True & Real

Very well written description of the 3-Day:

2011-02-28T13:22:00.000-06:00

http://furrs.org/wordpress/?p=1962
I always enjoy reading the male perspective of the Susan G. Komen 3Day. He describes perfectly what it's all about!

ATL 3Day 2010!

2010-11-12T16:19:00.000-06:00

I've been home for several weeks now from the Atlanta Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure 2010. I have been processing the impact of the event over the past several weeks and I'm still overwhelmed when I think of it. It was, quite simply, one of the most amazing things I've ever been privileged to do. I had so many folks supporting me, and all throughout the event it was evident to see the impact it has on nearly everyone's life. Unfortunately, most everyone knows a survivor of breast cancer.

A few of my favorite things:
Day 1--Sugar Hill Elementary School (the ENTIRE school) was lined along the street cheering for the walkers. By the time I had finished high-fiving every grade schooler out there, I couldn't contain my tears. I'm glad I had on sunglasses. There was something so touching about seeing children cheering for us. I hope it made as big of an impact on their life as it did mine in that moment.

Day 2--seeing camp at the end of the Day was a highlight. What a LONG day! Also, I received sooo many texts from family and friends on Day 2. I felt very loved and then I returned to camp to find my camp mail! My sneaky, but loving husband had gotten friends to write me letters of encouragement. I got to enjoy my mail while sitting in a foot and back massage chair. It was a truly special time.
After opening my mail, I visited the Remembrance Tent. This is an area of camp where there are white tents set up from each 3-Day city. Walkers and crew from each city write names of those they remember who have lost their battle from breast cancer. I could hardly stand to write Mindy McCann's name on Atlanta's tent, but I knew I had to for her and her memory. Although special, it was the hardest part of my 3-Day journey.

Day 3--Walking through downtown Atlanta to Turner Field was very neat. Celebrating with my 2700 newest friends at closing ceremony was tremendous. I can't even describe the feeling of being physically and emotionally exhausted, yet feeling so alive and part of something so much bigger than myself. I was in awe the entire weekend of how many people came out to support us. There were many cheering stations, and if I had taken candy from every person I think I could have filled up 3 suitcases! I felt very unworthy and uncomfortable to have people cheering for me, as I felt like I should not be the one getting the attention. So, I walked through most cheering areas crying and telling everyone "thank you for supporting us!" It was a very humbling experience.

Below are some photos. I've been asked many times if I'm going to walk again, to which my answer is "yes, but not next year!" I loved every minute of it, but I need this next year to spend Saturdays with my family again. However, I'm not done walking! I've got a few more rounds of 60 miles left in me, I think.

Day 1-Opening Ceremony

Day 2--signs everywhere showing support

Day 3--finally done!

Closing Ceremony--survivors circle--walkers/survivors carrying in the 3-Day flags (healing, courage, love, hope, etc)

One week..

2010-10-15T14:09:00.000-05:00

Here it is! One week from today I will be walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure event in Atlanta, GA! I've been training since Jan/Feb of this year, and when I hit the streets of ATL I will have already walked over 500 miles in training miles. Woohoo!

My children always notice a pink ribbon nowadays, and breast cancer is almost a daily phrase in our household. They have been so supportive in more ways than I ever could have imagined! We took a short trip to Chattanooga, TN over fall break last week, and visited Rock City. We loved it and my daughter naturally spotted Rock City's support of breast cancer awareness month.

I have had lots of fun experiences during my training walks. My teammates and I jest about some of the interesting things that go on while we are walking. There's always something: a snake in the path making us jump, or a squirrel throwing nuts at us, dogs barking and nipping at our heels, random people asking us random questions, etc. I've seen parts of Huntsville that I never would have seen before if it weren't for our walks. Some people have gone above and beyond showing us kindness as we walk, and we've been fortunate enough to have opportunities to show our kindness to others. I'm proud to call several women "friend" who were complete strangers to me mere months ago. I've cried on some walks, laughed on nearly all of them, and had some very deep discussions on life, religion, and politics, among other things. I've walked in the sun, the rain and the thunder and lightning. I've walked in almost 100 degree heat and the freezing cold. I've walked until sometimes I thought my feet would fall off. But through it all I've reminded myself that all of that walking is absolutely nothing compared to the pain of breast cancer. So I might as well be wearing an invisibility cloak while I walk because all that walking only matters if they find a cure. That is my #1 prayer and hope through all of the 500 miles and the upcoming 60.

Please continue to pray for strong feet and perseverance. I've been so lucky to have my team, and I'm so very lucky to have the opportunity in one week to share in such an awesome event!

Another reason why I walk

2010-09-28T13:51:00.000-05:00

This little boy, my son, has been begging me for the past 2 weeks to get him a team Pink for Life t-shirt. His sister has one and I have one, so I thought it might just be one of those things that he thought he wanted but really didn't want. So, after 2 weeks of nearly every day requests for a shirt, I finally caved and got him a shirt. I wondered if he would really wear it. I brought home the shirt last night and this morning before school he asked if he could wear it. I said sure. After he got dressed he mentioned that his sister had told him that if anyone at school laughed at him he should just ignore them. I asked him if he thought kids would laugh at him, and I was somewhat surprised to hear him say yes, he thought they would. He said that they might think it was "girly." I asked him if he would mind if they laughed at him and I was equally as shocked to hear him say "No!" He then told me that he wanted it to be his show and tell instead of a toy. That's when I started to cry. I told my sweet boy that I was very proud of him for wanting to wear the shirt no matter what anyone else thought of him. I'm pretty sure he thought I had lost my mind since I was boo-hooing all about it, but I really don't care.
I want my children to know that they can do something special. I want them to know they can make a difference, even if it means going against the flow sometimes. I don't want my son to grow up believing that he has to conform to someone else's world view.
On the way to school my son and I had a conversation about whether or not he thought any men walk in the 3-Day. He said that he thought they probably did and that they probably wear pink as well! Here's where I have to give props to all the great men out there who have walked and will walk in the huge event of the Susan G. Komen 3 Day. I know it must be tough to get out there and pink it up with lots of ladies, along with being exposed to lots of...ermm...interesting and creative names for parts of female anatomy. It really goes against the societal view of being a macho man, I'm sure. I'm so grateful that those guys are putting it all out there for a common cause.

So, the countdown continues:
25 days until I'll be starting the walk----YEEPS! 25?!?!?!
447 training miles walked thus far
$3830 raised
Team Pink for Life total money raised to date: $27, 600!

Please pray for strong feet and no blisters! I know that seems very silly, but we walked 33 miles in the rain this past weekend, and blisters were an issue for several folks (not me, luckily!). There's very little one can do to keep one's shoes and feet dry in the rain. Please also pray that I can keep focused on the many reasons I'm doing this. I frequently will say during a walk, "it's better than chemo" and that is so very true. My feet hurt a LOT sometimes, and while it's very easy to get caught up in the pain, it really is NOTHING compared to anything a breast cancer patient has to face. This is not about me or how much money I raise. It's not about if I can walk all 60 miles. It's about doing something for somebody else. I can't wait for the 3 day journey to continue!

300 miles!

2010-08-18T13:39:00.000-05:00

With only 66 days until the Atlanta 3-Day walk, I've hit 300 training miles walked! Whew that's a lot of walking. I decided to break it down and see what it really looks like:
300 miles @ avg 16 minute mile=4800 minutes of walking
4800 minutes=80 hours of walking
300 miles x ~2000 steps per mile=600,000 steps

This past weekend I walked my first "3 Day" test run. It was a very abbreviated version of the actual 3 Day, but I have to start somewhere! So, on Friday I walked 5 miles. Saturday was 15 miles, and Sunday was 6 miles for a total of 26 miles. I was very pleased with myself. Of course, Day 1 of the actual 3 Day will be roughly 25-26 miles. But my successful completion of those miles gave me more optimism about the upcoming walk. I will keep plodding along in the hopes of being able to complete all 60 miles! I've come to think of my calluses as my ugly, little friends. Yes, they are ugly and a not so glamorous addition to my flip-flops, but come October 22 they will indeed be my friends. I need those suckers all over my previously soft feet so I won't rub even uglier, more painful blisters. So I am embracing my ugly, little friends and together we shall spend the next 70 days. But those buggers better watch out for day 71, because they will be scrubbed and rubbed into nonexistence at the spa.

300 miles down, countless more to go... :)

It's been forever post

2010-07-29T14:41:00.000-05:00

I haven't written in forever. Summer has been crazy! I will post more about that at another time. What I wanted to include today is a link to this blog post because it kept me motivated for today. I love the first few paragraphs of this post. As I've been training for my upcoming 3 Day walk in Atlanta, I've gone through many ups and downs with my emotions about the event. Most of it is excited anticipation, but sometimes I get a nagging doubt about "can I really do this?" Well, I have come to learn that it really doesn't matter if I actually finish those 60 miles or not, but about why I'm there in the first place. I have placed a huge amount of pressure on myself to complete the 60 miles, and I know some of my family and friends really want me to finish it as well. But I'm honored just to be going at all! I've now reached my minimum amount needed to participate ($2300) AND I've also reached and surpassed my goal of $2500! I'm so very blessed. I read as a status on Facebook today: "Walk strong. Walk happy." I love that! I've been needing a mantra to keep me going, and that just might be it.

More updates to come...go be a blessing!

The lazy days of May

2010-05-17T13:52:00.000-05:00

I wish there were some lazy days in May! This mama needs a break! We just got through our busiest weekend in May, complete with a slumber party and anniversary. This year my dear daughter turned the big 8!!!
Here she is being pounced on by her sleepover mates.. She really did have a fabulous birthday and she's very blessed to have such good friends. Her brother was even super-sweet to her all day and had fun with all the girls, too!

