Welcome Back Mr. Internet

Ahhhh....now I feel connected to the world again!
After having 0 luck with comcast cable, we decided to go with a satellite dish and embarq phone/internet service...so far, so good. We just got hooked up with the home phone so Mom, you can call me whenever.
I realized on Saturday that I have been going WAY over on my cell phone minutes so this home phone thing ended up being a really good decision. If anyone wants the number you can call my cell and hear it on the message or you can email me and I'll send it to you. I guess livin out in the country without media entertainment caused me to talk on the phone a lot....woopsies.
Crawfordville is a nice little town. It's about 30 minutes from Tallahassee and it is C-O-U-N-T-R-Y. I mean people selling BBQ on the side of the road, mullets as far as the eye can see, friendly folk and country roads. Pictures to come of the local meat store with the red,white and blue statue of a pig out front and the trailor down the street with two pet goats in the front yard who play soccor and drink out of a child's swimming pool. It's glorious out here.
Caden is loving the backyard. Speaking of kiddie pools, we bought a big inflatable one, not big enough to have a filtration system or anything, but too big to keep dumping and refilling everyday. Any tips on how I can keep the water clean? Is there some kind of chlorine solution I can throw in there like people do with hot tubs? Any tips would be great.
The A/C man is coming tomorrow. It is working, but it makes a strange sound when it cuts on. We were very perplexed as to why. At the same time I was very perplexed as to why there were constantly pieces of paper all over the floor. I thought it was the dog but I couldn't figure out where she was getting the paper. Then I looked up and saw that there were shredded pieces of A/C instruction manual in the vent above my head in the bathroom. After checking, I realized there were shredded pieces of manual in every vent in my house. The genious who installed the system left the booklet inside of it and it blows out threw the vents everytime the A/C comes on! The problem will be corrected tomorrow. The woman who scheduled the appointment could only laugh on the other end of the phone.
These are the types of things that could only happen to the Stock Family.
I'll try and get around to posting new pics and video ASAP.

My Mother's Day Card

My family can be the first to attest to my slacker-like ways when it comes to birthdays, anniversaries and any holiday besides Christmas. I usually don't do anything for anyone, and if I do by a card, I never mail it in time. The amount of sealed cards addressed to family that reside in my junk drawer is ridiculous.
For mother's day this year I was on the ball. I sent a card to my mother about 2 weeks ago along with a box full of MK products. Proud of myself, I was certain that this time I was gonna get it right.
Monday morning I come home from Walmart with Caden and there's the mother's day package I had sent my mom, sitting on my step.
The label read "CANNOT SEND INTERNATIONALLY DUE TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS!"
Who knew Satin hands and facial moisturizer were considered hazerdous....
So my attempts to be on the ball for Mother's Day failed miserably. Since we STILL don't have internet access at home, I decided to steal Jay's work computer for a few moments to express just how I feel about my mom.

They say that when you have a child you begin to have a new found appreciation for your mom. I disagree. I have always appreciated her. Since having Caden I am a little irritated with her. After all, she is the most amazing mom. She is a pillar of sacrifice, love, kindness and patience. She sacrificed her career and some of her sanity :) to be home with my sister and I, playing Barbies, dress up, judging colouring contests and baking endless loaves of homemade bread. We didn't have alot of money, but we never did without anything. I always had a new dress for the Christmas concert and the best halloween costumes that she worked tirelessly to create on the sewing machine downstairs. I remember her always making me feel like I was smart and unique and that I could be anything that I wanted to be. She never treated me like an annoying little kid, when I'm sure I was from time to time. I always felt validated and loved.
I remember being about 4 or younger, and I had this little blanket that I would try to spread out on the floor without getting any wrinkles in it. I would grab the ends and lift it up, hoping that it would land in a perfect square on the living room carpet. I tried over and over until finally it worked! It was perfect! I ran to mom who was on the phone to show her my masterpiece and she showed an equal amount of enthusiasm, as though I had just teleported or found the cure for cancer. I have a million more memorable moments of love and fun with my mom, but I think about that one whenever I see Caden proudly showing me how he can drum with a spatula or how funny he can be when he puts a shoe on his head. I want him to feel as special as I did.
Mostly, my mother loved (and still loves) life and she modeled that for me everyday. She taught me how to be happy. How to be positive. How to be a Christian wife and mother. She taught me that money and things pale in comparison to time and love, to order your life according to God and then family and to do the best with what you have and to thank God for it.
So why am I annoyed with her? Because now that I am a mother, I have such an incredibly high standard to live up to! If she could have been a little less involved, a little less caring, a little less creative...I wouldn't feel so much pressure! I guess I just have to do my best and if I can be half the mom to Caden as she was to me then he will be one blessed boy.
Happy Mother's Day mom. I miss you and I love you.

Hi Friends!

We still don't have internet or cable at our house. Comcast is taking their sweet time setting us up, so hopefully this time next week we'll be enjoying technology again. I'm writing at Jay's store and Caden is throwing pieces of ham around, so I should probably go. Just wanted to let everyone know that we LOVE the house. I'm pretty much completely unpacked. We built a shed, errected a mail box and bought our very first lawn mower. We are loving the back yard but found out the hard way that Dakota is a digging escape artist...she dug out of the back yard and had a rendevous with the doggies next door. Other than that, life is great.
Caden is walking like crazy and is learning new things everyday. Mama, Dada, Dog, Car and something that sounds like 'cup' is the extent of his vocabulary but I think he'll start spewing out more words anyday now. He's getting so big. He plays chase and is begining to understand and listen to the word 'no'....maybe 60% of the time. He's so stinkin cute though that it's hard to keep a straight face when I'm trying to discipline him.
Our cats are back inside. They lived out on our deck for almost a year. Now they have their own room inside with the fam. Sampson is overly affectionate and thankful to be back with us. Mocha has developed an attitude about the whole thing and wants nothing to do with us. She'll come around.
Alot has happened over the past week. Several episodes of Caden shooting poo out of the bottom of his pant legs (sorry, but it actually happened!) alot of frustrating projects like hooking up the washer and dryer and building that shed from hell...but I've learned alot and think I may have a future in the janitorial, mechanical or construction industry...ok, maybe not.
I'll post some pics of the house later!
BYE BYE!

Much better day

The closing went well...everything went better than expected with some pleasant suprises. Caden is being fairly well mannered so the forecast for today is busy but manageable. I'll be unplugging for a few days but will update ASAP.
LOVE to all!

I'm going out of my mind

Today is the day from hell. Literally. I'm trying to pack and get a million things done and Caden has morphed into some kind of demon who has not stopped freaking out from the moment he woke up this morning. I've tried everything..spanking, timeout, ignoring, hugging...nothing. He is completely unphased by my attempts and is continuing to throw fit after fit. He is petrified of the tape gun which is incredibly inconvenient considering I have to make 100 boxes today.
It's days like this when I wish my mom lived down the street. I have no one to watch him tomorrow for the closing and he's been under my feet all day, making the packing process impossible...It'd be nice to have somewhere to drop him off without feeling guilty about imposing.
I think he's getting some of his back teeth so hopefully once they have arrived he will turn back into a nice baby.
My stomach is on fire because I swear I have an ulcer. I've been really nautious for a few days and no, I'm not pregnant!
Something is screwed up with our loan application and they ever so nicely waited till the day before closing to tell us that...So we're sitting in limbo right now, surrounded by our stuff in boxes wondering if we're even going to be able to close tomorrow.
I am filled with a mixture of rage, sadness, anxiety and helplessness....but God's got this right?
I know he does. I'm not writing this for pity or even encouragement. I just needed to take a minute to escape from a screaming baby, the packing and incompitant loan agents and breathe.
Inhale.
Exhale.

