Wednesday, September 8, 2010

This past weekend was our annual family reunion in Eva, TN and we had so much fun. The kids and I left Friday after school and Jeremy surprised us by coming over on Saturday night. Jeremy was not feeling well and was going to stay home the entire weekend, but decided to join us. The seasonal allergies hit us pretty hard last week and Jeremy, Sam, and Emma were coughing and sounded horrible. They were not running a fever so we just treated it like allergies and they seem to be better. I am enjoying our short week of school but it does make things a little bit crazier trying to get everything done that needs to be done. On the subject of my craziness, I learned a great lesson this afternoon. We have been trying to sell our house for a while now. At first my house was spic and span all the time and especially when I knew we would not be home. Well, we have had a grand total of TWO people come to look at our house. Each time I worked myself silly scrubbing and cleaning until every inch of the house sparkled. Each visit the people said they liked the house but one couple thought we lived too far out and the other couple liked our house the best out of the 12 that they saw but we never heard anything. The reason we want to sell the house is because we want to get out of debt. We want to rent something cheaper and get out from under a mortgage. Well as the months have dragged on I have become very discouraged and my zeal to keep my house clean with three small kids has greatly wavered. I usually give the house a good cleaning on Friday night or Saturday and hope it does not fall apart during the week. If I can be honest I have been feeling a little sorry for myself and freaking out over the things that I have no control over. I have also fallen in the trap of looking around at those around me and wondering why things seem to be working out for them. Last night I found myself reflecting back to five and half years ago when I felt the exact same way and I read something that changed my thinking. God is writing MY story and He is writing everyone's story and each persons story is unique to the plans that God has for that person. I have got to stop trying to compare my story to someone else's because God has a different plan for my life. Even when I do not like the chapter He is writing I need to hang on and trust Him because He is the only one that knows what happens next. OK, sorry, back to how I learned my lesson. We got back home on Sunday. Monday was a lazy day of going out to breakfast and taking long naps. Tuesday was back to school and a few loads of laundry done. Today was a crazy morning and then off to school. I get home this afternoon and I noticed that the light was on in my bedroom. I was sure I had turned it off. My phone rings and it is Jeremy. "I have some bad news," he says, in which my heart drops. He then says "Someone came to look at the house today." Horror does not even begin to describe the feeling that washed over me. I went from room to room to discover what I already knew, EVERY ROOM WAS A DISASTER! There was not one bed made. All suitcases with clothes spilling out were in my bedroom floor. All the kids jammies (along with their underwear) were covering the bathroom floor. Lunch stuff was on the counter and dishes piled high in the sink. Laundry room covered with unwashed clothes and a basket full of clean clothes ready to greet them as they walked in the front door. Oh, I could go on but I will stop before I cry. Jeremy calls our real estate agent and come to find out it was a single guy and he did not even notice the mess. He saw several houses today and ours and another are on his list of favorites. He is a cash buyer and that would help with selling. When Jeremy called me back to tell me I laughed and cried because it was another reminder that I am NOT the one in control. God can sell my house even if it is an absolute mess! I am going to ask that you would pray that this man would buy our house. I will keep you posted if he makes an offer!

