is getting better so I will give him credit, but this should be very good for him.
Now I do have issues with Caleb and the clothing choices for him. I have chose not to buy the clothes with characters, ugly graphics or absurd statements on them. I know there are lots of parents out there that agree, but not only are you making statements about you as a parent, but also what the shirts are saying about your child or their siblings. These clothing choices should just be eliminated from stores. Don't get me wrong, some of them fit my kids personalities perfectly and some of them are down right funny.
To sum this all up, and I will soon get off my soap box, Colin received a perfect shirt a couple of months ago, it says..."If you can't say anything nice"...it has an outlined smiley face with gray tape over its mouth. I think that is perfect!

Allergies

2008-08-05T13:57:00.004-04:00

Allergies have to be the worst ailment that was ever created. I suffer from them, majorly, Colin suffers, and so does Caden.

Colin was tested 2 years ago once we moved down here and has really suffered for years from them. Today, we went to a new doctor, whom we really liked. He explained things very well and gave us medicines to hopefully help him and could possibly eliminate shots. But in the mean time, Colin will have to resume allergy shots...2 shots once a week. We will try this for 1 year and then evaluate his symptoms from there.

Here is a look at his back from the testing...

This photo was taken within the first 3 minutes after the pricks.

This photos was taken withing 15 minutes of the pricks. The white stuff is a lotion they used to calm the itch and redness.

As you can see from the photos...he has some major allergies. Poor guy...

Two Highlights

2008-08-05T08:18:00.006-04:00

Here are 2 very special highlights for our week at the lake...
First, the girl in our family water boarding (not really sure what you would call this)...

Second, the water bug our baby has turned into, Caden never stopped doing this all vacation...

And we're back...

2008-08-03T18:32:00.002-04:00

We are back from the 2 week "vacation", which actually turned out to be more of a vacation than I had expected. Anyways, I will post some funny stories, pictures and updates in the next couple of days, but for now, I am putting my nose to the grindstone and getting my life back in order!

Be back soon!

A "sitting" job

2008-07-16T08:06:00.005-04:00

Our neighbors across from us had asked if Colin would be interested in "sitting" for their dog while they were out of town. It was a wonderful experience for some of us! I spent the week sick as a dog, no pun intended. I truly believe that I have severe animal allergies. We have a cat, but she doesn't seem to bother me. But from the moment, Charlotte, came to our house, I was miserable. Stuffy nose, itchy eyes, sneezing and eventually my asthma kicked in. Colin also showed symptoms of allergies.

Besides all that, Charlotte, was a wonderful dog. The reason I decided to post on this was because as a family, wait...let me restate this, Caleb, had called family meetings to discuss getting a dog, prior to our dog-sitting. We had even visited a shelter twice and looked at a couple of puppies. I felt like I was ready to tackle the puppy stage and the kids seemed eager to help out with the different chores that go along with them. When choosing a dog, the boys wanted one that would go swimming in the lake and play fetch. (A dream dog for the boys!) Well, all of that changed when Charlotte arrived. This dog never wanted to stop playing fetch. Anything, she could find that could be thrown and brought back to one of us, was FUN! At first she would not let go of the ball, but eventually we all hated playing fetch that she would just lay the ball on our laps. My take on this was that I didn't mind playing fetch, but the drool was uncalled for. YUCK!

Needless to say, Charlotte left us on Saturday and the kids have not mentioned getting a puppy yet. Hopefully this worked and we won't have to pull the mom has bad allergies so we can't get one. I don't want to be the fun killer.

She was a great dog, she loved to lay by your feet, she didn't chew up anything, she let you know when she needed to go outside and she was beautiful.

Happy Anniversary

2008-07-10T07:08:00.003-04:00

Today is our 9-year anniversary! I truly believe I am married to the hottest, most wonderful man on earth! (Even though he never smiles, I think he is happy) We will be celebrating our anniversary Friday night by going out to dinner.

Too cute

2008-07-09T15:42:00.001-04:00

Isn't our daughter just the cutest thing in the world?

God has really blessed us with a beauty!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-07-09T15:33:00.002-04:00

So, my kids asked me yesterday who I am inviting to my birthday party and with a glad heart I said, as a grown up, I don't have birthday parties. They were very disappointed to find that out. Caleb was shocked to hear that adults don't have parties.

Does this mean that we should lay off the big birthday parties we have for them as children so they are not disappointed as adults? Or just let them realize on their own that birthday's become less important the older they get?