On Saturday, hubby and I celebrated 11 years of blissful marriage! Ok, so we are not always blissful (let's be real, folks...that is the name of the blog after all), but we are very fortunate to have one another and we are lucky to have a very loving marriage. He's even so supportive of me that when I mentioned that I'd like to go on an 8-mile training walk that day, he sprayed my back with sunscreen and shooed me out the door! Must be luv. We did enjoy an evening out and we tried The Melting Pot for the first time. It was fabulous, and I'm glad we hadn't planned anything for after dinner because we were there for 3 hours! It was a very relaxing and enjoyable date. And in keeping with our un-romantic theme for anniversary gifts, we decided to get each other a new printer. I know, I know, it's not nearly as romantic as getting each other a will a few years ago, but I think it's a close second. The great part is that we are both perfectly okay with this arrangement. We are still as crazy about each other now as these kids are about trading Silly Bandz:

Happy May!

More pink stuff!

2010-05-08T16:03:00.000-05:00

My team for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk in Atlanta is named Pink for Life, and we have recently grown to 8 members! We have some really cool items for sale here if you'd like to check it out. You can get your t-shirt, beach tote, and mug all at the same place just in time for summer! If you'd like to help me reach my goal of $2500 then you can always click that link over there========> to make a donation! As the weather warms up, the miles grow long. I'm blessed to have other women on my team who are as ~~crazy~~ dedicated as I am. Together, we can make a huge impact on the lives of people with breast cancer!

Time is fleeting

2010-05-04T12:43:00.000-05:00

My kids are growing up. If you are a parent, then yours are too. *gasp* When did that happen? And how do I make it stop?
Sometimes I find myself wanting to freeze time, or capture it inside a bottle so I can remember certain moments forever. I know I'm not alone in this, but I have yet to figure out how to do it! Any help here??

Today my son was disappointed about something and began to cry giant crocodile tears. He was pitiful. In those moments, there is not much comfort I can provide other than a big hug. After the ordeal was over, I started analyzing the situation and it struck me that these moments are not going to last much longer. You see, my children are not always going to want to come running to Mommy for a shoulder to cry on or to get comfort from a hug. Particularly my son, I fear. So while I certainly don't wish heartache and despair upon my children, I do embrace those few and fleeting moments in time that they do turn to me. One day, God willing, they will be grown-ups. Unfortunately this also means their heartaches will be bigger. While I pray that they will turn to me or their Dad for a comforting shoulder or a hug, I also understand that this will most likely not always be the case. My true prayer is that they will always know that we will be there for them, and that God will always be there for them as well. While I can provide temporary comfort, God is their ultimate comforter.

So I will take these fleeting moments while they last. I will fully embrace the love that my children show to me on a daily basis. I will (hopefully) teach them how to show comfort to others, and to turn to God for their own comfort.

Today my blessing is being given the awesome responsibility of being a parent to my precious children. What's your blessing?

Get up on that pink train!

2010-04-09T13:37:00.000-05:00

Friday has been my favorite day of the week for-ev-ah and I will tell you why:

*back in school days, it meant that the weekend was about to start, and usually no homework!
*back in working mama days, it meant that I got off work at NOON and the weekend was about to start!
*nowadays, it means that the weekend is about to start and I get to spend time with my precious little family!

So not only is Friday my favorite day of the week, but I get to post about it on my friend Hillary's Friday Favorites!

Now, onto that pink train... who doesn't love a train, right? If you really love pink, I encourage you to click on that Susan G. Komen link to the right=========>
because you can shop for pink stuff to your hearts content (for a good cause, of course!). I'm not kidding; it's a LOT of pink, my friends. My Friday confession is that pink has never been my favorite color; in fact, too much pink can remind of that certain medicine and when I think about that certain medicine it leads to thoughts of having to take that medicine and that leads to unpleasant thoughts in general. I do like pink, but not too much of it all at once.

I don't think my husband is a big fan of pink either. Judge for yourself:

I'll let you choose your own caption for that lovely photo. His sister sent him this cute cap since he shaved his head off for her. I guess she didn't want him to catch cold. What a loving sister.

Anyway, on to my favorite for this Friday!!! --I know..you had to read thru all of that to get to my actual favorite!!-- I am so happy this Friday because my sister-in-law is done with chemo!!! I am sure that nobody is as happy about that as she is, but I am positively and absolutely glad that the ginormous hurdle of chemo is over for her! Now on to tattoos and zappers and she will be right as rain. I was going through pics looking for a photo of her that I thought she might not object overly much to me sharing, and I found this one from 2006 taken at her youngest brother's wedding. I hope she likes it and I hope you do too! She's my inspiration for the 3 Day Walk and I am honored to be doing this for her.

She's the one in the red, in case you couldn't figure that out for yourselves. I like this one because the whole family is all spiffed up.

So, head on over to Hillary's blog and share your own Friday Favorite and read some of the others. You'll be glad you did!

Body, Head and Heart

2010-03-29T13:26:00.000-05:00

This blog post touched my heart today. Although I have yet to participate in my first 3 Day Walk, I'm both eager and a bit wary. This post helped me keep my perspective and will help me as I continue to train for this awesome event!

Miles logged: 64
Days until Atlanta walk: 208

Please click the Susan G. Komen link to the right to view my personal page on their website and to make a tax deductible donation! Even if you can't join in with your body, your head and your heart will thank you. (And so will I!!)

Spring Break Adventures

2010-03-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

Here in Huntsville we just got off our week of Spring Break. And it's snowing. Lovely.

However, spring break week wasn't too bad! It was a bit cold and gray where we were, but we had a good time nonetheless. When we left, there was an extra dog in our backyard. Our own dogs, Baxter and Ellie, weren't sure what to make of the little fella. We named him Carlos, from the movie "The Hangover", which my husband and I had just watched before the dog came to stay a while. My husband ended up having to work the week of spring break, so he stayed home. This turned out to be a good thing, because he was able to put out a sign for the found dog, and Carlos (a.k.a. Buddy) was able to get back to his owners!

Another good reason for my husband to stay home was because he got going on our bathroom project. We decided to redecorate the kids bathroom. Here's the before shot :

I really loathe this room. When we moved in 3 years ago, the walls were painted a dark burgundy, which made the room look like a cave or something horribly sinister. That just won't do for a kids bathroom, so I tried to lighten things up a bit with a bright aqua color! Yes, well, it's still no good.

Here's how it looked when the kids and I left for spring break:

Ahhh....just taking off that hideous counter and getting a nice neutral on the walls did wonders, I think! *Does that uneven, unmatched towel bother anyone but me???* Whiel we were gone doing fun things like this--

--my sweet husband, with the help of a borrowed tile saw from a friend, and the assistance of my self-sacrificing BIL, was able to get the room to look more like THIS:

Oh joy and jubilation! There are still a few small details to work out, such as installing the toilet, putting in the new shower curtain, changing the cabinet hardware, and replacing the crown moulding. *And getting matching towels!* But, I'm so pleased with the outcome thus far.

My dear, sweet husband worked so hard, and the rest of us got to play. Here are some more shots of what we got to do during the week...

These pics were taken from the Albright Grove trail near Gatlinburg, TN. The trees there (tuliptree and silverbells) were more than impressive! My Dad is starring in the last shot and I think that helps give the right perspective of how large these things were. The one up above with the kids and me was taken at Laurel Falls, also in Gatlinburg.

And then there were 3...???

2010-03-12T17:51:00.000-06:00

Before anyone freaks out, I'm not referring to children here. I like my cute family just the way it is!

Apparently my dogs didn't agree with me today. They wanted just one more. So they invited in a random chihuahua. I was in the midst of making dinner, when I happened to look out my kitchen window to discover Ellie chasing around what appeared at first glance to be a rat with a blue collar. After closer examination, I realized it was a chihuahua running around my back yard! We have a fence surrounding our yard, so I had no clue how it got in. Did its owner open my gate and let it in? Did my dogs open the gate and let it in??

I hastily glanced out my front door to see if I could spot the owner, but instead I see the little rat climbing over the fence into the neighbors yard! You got it; he jumped about halfway up the chain link fence, then scaled the rest of the way into the next yard!

Here's the little scoundrel in the neighbor's yard. At present, my husband is trying to lure the dog closer so he can locate the owner, since the dog doesn't belong in the neighbors yard, either.

This was my Friday Favorite! Check out Hillary's blog to see more Friday Favorites.

5 Fantastic Favorites

2010-03-09T13:11:00.000-06:00

In case you haven't heard, I've been doing a lot of walking lately. This past Saturday as I was going my most recent favoritest route, I was unable to get my iPod to function. I happened to be alone for this walk, so I decided to go all purist and listen to nature for my musical selection. As a result of two hours of alone, quiet time to think, I came up with 5 things I enjoyed about my walk that day.

5. The sunshine was awesome! I'm quite weary of our dreary winter we've had here in North AL, so I soaked up Vitamin D like it was an oasis in the desert. I so hope this means spring is upon us!

4. I'm starting to see the same faces over and over again. I've been walking this route for the past month or so, usually on Saturdays, and I have learned that there are quite a few folks who have a similar routine as me. It is kind of neat to start recognizing people on my walk.

3. For example, there's the guy who walks with his dog. The dog is not on a leash, but evidently he will stay with his master as long as there is a tennis ball in the dog's mouth. The dog doesn't even appear to notice me, but he always has that darn tennis ball in his mouth. I've never even seen the owner throw the ball for the dog or anything; they are always simply walking. I'm sure the owner is grateful for Pavlov. (aren't we all, really???) I mean, if you are going to be brave enough to let your dog off its leash, at least have the thing well-trained.