Monday, August 30, 2010

WOW! I knew it had been awhile since I blogged, but I had no idea it had been since the beginning of July. I am not sure if I should mention everything that has been going on or skip to what is going on right now. I guess I will just hit the highlights. When we got back from Illinois Emma had the tubes put in her ears. She did great for the procedure and we have been earache free since the tubes went in the ears. We made a trip to Oklahoma City on a charter bus and the kids had so much fun. I was a little nervous because I did not realize that there were not any seat belts and that meant there would not be any car seats for the kids. We spent the week in OKC at our National convention. We saw family and friends and had a great time. We came home and had to do one of the hardest things we have ever done, say good-bye to our precious Good Springs Youth. We had a our last Sunday and last Wednesday night and the heart ache was much worse then we ever imagined. I think that is one of the reasons I have not blogged. I know sometimes it is good to write things out and express how you are feeling, but the truth is I did not know how to express the sense of loss I felt. I had to report to school the first week of school and that has been my life since. There is so much to get ready for those first few weeks of school. I welcomed the busyness and it helped me take my place in my next ministry. School is going good and despite my complete exhaustion I am enjoying my class of 16. I have a few boys who keep me on my toes but they are all just precious and my prayer is that I can make an everlasting impact on their lives. Samuel is loving first grade and the girls could not be happier (well, other than being home). Chloe is doing great on the potty and has actually started to talk a little more. She kinda skipped over one word at a time and jumped right to phrases. They all have seemed to adjusted nicely to our new insane schedule. We have been church hunting the past four weeks and that has not been fun. It is so much harder than I expected! We visited a church in Franklin (Jeremy's cousin is the pastor) and we really liked it but we do not like the hour drive. We went there are first Sunday and then we went a few weeks ago because we were coming back from a visit with friends in Huntsville. We went to a new church in Clarksville on Sunday and we liked it. We will probably go there a few more times before we make a decision. The kids liked that church too, so we will see. This weekend is our Family Reunion and I am getting excited. It is so much fun and a nice treat to get away and laugh with family members. Well, I only posted one picture because my connection is horrible. I also figured that most of you that read this our my friends on Facebook and have seen the all the pictures I have taken the past few months. This picture was taken at the Space and Rocket Museum in Huntsville. We went last weekend and spent some time with some friends that we had not seen in awhile, We laughed and took many trips down memory lane and made some new memories. It was a much needed weekend! Well, I am not going to promise that I will post every day but I will try to do better than two months:)

Thursday, July 8, 2010 Happy Birthday Chloe!

Today my sweet baby turned 3 years old. It seemed like for so long I had these three little babies and now they are all becoming so independent and are just growing up so fast. Chloe is almost completely potty trained and she is becoming her own little person. She is our smily little sweetheart and we are so thankful that she is in our family. She had a fun day at 123 Jump and lots of cake and presents. I think Sam and Emma were more excited that today was Chloe's birthday than Chloe.
Well we are finally heading home tomorrow. Our family should all be back together tomorrow night. The kids have had a great time of being with Grandma and Grandpa. They have gone fishing several times and went to a fun children's museum. They are coming home with so much more then I brought with them to Grandma's house and it will probably takes weeks to get them back to our house rules, but I am glad they had the chance to spend some time together.
Well before I get going I have a funny story about Sam. In June when we were at the beach I was holding our 4 month old nephew and Sam was talking to the baby and making him smile. Sam then turned to me and whispered 'Mom, I think we need another baby." Well, last night I was holding a little baby at my parents church and Sam came over to me and whispered again, "Mom, I think it is time we got another baby." We all had a good laugh. Well last night while Sam was praying before bed he asked God to bring him a baby brother. After he go done praying he said "Mom, I am going to pray that every night!" We laid there for a few minutes and Sam said "Mom, I sure hope Jesus answers my prayer for a baby brother." I guess we will all have to see what happens.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Jeremy and I and the teenagers got back Friday night from Orange Beach. It was a wonderful week of being encouraged and refreshed. The weather was horrible while we were down there and the oil on the beach was such a sad sight, but we still had a wonderful week. I left at 6:00 Saturday morning and headed to Illinois. The kids and I are staying here at my parent's house this whole week. Jeremy is in Virginia taking a class at Liberty. He is only 8 classes away from his doctorate in administration and I am so proud of him. The kids have had fun at Grandma's house but I think they are ready to go home. When I got here Saturday Sam said to me "Mom, I am ready to go home." I kind of laughed and told him that we were not going home for 6 more days. He then looked at me with the most serious expression and said "Seriously mom, I am ready to go home." We had a fun 4th of July. We went to a cookout and the kids had a blast doing bubbles and watching the fireworks.