Upcoming Events

2008-07-08T09:26:00.002-04:00

Ok, so for those of you who know me, you will know what I am planning for in 2 weeks. For those of you who read this and don't know me...don't you dare think I am crazy!

So starting July 18th and running through July 26th is one of the Nation's largest 4-H fairs, the Elkhart County 4-H Fair! For 32 years of my life I have been to this fair, for most of those years I was there every day, in those 32 years, I have missed 1 fair and that was last year. I am very excited to go back this year and once again experience the excitement and FOOD of the fair. I have so many wonderful memories from riding rides, showing Holstein dairy cows, participating in the queen pageants and watching the enfamous tractor pull every year! My biggest regret is knowing that my children will never know the experience of raising animals to show at the fair. It is very painful for me! But I will pass on the opportunity of knowing what the fair is and what an important part it has in my life.
Back to the food though, let me tell you they serve up the best of the best there. I have to say my favorite is the Taco Salad. Followed closely by the soft serve ice cream from Dairy Bar's I & II, then there is Tom Thumb donuts, fried veggies and cheese, and Port-a-Pit chicken (only because I don't live there anymore and I can't smell it every weekend in some parking lot around the county). I LOVE THAT SMELL! Let me add that the grandstand entertainment is great this year too! The entertainers this year are...Nicole Mullen, Kellie Pickler, Little Big Town and Hootie and the Blowfish! They have brought in some good ones this year!!
My sister, Tara, and I make the trip together with our families just for the fair. It is a great week spent with my family reminiscing about past fairs and family traditions, like the parade!
So, after an exhausting week at the fair, my family will take a trip a little further south to Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee with Rob's family. That will be a week of boating, jet skiing, and tubing on the lake. I am really excited about this trip too! It is always a very fun week and it is so great to be with family.
These two weeks are spent with both of my families and to me I wouldn't want to be anywhere else these two weeks with anybody else! Now I just have the stress of packing and planning for 2 weeks of vacations!

Update on Colin

2008-06-30T08:11:00.006-04:00

Whew...what a start to our summer. I can't believe that we are a month into the summer and I feel like I have completed nothing. Colin has kept us very busy this year. He stared his summer with the trip to Gatlinburg, TN with the Safety Patrol. And a week later (thank goodness) he was in the hospital getting his appendix removed. Our son must be very stoic about pain because he never presented the doubled-over, jumping off the table with rebound pain that is typical of appendicitis. I had more people ask me "well, how did you know that it was his appendix?" Honestly people, we didn't know. That is why we waited 8 hours after his doctor had told us to go the the ER to actually go. (Yes, I feel terrible about that now!) But, Colin never showed signs of being in an unbearable amount of pain. He made it through the surgery and recovery just fine with 3 small incisions on this abdomen. He bounced back immediately with very few complications and was swimming 2 days after he was out of the hospital.

So, hopefully we can keep the other 3 out of the hospital for the rest of the summer and start to enjoy some peaceful family time for the next 2 months.

Hometown Hero

2008-06-30T07:41:00.004-04:00

The news of a fellow church member of mine from Wakarusa Missionary Church came to Rock Hill, SC yesterday. Travis Hunsberger was killed in active duty with the Green Berets by an IED in Afghanistan on Friday. Although I have not been in Indiana or to my home church for over 2 years, my childhood memories of Travis flooded back in my memory. And although I did not know him as an adult, the articles I have read from the news since his passing are amazing to me. I know that he is at the right hand of Jesus right now and hopefully asking for a peace to be with his family and friends during this very difficult time. My family also lifts up prayers to Steve and Ronda, Kyle and Kelsey and also his wife. How hard it must be to feel the hurt of losing a loved one at a young age. Only God can give you the peace to believe that he is safe and in his Heavenly Fathers care.

A visit to the hospital

2008-06-19T22:28:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday morning, Colin had woke up with a stomach ache. By Thursday morning at about the same time, he was being wheeled out of a room at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, NC to have his appendix removed. There is a long story to go with this, but for now I just wanted to update those who read our blog, what we have been doing for the past 36 hours. We thank everyone in our family and in our church family for their prayers. God is good all the time and all the time, God is good!!
Colin is resting well this evening and we are having a great time hanging out together, just me and him, watching movies and enjoying the peace and quiet!!
I will post more tomorrow when we hopefully return home.