2. Speaking of animals, I see a multitude of dogs on this route. It's a greenway, so it's much safer to walk your dog there rather than on a road. In fact, Saturday I saw a couple of very large Great Danes. Not as big as this one, but I am always impressed by their greatness. :) I also walk far enough south to see some geese. I love listening to all of the birds, and this past weekend I heard a woodpecker. It reminded me of my grandfather, because I could just imagine him having his binoculars at the ready to spot any bird or woodpecker around. He would have outpaced me (as he always did) even with his birdwatching. I appreciate the solitude of nature and the memories it brings with it. If I'd had on my iPod, chances are I wouldn't have heard that woodpecker and thought about my grandpa.

1. I also get to witness exercise taking on more forms than walking. There are usually quite a few bikers and runners. I even see a rollerblader now and again. However, this past weekend I saw something I'd never seen before. I wasn't sure if I should jump off the walkway or not, because this thing was literally swerving so madly from side to side that I thought it might hit me. I really don't see the point in it, but the guy riding it seemed to be enjoying himself.

In the spirit of keeping my countdown alive, I've now logged 54 miles. Only 228 more days to go!

Happy Mardi Gras!

2010-02-16T18:22:00.000-06:00

In honor of Mardi Gras today, I thought I'd share a recipe with you. I made this for the first time during the Superbowl and wouldn't ya know those Saints won?!?!?

Anyway, here is Cajun Chicken Lasagna:

1 package lasagna noodles (I always use the kind you don't have to cook beforehand)
1 lb. andouille sausage (I couldn't find this, so I used hot sausage)
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into chunks
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 (10 oz.) containers Alfredo sauce, divided
1 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large skillet over med-high heat, combine sausage, chicken, Cajun seasoning and sage. Cook until chicken and sausage is no longer pink. Remove meat from skillet using slotted spoon and set aside. Saute onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic until tender. Remove from heat and sstir in cooked meat and one container Alfredo sauce.
Lightly grease 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover bottom of dish with lasagna noodles, then spread 1/2 meat mixture over top of noodles. Repeat layers, and cover with a layer of noodles. Spread remaining Alfredo sauce and top with cheeses. *I found that it tasted a bit heavy on the alfredo sauce, so perhaps try cutting the called for sauce to 1 1/2 containers*
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

I must say this is delicious, but quite fattening! But it is Fat Tuesday, so enjoy!!

The countdown begins..

2010-02-16T16:44:00.000-06:00

First things first... check out that button to the right there ===================>>>
The one that says Susan G. Komen 3-day-walk and click on it!!! It will take you to a fabulous page where you can make a donation to help me "earn my stripes" before embarking on a 60-mile walk over 3 days this coming October in Atlanta, GA. I'd really appreciate any help you can give. I'm not a great fundraiser (that may be why my daughter's PTA just gets a check from me each year instead of a form filled out with wrapping paper orders), so the thought of having to raise over $2000 is a bit daunting to me. Eek!

But all that aside, I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenge that this walk is bringing to my life. Other than pregnancy and my wedding, I can't think of any other time that I had to plan this far in advance for something. It's refreshing with a bit of mystery. The refreshing part is that I have something major to work towards, and the mystery part is if I can actually do it.
I'll bet you $1 that I make it!

I've been training with different folks. I've trained alone, with my sister, with my Dad, and with another woman who is registered for the Atlanta walk. I'm glad to have found her, because honestly, if I'm going to share a tent with someone for 3 nights, I'd rather know them first!

All of this to say that I would greatly appreciate any and all forms of support, whether it's by financial donation, prayers, or general wishes of well-being sent my way. I've logged 31 miles in training thus far. I've got the socks, I'm saving up for some sweet shoes, and I've got the gumption to get this done.

459 days left. Countless miles to go.

Big 'ol bloga nuthin'

2010-01-26T12:14:00.000-06:00

That's the fate of this poor blog lately! :( Time and life is swiftly passing by, and as a result my blog has suffered from severe neglect. Let's see, a run-down of the past 3 months or so:

Thanksmas in Citronelle, AL-- celebrated Thanksgiving with my in-laws (who have dubbed the time together as "Thanksmas" since we not only commemorate one holiday, but Christmas as well). So very happy that my SIL, BIL, neices & nephews were able to join us. It was a good time, as usual. My kids love, Love, LOVE seeing their cousins!

Breakfast w/Santa, holiday parties and more-- I was painfully behind on my Christmas shopping and so this past holiday seemed more stressful than usual. It turned out fine, and it was a bit different this year since we did a progressive Christmas. Typically we just go to my parents house, but last year my sister and her family moved to town, so we had 3 houses in the area to visit. We had brunch at my sister's, Christmas dinner at my parents, and dessert at my house. It was pretty fun!

School & work-- back to the grindstone there.... I increased my hours at work last fall, and so I'm working roughly 10 hours a week now. My son is only in preschool 3 days a week for 1/2 a day, so I don't have nearly as much "free time" anymore. I've gotten a better routine going now, but it was quite an adjustment! It's also been an adjustment having to give up some of the extracurricular things I once enjoyed doing. I didn't realize how much of a sacrifice it would be, and I admit it is a bit more than I initially anticipated. But, as a result of working more, I was able to pay for a Disney cruise without killing our budget...more on that later. School is going well for both kids. Melody is maintaining A's in 2nd grade and is a read-a-holic. I received Gannon's kindergarten registration this week! Yikes! The current plan for him is to do Kindergarten twice, because of his age. He'll do private Kindergarten at his preschool, then repeat it at public school. A tough decision, but I feel confident that we are making the right choice.

Now on to our most recent adventure....

Disney cruise-- we just returned from a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas! It was fantastic! It was everything I'd hoped it would be, plus some, and I didn't even get seasick. Perfecto!! We're already talking about doing it again in 4-5 years. Of course by then, we may just want to go to Disney World, but I really did like the cruise and how relaxing it was to not have to worry about anything. Disney is currently building a new ship which will launch next year. It's Waaay bigger than the one we were on, so I'm sure it will be just as nice or nicer. I have to say...Disney knows how to do it right!

Upcoming-- February isn't typically very busy for us, but for some reason it is this year! Most of our weekends are already booked up. Then comes Spring Break in March, where we'll spend the week in Seveirville, TN hiking and shopping, etc. I guess 2010 will be just as busy as 2009! Melody is starting piano lessons this week, and she's very excited about that. Gannon will have a go at tee-ball in the spring. I think he would play any sport as long as they give him a trophy when he's done. :) I'm not sure that's a great message or outlook to have, but hey, at least he's a kid who knows what he wants.

....And how could I forget that Alabama won the Nat'l Championship!!! Roll Tide Roll!
....And the Saints are about to play in the Superbowl!!! Who Dat?!?! *could this possibly be the PERFECT year for football??????* I thought big print might jinx it...

I hope you and yours are having a blessed New Year!

Humbled

2009-10-29T21:40:00.000-05:00

Isn't it interesting how God can knock you back sometimes? He is the ultimate Father, and I'm so thankful! Today I was getting my little pity party on, and by the end of the day God had had enough I'm sure (can't all of us that are parents relate to this feeling??). It's that moment when you're looking at your child who is complaining and whining, non-stop, and you finally have to get a little mean, but in a loving way. God showed me, very clearly, that He wanted me to knock it off. He gave me perspective.

And that, my friends, is my blessing for today. What is yours?

The Blondest Moment of my Life

2009-10-17T15:42:00.000-05:00

I am a natural blonde--the highlights came later-- but I try not to always act like it. Sometimes I just can't escape the sterotype, however, and today's mishap that I am going to share with you proves it. This morning marked the 6th Annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run, which is a local 5K to support breast cancer awareness. I've enjoyed participating in the last 3 or so, and this year I signed up once again. I thought that Melody might like to walk with me, so several months ago she agreed to participate as well. There we are up there, all cute with our pink on...BEFORE the race.

The forecast called for sunny and a high in the 50's. In years past, this has been the typical forecast for this race and it's generally quite tolerable. Unfortunately, today it was cloudy, rainy and around 45 degrees. The wind chill was about 39 degrees, I believe. It was COLD! Also as is typical, I tied my car key into my shoelace so I don't have to carry a set of keys while I'm racing. I take extra precautions to secure it, and have never had a problem. Yeah, you know what's coming now, don't you??