200th Post

This is my 200th post. I've been keeping this online journal since 2003 and it's pretty crazy to look back and see how different life is and how faithful God has been. Here is a much anticipated (by my parents and sister anyway) video of Caden walking around. Enjoy!

I'm a packing pro

I'm packing...again...actually I'm procrastinating right now but I have been packing all day. Caden seems to be all better excpet while he was sick he developed this crazy tantrum behavior whenever he doesn't get his own way. That's been draining...not knowing what to do or how to discipline a child that has no words except for 'Dog', I just desperatly want to do right as his mother. I don't want to spoil him but I don't want to make him feel alone or abandoned. It's a hard line. This parenting this is rough. I'm kicking myself for everytime I said, "My child won't act like that."
He has quite the temper and I'm just going to have to find what works for us. So far timeout seems to help him calm down...even though he has no idea what's going on. There are alot of techniques I want to use when he's old enough to understand...plus I know that when he has words he'll be less upset when he wants or needs to tell us something. Until then I will grind my teeth and try my best.

Packing is always fun. I'm really good at it now since this is our 8th move. Crazy. It's become routine now. This one is so much more exciting though cause we're moving into our first house in a place where we have an amazing church and some incredible friends. Even though we're packing up, we're finally setteled!
Hopefully I won't be eatting those words 8 months from now, cause that tends to be my pattern!

Calm after the storm

Our neighbour is home again now. There is a moving truck outside of his place because he and his wife will be gone before Monday.
Apparantly they suffered the loss of a child last year and understandably he was quite damaged by it. The anniversary of this tragedy happened recently and Wednesday night while his wife was out of town, he took alot of pills, drank alot of beer and began to think that Caden was his baby. That's why he came over.
I am filled with empathy for them. I hate that everything happened the way it did, but sometimes people need to hit rock bottom in order to know they need help. I hope this is their wake up call...that they need to get some help coping with their loss. Pray for them.
Now that we know the man is not vengeful or angry we're begining to find some peace. Jason keeps reminding me to not allow myself to be afraid...to not let others determine my happiness. I married not only a brave, but a wise man. We're both doing alot better today.
Thursday was difficult. We didn't know anything until Friday so the silence of Thursday was deafening. I was on my way to the court house to get a restraining order and I thought I was going to have a panic attack. Luckily my church was just up the street and I went in and found a haven of love and support. Thanks guys. You'll never know how much it means to have you there.
I am Blessed.
I've raved about it before, but in this month of absolute insanity, God has given me a flashing, neon sign that says, "I love you. I'm here. Quit worrying about stuff you can't control."
I could look at the month of April as being incredibly stressful, and in all honestly, it has been...but in every scenerio, God has shown me how big he is and I am reminded of his presence.
Buying the house was stressful. Will we be able to afford it? Will the commute be too much? What if something goes wrong? I've decided to change my focus to, "YAY! WE FINALLY HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOUSE TO CALL OUR OWN! I have a hardworking husband who has never allowed us to go without anything and we're going to be fine.
Caden being sick has been stressful. Sleepless nights, loosing weight, not knowing what's wrong. I've changed my focus to, "Thank you Lord that my Son is here and protected and with me, that this illness will pass and it will be nothing but a pebble in the road." For those who are wondering about him, he has gained a pound back and is doing alot better. Praise Jesus.
This whole incident with our neighbour has had me in knots. On the positive end, I've lost 14 pounds. Calorie counting mixed with stomach flu mixed with anxiety is an excellent diet plan :)
In all seriousness this crazy event has shown me beyond the shadow of a doubt how fortunate I am. God willing I will never have to deal with the loss of a child. I don't know what I would do. The only way I would survive it is through Christ. To know that there are people harbouring as much pain as that man and woman is heartbreaking. I am very apprehensive about seeing him again, but if God can somehow use us to show this man Christ I pray that He does. This month has shown me what an amazing husband I have, what a beautiful child I have and what an incredible church family I have.
God is good. He gives and take away, but He is so good.

I know this a long one, but take a minute and read....we need your prayers

Last night I left the apartment by myself for the first time in a long time. I headed off for a relaxing night of getting my hair cut. I left at 6:00, I got back at 8:30. When I got home Jay informed me of something really creepy that had happened.
We have a neighbor whom I have never really trusted. My spirit of discernment always goes crazy when this man approaches Caden and I, especially since he only approaches us to talk when we are alone. Apparantly last night, around 7:10, this man knocked quietly on our door. Jay opened the door and the man stood there looking very startled to see him. He had a puppy on a leash. He mumbled over his words, stunned at the fact that Jason was home, and then said, "I knew you had a baby and thought the puppy might want to play with him."

Jay looked at him like he had six heads, after which the man started to back up slowly and say, "Maybe this was a mistake."

"Ya, it was a mistake." Jay said calmly.

He relayed this story to me when I got home, and after speaking to a friend, we decided that he should go over there and calmly explain why it was inappropriate to have come over and to ask him not to do it again.
Jay left and I whispered a prayer of protection over him, after which I laughed and thought, "Oh Kathy, you're so dramatic. What's the worst that can happen."

Well, here's what happened.
Jay knocked on his door and within 30 seconds the man opened it in his underwear with a pistol in his right hand. Jay stepped back and calmly said, "I didn't come here to fight. I don't have anything on me. I just wanted to tell you that your actions tonight were inappropriate and please leave my family alone."

The man raised his gun, and without pointing it at him, gestured to it as if to say, "Look what I've got."

Jay turned and left. He got home and told me what happened. 911 was called. The police came out and got Jay's statement and decided to arrest the guy for aggrevated assault with a weapon. They told us they would call us when the man was apprehended.
30 minutes went by and nothing. Then we heard a voice outside. It was a police officer with a megaphone saying, "THIS IS THE TALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT. YOU NEED TO COME OUTSIDE." We looked out and there were many police cars and officers everywhere. Our neighbor had locked himself in his apartment and was not planning on coming out. A while later an officer came to our door and told us we would have to vacate the premises because the S.W.A.T team was going to move in on him. We got Caden up and were escorted through the wooded area behind our building in order to avoid the crazy man's apartment. Alot of residents were outside videotaping and taking in all the live action. We were announced as "The Victims" and were brought back behind the SWAT vehicle to identify a picture of the man and to tell our story, again. We then went to our friend Diana's apartment.
The policeman stayed with us for the rest of the evening...since we were 'victims' and all, and by 2:30am the SWAT team had surrounded the building, they had given him many warnings, they had opened his door and continued to warn him to come outside and finally they set off a thing called a 'Banger' which emulated the sound of a gun shot. At that point "creepy creepster, tighty, whity gun man" came outside and surrendered.
At 3am they told us we could go home. He's in jail now but he could get out anytime. We'll be notified when he is released and I think when I get that phone call I'm going to have a panic attack.
What were his intentions? Why did he come here when he did? What was he planning on doing to Caden and I? Did he bring his gun with him when he came to 'play'? All of these questions are going through my head.
I have so many questions and so many insecurities right now. But I do know this:
- I have the bravest husband in the world , who handled this situation with complete courage and wisdom.
- I have an amazing church family, who have rallied around us and have offered us whatever we need to get through this. I love you guys SO much.
- I will never again tell myself that I am being silly when my sense of discernment is going crazy, when I feel that someone is not safe. It's one thing to put myself at risk, but I will never let someone I don't trust anywhere near my Son.
- God sees everything before I do and every step I have is ordered by him. I'm not saying I don't determine my own destiny by my choices, but that God, in order to fulfill his plans for my life, has intervened on my behalf with a hedge of protection to keep me safe an alive inspite of others evil choices. He stepped in and made a way for us to be alive and together instead of broken and seperated by the sick insanity of our next door neighbor...which means he must still have some plans for us, and that's awesome.