Missing Colin :-(

2008-06-11T09:45:00.003-04:00

Colin took part in the Safety Patrol at his school and the Rock Hill Police Department. As a reward he has gone on a 3 day-2 night trip to Gatlinburg, TN. While there he will see the Dixie Stampede, Dollywood, and the Smokey Mountains. He called us last night around 9:30pm and was so excited! I am so glad he is enjoying the trip and I know it was worth all the effort he put into being able to go. (He had to do a lot of unwanted reading!) He will return tomorrow night at 6pm. He will either be really happy to see us, or ready to give up the family and be with his friends all the time! I hope he chooses the family because I am really missing him and his smile!

Lack of Posts....again!!

2008-06-11T09:35:00.002-04:00

The title pretty much sums it up! I am so busy with the summer break in full swing that I can rarely find time to sit down and enjoy the computer. I have to present kudos to Shelley F., a fellow blogger, for preparing me for my share of sibling arguments. It began on Friday, the first full day out of school, and has not stopped. It will require a lot of adjustment on all of our parts to get reacquainted with one another. Chloe and Caden are just used to me being there for them, Chloe wants to play with Caleb all the time, Caleb is really content just playing his DS all day, and Colin just waits for the phone to ring so a friend will invite him over. I did ask for help from the older boys on Monday and they loved it! I had asked them to sort all the laundry that I had collected from the rooms (which turned into 5 or 6 loads). After they had sorted, they asked to fold my load of socks I had yet to do. YEAH, I hate folding socks! So, I believe I will send them daily to the rooms to gather the specific load of laundry that I will do that day, it will teach them how to sort and how to run the washing machine. This could be a great summer!

A life of disappointments

2008-06-04T12:11:00.003-04:00

I try hard to really look forward to events in my life, however, over the years I have also learned not to get my hopes up because things always end in disappointment for me. And so it has happened again. I mistakenly thought that Rob didn't have to work this Saturday because he worked last Saturday, well that was a day he had traded with a co-worker, so now he is back on schedule and this is his weekend to work. Well, shucks because that means we there is nobody here to watch the kids on Saturday morning, which means I cannot attend the CMA Music Festival this weekend. I was already going to hire our pastor's daughter to watch the kids on Friday, so I can leave early for Nashville, but we can't afford or should not spend the money on a babysitter 2 days in a row. So, again my excitement has been extinguished and I will spend the weekend with my family and still have a wonderful time with them.

Another Great Adventure..

2008-06-03T10:58:00.004-04:00

I am again faced with a delima. I have been asked by my neighbor, who is a 27-year-old assistant principal, to join her this weekend in Nashville, TN for the CMA Music Festival. She has received 2 tickets from her friend, Chris Hope, who plays pro football for the Tennessee Titans. The festival takes place this Thursday through Sunday. We will be leaving on Friday afternoon and will return Sunday. All expenses will be taken care of except for food. The gas, lodging and tickets are all from Chris. This is almost too good to be true. How can I pass up such an exciting weekend and opportunity? So again, I sit and ponder the responsibility of whether this is something I should do or pass up...I think I am going to do it!!

Field Trip with Colin

2008-06-03T10:25:00.003-04:00

So, I did something I normally would never do because of having children at home. But, I hired a babysitter last Friday and went on a field trip to Carowinds Theme Park with Colin and his 5th grade class. His teacher was short on chaperones, so I volunteered most of my day to ride fun roller coasters with 3 - 11 year old boys. I did have a great time and it was fun not to worry about the 2 youngest kids being bored while we rode "grown-up" coasters.

Here are some pictures from the day...

Yes, Colin does have some "girl" friends. The one in the middle with the red shorts really likes him. It was a very good day and I know the kids really enjoyed themselves. Colin was very tired after a full day of theme park fun. Let me add that we have season passes to Carowinds, so we frequent this park often during the summer, just not for whole days. We usually spend 2-3 hours there during the week and sometimes on weekends.

And we're back...

2008-06-03T09:50:00.003-04:00

Wow, it really has been a long time since I last blogged. Sorry to my faithful readers about the lack of entries. It has really been a busy week. Colin and Caleb will be finishing up school this Thursday...Colin graduates at 8:30a and Caleb at 10:30a. I am really excited about this day because Rob will be taking the morning off to attend the ceremonies. YEAH!!

Let's see, the boys finished up their baseball team seasons on Saturday with games at 9 and 11. Both of them had parties afterwards and received trophies and medals. I am really glad those leagues are finished, now we just have our church's season, however, that one just started. Here are some pictures of them playing...