Melody and I ~~raced~~ trudged our way through the wet and slippery streets of downtown Huntsville. She is cold and miserable, and I'm trying to keep her interested and moving in a forward motion by pointing out some of the neat historic houses, Halloween decorations, people on their porches cheering us on....basically anything to keep her moving toward the finish line. My favorite quote from her today was after I had pointed out yet another cool looking church. She said, in a most forlorn and bored tone of voice, "yes Mommy, big, white and old." By mile 2 or so, the rain started coming down pretty hard and steady, so we even stopped doing short jogs. At long last, the finish line appeared and we made it across. I thought Melody did a superb job, because she never stopped the whole way, but the fact of the matter is that it's just not ideal conditions for your first 5K when it's cold and wet outside. Regardless, we proceeded to the parking garage nearby where I had parked my husband's car. Once there, I bent over to retrieve the key from my shoe, and it was gone. Just gone. One of my worst fears had come true. My mind immediately went through my options: 1). go back onto the racecourse and find it. NOT; 2). break down and cry. Maybe; 3). ask the person entering the vehicle next to us if I can borrow her cell phone, since mine is in my purse inside my husband's car. Winner! I think I did let out an involuntary *gasp* of astonishment and panic upon the discovery of the empty shoelace, and so the very kind lady handed me her cell phone. I called my sweet hubby and briefly explained the situation to him, asking him to please come and let us in the car, and oh by the way make it snappy 'cause we are freezing our buns off!! I think he was still at my son's final soccer game, and for all I know they were in the middle of handing my little boy his soccer trophy, but I knew that no matter what, I was going to ruin whatever it was they were doing. Melody then informs me (of course...these things always pop up when it's inconvenient) that she has to go to the bathroom, and she gives me the look that all mothers recognize to mean that you had better find a bathroom PRONTO. Then she starts to cry, bless her heart, because she thinks that my husband is going to come for us while we're wandering around trying to locate a bathroom. In her sweet 7-year-old brain, we are literally going to be stuck out in the wet and cold all day because we'll never make it back in time. Off we go, down the 5 levels of the parking garage, and by now I'm getting my prayer on that a nearby office building has their doors unlocked so we can get into someplace warm that has a potty. Luckily, we did eventually find one and got that business taken care of, then back out into the cold and rain we went, back up the 5 levels to our locked car. I figured it would take my husband about 20 minutes or so to reach us, and so we had about 10 minutes left to wait. So we stand there, trying to stay warm, and wait. We chat and commiserate about how cold we are, etc. Nearly 10 minutes pass by, when for some unknown and Heaven-sent reason, I glance down at my shoes.

And There It Is!!

The key!!!! It was tied onto my OTHER shoe. Yes, people, my other shoe. I had only checked the one shoe onto which I thought I had tied the stupid key. I have never felt so dumb, yet so relieved, in my entire life! Melody and I start jumping up and down rejoicing, but by then our car was the only one in sight, so we got to act like fools and nobody saw us. We immediately jumped into the car and I handed her my cell phone to call off the troops. I'm laughing and almost crying and cranking up the heater all at the same time. I start wheeling down and around the ramps of the parking deck, and then suddenly I pass my husband, who is going up the decks. Oops. We didn't call him in time. Then I feel a little bit ashamed... and happy and warm all at the same time. On the way home, Melody and I can't stop laughing about it. So there it is....I'm truly living up to my blonde potential!

Glasses and bulldozers..Oh My!

2009-10-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

It's fall break around here, which means that the kids are out of school for the week and we get to take advantage of the beautiful Fall weather!! Well, it hasn't started out so beautiful, but here's hoping for sunshine and low temps for the remainder of the week. We also get a week off of soccer, which I think I need more than the kids. :)

Melody has now entered the fashion world of eyeglasses. Yes, indeed. She is super-pumped to have new spectacles. I think if the eye doctor had told her she didn't need glasses, a crying fit would have ensued. Here is my sophisticated youngster with her new accessory:

I guess you can't really tell from the picture, but the frames are dark purple! I love them and so does my sweet girl. I had also forgotten how putting on a pair of glasses can age a child by a couple of years...

That wonderful photo you see of a bulldozer is what I saw out my front window this morning. In my front yard. We had a water leak from the city pipes, and so we called them over a week ago to report it. They showed up at 8:00 a.m. on the first day of Fall Break to repair it. Uhhh..hello? I, naturally, was still in my pajamas and most certainly did not answer the door in my pj's, instead making a mad dash upstairs to take a shower before they cut the water off. I think I made it just in the nick of time, because there was no water to be had once I had gotten dressed. Gannon and Melody were entertained by the large bulldozer in our front lawn, however. I still think bulldozers are pretty cool. I decided that rather than sit around the house with no water, we'd go to KidVenture and play. Once we returned, the bulldozer was gone and our water was back. I'm hoping that if the weather cooperates, we can squeeze in a hike, flower planting, and a trip to the Botanical Garden this week. Along with work, being lazy, chores and errands, that is...

Happy Fall!!

A stitch in time..

2009-09-23T21:16:00.003-05:00

saves nine? Is that how the saying goes? I don't even know what that means, but for now we'll just go with it. I have been absent from the blogging world for quite a while now. My schedule has caught up with me, I'm afraid. However, just because my blog has sat idle for over a month, our family has been exactly the opposite. We've been busy with acting class, soccer games, work, football and an assortment of other wonderful (yet time consuming) activities!

One night last week and I was drifting into the peaceful depths of sleep, I came up with the idea to teach myself how to knit. I don't know why I thought of it...perhaps it was the knowledge of my sister recently learning how to knit, combined with a conversation with my husband about needing a new hobby. Strangely enough, I must have been semi-conscious enough to have the wherewith all to remember this sleepy cognition the next day. I decided to pursue it. So, yesterday I took my willing helper (see below) to the fabulous land of Hobby Lobby to purchase some items with which to begin my knitting adventure. I ended up getting a lace-up sewing kit for my youngest, Gannon, and a kid's cross stitch kit for Melody. For myself, I purchased a DIY book on knitting which came with needles and random other things that I assume I will need later ~~if I don't throw all the stuff straight into the garbage in frustration~~ when I improve my knitting skills.

Gannon wanted to dive into his project right away. He caught on quickly, and I must say the child is a handsome seamster (what's the masculine version of seamstress, anyway??).

Once Melody returned home from school, she also dove right into her cross stitch kit. I showed her how to make the stitch, and she took off with it! I'm very proud of her as well.

While the little-sewing-man was taking a break from all the stitching (a.k.a. taking a nap), I got down to business with learning how to knit. I really, really tried to follow the Oh So Uncomplicated (NOT!)instructions and diagrams in the book. However, I guess being a visual learner does not apply to deciphering a diagram showing a gazillion million loops and the tiny needle going through that one particular loop in the middle somewhere. I finally got one lonely loop onto the needle, then couldn't figure out how to begin a new loop. By then I had been "practicing" for an hour, I had given myself a headache, and I was ready to jab said needles through my head. I think they made those silly diagrams for men. You know, men are used to those kinds of things because they are always putting things together. Take my husband's grill for example. My husband had to assemble most of his grill, and it came with a 50 (or so) page instruction manual, complete with hundreds of those silly diagrams to show you exactly where to put that screw. I have never been able to figure those things out, so it's no wonder that the knitting diagrams have me at a loss. I will be hunting/stalking an accomplished knitter in the very near future.

My day of days

2009-08-19T13:20:00.002-05:00

Today is one of those days that, by 8:00 a.m., you know it's going to be "one of thooooose" kinds of days. It all started for me around 2 a.m. this morning. When my husband is on a business trip, as he is now, I generally don't sleep very well. Let's just say that my imagination tends to get the best of me, and I begin imagining that the tiny noise I just heard is actually someone breaking into my house, wanting to carve up me and my family. You wouldn't be able to sleep either, would you?? I know I lean toward the morbid side, but that's just an idea of how a long, lonely night can affect my reasoning skills.

This morning at 2 a.m. I was blissfully asleep when I was startled awake by one of those noises. I became very still and silent as I listened, and I indeed thought I heard a REAL sound. I had the great debate of staying as still as possible in my cocoon of a bed, or getting up to explore. (Usually this is when I wake up my husband, if he is near, and tell HIM to get up and explore..) I chose the explore option, and found nothing amiss, but I was unable to go back to sleep very well for the rest of the night. Come to find out from Melody later on...she had gotten up during the night and had even seen me wandering around, but she decided to pretend like she was asleep! She so innocently asked, "Mommy, did you think I was a robber??" Uh, ~~YES HONEY!! I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO BE KILLED!!! DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!~~ yes, sweetie, and that scared me very much, so please if you get up during the night and you are awake when I come check on you, go ahead and just tell me that you're awake, OKAY????

As I make my way groggily around town dropping off various children at various schools, I eventually end up at work, where I sat in on a Spanish-speaking domestic violence group. My boss would like for all of the group leaders to be able to understand some conversational Spanish, due to the rising numbers of Spanish-speaking clients at our agency. I have to say that even though I had THREE long years of Spanish, it in no way helped me in that class today. I caught maybe 1% of what was said. *sigh* I guess there's work to do. When group was over, I walked up front to the receptionist to say goodbye, and she informed me that my client was there. MY CLIENT??? What client?? Ohhhhhh....the one you forgot to tell me about! Good thing I was already there.

Once I groggily finished up at the office, I went about my business of errand-running. I went to Costco because I had some coupons to use, and because I really prefer to go alone. Somewhere between the lack of sleep and garbled Spanish in my head, I forgot to use my coupons. Go freakin' figure. Luckily, I realized this as I was chowing down on some budget-friendly-but-not-very-good-for-you pizza at Costco. I checked with someone and they actually gave me a refund for my coupons! Costco rocks! Meanwhile, work calls me to say that I have a client to see tonight before my group, I call my dad to arrange babysitting for the kids, the bank calls me to finalize our closing for a refinance loan tomorrow (AND they need a ton of paperwork scanned and e-mailed to them before tomorrow morning!!), and then my husband texts me to say his flight is delayed and he won't be home before bedtime to see the kids. Ugh...back to groggy.

So that is why, at 2 p.m. in the afternoon, I now sit with a gallon of peanut butter and chocolate ice cream before me, spoon in hand, and I'm suffocating my grogginess with sugary goodness.

It's just one of those days.

How to be a good Daddy

2009-08-14T12:20:00.003-05:00

According to an almost 4-year-old:

Me: Gannon, when you grow up and get married, do you want to be a Daddy?
G: Yes!!
Me: What kinds of things do you need to do to be a good Daddy?
G: ummmmmmmmmmmmmm..........play, sing, ummm......, get married, and kiss my wife.

He's got this one figured out already! Whew...life lesson learned! Haha!