I know that God loves this man and that he is a creation of his just like I am. My prayer for him is that he gets the help he needs, so that he can't hurt anyone anymore, including himself.
Pray for us friends. Pray that we will never meet up with that man again. That we will be safe for the remainder of our 10 days here and that we will be able to calm down and have peace because right now it is a hard thing to find.

DO I HAVE A DEAL FOR YOU?!?!?!

Mmmmmm....Satin Hands. Anyone who as ever tried this product knows that it does wonders for exfoliating the skin. It may be called Satin Hands, but when used on the legs, elbows and heels, it can turn any patch of dry skin into pure Satin. Hence the name....Satin Hands.

TODAY IS YOUR LUCKY DAY FOLKS!

I'm currently running a special on this product. Normally it would sell for $30.00 but for a limited time only I am offering it to YOU for only $20.00!!! This is a great product to soften those legs and heels for shorts and sandals season and to keep your hands as soft as a baby's bottom....but this offer IS ONLY FOR A LIMITED TIME!

To order this product and to look for other great ones like sunless tanners, skin care regimines, makeup and MUCH, MUCH MORE go to www.marykay.com/kathylynnstock or contact me at kathylynnstock@marykay.com

Sweet Escape

I took this picture in May 2005.
My hometown of Green's Harbour, Newfoundland, Canada.
I miss it alot this week.
I mean look at it. Look how serene and peaceful it is. So many good times swimming in the ocean, fishing for conners off of the warf in the summer and ice pan jumping in the winters....I still can't believe we use to do that. Life was so much simpler then. I had so many 'spots' overlooking the North Atlantic that I could ride my bike to and escape everything. It took 45 minutes to drive to the nearest walmart or movie theatre..and even then that movie theatre only had one screen. The gas station was also a take-out food joint, a movie rental shop, a grocery store and a place to buy live bait for fishing. What Green's Harbour lacked in big business it made up for in beauty, tranquility and great people. We'd get together with friends and neighbours regularly for dinner and music and fun. We are 'people people', and I miss that alot. I miss the days of calling up a friend and saying, "We're making dinner, you wanna come over?" or, "I'm bored, lets go do something right now!" Or just plain dropping in on someone, uninvited but graciously greeted.
When did I all of a sudden have to start planning get-togethers 3 weeks in advance? It's a shame really.

Green's Harbour. Filled with love, gossip, nosey old neighbours who would fall out of a window trying to listen in on your conversation but would be the first to bring you a hot meal if you needed something to warm your belly.

This has been a crazy week, a complicated, stressful, cyclone of a week...Thankfully I'm able to bring myself back to one of my many sceneic spots, specifically a large cliff overlooking the horizon with nothing but orange, sun kissed water for as far as the eye can see and sometimes an iceburg in the distance if the season was right.
When I picture this I can escape the riggors of everyday life and get lost in it, if only for a moment.

Where did Thursday go?

I had an MRI on Wednesday to look deep into the world of my lower spine, and afterwards I started to feel a little blah. I got home and decided I didn't want any dinner. Around 5-ish I got pretty sick and by 9-ish there was no food or liquid left in my body. I lay in bed, rolling and groaning until 3 when I realized that I couldn't walk upright without the fear of passing out so Jay got the baby up and we headed off to the ER. I checked in and Jay and Caden went back home so Baby Boy could go back to sleep and from 4-9 I was pumped with liquid and nausia meds. The tests showed dehydration and inflamation of the stomach. How you can tell what's going on with your stomach from a blood test, I don't know but I was given a prescription for zantac and reglan and sent on my merry way. Kris graciously took Caden for the day and slept pretty much all of Thursday away.
I'm feeling much better today but it's still creeping me out that Thursday just kind of didn't happen. Very strange.

What to do?

I am a cleaning machine today. I think it's fueled by stress. We were filling out our mortgage paperwork last night and the reality set in. Buying a house is a huge deal. It's like getting married or having a baby.

Speaking of which...I dropped the ball big time.

I didn't have an expensive, fancy wedding...unless you consider us, the Pastor and the photographer fancy...but it was EXACTLY what I wanted. A private, inexpensive, beautiful wedding outside followed by a candlelit meal that we got from a take out along the way to our honeymoon cabin. I got chicken fingers and fries, Jay had pizza. It was awesome.

I, however dropped the ball when it came to having a bridal shower. No towels, no mixing bowls, no toaster, no pots, no pans, no vases, no picture frames...NOTHING! Aside from a cute cartoon picture my friend Amy gave me of Jay and I getting married, I missed out on the whole thing. I didn't get good gifts, I didn't get stupid gifts. Nadda.

My mother however had a shower for me in NL without me being present and the money people gave got deposited into my student loan debt...oh joy... I am thankful for that, but you have to admit it's not as fun as digging through seas of presents with shiney white and silver paper.

At first this didn't bother me...but now that I am a bit older and I spend alot of time at home...I get a little sad everytime I look at my towels. My towels are my mother's discards that she wrapped breakables in to send me for Christmas and birthdays. I also get sad when I look at my silverware...which is actually some kind of plastic-like silver that rusts if left to dry in the dishwasher. Thankfully, when my mom came to visit me in March, she looked at the state of my mixing bowels (A.K.A: one massive one) and she dragged me to Target to get a set...so I know longer cry when I have to mix a pancake for one in a bowel for 500.

So here's my question. Is it wrong to register for a house warming? Especially if, for instance, that person never got any presents when he/she got married? I read online that it's bad manners...but would people be offended given the above stated information, if I sent out invitations to a house warming with a little link on the bottom that may contain some things I need and like?

Give me your opinion.

Some pictures need no words...

How much more handsome can one boy be?

Here is Caden in his Easter outfit. Once again, I apologize for the sideways-ness of the photos...my computer stinks and won't let me edit the shots.
I this suit on him tonight to make sure it would fit and it's perfect. He is strikingly handsome in it, looking more and more like his Daddy everyday.
Have an awesome Easter everyone!