I am playing softball again for our church's women's team. We have had 2 games and I do enjoy getting out and playing a sport, it is just so hot that it makes it uncomfortable at times.

As we are preparing for the end of the school year, I started to review our summer activities and realized that we are very full this year. Colin will be going on a Safety Patrol trip, both boys have basketball camp, bible school, birthday's/anniversary's, fair (which means traveling to Indiana), the Eichelberger vacation in TN, and then school starts again. YIKES!!

Happy 40th Birthday, Rob!!

2008-05-27T09:56:00.003-04:00

Dear Rob,

I have to admit I have told some lies,

But they all were in good fun.

I know your job is full of stress,

So I wanted to go on a run.

I started planning months ago,

A trip for us to take.

It started with your birthday,

And a way to share some cake.

So...I called up some people,

To see what I could do.

And wouldn't you know your family said,

We are coming too!

So now this weekend will be spent,

With all your family in Somerset...

(Kentucky)

There it is...the poem that I gave to my husband on Friday evening as we were driving to the "mountains" of Tennessee to spend the holiday weekend with my sister and her family. We pulled it off, Rob was completely surprised and very excited about being able to see and spend time with his family. There were 16 of us total that stayed in a 4 bedroom house that slept 15 up on a hill over-looking (the would be) Lake Cumberland, KY. We had a wonderful weekend. We went to bed really late every night, played lots of poker, ate very well, played kickball and baseball at a park, saw a very old Civil War battlefield and others spent time at an old car show.

It was so relaxing to get out of town and into the country and rolling hills of Kentucky. Wow, what a beautiful creation! We took lots of pictures, but here is our farewell photo with us kids and grandkids.

I will be adding more memories from our trip, but I wanted those that read our blog that I did surprise him and he really had a great time.

So, today we celebrate his real 40th birthday, with baseball games, a late meeting at his work and no chance to see each other or the kids on this special day. I pray for the day that we will spend more time together and not be rushed or ruled by so many other distractions of this world.

Happy Anniversary & Happy Birthday!!

2008-05-23T09:33:00.003-04:00

I have been very busy this week and I will explain why in a minute, but here are a few things going on here in Rock Hill.

- First things first, we celebrated a 2 year milestone on Tuesday, the 20th. Two years ago we moved down here to the sunny south. It has been 2 wonderful years, and we have seen a lot of growth through our marriage, in our children and our spiritual life. If you ever just pick up and move your family 700 miles away from family and friends, you have to find something stable in your life and that would be the Lord.

- And now I can finally let the cat out of the bag...(you thought I was going to announce I was pregnant, NOT!!). But, my husband will be celebrating his 40th birthday this coming Tuesday, the 27th, and I have planned and schemed a surprise weekend away in Kentucky, where we will be meeting his family. His brother, Troy and his family, his sister, Kristy and her family, and his mother will be joining us for the weekend. I am so excited that it is just about killing me to keep this secret from him and our kids. Rob believes we are going to the mountains with my sister and her family. So, I have him thinking we are driving about 4 hours away, however, it is more like a 6 hour drive. I am pretty sure he does not have a clue as to what is really going on, but I wouldn't put it past him to just play along either. I don't know...we will just have to see.

Anyways, I will be back here posting on Tuesday and I will let everyone know if I pulled one off on Rob or not.

Have a wonderful Memorial day weekend!!

Just a Thought...

2008-05-22T08:20:00.003-04:00

This morning I stopped by a local christian radio stations' website to read the radio personalities blog. You can see it here. I started reading a topic about Ted Kennedy and his prognosis. He wrote about wanting to know how much longer he had to live. And he went on to ask why do people want to know how much longer someone has to live. Well, as I read this I realized I have the same curiosity. My thoughts went more like this...that as a Christian, I wonder if they are saved? I feel very sad that a family is facing such grim prognosis, but is someone witnessing to these individuals. And what about those not-so-famous individuals that receive news like this everyday where no one in their family knows the Lord. Is this a cry for Christians to witness more? Or maybe it is a cry for my own life....?

American Teen

2008-05-20T16:05:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I had no idea that a movie was filmed at a well-known local high school in our area. So, kudos to Warsaw High and the NLC for getting your name out there. To those of you who read my blog and didn't know about the film either, I thought I would give it some lime-light and maybe you might go see it. I think it opens July 24th. To those who read my blog and have know idea what this means, take a look at the trailers, it might give you a better idea of why I am the way I am! Just kidding.