Sometimes I just don't get it

2009-08-03T20:21:00.003-05:00

Tonight before bed Gannon said, "the walls make me nervous because they creep me out."

Umm...what is the appropriate response to this?

Sweden Part 2

2009-07-29T14:51:00.009-05:00

Life was simple in Sweden. No bills to pay, no phones call to return, no schedules to keep. That's what vacations (without kids) are like. It was the perfect getaway, and I ate up the freedom while it lasted. Generally, I'm a planner. I like to scope out our vacation spot before we arrive to see what activites are in the area, etc. For some reason I didn't do any of that before this trip. I just knew that once we got there, we'd figure out something to do. I was right. There was plenty to do:
enjoy a rainbow
go on a hike without bothering to pack a ton of water beforehand--yep, that's Jamie drinking fresh mountain water--no filters needed!appreciate a view, virtually untouched by man

A couple of things stood out for me during this trip. First of all, we had the chance to sit in airports a lot, primarily in the United States. At least every other person we encountered was preoccupied by a technological gadget in one form or another (cell phone, texting, iPod, laptop--you name it). Jamie and I were definitely in the minority as we sat without our gadgets handy or in use. I eavesdropped on lots of conversations. Once we got to Sweden, a country that is far ahead of ours, technologically speaking, I was able to count on one hand the number of people I saw on their cell phone or laptop. Even in the bustling city of Stockholm, people actually were talking to each other, face-to-face!! I noticed it right away, because it was such a drastic difference from our preoccupied society over here.
Another thing I noticed as we drove up to Are is that Sweden is very natural. There are no billboards along the sides of the road. They don't have interstates at all. Most of what you see are trees, mountains, and rivers/lakes. Between Stockholm and where we drove (8 hours away), there were many communities, but really only one other large-ish town or city. Swedes don't appear to "over build" like we do here in the USA. As we passed lake after lake, I thought to myself that if this were America, there would be huge mansions and condos built around the entire lake, most likely obscuring the view of the lake itself. This is not the case at all in Sweden. It was absolutely refreshing, and if I'm honest, it made me long to live there just a bit in an effort to avoid all of the commercialism here in the States.
This is a view back towards our resort town, Are. Although quite small compared to resort towns in America, this seemed to be the largest tourist spot anywhere close to where we were. This is a big ski community. I noticed the lack of houses built on the mountain (sure, it's a ski mountain, but NONE of the mountains nearby had houses on them).

Okay, the only negative part about Sweden was the cost of things. For example, I saw a pair of Crocs ($30 in the U.S.), and they were $70! I bought a paperback book before the trip home ($7 at the most in U.S.) and it was $15! Gas was over $5/gallon. So, it doesn't look as though I'll be moving to Sweden any time soon, unless I win the lottery (that I don't play), of course.

One last thing that I loved about Sweden (and Europe, in general) were the public bathrooms. I know, I'm weird. As soon as we got off the plane in Stockholm, I went to the bathroom and it looked similar to this:
I just loved that each "stall" was its own, private bathroom. I couldn't see anyone else's feet or hear their business *ahem* and I got to wash my hands in my own, private wash basin. I found it delightful just to go to the restroom in most places.

Then back to reality we came, in the Atlanta airport waiting for our flight home for 5 long hours. Ugh. Back to people rushing about, not paying attention because they're chatting on their phone. Loud bathrooms. We saw lots and lots of soldiers in the airport, and at one gate where there were about 20 soldiers waiting to board, one older gentleman was approaching each soldier, giving him or her a hug, and saying that he was keeping them in his prayers. Airline attendants allowed soldiers to move into first class if there were empty seats. My kids came and jumped on us in the bed the next morning after we got home, chatting excitedly about everything that they had done while we were away. Sweden was great, but home is great, too.

Sweden Part 1

2009-07-23T13:26:00.008-05:00

I have been a blog slacker lately. I guess I can attribute it to having too much fun this summer and not enough time to blog. Yep. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

One thing I've done this summer is take a trip to Europe with my dear husband. We decided to go to Sweden. Okay, so Italy was my first choice, but that wasn't going to happen so we settled on Sweden. I'm perfectly happy and very thankful that we got to go anywhere at all, so I certainly was not going to turn down the opportunity to go to Sweden. We were able to arrange to have my in-laws drive down and stay with the kids so that we could go for our 10-day trip. It actually came together quite easily, and the kids really enjoyed having all of that time with their g'parents. It was like a special treat for them.

So we left on a Thursday afternoon to begin our long jaunt across the big water. I haven't travelled to Europe since high school, and I seem to remember that I was able to sleep on the long flight, but that didn't happen this time around. Try as I might, I could NOT go to sleep! By the time we landed in Stockholm around 11 a.m. (Sweden time) the next day, I was exhausted. We groggily retrieved our luggage, got our rental car, then set off to find our hotel in Stockholm, which was about an hour's drive away. Luckily, we had also gotten a GPS with the rental car, or else we would have never found our hotel. Driving in Stockholm is ~~like having a tooth extracted~~ an adventure, to say the least. Not only could we not pronounce the names of any of the streets, because they all have names like Bergsjogrottorna, but the streets are not well-marked. Anyhow, we got to our hotel room, showered, and crashed for the next 3 hours or so. Once I had a bit of sleep, I was ready to hit the town. We wandered around looking for food, then just walked around sight-seeing. Jamie's been to Sweden probably a dozen times, but this was my first time so I was like a kid in a candy store. Here's an example of what most of the streets look like in Old Town (Gamla Stan), Stockholm.

Being a big city, most people either ride bicycles, walk, or use a form of public transportation. Since it's summertime and the temps are more favorable to being outdoors, all of the pubs were filled with outdoor diners. There were people everywhere!! We ended up on a street which was very popular, judging by the number of people there with us, and found some souvenir shops and such. There seemed to be ice cream shops on every corner, so we finally stopped into one place where they were making the waffle cones in the dining area. It smelled so good, and the ice cream was awesome! They also had a Ben & Jerry's down the street, which had a waiting line out the building and around the corner, but we can get that anytime...so, we were very impressed with the ice cream and waffle cones that we chose. We walked over and saw the outside of the Royal Palace, then headed back to our hotel to call it a night.

The next morning we got up and prepared to make the 8-hour drive to the resort town in which we were staying, Are. (There's supposed to be a small circle above the 'A' in Are, but I don't have a Swedish keyboard, folks). It's pronounced almost like the word "oar-ay", but you have to rolllllll your rrrrrrrrr. Try it. They have funny, cool vowels in Sweden. I never did say anything properly. Luckily for us, English is the 2nd language for nearly everyone in Sweden, so once we said Hello to most folks, they spoke English to us. The Swedish word for "hello" is "hej", pronounced "hey", so we were always greeted with "hej hej!", which was very confusing because I usually said "Hey!" back and they started speaking Swedish. My dazed, glossed-over eyes probably gave them the hint that I am American, however.

I digress. Our trusty GPS got us out of Stockholm and took us on the scenic route through the countryside of Sweden. Here's what some of that looked like as we were driving.

The red house with white trim is pretty standard there. As are the barns and farms. Sometimes we'd see a green with white trim house, or a yellow with white trim house, but they are ALL the same style and size, generally. More to come on that later.. There are moose crossing signs all along the roadways, but the moose (meese?) aren't around in summer...I don't know where they go, but there was even a moose farm near the resort and it was closed for summer. I was disappointed about that. I really wanted to kiss a moose.

We finally arrived at the resort and were impressed by all of the views. Mountains right outside our front door. A huge, beautiful lake right off our patio. It was simply breathtaking.

We took some time acquainting ourselves with the resort and such, then enjoyed a buffet dinner (it wasn't called a smorgasboard, but it was similar to one, I think) at the resort. Herring is a very popular dish in Sweden, so there were about 3-4 varieties of herring on the buffet, along with some other seafood. I don't eat seafood, so I didn't partake in any of that, but I did have some AUTHENTIC Swedish meatballs and man were they gooo-oood. Haha!

The next day we decided to go in search of a couple of waterfalls that were just a few miles (or km) away. It was nice to get out and stretch our legs and hike a little, after being stuffed in an airplane and/or a car continuously the past couple of days. The first waterfall is called Ristafallen and is 14 m high. Here's a nice shot of it and also of the view leading to the waterfall. There are rivers and lakes practically everywhere in Sweden. It's a lovely country.

Then we progressed down the road to the Tannforsen waterfalls, which is 37 m high. This had to be one of the most impressive waterfalls I've ever seen. I really love waterfalls, so it's not unusual for us to scout them out whenever we're on a trip somewhere. But WOW. The pictures cannot do this waterfall justice at all, unfortunately. You'll just have to go to Sweden and be amazed by it yourself!

I'll probably leave off here with Sweden Part 1, since it's gotten lengthy already. Do you want to go to Sweden, yet?

The things one learns when the power goes out

2009-06-20T11:40:00.003-05:00

Last night we were travelling home from a nice belated birthday dinner, and when we came to the light at the top of the mountain, it was out. We subsequently discovered that all of the traffic lights were out on the south end of town, going towards our home. Here are some things I learned about power outages:

1. The majority of people do not know how to handle a stop light that is not functioning, especially when there is not a policeman directing traffic. It becomes a 4-way-stop, people!!!!! I'm impressed we made it through 5 intersections without dying--both from not getting hit by another car, and not having a heart attack watching other cars get through the intersection safely.

2. When it's been 95+ degrees all week long, it makes for a warm house when the power is out. It was after 7:00 p.m. when we got home, but the upstairs of our home was already like an oven. Naturally, all of the bedrooms are upstairs.