I Heart Computer

This fast taught me that I LOVE my computer...just kidding...I do love my computer, but I learned alot more than that through fasting from it.
I learned that I can get ALOT done when I don't have the internet to distract me. Through some reading and some quiet time I felt overwhelmingly grateful for my blessings.
That has really been the theme of my learning experience. I have so much freakin stuff to be thankful for. When I first started to realize this, I felt a little guilty for having what I have...I certainly don't deserve any of it.
I don't deserve an incredible marriage with a man who respects and loves me the way Jay does.
I don't deserve a perfect little baby boy who is delightful even on a bad day.
I don't deserve to have the home I have or the car that I drive or the comfortable living that I have when so many people do without the basics everyday.
I certainly do not deserve the musical ability God has gifted me with or the wonderful people he has placed in my life.
So I sat on my couch in the quiet, overwhelmed with guilt when I realized, thats exactly what makes Jesus so awesome. I could never earn his blessings, I could never earn his love and he knows that, but he doesn't care. He doesn't expect me to. He gives and he is good. He takes away and he is good. Everything in life is his and is given or taken according to his purpose. Quickly my guilt turned to praise and thankfulness, not so much for what God has done for me, but for who he is.
Love.
I also learned how important having a daily, communicative relationship is with the Father.
I learned that his word is legitimate and true and I'm not ignorant for knowing that. I learned that I need to guard myself against what I read and who I choose to teach me. I never want to fall into the trap where God becomes a science or a subject and not a Father that I can speak with and be spoken to.
I learned that knowing about God is SO important but head knowledge with the absense of heart knowledge is dangerous. If you know about God but you fail to know God, you've missed the point.
I praise God for my church and how incredibly balanced and focused it is. That it is led by incredibly brilliant people that I can trust and I am SO grateful that I get to play a small roll in it.
Overall, it was a very productive week. It's amazing what you can learn when you shut your computer off.

Fasting

GC.tv is encouraging its members to fast this week. Either entirely or partially (you can see the Daniel fast menu at Pastor Hunter's Blog).
I start some hardcore training for my back this week, where I need to eat 50 grams of protien a day, so I am not going to be able to take part in the eating part of this fast, however I've decided that something that takes up more of my time than food is computer...so I'm going to fast from computer from Monday-Saturday and I will spend the time I would normally spend sitting infront of my PC, praying and focusing on God. Believe it or not this is going to be quite hard for me...but I want to deny myself something and spend more time focusing on God's voice so this should be a good way to do it.
If you need me, you'll have to call me or drop in.
So faithful readers, do not worry...I will be back on Saturday.

Fasting

GC.tv is encouraging it's members to fast this week. Either entirely or partially (you can see the Daniel fast menu at Pastor Hunter's Blog).
I start some hardcore training for my back this week, where I need to eat 50 grams of protein a day, so I am not going to be able to take part in the eating part of this fast, however I've decided that something that takes up more of my time then food is computer...so I'm going to fast from computer from Monday-Saturday and I will spend the time I would normally spend sitting infront of my PC, praying and focusing on God. Believe it or not this is going to be quite hard for me...but I want to deny myself something and spend more time focusing on God's voice so this should be a good way to do it.
So faithful readers, do not worry...I will be back on Saturday.

Home Sweet Home

Here are some pictures from the house. I apologize for the sideways ones...my computer is being stupid so you'll just have to turn your head to look at them.
We did a walk through today to point out anything we wanted the builder to take care of before we move in. The ugly dining room table is not ours so ignore that...I think they were trying to set the house up like a model home but we snatched it up before they had a chance.
Let us know what you think!

Today, we bought our first house

Don't worry...this isn't it. Photos to come.

Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

That's what Jason says to me all the time.
I'm not sure about that....
This morning I went to the gym, got paged by the kidz zone cause Caden was being cranky, and then headed to the grocery store to pick up some food. Caden was pretty cranky and vocal the whole time we were there, so I was aggitated and ready to leave by the time we checked out. I loaded the groceries into the car, loaded the cranky boy into the car, and began crossing the parking lot to put my cart away.
Of course I looked both ways...something I learned when I was around 3 or 4, and there was one truck coming towards me but he was rather far away so I began crossing the parking lot. As I got to about the middle, I noticed that the truck was not doing the customary 'slow-down' for a pedestrian crossing...and within seconds I knew that if I didn't jump out of the way, he was going to run me over. It was as if he was accelerating to see how hard he could hit me. He was about a foot from me with no signs of slowing when I frantically pushed my cart ahead of me and jumped out of the way. At this point, he saw me and slammed on the brakes. It was such a close call. He just starred at me after the whole thing. He looked at me so blankly...like he couldn't understand what was happening...like he couldn't figure out where I came from...he looked really confused and disoriented. I think he may have been on something...We just starred at eachother for about 30 seconds and then I walked to my car and drove away, shaking the whole way home.
I called Jay and said, "I almost got hit by a car!"
After I told him about everything he said, "Well, I'm glad you're alright."
It hit me in that moment how if I was 2 seconds slower, that would have been a completely different phone call, probably made by a stranger to let my husband know that I had been hurt. If the 'almost' was removed from that sentence, I could be in serious pain right now...laid up for weeks, unable to take care of Caden...or worse. As freaked out as I was from 'almost' being hit by a car, life is going to be completely different because of that one little word. Thank you God for 'almost'.

Baby Polar Bear

Caden was adamantly protesting a morning nap this morning, so after about 45 minutes of yelling, playing, throwing and being pretty funny in his crib, I decided to take him out and assume that today would be a one nap day.
After a yummy lunch of toast, chicken breast sandwich meat and applesauce, Caden and I decided that it would be a good pool day!
I slathered him up with sunscreen and put on his little swimmers followed by his stylin trunks and we headed down. There were about 4 couples suntanning by the pool when we arrived and I went over to the pool stairs to feel the water. It was pretty darn cold. I put Caden's feet in the water, expecting that he would freak out about the temperature but to my amazement, he wanted to go further in! So I braced myself and got in the pool, leading him one baby step at a time (literally) until we were both fully submerged in the water. He loved it! He splashed and kicked and laughed hysterically, periodically taking a moment to shiver and then resumed the fun. Everyone at the pool was watching us out of the corner of their eyes, until finally
I heard a girl say to her boyfriend, "If a baby can do it, we can do it!"
They came to the edge of the pool, counted off and jumped in. Afterwards they screamed "The water must be sub-zero temperatures."
They jumped out and looked over at Caden and said, "How is he doing that!?!?!"
My assumption would be his part-Canadian blood. I expect that he will be able to endure the best of all seasons due to his mixed-cultured self....The crisp wind of winter, the overwhelming heat of summer and the freezing temperatures of March pool water.
I'm thinking of signing him up for the Polar Bear swim next January.

Crazy Lazy Days

I haven't posted in a while...a while being several days...I have no excuse except that life has been both crazy and lazy lately. I'm getting alot of sleep which makes me happy. Caden has been sleeping in until 8:30 and I have to admit, so have I. So my mornings are pretty lazy but then I get him up, dressed, fed, then I get me fed, showered, dressed and we head out the door to take on the day. We've been walking alot lately. I'm eatting well and think I finally made it through the sugar detox that was slowing me down. Today was my first day back to the gym since Christmas. I had them pause my membership so that I could rest my back and my bank account at the same time so now we're back in the swing of things. I was worried about Caden not wanting to go in the kid zone but he did great! I think it's going to be alot easier now that he is older.
I've gotta give God props for majestically putting $200.00 into our bank account that was not there before. I swear, I checked yesterday and we had a certain, very low amount of money and I check again today and there was $200.00 more. No record of money being deposited or creditted to the account...it was just, there! I prayed as I gave money to our church this week and said, "God, I know you'll take care of us" and I was right to trust. It's not a miraculous story of receiving 10,000 bucks in the mail but it works for me.
I'm not going to question, I'm just going to be thankful. God is so faithful. We've been able to elliminate alot of our debt lately which is a great thing going into summer when Jay's business usually slows down. Steps closer to getting house. Make me happy.
Aside from that I've been cleaning, playing, running errands, selling make-up and feeling pretty accomplished at the end of each day. Then I lay my head down in the evenings and take a nice, 10-hour sleep to prepare me for the following day.
Caden slept like garbage for 7 months, I'm taking advantage of this!