But take a look. It actually portrays quite a bit of what high school was like for me and it may give us parents an idea of what our soon-to-be-teens will be facing.

It is on my summer movie list!

I Did It!!

2008-05-20T08:24:00.004-04:00

It happened! I left around 11 am on Saturday morning and returned to my departure spot around 11 am Sunday. I had a wonderful time with 7 other ladies and a very cozy cottage on a very calm lake in north-central South Carolina. For those of you who have never visited this area...there are some individuals that are very different!

After arriving at the cottage, we set off for the small town of Camden. I had heard a number of stories of this town, it really was a beautiful town that was similar to a smaller Goshen, IN. The downtown area had antique shops and coffee houses and some bars. We visited a unique deli/coffee shop for lunch. The inside was the original brick and it had a loft to it and the ceiling wasn't finished. I just love buildings like that. Anyways, as we were walking in, we were greeted by members of a jazz/blues band (at 1pm in the afternoon, in a coffee house?). I immediately noticed a woman with a hat on and commented about a Red Hat Society meeting. Little did I realize that this woman was on board with the South. As we were waiting for our sandwiches, she came swinging beside our table on her way to the restroom. She would take some steps, then double back and swing with the beats of the jazz music. Now, this was a strange sight, but that was nothing in comparison to what she was holding in her hand. So, please take a look at the picture...

Let me tell you, we laughed about this all night long. After we left the deli, we went down the street to a shop and some of us sat outside waiting and she came walking down the street bopping to the beep of someones car alarm going off. Either she was just in love with life or completely off her rocker. She ended her walk by asking a car pulled up by the sidewalk to give her a ride home. Man...she was funny!!

Well, I had a great weekend, I survived, Rob survived and the kids were all in one piece and happy to see me again.

That everyone, is the best feeling in the world...to know you are loved and missed!

Girls' Weekend

2008-05-14T09:01:00.002-04:00

Girl's Weekend, May 17th & 18th, 2008.

I could not be more excited than I am right now!! A friend of mine, R., has invited me and 2 other girls down to their lake cottage for the weekend. I think the reason I am so excited is because I finally feel as if I have a friend that sees me as more of a friend than just through our sons. Does that make sense? I met her 18 months ago when our son's were at preschool together and have since developed a pretty good friendship with her and her husband.

The plans are to go down Saturday morning and come back Sunday sometime. This posed several problems in my mind for us (me)....
1. I feel very guilty missing church on Sunday morning. (This has been a problem since childhood and why does that still have to haunt me?)
2. The kids are not happy. I don't know if I should feel great about this, that my kids love me that much or very saddened that they are going to be unhappy.
3. Can Rob handle the kids? Feeding them well, bathing them, and getting them up and ready for church, ON TIME!

Well, I guess I have a decision to make. I am very excited for the invitation though. I haven't spent anytime away from the children overnight for exactly 2 years. I really could use the break.....I will let you know what I decide!!

A Day in the Life of.....Tami

2008-05-07T13:29:00.004-04:00

Ok, here it is some tidbits about my day and what I have been up to. About 9 months ago, my neighbor approached me about helping her dad out with "peg" boards. I followed up with her dad and he set me up to work out of our home putting resistors, capacitors, diodes, etc. in circuit boards. So it began, I set up a home business through the city of Rock Hill and the adventure started. Now don't get me wrong, the money is wonderful, the time it takes to put these together is excruciating. Here is a picture of what the set of boards I do look like...

The top board is what I get in my "kit" and there are 25 boards in each kit. I add the pieces that are in the boxes to the boards until they look like the completed board (bottom board). This example is a very nice board, there are fewer pieces than normal and the boards are bigger. The boards that I turned in on Monday were about half the size of these and were completely covered with pieces. Those were excruciating! In the end though, the money has allowed us to go on Spring Break, buy some new furniture, and enjoy activities that we normally get to do.