3. My children do not like changes in their routine, even if it is as simple as brushing their teeth by candlelight.

4. Said children depend on both a nightlight AND a sound machine (aka an air purifier in our house) in order to go to sleep. Oh yeah, and they also like to not be sweating to death while trying to go to sleep. 8:00 bedtime became 11:00 because they could not sleep.

5. Apparently I sleep better before the power comes back on than after it is restored. As I was finally cooling off at midnight, I continued to stay awake for half the morning.

6. When the kids are awake until 11:00 p.m. they sleep in until 8:00 a.m.! This is a good thing.

7. There are so fewer distractions when the power is out. I didn't have to think about whether or not to prime the walls, get on Facebook, play the Wii, talk to my husband, do the dishes, etc. The choice was simple: hang out with husband, pray the children go to sleep, and go to bed early!

God Bless when the power is restored!!! My exact words when it came on: HALLELUJAH!!!!!

What to say?

2009-06-18T11:50:00.002-05:00

It's been so long since I posted, but summer has completely taken over our lives lately! Thankfully, it's taken over in a good way.

So, I'll just do a quick update of my recent blessings.

1. My children are a daily blessing, but when they do something that is extraordinarily sweet, it takes my breath away and makes me love them even more. Today is my birthday, and now that I'm well into my 30's, birthdays have lost the shine and glimmer that they once had. My kids have been doing and saying very sweet and special things all day, unprovoked, and it really makes my birthday shine.

2. When I see someone triumph through adversity, it reminds me of how blessed I am. I have some friends who are currently struggling in their marriage and a divorce is imminent, but I truly foresee them coming out as stronger individuals in the end. I'm very sad about their marriage, but I also know that God will work in them to accomplish His purpose, whatever that may be.

3. I'm very blessed to live in a place where I feel completely at home. I love Huntsville, and over the past 10-15 years it has really become home for me. It's perfect for us right now.

4. I had a visit with Dr. Gannon (my son) earlier, and he gave me a clean bill of health! I did require a few pretend Band-aids for some minor boo boo's, but overall I'm still hangin' in for being an old lady! Whew.

5. I'm so thankful that my sister will be moving closer to us soon! Our family is so excited about it and we can't wait to see what the future holds.

I hope everyone is having a blessed week and summer! Stay cool.

It's tough being a woman!

2009-05-26T11:02:00.002-05:00

Tonight I finish up an awesome Bible study with an equally awesome group of women. It's the Esther study by Beth Moore and if you've never done a Bible study with her before, you are missing out! I was a Beth Moore virgin (so to speak!), and I'm so glad that I jumped right in and got my feet wet with this study.

So, here are a few things I learned from studying the book of Esther with Beth Moore:

1. Esther was the bomb diggity. She was the complete package of a woman. I have to think that if I had lived in the time of Esther, I probably would have either, A.) wanted to be just like her--after all, she was a queen, or B.) despised her and talked about her behind her back. Hopefully I would have gone with choice A. In my current life and place given me, I am choosing A. I really look up to everything that Esther portrayed and what she was to her people. She was humble, polite, beautiful, caring, and God-centered, among many other things. She wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in, and she didn't back down from a challenge.

2. It's okay if I don't always know what I'm doing. I remember when I turned 30 a couple of...okay, several years ago. As the big 3-0 loomed ever closer, I remember feeling a bit panicked. I almost felt the beginnings of a mid-life crisis coming on, but in my head I knew that wasn't supposed to happen until I hit 40! I recall verbalizing some of my fears to my husband, and he blandly pointed out that I was likely experiencing those emotions because I was leaving a decade full of transitions, changes, and monumental events. After all, in my 20's, I had gotten 2 college degrees, gotten married, began my career, bought my first home, and had 2 children! How much more could I have squeezed into that decade??? Approaching my 30's seemed like a big let-down. How could the coming decade hold any more hope and promise than that of my 20's?? My helpful husband allowed me to have an A-Ha moment (yes, and I'm supposed to be the therapist full of insight and wisdom--ha!). I simply dreaded my 30's because I felt no more purpose. However, in studying Esther, it is clear to see that God has called me to His purpose, and although I may not know what it is, God knows it and He will most definitely fulfill it in me. He has a plan and He will get it accomplished whether I'm following along or not. What a great comfort to me as I stumble my way through life, most of the time wondering where I'm going and what I'm supposed to be doing!

3. All of my fears, guilt and other stuff/garbage/nonsense that I feed myself is already taken care of. I got my degree in social work, but I really could have majored in Guilt and done just fine, thankyouverymuch. I'm really good at guilt. But, God has a greater plan for me and everyone else, so why waste my time feeling guilty? If I majored in Guilt, my minor could have been Irrational Fear and Worry. If I plant those seeds in my heart every day, what do I expect to grow there? If I toss them up into the wind to God, however, they'll go find a home elsewhere. That is what God wants me to do and calls me to do. But, like other subjects in school, this takes an abundance of effort and practice (study) to get it right.

I think my new favorite book of the Bible is Esther! I have to admit that although I had read this book before, I mostly had the Veggie Tales version in my head. I'm so thankful that my eyes have been opened up to the wonders and insights to this fabulous book. I can't wait to see what I can dive into next!

My week of thanksgivings!

2009-05-18T13:23:00.005-05:00

Our family has the months of May and June booked. Within those two months, we celebrate 3 out of 4 birthdays, and our wedding anniversary. My sister also has her anniversary, as well as my parents, during those months! Needless to say, we are quite busy during May and June, not to mention trying to keep up with end-of-school activites. Anyway, this past week kicked off our celebrations with Melody's birthday and mine and Jamie's 10th wedding anniversary! Jamie and I happened to be at the hospital for our 3rd anniversary, since Melody had been born the previous night. I'm secretly relieved she wasn't born ON our anniversary. I like keeping those days to themselves. However, here we are at 10 years and it's been a ton of fun along the way.

To move along, here are my thanksgivings for the week (in no particular order):
1. Being married to my goofy, yet sweet, husband for 10 wonderful years---we hired our free babysitters for the afternoon/evening and went to hit the town at Bridge Street. We watched "Angels and Demons", and then went to dinner at PF Changs. Yum-O! Afterward, we went to the shoe store to look for shoes and to hide from the very gloomy-looking weather.

2. Finding another great deal at Goodwill, this time for Gannon's room. I bought this for $3, cleaned it up and VOILA!! I think it looks great and Gannon was beside himself with glee. (His fave color is green.)

3. Watching my "baby", Melody, who is no longer a baby, enjoying her birthday to the fullest. We kept it very simple on her birthday with dinner and presents at home. She just wanted chocolate chip cookies for dessert, and it was great to have such a relaxing time with family on her special day. I particularly loved hearing Gannon sing "Happy Birthday" to her at random moments throughout the day, and the smile that would come upon her face as he would begin to sing. Pure sweetness. :)

4. Spending time with good friends is always fun. Mix in nice weather, a great atmosphere and lots of entertaining conversation, and you've got a winner every time! I'm very thankful for the time I get to spend chatting it up with the girls.

5. "God talks" with my kids. Melody in particular has been asking some really deep questions lately, and although I don't always have the answers, I love watching her mind work it out and her reasoning kick in.

Here's hoping to many more weeks of blessing for all of you as well.

To my favorite daughter

2009-05-14T09:07:00.002-05:00

Today is my sweet girl's 7th birthday. This morning at the breakfast table the two of us reminisced about the day she was born. She loves hearing stories about her Birth Day and when she was a baby. It was the perfect start to her 7th birthday!

Here is a story that we found in the newspaper a couple of years after our Melody was born. I feel as though it conveys our thoughts about our own precious girl. It is from a story, "Thanking Is Just One Letter Away from Thinking" by Larry Gelbart.

"Her parents had named her Melody because, from the moment she was born, they knew that she would be the music of their lives. Like all music, Melody could sometimes be too noisy, too loud. Sometimes she could go on and on and on, long after she should have stopped. None of that ever mattered, though. To her mom and dad, Melody would always be their very favorite song."

Happy Birthday, my sunshine girl!

Technology of the future

2009-05-07T11:01:00.003-05:00

My daughter, who is exactly one week shy of her 7th birthday, has found a new hobby. Somehow she discovered this at school, for when I picked her up from school two days ago, she had one of these pressed up to her little ear and she was gabbing away into it. It's the cell phone of the future! The ones on the left are her prototypes, and as we look to the right, she has thoughtfully added an antennae in order to receive better reception. Yesterday when I picked her up from school, they had to call her name three times before she responded and came to the car! Hmm...does this sound familiar to anyone? I just know that nobody I know has ever missed out on something because of talking on a cell phone, pretend or otherwise! I know I've never missed a thing! Ha!

In actuality, I don't talk on the phone much at all. I'm one of those weird breeds of human that can let the phone ring and not answer it! This likely drives my family, in particular my mother, CRAZY, but that's just how I roll, baby. So when I observed my little one, my little baby girl, yapping on a pretend phone, I had a quick reality check. Ouch, it hurt. Pretty soon the fanciful play of talking on a pretend phone will wear away and she'll be asking for a real phone. We don't have a land line at our home (when we moved 2 years ago we ditched the phone service and have been operating with only cell phones since..), so she's unfamiliar with anything except a cell phone. Based on her artistic renditions of phones, she prefers a flip phone.

However, my darling girl didn't stop with just a cell phone. She also had to make iPod's and CD's for everyone as well. We even got to choose our color. And she put a special song on our iPod for us. You may not be able to tell from the picture, but from left to right the songs are: I love you; I love me (for herself); and Scooby Doo.