Well, I know that my blogging has been lacking the past few weeks but the truth is that we are going through a bit of transition in our family. Last Sunday Jeremy announced that he would be resigning as the youth pastor at our church and that we would be leaving. Six years ago when we moved back to TN we did not know that God was going to give us the amazing blessing of being the youth leaders for our church. We really have loved every minute of our time with the youth group but we feel like God has something else for us. Jeremy is not going to another church to be on staff but we will be looking for another church. I have been very sad and heartbroken over this decision but we have peace about it. We have poured our lives into these young people. I love them like my children and they are actually my social life, so that will be a big adjustment. I will still be teaching in the area and most of the teens go the the school I will be teaching at but I realize that some things will be different. We do have our house up for sale and we are hoping to move into Nashville. We know God has another assignment for us but it is a bit frightening not knowing what is next. Our last Sunday will be July 26th and I know it will not be an easy day.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Here are the pictures I said I would post last week. There is a picture of Jeremy and I at the Cubs game. One of the kids before watching Toy Story 3 and then one of Emma. Jeremy and I are at Orange Beach with four of our teen girls. It has been rainy and their is oil on the beach, but the worship services has been amazing!!! I really miss the kids and I cannot believe that I will not see them until Saturday!! I also have some other things I need to post but it is late and I need to get some sleep.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

There have been several reasons I have not posted since last week but the bottom line is that we have been super busy. Jeremy and I had a great time in Chicago. We spent a day at Lincoln Park Zoo and then went to a Chicago Cubs game, We thought the game was going to get rained out but it started almost two hours late. We ended up leaving the game in the 7th inning because it was already 11:00 at night and we had an hour and half drive back to my parents house. We headed home on Wednesday. On Friday I took Emma to the Ear, Nose, Throat doctor to look at her ears. They did a hearing test on her and it came back that she is hearing just fine but there is fluid on both ear drums. We made an appointment to get tubes in both ears on July 12th. After the doctor we came home and got the rest of the family and headed out to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. It was just a great movie! I have to admit that I was crying at the end! The kids also loved it and did a great job watching the movie. It was Chloe's first movie experience and I was not sure how she would do with the dark and the glasses. Sunday for Father's Day we had all of Jeremy's family over to our house for lunch. On Tuesday I did the GO10 Walk and I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was for me to walk 10 miles. Well, maybe easy is not quite the right word, but I thought I would have a hard time finishing. I was hot and I have two blisters on my one foot, but when I finished I felt pretty good. Well, that is what has been going on in the Riggs' household. I am taking the kids to meet my parents on Saturday. We are taking four girls from the youth group to Student Life at the Beach on MOnday so the kids are staying with Grandma and Grandpa next week. I am having the worst luck getting pictures to post so I will try again later.

Monday, June 14, 2010- HAPPY GOTCHA DAY!

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY, SAMUEL JAE!!! Five years ago (YES, I SAID FIVE YEARS) Jeremy and I woke up early and boarded a plane headed for Detroit to pick up our son. We were scared to death! There were so many questions and concerns going through our heads, "What if he does not like us?" "What if I do not know what he wants?" What if I do not FEEL like a mom?" and the list could go on. We were greeted in Detroit by my parents and my uncle and cousin (who live near Detroit) and we all waited patiently, or not so patiently, for Samuel to arrive. We waited what seemed like forever and the plane finally landed. We waited with several other families who were also picking up their children as one by one the Korean escorts came through customs toting our precious children. Samuel's escort was the only male and he had Samuel strapped in a carrier on his chest. The moment I saw his little head looking around I knew it was my baby (yes, another question, "what if I do not recognize him from the picture?") I was very cautious going up to him because I did not want to scare him and if I did not have so many witnesses I would not of believed what happened next, but Samuel saw me and reached for me. I took that little baby and my heart that had been broken and aching for so long was finally healed. Samuel was a delightful baby and so far has been a delightful boy. We knew this little boy would change our lives but we would never guess how many lives this little boy would touch in just five years. I know I may be a bit partial, but Samuel is a very special boy and I look forward to seeing what God has planned for him.

Well we are in Illinois. We are going to take Sam out for lunch and then Jeremy and I are headed to Chicago for the night and tomorrow. The kids are staying with my parents and I know they will have a blast. I have posted two pictures from Sam's referral, the first pictures we saw of him, and a pictures taken the other day.