My normal days consists of waking up, enjoying a cup of coffee (a new found love), reading a devotion, then waking up Colin and Caleb for school. Once I get back from taking them to school, I feed Chloe and Caden and sort the laundry for my one load a day. I try to clean up whatever might need to be done and get Caden ready to take a nap. He usually sleeps from 11a-2p so that leaves me about 2 hours to sit down with the boards. About 1 o'clock, I get lunch ready for us and wait for Caden to wake up and then I feed him. We leave the house around 2:30 to pick up the boys from school and then I spend the next 2-3 hours breaking up sibling fights and helping with homework. Also during this time I start to prepare dinner and get the kids ready for which ever child has ball practice, Colin on Tuesday's and Caleb on Thursday's. In the evenings, Rob and I try hard to put the kids to bed by 8p so we can have a couple of hours together. This time is usually spent with me working on the boards and him doing his work. Oh well, at least we are together!!

There is a taste of most of my days!

Fixing the "spiritual" breakfast

2008-05-05T13:10:00.003-04:00

I have been reading a book (for a while now) called "Supermom Has Left The Building...Being a Proverbs 31 woman in the 21st century." Over the weekend, I reread one of the chapters titled "Supermoms Cook Breakfast" and as I read this the author, Judith Edwards, really put breakfast into perspective for me.

Growing up, I remember eating eggs and toast with orange juice every morning. I also remember the day that I felt freed from this and was able to choose cereal instead. As I "fix" breakfast for my children I often feel very guilty for pouring a bowl of cereal with milk. Or on occasion making "toaster waffles".

In the book, Mrs. Edwards wrote that the Proverbs 31 woman "rises while it is yet night and gets (spiritual) food for her household." (vs. 15) We all know that breakfast is suppose to be the meal that takes us through the day. So feeding our children with a spiritual breakfast could help them through what may come their way during the day. This morning I started it, I got up with the boys, as I usually do, but I sat with them at the table and read a devotion to them. And shared with them what I wanted to do to help them through their days. I explained that right now, school and friends may be just fine, but soon that will change and the peer pressure will be so hard that they will need to be "nourished" with God's promises.

I just hope that I can continue this every morning through their school years.

Prayer for the caterpillar

2008-05-05T09:51:00.002-04:00

About a week ago, Caleb decided he wanted to find a caterpillar and save it in a jar until it formed a chrysalis (big word for my kindergartner), so I braved it out and put the caterpillar in the jar, poked holes and added a branch with leaves. The caterpillar made it all week, but on Saturday we started noticing a white substance growing on its rear abdomen. I just figured it was mold from not making it in the jar. But the kids were determined that it was forming its chrysalis. Yesterday, Caleb finally resigned to the fact that the caterpillar was indeed dead. Chloe however, even still this morning (with the caterpillar on its back) believes it is not dead.

Before lunch yesterday, we began to pray, each of the kids say their own prayer and Chloe started. She began by thanking God for "being in our house" and ended with "please be with our caterpillar that he is not dead". That got Rob and I chuckling beneath our breath. Then it was Caleb's turn and he started like he always does and finished with "be with our dead caterpillar". I looked up to see Chloe mouthing to Caleb, "he is not dead" and Caleb is shaking his head up and down. This went on during Colin's prayer and Rob's, by the end I had tears in my eyes just seeing the seriousness of the two standpoints.

5 Things I want my children to know...

2008-04-30T11:19:00.003-04:00

I found this meme question on a blog and it intrigued me:

"What are five things I want my kids to know before they grow up?"

Here are my top 5...

1. The love of Jesus Christ. It is so hard to grasp the concept of Christ's love for us and that is the one power that gets me through everyday.

2. Believe in yourself. You will go through many storms, but if you believe in yourself, you can see through the storm and look for the sunshine on the other side. Think about it, storms move through so fast, just hold steady and you can soon continue what you were doing before it rained down.

3. Whatever is before you is a gift from God. Use it for His will in your life.

4. Don't follow the peer pressure. I know, first hand, the devastation of peer pressure. I gave in everyday, just to be liked by someone, just to make someone happy. Little did I realize at the time that none of that would matter now. I am now living the consequences of the peer pressure and wish that I could go back and change those decisions. I want my children to realize the most important thing is preparing a strong future for their children.

5. Our love for you. This can go along with #4. We love you so much and want to lead you into the future with respect, responsibility and love. You are so delicate right now and we want to show you how to grow and develop into true followers of Jesus Christ.

A Day in the Life of Caden...

2008-04-30T07:27:00.005-04:00

Here he is...Caden's new found love is jumping. This child has really brought joy to us through his funny personality. Each of our children have a wonderful quality to their personalities, and Caden's come through in his feet. I don't know how many of you have seen "Happy Feet", but this boy has just that...happy feet. When he is waiting for a drink or a snack, he starts dancing. His feet are going back and forth and up and down...it is so funny!