Apparently the cell phone and iPod phenomenon caught on at school yesterday. Melody said that she made a cell phone, then a friend saw it and asked her to make one for him. She did just that, and then everyone started asking the two of them to make more. So, rather than reading, writing, or arithmetic, the entire class got a cell phone for the day! I'm sure their parents are so proud. I know I am. I actually am pretty impressed that she got almost all of the numbers in the correct place on the phones, and she got most of the buttons right on the iPod...all without looking at a cell phone or iPod, since she was at school. I guess she pays attention. *Ahem*

So, I'm taking orders for cell phones, iPods, or CD's. You can customize your color, and song choice for the iPod. Just let me know. :-)

Randomness

2009-04-23T13:30:00.004-05:00

First of all, let me say happy belated earth day!! I have to tell a story and brag on my almost 7-year-old daughter, because she's just so sweet and thoughtful. Yesterday when I picked her up from school, she overheard me on the telephone calling our local Green Team because I saw someone littering in the car rider line at school. I was so mad that someone actually threw a cigarette butt onto SCHOOL GROUNDS of an elementary school, and being that it was EARTH DAY, I went ahead and called to make a report. Anyway, the kids at Mel's school were encouraged to wear green shirts yesterday, and so when she got in the car, she began talking about Earth Day and such. She suggested that for our afternoon activity, we should walk around our neighborhood picking up litter, then we should play outside so we could enjoy nature and the birds, and THEN we should keep all the lights off in our house so, as she put it, "the Earth can rest". I agreed to all of the above, which thrilled her to no end, and so once the kids finished snack and homework, off we went to enjoy our Earth! I've never been one that plants a tree or anything to commemorate Earth Day, but I am someone who finds enjoyment from keeping litter off the roads, recycling, etc. It aggravates me when people go out of their way to NOT do those things in order to make a political point. Frankly, I don't care if someone believes in global warming or not, but my opinion is that God gave us humans this Earth as a gift and thereby we should respect and honor this beautiful gift. God could have placed us anywhere, even Mars where all the men are supposedly from, but instead he chose the planet that would sustain our lives. Earth. So let's help sustain the gift given to us and keep it clean for crying out loud! *deep breath* Okay, so I was very proud of my little girl who really isn't so little anymore. I love her conscientious heart.
Gannon just completed spring soccer and boy did he love it. He neither scored a goal nor did he know what was going on the majority of the time, but I don't really care because he was so happy to be out there. It was a joy to watch, so I asked him if he'd like to play again in the fall. His answer? "No, Mommy, because I already got a trophy for soccer." Seriously??? I wasn't aware that a 3 1/2-year-old could have a bucket list, but apparently my son does. Go figure!
Today I went to my parent's house and laid in the sun for a while next to their very green swimming pool. Luckily, it won't be green in about a month, but it didn't bother me since I just wanted to soak up some sun anyway. For those of you that know me, you are aware that I belong in the top 5% of the whitest people in the world. Every summer I have to get a good burn out of the way so that I can then get more freckles. Unfortunately, I'm typically either red or white. Very sad. I am an Alabama fan, though, so I guess I can just claim team spirit or something. Well, today I put on some SPF 30 spray-on sunscreen. The bottle claims that it is "no-rub, clear mist" that you obviously don't want to inhale. What it didn't say is that it is virtually impossible to clean the stuff off afterwards. It's similar to getting the wax rinse put on your car at the car wash, and all of the water forms into small droplets. Really cool looking, except when it's on my skin!!! I did a 3-step scrub in the shower, and I can still feel residue on my skin. I guess I'll just think of it as extra moisturizer.
In other news, Gannon is hanging out with his Daddy this afternoon since it is bring your kid to work day. Jamie picked him up after preschool and Gannon gets to hang out with him all afternoon! Jamie starts his new job on Monday, so it's good that he has finished all of his work at his current job, so he can just play with Gannon. Fun stuff.

Jamie and I watched "Fireproof" last week. It has the crush from my childhood, Kirk Cameron in it. Get this: he's still cute!!! I thought the movie was pretty good, once you can get past the fact that the only person who can actually act in the whole thing is Kirk Cameron. I was told that the rest of the cast were volunteers, so kudos to them! I feel like the movie is very trendy right now, and many people claim that it has saved their marriage, which is all well and good. However, I don't see how the movie, standing alone, could save a marriage, but rather a good vehicle to begin communicating more about one's marriage. Jamie's parents gave all of their children a copy of the book "The Love Dare", which is featured in the film. Jamie has begun the love dare with me, and I have to say I like it! I'll likely do the dare for him at a later, undisclosed date, because I do think that it has a lot of good concepts in it to improve one's marriage. Marriage takes work, and it is very difficult some days, and very easy other days. I think the book does a good job of bringing back some of the habits that married people incorporate more at the beginning of their courtship and marriage. Eventually (especially as children come around, as we've found in our case), it's easy to become lazy with paying special attention to one another, and doing the thoughtful things one did early on in the relationship. So, I think it's been a refreshing change for us.

I guess that about wraps it up for what's new in my life lately! Happy Spring!

Can I nominate this woman for Doctor of the Year?

2009-04-06T12:15:00.004-05:00

I just want to say that I must have the best OB/GYN there is....ever. I really like her that much. I might even go so far to say that I.Heart.Her. She is awesome.

Today I had to go for that lovely annual visit...the one that is Most Dreaded. You know the one. Anyway, while I don't like the basics of the visit, like wearing the atrocious pink paper thing that does not stay together no matter how you fold it, pull it, or crinkle it, I can really get over all of that just to hang out with my doctor for a few minutes! I've been with the same doctor since I found out I was pregnant with Melody (over 7 years ago----wow!!), and my doctor was new on the scene in Huntsville. *side note--after I delivered Melody and my doc went out to speak to my parents and in-laws, my FIL commented that she's like Doogie Howser* I was one of her first patients, and maybe that's why she somehow remembers me every year. Her practice that she has with 3 other OB/GYN's has grown exponetially over the past few years, and I don't know how she remembers me, especially since I only see her once a year now. She has the same nurse, too. I like this about a place...if there's a different nurse every time I go, it gives me pause to wonder if something is wrong.

I digress. I would like to nominate my doctor for doctor of the year because she has the best bedside manner I've ever seen. First of all, her nurse always remembers me. Today I arrived 2 hours early because I'm a goober and wrote down the wrong appt time, and they worked me in somehow. The nurse said when she saw it was me, she made sure they went ahead and bumped me up. Now, I'm not all that great and special of a patient, but this just speaks to the kind of folks they are...wonderful! So after waiting for a while in my cute pink garb, my doctor comes in and gives me a big hug. Okay, I had to get past the fact that she hugged me while I'm wearing the cute pink garb thing, but she sat down, looked me in the eye and began asking me about how things are going, etc. We chatted for about 5 minutes before she even got down to business, so to speak. This is just how she is and I love it! I remember when I had my first appt with her as a freshly pregnant and very sick young mommy-to-be. She came in, grabbed my hands in hers and began empathizing with me about how sick I was, while at the same time reassuring me that she would do XYZ to make it better (music to my ears at the time!!).

So, I think she'd make a great candidate for doc of the year. Are there nominations for this type of thing?

April Fool's Day!

2009-04-01T14:11:00.002-05:00

I think the most creative I ever got with an April Fool's joke was switching out the salt and pepper in the shakers as a kid...does anybody have anything more exciting than that for April Fool's???

Regardless, have a Happy April Fool's Day!

Musings and more about my grandpa

2009-03-31T09:55:00.004-05:00

For the past 32 years, I've had the honor of knowing a great, great man, known to me as Grandpa. Grandpa lived to a wonderful age of 90, and he filled his life with a wide diversity of activities. He was a Lt. Colonel in the United States Army, where he fought in WWII and the Korean War. He was part of the Tank Corps and the intelligence division, leading him to not discuss his military work very often. He did begin to tell us some of his secrets within the past 10 years or so. For most of my life, my Grandpa was deaf. At first, he wore a hearing aid and could get some of what we said. This progressed to us talking to him via a telephone that would print out what we said. We also wrote in notebooks, which he always kept nearby. After my grandmother died in 1995, my grandpa ended up moving from Sparta, TN to Albertville, AL in order to be closer to family. It never failed to bring a smile to my face when we would come around the corner into his assisted living room and he would grin and shout, "Well hello there!" He was always happy to see us. I always wondered what his thoughts were as he watched his great-grandchildren play and chatter around him. He always had a slight grin on his face as he watched them, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was wishing he could hear their small, eager voices. Grandpa was just happy to have us there. Grandpa never failed to remind us as we were leaving to stay out of trouble, and I always knew that what he really meant was, "go have as much fun as you can!"

I know Grandpa is causing trouble up in Heaven now with our Father, because he's back home with his precious Daisy Lee, my grandma. I can't help but smile when I think about how happy he must have been to see his Father's face, and then his Daisy's face.

Yesterday I had the honor of attending grandpa's funeral up on a beautiful hillside amidst the rolling hills of central Tennessee. Grandpa was a military man to the Nth degree, and he would have been proud. I do have to say that the rifle salute scared the beejeebers out of me--I really wasn't expecting it--that, and everything else were perfectly fitting to the man that I'm happy to call Grandpa.

Until we meet again, I love you Grandpa!!!

First Grade Romance

2009-03-24T21:44:00.002-05:00

My almost 7-year-old daughter has been sporting an on-again, off-again romance with a little boy from her school since the first week of Kindergarten. Last year, they were in the same classroom, and as luck would have it, they are in the same classroom for first grade as well. After giving her the lecture about how it's not appropriate for a 5-year-old (or a 6-year-old) girl to blow kisses or proclaim undying love to someone at school, Melody cooled her heels for a while. She's even seemed more anti-boy lately, but today she got a phone call from HIM.