Hilarious Baby

One Year Old Arrested

I was trying to find educational material for one year olds (ok, I'm a dork) and I ran across this PRICELESS STORY:

"A one-year-old baby was arrested and spent the night in prison in Mexico.

The baby was arrested in Puerto Progresso when his father, Roger Sagundo was caught trying to steal six vodka bottles from a supermarket La Cuarta reports.

Mr Sagundo put the bottles on the baby trolley and tried to leave the supermarket, but was caught by security.

Police spokesperson said: 'The policeman who got there first thought it was the right thing to do to list the baby as an accomplice, because the bottles were in his trolley. Father and son were sent to prison but only in the next morning the policeman on duty at prison realised the son was a baby.'"


From now on when Caden is being naughty I can reassure myself that at least he isn't stealing booze and spending his nights in the clink.

It's 9 O'clock on a Saturday....

Actually it's 11 o'clock on a Wednesday but I can't seem to get that Billy Joel tune out of my head.
Another dissapointing American Idol tonight with the return of Sanjiya (spelling?)
Honestly, who is voting for this guy?
Today wasn't as bad as yesterday. Mostly because I didn't leave my apartment...or take off my pjs for that matter. A very unproductive day in the life of me. With the entire Stock clan home sick today, we pretty much all sat around and did absolutly nothing....this rarely happens so I don't feel too guilty about it. I was wearing my Rod Stewart shirt all day and Caden kept looking at the life size picture of Rod's face and laughing hysterically at him. It was pretty funny.
I'm hoping and praying his little ear infections are better soon. He is not a happy camper when he's sick. Today he threw a fit for about 10 minutes because I took the TV remote from him. Is this the begining of the tantrum phase? It's hard because he understands the word 'no' (and adheres to it 50% of the time) but I feel like he is still too young to truly understand discipline. It frustrates me that I can't have a conversation with him about why his actions are not acceptable. Yesterday I told him I was going to put him in 'time out' and he just looked at me with this goofy look as if to say, "Mama, I don't understand a word you just said." It was pretty funny. I laughed at myself. I guess the only thing I can do now is work with what I've got and not react to his fits so he knows they are pointless. Who knows. I don't think any parent knows exactly what to do in these situations but we just try our best. I don't pretend to be one of those mom's who has all the answers. I certainly am not a baby expert but I can rest in knowing that I'm the best Mom Caden's got.
I have a feeling God is going to get back at me for saying, "My child will never act like that." I also know he's not feeling well and that he doesn't have any words so whining and crying and yelling are his ways of expressing his negative emotions. I can't wait till he is old enough for me to say, "I can't hear you when you're whining." Jay and I have some great oneliners planned for the future.
Well I should go. Sitting at the computer is one of the things that hurts my back the most (who would have guessed?) so I'm needing to pace myself from my blogging addiction. Tomorrow I have to help decorate that genesischurch annex for the St. Patricks Day breakfast on Saturday and I have a lunch date with Kris and her 6 kids, which she homeschools by the way. I marvel at that woman.
Adios Amigos.

What a sucky day

Have you ever had one of those days where it really couldn't have gotten any suckier? That was my today.
Sick baby who screamed/whined/threw little tantrums all day, I have some wierd col-flu like bug, I get all dressed up in the midst of a screaming baby so that we could go out with Jay and his boss for some Bonefish Grill only to wait in the car for an hour and 10 minutes with a screaming, now very smelly baby just to have to turn around and head back home because a 7 O'clock dinner with the fam turned into an 8:30 dinner at which a screaming baby would have been very, VERY tired and cranky. The entire way home I gripe about how thoughtless men can be, to let a woman sit in a car in the parking lot with her child while they 'talk business.' Grrr. I come home, looking absolutly stunning I might add, and go to get Caden ready for bed and he has literally pooped himself silly and it is EVERYWHERE...thus getting it all over my stunning outfit. Why did I even shower today?
I finally calm him down, get him to sleep and sit infront of my computer to dwell on my extremely sucky day.
The only thing good about days like this are that tomorrow probably won't suck as much as today did.
Bring on Wednesday.

Caden's Jams

Caden has recently fallen in love with "The Wiggles."
I guess a trip to the video store is in order.

You can't change what you don't acknowledge

Breakfast @ 7:30am: Slice of whole wheat toast with tsp of peanut butter
Snack @ 11:00am: Banana
Lunch @ 12:30pm: Can of tuna on one piece of whole wheat toast, bottle of water
Snack @ 4:00pm: After ramshacking my kitchen cupboards I find a half a bag of milk chocolate chips and eat them...all.

I am seriously addicted to sugar. Up until 4pm I felt like absolute poo poo, craving sugar. After my fix, I felt a million times better physically but very guilty mentally.

I think I have an addictive personality. Too bad there's no rehab for people like me.

I am about to go for a walk...for dinner I will have salmon, brocolli and brown rice ...tomorrow I will try again.

Starting Over...again and again and again....

Tomorrow I attempt to begin a weightloss regimine. Today I purge my cabinets of sugary foods. Tonight we go grocery shopping for fat-free this and multi-grain that. I love food. I love sweets. Chocolate, caramel, icing...these are my friends.
I think breaking a junk food addiction is similar to stopping smoking or any other devastating habit. I do really well up until Caden's afternoon nap. As soon as I put him down I go on the food rampage. This is what Satan uses to tempt me and make me feel bad about myself. Not cool.
My back is at the point now where I can begin working out again. My gym membership starts up again on March 23rd and if Caden will behave himself in the kidz zone, I am all set.
If you go back and scan my blogs you will see about 20 entries like this over the past 3 years. Ugh.
I just hope I can stick it out this time. I'm not very trustworthy in this department, constantly making promises to myself that I never keep, but as I was bathing suit shopping this week I realized that I am never going to be comfortable in my own skin until I can loose some of it.
Ugh...wish me luck.

Get to know me...piece by piece

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Check this out.

I've been having a few conversations with different people about choices and how to know which moves God wants you to make.
Pastor Brian Hunter just wrote a blog that I think everyone should read if they are dealing with this same confusion.
Click here to get there.

"You Give Me Fever"

Caden had four shots yesterday so he is a feverish little bug today. He was crawling around with his head sliding on the carpet so I thought maybe he should lie down. Poor little guy. We were going to go buy some little swimmers and go to the pool but we'll have to put that off for a little while. It's been so beautiful outside for the past few days. A nagging little reminder that I need to loose weight if I am going to be comfortable this summer....ugh...is there a magic pill somewhere?
I've been having some crazy dreams lately...dreaming about people that I haven't seen in like 10 years. I've also been dreaming and then experiencing elements of what I dreamed the day after. Nothin major, but it's been pretty consistant this week. Maybe this is the begining of my prophetic gift! Here's to hoping. The thing I hate most about my dreams is how vivid they are. Last night I was climbing a mountain ALL night long and I woke up exhausted. I wish that some night I could just go to sleep and wake up and not remember dreaming anything. I think I'd feel more rested.
This is what I'm talkin about:

Turf War

Bring it on!
I put my Mary Kay business card on the bulletin board at our apartment complex and within 48 hours another woman had put her Mary Kay card right beneath mine. I contemplated removing it, but I remembered God was watching and left it alone.
The following day I notice that my card was gone and she has three cards on the board!
I snatched her cards off and stomped to my car...feeling convicted I immediatly turned around and put her cards back up. I still have a tendency to picture God as an angry old man with a stick and I really didn't want to be struck from the heavens.
My husband however removed the business cards and ripped them up, all the while stiffleing an evil laugh.
So I decided that instead of putting my cards on that particular bulletin board, I would put some on the bulletin board on the other side of the complex. So far so good...but I'm still looking over my shoulder and sleeping with one eye open.