Well, we hope you enjoy the video...

A Day in the Life of Chloe...

2008-04-28T15:32:00.007-04:00

So, yesterday was just one of those days that you hate to see any of your children go through. The kids go to Awanas at our church on Sunday evenings for usually 2 hours, last night we got a phone call towards the end of the evening that Chloe got bumped by one of the adults carrying his baby and her mouth was cut and bleeding. Rob and I drove up to the church right away and found her with and ice bag on her upper lip. She looked so pitiful. It was a pretty deep cut, but Rob felt that it wasn't bad enough for stitches. I, however, would have taken her right in to be checked out. Well, she wouldn't eat or drink anything last night, and this morning I think she was hungry enough to at least try. She did eat 2 waffles and drank some apple juice. However, her mouth is bruised on the left side and the inside of the lip is gaping open. Yuck....but take a look for yourself...

Later that evening our neighbor, Ashley, came knocking on our door. Not knowing what had happened to Chloe, she brought her two very special gifts. A Hello Kitty lamp and toaster!! Chloe was so excited that she was willing to make toast to eat. That didn't work though, she tried to eat the very soft toast, but she couldn't handle it. So, this morning we made the waffles in the new toaster. Thank you Ashley for the wonderful gifts!!

Tune in tomorrow for a Day in the Life of ?????...

Kids and New Rules

2008-04-25T12:56:00.006-04:00

We apologize to those who were offended by the content of this post. It has been removed due to the offensiveness of the material. We again apologize for this error.

Thank you for reading our posts and please keep coming back for more when you can.

The Eichelberger's

Appointments

2008-04-24T08:15:00.000-04:00

So, today is a great day, NOT!! I get to go to the dentist. YUCK! I don't know what it is about them, but I hate going. My stomach is already churning and my nerves are a wreck. I should really be up for this because I don't have my two youngest children for like an hour and a half. You'd think I would be excited about that! Oh well, I will face my fear and get it over with...quickly!

Nothing much

2008-04-23T11:54:00.000-04:00

So, I have been reading a lot more blogs lately by those that I have not seen or heard from in YEARS. It is pretty interesting though, it kind of makes you feel close to those people again. And in some cases, like you can complete relate to what they are doing in their lives.

I also realized that I don't have to have big news or big topics to post on here. Whether someone out there is reading this or not, I, at least have a place to "journal" my thoughts and feelings throughout the day. So since I am terrible about keeping a journal, I think I will just come here and blog.

Easter, You guessed it...more pictures!!

2008-03-23T18:07:00.000-04:00

Okay, here are some long awaited photos of the children. Some were taken on Saturday and some today. We had a great day between a wonderful church service, to a very good dinner, and a fun egg hunt. The weather was cooler today which was good because we all got burnt yesterday. So, here are the photos.....

New Information

2008-03-20T23:02:00.000-04:00

Ok, so again blogging doesn't come easy for me and I really just need to take the time to do it. There isn't a lot of new information coming from the deep South, but you know the longer we are here, the more we LOVE it. The people are surprising nice and the seasons just can't be beat.

Anyways, here are some of the latest and greatest in Eichelberger news....

-Tomorrow, Carowinds opens for the year and the children are so excited! So, crazy me decided to bribe them with being good and keeping their rooms clean and we will go on Friday. Well, they succeeded and so I guess I am taking them. It should be fun.

-We have had quite a bit of ran over the last couple of weeks so it is a good feeling knowing that the lake levels are back up. However, we are still in drought status and still cannot water our lawns and landscaping.

-We will be updating our family photo in the next week or so to include Caden. Rob is having a hard time seeing photos without Caden. So, I bought outfits for Easter/family photos. Hopefully, we can get all 6 of us to sit still and smile at the same time.

-Rob's work is really picking up. He is very rarely at the branch because he is out doing deliveries for his clients. The branch has laid off several employees because of the economy and it just makes Rob's job the more stressful.

-All of the children are good. It is so hard watching them grow up. Caleb is more like a young boy now. Colin is growing up so much that it is scary. I can't believe he will be in middle school next year. Chloe, well, we all know her. She is into dolling herself up more than ever. She is constantly putting on globs of lip gloss and then is right at my feet when I am getting ready. She wants to put on everything that I do. And Caden, man if that boy doesn't have a ball in his hand, he is screaming. We can't keep him indoors, so it is a good thing we live in the South. He escapes when ever he can. His favorite, and possibly only, word he knows is Mommy. Everything is Mommy!! I love it and his voice when he says it is so sweet. They all are really wonderful children.

-Rob and I are looking to escape for a long(er) weekend. We have a package to Charleston, SC that needs to be used this summer, so anyone willing to come and watch the children for a weekend, we are taking any offers (free of charge). We promise, we won't charge you to watch them!! Just kidding. But we are looking forward to a short get-a-way. And neither of us have been to Charleston, so we are very excited about that.

We hope all is well with everyone and sorry this blog is long.
Love.

And we're back!!

2008-03-04T08:10:00.000-05:00

So, it is very hard to remember to post a blog more often. However, it is very enjoyable knowing that your friends and family are out there reading what is happening in sunny South Carolina. Over the weekend, Colin had is final basketball games. His team won on Friday night so bright and early Saturday morning we had to go back for another game. We have never been more proud of him than during that game. He scored the first 6 points of the game and tied it up with 6 seconds left on the clock at the end of the first quarter. He played an amazing game!! Saturday night we visited Tara's and ate dinner with her neighborhood to celebrate some birthdays. Sunday we headed to Charlotte for a Spring Home & Garden show. It was a very nice event, however next year............NO KIDS!! Even though we need to remember that next year they will all be a year older. Oh well, it really was a neat event.

Caden had an appointment with the Gastro. doctor yesterday and it went well. I still don't feel as if we have answers, but I guess that we will just deal with it until he gets older. They are running a few more tests on him to rule out some other possibilities. As for now though, the doctor assumes he has Chronic Nonspecific Diarrhea (CND). Which is exactly what it sounds like, chronic diarrhea with no specific cause. It usually starts at age 9 months and can last until 3 1/2 years of age. So, if the other tests don't show any other problems, then CND it is.

Well, Rob and I were talking and it came to our attention that tonight, Tuesday, is the first night in at least 2 months that we don't have any activities to participate in. We are overjoyed!!! (To say the least) I think I might celebrate with a nice big meal for the family. It has been awhile since we've had one of those, too!

'Til next time..........

Updates!!

2008-02-28T15:31:00.000-05:00

Ok, so quite a lot of activity has been going on in the Eichelberger family this week. But first I should state that maybe I won't be "blogging" everyday, but at least once a week. So be sure to check back in often.

So, we received exciting news on Tuesday that Caleb is Terrific Kid in his class this month. That was very "shocking" to us, since we all know how Caleb can be at times, but we are so proud of him. He really is doing great in school and loves his teachers and other students.

Today, we took Caden back to the allergist for a follow up to his food allergies. Our concern going into the appointment was his dirty diapers. They are, to put it nicely, awful! So he has been referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist in downtown Charlotte. So on Monday, March 3rd, we will take him there for further tests, possibly a scope on his esophagus and intestines. YIKES! Please keep us in your prayers for this situation.

It is VERY cold here! The high yesterday was 40 and today it is 45 degrees. That is okay though...it is suppose to be in the mid to upper 60's over the weekend.

Hope everyone is well!

It's Friday!!!

2008-02-22T15:54:00.001-05:00

Ok, so it is Friday! This week I haven't been able to keep the days straight, since the kids were off of school on Monday for President's Day. It is very cold here! I think it is in the high 30s and cloudy and rainy. We did dodge the bullet of ice/sleet/snow.

My parents arrived safely yesterday in shorts and t-shirts. HELLO??!! We aren't that far south, are we? They will be visiting until Saturday or Sunday depending on my sister, Tara's kids. Sounds like the flu is going through their house. Yuck!!

The boys, minus Caden, are giong to a Charlotte Bobcats game tonight. They got suite tickets from a friend at our church. I know they boys will love it!!!

Trying to keep up!

2008-02-21T09:49:00.000-05:00

As with most aspects of my life, I find it very hard to keep up with pretty much everything. So, I am going to work it into my schedule to write something for my blog every day! My parents are coming into town today from Florida! They are visitng just for the weekend and will stay with us and Tara. Supposedly they are coming to watch the boys play basketball on Saturday!

New Blog

2007-11-20T08:38:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone! We wanted to start our own blog spot so that our families can see what has been going on with us and so we can share more photos. So here is goes, this is the start of something new and hopefully everyone will enjoy this as much as we do.

Let us know what you think along the way! Feel free to leave us messages and photos as well.

The Eichelberger's