The Big Birthday Bash

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This is for Lance

OK, here's my list...
1. The perfect song to hear while you randomly walk into a venue with your best friend while an unknown band is playing: "Don't Know Why"- Nora Jones
2.The perfect song to hate because you listened to it so many times while studying during exam week that it brings back horrible memories: "Tiny Dancer" - Elton John
3.The perfect song to drift into while the world slowly fades away: "WatchTower" - Dave Matthews Band.
4.The perfect song to totally rip-off and turn into an Outback Steakhouse commercial soundtrack: I have NO idea.
And last but not least...
5.The perfect song for the worship band at Genesis to sound check to: I agree with Lance..."Come As You Are" by Nirvana. We rocked that one out!

Nap time

I wish I was a napper. I'm not though. I'm a sleeper. If I'm going to fall asleep, then I want to stay asleep..for many hours. Napping to me is like a tease. If I nap I am done for the rest of the day. Cranky, lazy, blah. It takes me so long to actually fall asleep that I would need about 2 hours to get a 45 minute nap so it just doesn't work. I'm writing all of this because Caden is napping and I am bored and tired. This would probably be a great time for me to nap as well, but as stated above, that's not going to happen.
I have to mail out his b-day party invitations today. It's a little close to crunch time, but people should get them by Monday. Life has been horendously busy lately...so busy that I don't really no what to do with myself during this little piece of down time. I choose to blog.
I've been a little under the weather lately. Lost my voice on Thursday but it has since made it's return. It's hard to parent effectively with no voice. I wonder how the mute do it.
I just cleaned out the trunk of my car. A huge accomplishment to those of you who have ever seen it. Monday morning I am bringing the car into a detailer to get it cleaned out. Ol' Betsy needs a good scrubbing. Then it's off to the airport to get the parental unit. YAY!
We're also getting Caden a big boy car seat on Monday. I think he's pretty much sick of the old one, but we've been waiting on Nan and Pop to get here because it's their Christmas gift to him. I think the car rides will be much more enjoyable once he is front facing.
Well as boring as this entry has been, I would still appreciate some comments. I haven't gotten any comment love in a while and my self esteem is taking the hit.
Peace in the middle east.

Snow, Snow Go Away

Here is the scene in Newfoundland right now. I miss alot of things about home. This is not one of them. The first snow fall is some what magical. The first snow storm is somewhat fun...the navigating through hip-deep snow from January till April is not as entertaining. It is so hard to get around in St. John's under these conditions....which is what worries me.

My parents are scheduled to fly out Monday morning, but ontop of all the snow in the pictures above there is another massive snow storm tomorrow.

Not cool.

I'm scared that their flights will be delayed and that we're going to miss out on precious time together. The good thing about Newfoundland is that it is equipped to take care of massive amounts of snow. They have crazy ploughs that shoot snow into dump trucks and then the dump trucks dump it in the ocean. They say there are just as many snow ploughs in NL as there are people. Who knows.

Either way I am praying against Mother Nature's wrath. Aside from the snow, my parents could not have planned a better time to come visit. I feel like I have been hanging off a fast train lately. This week began with no sleep and lots to do...luckily things have slowed down and Caden has somewhat resumed his normal pattern of sleeping through the night. It's definitly hard raising a baby 2000 miles away from family. I know it's equally hard on them to be so far away but we make it work. I love that they don't make us feel guilty for our decision to settle where we've settled. I can't wait for everyone to get what they need in the coming week....for me it's a little break from the munchkin and the company of the 'rents. For them it's a break from the cold and a whole lot of grandbaby huggin. Sounds like a good deal to me.

So I'm praying...

Snow, snow go away!

Yup, That's my Boy

Can you believe that is itty, bitty baby Caden? About 355 days ago, my little man was born into the world. How did the world function properly prior to that? I have no idea. He is such an incredible little human. He looks like me in this picture. Dark eyes, dark hair and a puffy face....overnight he turned into a clone of Jay...no fair. Here's the evidence that he did for a moment resemble his mama.

Caden turns one on March 4th.

This year has been incredible....I've learned alot. Being a stay-at-home is one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs ever. He's amazing...life is amazing. I love my job....and yes, it is definitly a job! Fulltime, no money, no vacation, not even any personal bathroom breaks. I covet the moments that I get to pee alone. Perhaps that was too much information. Sleeping when the baby sleeps and eatting bon bons all day is definitly NOT what my life looks like.
What are bon bons anyway?

Whenever I crave some temporary solitude I just remember the night of March 4th. Caden was born at 10am and by the evening Jay had left for the night and I had baby Caden all to myself and I was just staring at him, praising Jesus that he was finally here. I was invisioning our future. Not the sleepless months (7 to be exact!) the crying, the diapers, the acid reflux...none of that stuff. I was invisioning our love, our discoveries, our laughter, our cuddling. I spent alot of my pregnancy alone. Jay worked alot in order to keep us afloat and I wasn't legal to work because I didn't have my greencard. We only had one vehicle so when he would go to work I was trapped at home most days. I read alot, I painted, I rearranged furniture (which I should not have done while I was pregnant, I know!) I ate alot of fishsticks, I cried alot, I learned to bake, I had alot of great Jesus moments but all in all, I was pretty darn lonely. Caden's arrival renewed my spirit...it gave me a sense of purpose again...it gave me a love I had never felt before. It gave me a new set of eyes.

So when my little baby becomes the big 1 next week, I'm not sure how I'll do. I'm sure it won't hit me until I am alone in the quiet and God whispers in my ear, "You're welcome." Then I will overflow with thankfulness for my awesome little man.

Tradition

GC.TV is thinking about doing a more traditional-style church service in addition to it's very contemporary regular style of service. After doing the 'Best Sex Ever' series, it appears as though Tallahassee is a very traditional town and since our purpose is to know Christ and make Him known, having a more traditional service might reach more people in this particular city than being cutting edge.
At first I was for it. I thought, "I've been a member of VERY traditional churches that refused to sacrifice their traditions for the sake of the younger generation...I guess we could do the same in reverse and sacrifice our want to be unique and modern for people who feel more comfortable in a more 'church-like' church."
I don't know that I feel that way anymore. Actually, I'm not sure how I feel about it.
The truth is that GC.TV is the first church I've ever been apart of that did church to reach people, not to keep people. We've never done anything to cater to people's needs for comfort....to keep the precious few happy. Because of that fact we've lost some, but we've gained tremdously more and I believe such a mentality develops a mature body of believers who don't get their feelings hurt as easily as most church people do.
I remember when the church I grew up in changed their evening service from 7pm to 6:30pm and people got so upset by the 'change' that they stopped coming! I can only imagine what the billboard campaigne would have done there. I also remember when our Officers (Pastors) taught us a song in Sunday school that went like this,
"I won't play on Sunday, on Sunday, on Sunday. I won't play on Sunday because it is a sin."
No joke.
Tradition may bring in people who are already acustomed to church...and they may feel more comfortable in the services, but I don't know if that accomplishes our mission. All of the traditionalitsts who wrote angry, mean and hateful emails to our Pastor were from other churches and our mission is not to take them from their church but to bring in people who would otherwise not enter church at all...into a realm that looks a little bit more familiar, like the world they live in. Plus, there is a church on every corner in this town. Honestly, I have never seen a city with so many churches and my assumption is that the majority of them are traditional, catering to the needs of the people who go there. We've never been that church, and yet we've grown consistantly over the past 4 years and are just now starting to level off, which in the midst of all the trouble we've had to endure it's amazing our people haven't scattered to places that are more 'comfortable'.
But on the other end, if this is of God we can't argue with that. We do live in a very traditional, southern, Christian town and perhaps even the unchurched would feel more enclined to come to a more 'churchy' church service.
Have I made up my mind about it..not really. All I know if that I am called to serve here. I trust our Pastor wholeheartedly to lead us God's way and GC.TV is shaping me and teaching me in a way that I praise God for.

Random funny things about my kid

- Two nights in a row I put my son in the bathtub with his socks on...how's that for distracted?
- The other day Caden was saying 'Dada' and I tried to get him to say 'Mama'. He said 'Dada' again so I tried saying, "Mmmmmm Mama," to which he replied, "Mmmmmm Dada."
- He says the word, 'dog' when he sees Dakota or any dog at all really, and waves when someone says, "Bye, Bye." He is also finished with formula and drinks whole milk like a big boy. Where did the time go?
-After months and months of constant spitting up, his acid reflux is considerably better and neither one of us smell like sour milk anymore...at least not usually.
- Caden has two bottom teeth that are up and fully visible and two top teeth that are just breaking through.
- I am yet to find a food that my Son will not eat.
- I don't think the boy has any concept of the word 'stranger' and charms the pants off of people, everywhere we go.
- He may look like Jay, but the poor bugger's got my hair. He is one big ball of static electricity.
- He is very close to walking and has taken several unassisted steps.
- He is still petrified of the vacuum cleaner.
- For Valentines Day, Caden pooped about 10 times. He is very thoughtful like that.
- On March 4th Caden will turn the big one, on March 3rd we will be having a party at Tom Brown Park and you're all invited!

V Day

Valentines day is upon us again. I don't particularly like Valentines Day. When I was single I dreaded it. It was like a slap in the face...a reminder of the fact that I was alone, alone, alone.
My first Valentines Day with Jay was also very lonely....because I was in St. John's, Newfoundland and he was in Charlotte, North Carolina. He sent me a package with a robotic squirrel inside that sang, "I think I love you" when you pressed it's foot. The squirrel now resides on our bedroom dresser next to the many other robotic, singing animal impulse buys Jay has fallen victim to.
Jay and I spent about a year apart in the begining of our relationship so even now, 4 years later, everyday is precious and filled with thankfulness that we were able to come together from two seperate worlds.
This is why I don't like Valentines Day.
I don't think that it should take a commercial holiday to get us to focus on the one we love. Why is it that because Hallmark and Godiva have deemed Feburary14th some special day of love, we feel obligated to buy flowers and candy for someone when we don't make that same effort on the other 364 days of the year? I think that if people were showered with affection by the one they love everyday, then Valentines Day wouldn't be such a big deal and single women wouldn't take this 'special day' to binge eat and sob.
Don't get wrong, i'm not bitter about V-Day....I bought my husband a card and I'm sure that by the end of the day he'll buy me something :) but what matters is that loving eachother is a constant for us and we put alot of effort into making eachother feel loved everday...not just in February.
Happy Valentines Day everybody.

I'm gaining weight

This makes me sad...I have doctors orders not to exercise until my back adjustments hold longer than only two days. Normally having this excuse would thrill me...but I really would like to start working out. And since eating right and exercising go hand in hand in my mind, I am choosing to pig out during this sedentary time in my life.
My parents are coming to Tallahassee in 2 weeks. This is very exciting. They will be here for a week and in that week the party of the century will be happening. Caden Robert Stock will be turning the big 1. That blows my mind.
All that crazy labor and delivery stuff happened a year ago? How is it that it still so vividly haunts my dreams? Just kidding. August 16th, 1983 was the day I was born. March 4th, 2006 was the day I found out why. At least at this point and time in my life, my purpose is to raise a man of God and that freaks me out.
I remember when I could just lay him on a chair and go make dinner, knowing that there was no way he could physically maneuver himself from that spot. This past Thursday he took his first steps. Crazy how time flies.
As Caden grows, so does my uncertainity in myself as a parent. I am however learning that this is normal and that every good parent feels like they are making it up as they go along.
Yesterday Jason and I tied a hellium 'Little Mermaid' balloon from Chloe's birthday party to the harness of our dog. She's been walking around with it hovering above her ever since and it's stinkin hilarious.

MOMMY KISSY BOOTS!

Caden's Auntie Kissy Boots is about to become a Mommy Kissy Boots herself! ( i don't think this will make sense to anyone but us)

Congrats Kathryn on you're little bundle of fetus.

I'm SO happy for you.

Here's a flash back to Caden...the early, EARLY years

I Miss You

To everyone I love who is nowhere near me....I miss you.
I think I will always feel like a foreigner here. Don't get me wrong, I love me life. I don't mind being in the USA...in fact, the south feels like home to Jay and I cause it's all we've ever known together but there are moments, like this moment, when I feel very far away from the people and things that define me.
I love my life and wouldn't change it...not even a fraction of it. I preface what I am about to say with this because I am not in anyway about to wish that my life was different but sometimes I wonder what would have happened 'if'.
What would have happened if I didn't move to St. John's at 18? What would have happened if I wasn't in Blind Beggars? Man, those were good times. The gigs, the road trips, the all-nighters, the SNL parties at our apartment on Crosbie Road. So many great relationships....so many people I miss. What if I hadn't heard about a Camp in North Carolina that hired Canadians? I wouldn't of met my husband...I wouldn't have my Son. I would probably still be in NL. Crazy to think that the tiniest decisions can completely manipulate where you end up. When I was at Camp my friend Damien told me to come with him to Nashville to try and make it big. I didnt go. He's incredibly successful now and I wonder what would have happened if I had went. I'm so proud of him. Especially the first night I was watching Tv and saw him on the red carpet with Loretta Lynn. Funny combo if you know Damien but a great moment just the same.
What would have happened if I listened to all the people who told me that getting married was a mistake? What would have happened if I had listened to all the people who told me that moving back to Tallahassee just for a church was irresponsible? There are many decisions I am glad that I made. Jay is exactly who God has for me and Caden's timing could not have been more perfect even if we had planned him ourselves! Tallahassee is about as far from home as I can be but even when it's hard, I know we're suppose to be here. I know we're suppose to be at GC even though the transition has been incredibly rough on eveyone, more so my husband than myself.
I miss my college friends and living in St. John's...sometimes I feel like the oldest 23 year old on the planet....but I was born to be a mom even though I usually fit in better as one of the boys than into a mom's club. It's funny when people I haven't seen in years find out that I was not only married a month after I turned 20 but that I am also a mom. I was always flying solo...pretty independent and verbalized quite frequently that I intended to remain that way for a long time. I planned on marrying at 30 and having children much later, if at all. Crazy how my plan was totally wrong for me. Caden's life has taught me so much about my strengths.
Thank you Lord for my life....past, present and future.
Aquaintances and superficial friendships are common...but friends are rare gems. To all my friends that are far away...I love you and miss you. To all my friends in Tallahassee, I love you and am so thankful for you.

Best Sex Ever Reactions

This is an email Pastor Hunter received about the Best Sex Ever billboards (refer to earlier entry to see the billboard)

"I think your billboard advertising is stupid and pathetic. I am sick of seeing that ridiculous billboard and I cant believe the City of Tallahassee would allow that. What about curious children who have innocent minds. Why do they have to be forewarned about the evils of sex at their age? I enjoy sex more than anybody and I am a good man and a fine Christian, but that type of billboard ad just plain sucks. Go stick your head where the sun don't shine. Your head deserves to be there. "

It seems as though the people who are most outraged by us talking about sex in church are other Christians. I'm boggled by it. My mind is completely boggled as to how people can think that a message about saving sex for marriage is disgusting and inappropriate. It floors me that people can be so ignorant about the world that children have to grow up in....I guess I've become so passionate about this because I am now the mother of a boy...a boy who at 11 months old is ALREADY blasted with sexual images everytime I turn on the tv and there's a commercial for shampoo or even board games....sex is EVERYWHERE with the wrong message and the wrong images effecting children, MY child, in the wrong way and it makes me sick to my stomach.

I'm going to be incredibly candid. My mother told me about sex at a VERY early age. So early that I really don't even remember the conversation. I knew what sex was, what it was meant for (marriage) and what the bible said about it when I was in primary school and because of that I avoided alot of heartbreak, alot of bad decisions and alot of pain. I also was able to ignore the playground education I heard from other kids and avoided alot of confusion. Respecting myself, saving myself for marriage and keeping myself pure were lessons that were drilled into my head, lovingly, my entire childhood and I am a better person because of it. My marriage is healthier because of it. My child was born into a home where his parents are married and inlove with one another...where there will be no divorce or abuse...there are no half brothers and sisters all over planet earth...he wasn't born with HIV or any other complications due to STD's....all because someone took the time to talk to me about sex God's way when I was a little child...tastefully, honestly and biblically. I absolutly credit the positive upbringing I received. I wish the church had been mature enough to raise me in the same way that my parents did. I think alot of other children would have benefited from it.

These billboards are an EXCELLENT conversation starter for Christian parents to take advantage of when their kids say, "What's that?"
The innocence of children should be maintained by giving them a spiritual education on what sex is suppose to be. Honestly, would'nt you rather that your kids learn about sex in church or from you then on the playground or MTV? Unless your child doesn't watch tv, doesn't go outside, doesn't listen to the radio, doesn't surf the internet and doesn't interact with other people, they are GOING to be blasted with sexual slang, images, and lies from all the wrong places. We can't close our eyes and pretend this issue doesn't exist....we've done that for too long and look at our world because of it?

I for one am not going to "stick my head where the sun don't shine" because I'd much rather be in the light.

We made it on the news!

The local news came out Sunday to check out the start of genesischurch.tv's new message series "Best Sex Ever." You can see the 2 minute video at the link below...if you don't blink, you'll see me!
http://www.wctv6.com/home/headlines/5550121.html

Shame on you!

These are the billboards that our church (genesischurch.tv) currently has up all over town. Pastor Hunter is doing a messge series about having sex God's way. As in, keeping it in marriage between a man and a woman. Over the next 4 weeks he is going to be teaching us about what the Word says about sex and how to live God's way in a world that says the opposite. He is going to speak about homosexuality, pornography, pre-marital sex, adultery and everything else you can think of that normal people struggle with and have no idea how to cope with in a biblical manner. It is a brilliant message series that absolutly needs to be spoken candidly, tastefully and honestly...and he is doing just that.

I knew it was a gutsy move for Pastor Hunter to do this message series and to advertise it like this...but I also knew that it would get people's attention, and that we probably wouldn't be able to fit all of the people into the auditorium on Sunday morning...but I didn't expect what a stir these bill boards and this series would have in our city. If you go to the link www.bestsexever.org, it brings you to our church's website and explains the message series. It's meant to look entriguing to the unbeliever...it's meant to look like something an average Joe would want to check out...what they get is anything but pornography....they get an invitation to church. Pretty awesome right?

Well alot of people in our city don't seem to think so. Especially the other churches. Pastor Hunter read an email out loud in the service on Sunday that he received from a fellow 'brother in Christ'. It said that we were to be ashamed of ourselves...that our church was a sign of the end times and that the only reason anyone would come to our church would be if they were looking for an orgy....another woman wrote and was appauled that her 8 year old had to see these images on billboards....as if that child isn't bombarded with disgusting sexual images everyday just by using a computer and watching television commercials.

I say to anyone who has a problem with this to get a life. I think this message series is not only appropriate but necessary. I think it is going to have an impact on the rate of teen pregnancy, abortion, STD's, AIDS, divorce, sexual abuse and adultery in the city of Tallahassee and who knows where else. For once a homosexual person who is alone and confused can come to church and learn how to face this cross they have upon their shoulders..they can learn that God wants something better for them...not that they are hated and disgusting. I think church is exactly where our kids need to be learning about sex...better there then on the playground..cause as sad as it is, 8 year olds know way too much about the wrong kind of sex and it's our job to teach them a better way....and if people come to our church looking for an orgy and they get Jesus instead..I say AMEN to that!

So if you wanna hear a great message about the best sex ever, the sex that God created and how to live with purity in a dirty world, check out www.bestsexever.org

A Day at the Zoo and A Day at the Park

Watch out boys! There's an elephant behind you!

Daddy and Baby and Elephants

"Look Caden! A giraffe!"

"You talking to me?"

The world's biggest Hampster

Gorilla in their natural habitat...Jacksonville, Florida.

On the way to car, Caden fell asleep. Nothin like a day at the zoo to knock you out!

A cookie on the way home....YUM!

Someone get the creepy man away from that baby!

This is probably one of my favorite pictures EVER!

We'll finish off with a drum solo...two paint brushes, the dryer and the ironing board.

Ok Ladies, I need your help.

As I last posted, I'm just getting my Mary Kay business off the ground, and am going to need the help of anyone who is in need of facial care!
I know I don't live anywhere near the majority of you, so here's what I am asking.
I need to make as many sales as I can by February 9th (a week from today) in order to receive some much needed product for free. The free inventory is going to help me greatly with my business so I'm really hoping I can do well over the next 8 days.
If anyone is in need of make up, face wash, lip gloss, or ANYTHING! Please go to www.marykay.com/kathylynnstock and take a look around. It's my online store. You can do virtual makeovers, browse specials, and find whatever you need for skin care. If there are any guys out there who are in need of a Valentines gift for their woman, shoot me an email at kathylynnstock@marykay.com and you can purchase a gift certificate that your lady can redeem at the website or in person (depending on how close you are in proximity to me.
So just check it out. I only signed up for this because the products are awesome and inexpensive and I would'nt associate myself with something that wasn't any good. Plus, it's always fun to shop in the privacy of your own home or office. If you order more than $30.00 worth, I will throw in the shipping charges myself. Hopefully I'll hit my goal by Feburary 9th.
Thanks friends!