After I answered the phone and discovered who it was, I really had a monumental debate over whether or not I should even hand her the phone to talk to HIM. However, curiosity got the best of me so I let her talk to him. Melody later filled in the blanks of what was said on HIS side, so I'm filling in the blanks for the following conversation (just so you get the idea):

Her: Hi, why are you calling me?

Him: I really like you and want to see if you like me too {much laughter}

Her: WHAT?? I can't understand you! Stop laughing!

Him: {laughter}

Her: How did you get my phone number? {big sigh and roll of eyes} Would you stop laughing, I can't understand you! {Gannon approaches and wants to talk on the phone} Do you want to talk to a little brother?

Him: {hands phone to his big brother}

Big Bro: Hey, do you like HIM?

Her: I don't know. I'll think about it.

BB: He wants you to be his girlfriend.

Her: Well, maybe if he starts helping me more and is nice to me, then I'll think about it.

BB: He really likes you.

Her: Well, I broke up with him, but then yesterday he helped me with my Band-Aid, so if he keeps being nice then I might think about it. Can you give the phone back to HIM and tell him to stop laughing so much? I can't understand him when he's laughing.

BB: {hands phone back to HIM}

Him: So do you like me? Will you call me sometime? My number is ____.

Her: I'm not going to write down your number. Okay, I want to get back to drawing my picture some more. Good-bye! {hangs up}

This was the topic of our discussion for nearly the rest of the afternoon. She told me she was "impressed" that he found her phone number. She even drew HIM a picture after that! I can just imagine the conversation that will occur at school tomorrow. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that one!

I'm SO not ready for this!!!

Spring Break!

2009-03-21T12:44:00.002-05:00

The tulips are in bloom at the Botanical Gardens this week! They are gorgeous. I'm loving all of the sun this week, and we really have tried to take full advantage of it. We spent most of the day Wednesday outdoors, and Friday we spent about 3 hours hanging out at the gardens, watching the Raptor Show and checking out the flowers.

The gardens have giant bugs on display right now, which is cool, but I enjoyed the scarecrows and dinosaur exhibits from previous times better, I believe.

We had a really fun time on Wildflower Trail. Many of the wildflowers were indeed blooming, and the creek was flowing freely. Gannon loves to throw rocks in the water, whereas Melody loves to get IN the water!

Spring is springing around here, and for that I am very thankful. I'm not a winter girl.

Happy Spring!

The FREE Spring Break week!

2009-03-16T08:49:00.006-05:00

This week is Spring Break in the great city of Huntsville, AL. Although we generally don't travel for Spring Break, I always have that grade school anticipation of something fun and carefree. The kids are home with me all week and we don't have any of our usual activities like dance or gymnastics. We do have soccer practice tonight if the rain subsides..we'll see! Anyway, this year for Spring Break I have decided that the kids and I are going to participate in as many FREE activities as possible (with the exception of going to shop at Old Time Pottery today). My in-laws are arriving in town tonight some time, and they will be with us tomorrow. I always enjoy going up to Green Mountain, so tomorrow I'm going to suggest we pack a picnic lunch and go up there for a relaxing afternoon treat. Hopefully we can feed some ducks while we're there. Last year during Fall Break I took the kids on a hike with the Land Trust on Wildflower Trail and they loved it. It's quite short, follows a small creek, and has a bench for eating or resting. During that hike, the guide told us that we should come back in the Spring because all of the wildflowers are in bloom. It just so happens that they are hosting a hike on Wednesday for Wildflower Trail again, so we will be there. I hope to get some pretty pictures.
Rain is predicted for Thursday, so since that is our usual library day anyway, we'll likely end up there.
On Friday, the Botanical Gardens are having the Raptors show again (we attended last year---very cool!), and I will try to forgive them for being from Auburn. Seriously, it's a GREAT show and we have an annual membership, so we can get in for free. The kids LOVE the children's play area of the garden, and although the butterflies aren't back yet, the Butterfly House is still fun with turtles and such.

While I always like to try new things, I don't have a problem filling our week with the tried-and-true activities I've got planned. I think we'll have a great week and I hope you do, too!

My embarrassing moment of the day--hopefully it will just be ONE moment today!

2009-03-05T13:23:00.002-06:00

Whenever I pick up my son from preschool, I generally take him directly to the bathroom. He has developed an aversion to going to the potty by himself at school..don't ask me why, it's a long and complicated story. After multiple instances of having an accident before we get home, OR waiting until I'm strapping him into his car seat and telling me he has to go potty, I've solved this by just going directly into the bathroom with him. It's completely enabling, I know. He has me trained instead of the other way around...anyway, let's not go there so I can avoid some Mom-guilt.

Earlier in the year, after Gannon continually became very upset when I would attempt to take him into the girls bathroom (where he's NOT allowed to go at school as a rule!), I asked his teachers if I could just accompany him into the boy's bathroom. They agreed, knowing that I would check for occupants before entering. For several months, we have had very few visitors, and always of the pint-sized variety. Today during our bathroom time, Gannon had a minor accident, but enough of one that it involved having to change clothes. I had neglected to grab his backpack containing his change of clothes from the preschool hallway, so while Gannon stood in the middle of the bathroom with his drawers around his ankles and the clear instructions NOT TO MOVE, I ran out to collect his things so that I could change his clothes. Well I was gone for probably a max of 30 seconds since I was hurrying, but apparently a man had made his way into the bathroom during that time. Since I was rushing, I didn't take the time to check before entering. So I went bee-bopping right in, and stopped dead short when I spot the guy standing at the urinal. Luckily, his BACK was to me and he was in a much more modest state than my dear son, so I quickly apologized and took Gannon out into the hallway to change. I know I changed every color of red imaginable, the whole time trying to get Gannon changed so the entire school wouldn't have to see HIM with his drawers down! Meanwhile, I hear a flush from within the boys bathroom and the gentleman emerges. I completely avoided eye contact (didn't even raise my head, in fact!) and apologized again. He was very polite and said it was okay, but I just thought about how I would feel if a man walked in on ME in the girls bathroom to collect his half-dressed little girl! Hopefully, since I didn't look at his face and I don't think he looked at mine, we will never know the difference if we ever cross paths again. I'm really crossing my fingers.

The whole incident served as good incentive to start taking Gannon into the girls bathroom from now on, though! I am so looking forward to the day when I no longer have to accompany him into the bathroom at all. How embarrasing!!!!!

Welcome to our ocean home..

2009-03-05T11:33:00.002-06:00

Complete with a hammerhead shark!

One of those Mondays that feels like a Saturday

2009-02-16T20:13:00.002-06:00

Happy President's Day!

Here is my list of thankfuls for the week:

1. flying kites and playing outdoors on the warm days
2. my children's laughter
3. an interesting, but nonetheless GOOD report from the doctor!
4. more clothes than we need so that I can consign some of them (I don't know HOW in the world I still have clothes from when the kids were babies...didn't I give all of those away??)
5. coupons
6. friendships within our neighborhood (I love being able to walk around the corner to hang out with friends)
7. the anticipation of a tax return (yahhoo!)
8. the "bug man" as we call him..aka the pest control guy who came and eradicated a big nest of nasty bugs alongside our house
9. going on walks
10. getting a whole week's worth of a good night's sleep

There you have it. Here's hoping you have a fun-filled, blessed week!

No-no words

2009-02-10T12:18:00.002-06:00

When I was growing up, our family had certain words or phrases that we, as children, were not allowed to say. Curse words, naturally, were out of the question. However, other words also banned in our home were 'stupid' and 'shut up' (my parents took this very seriously!). For some reason, my mother also used the lovely term, "stinky" for all yucky smells. If she smelled something suspicious, she would look at one of us and ask, "did you let out a stinky?" to which we would innocently reply that it must have been the dog or the other person in the room.

Jamie and I have instituted the no-no words thing in our house, too. I do this mainly because you know if we allow the kids to say bad words at home, they inevitably will say them to perfect strangers when we're at Target. And that's just not kosher.

Alright, that's really only part of the reason. I take offense to certain words and want my children to develop a healthy vocabulary devoid of offensive language. Jamie questions sometimes if I take it a bit too far, but I have a valid reason behind every word that I ban from our home. One example is the word Butt. We've always called it a bottom with our kids, and I just personally don't like the sound of the word Butt coming out of a 3-year-olds mouth. It sounds terribly offensive to me. Jamie wondered about that one, but I told him that one day when I was lunchroom helper at Mel's school, one child from her 1st grade class raised his hand to beckon me. When I asked him what he needed, he pointed at a classmate and stated, "he said the word b-u-t-t." He actually spelled the word but would not repeat it! Thereby, it confirmed my hypothesis that little children do take offense to the word Butt. Or at least we're not alone in the whole Butt debate.

I remember early on in my dating relationship with Jamie, we had gone to visit my parents and I had forgotten to warn Jamie of the whole No-No word thing in my house (granted, I was 20ish and as an adult, it's probably okay to be your own language monitor). We were having a casual conversation with my parents, and Jamie said the word stupid. I am sure I looked quite as horror-struck as I felt, because the room got quite silent. I glanced nervously at my parents, waiting for them to correct him, as they had done to me so many times as a child. However, Jamie (oblivious) kept right on talking until I couldn't take it any more and I blurted out, "you can't say that word in our house!" My parents laughed and it was no big deal, but to this day, I still do not say the words stupid or shut up in front of my parents.

So this has turned into one of those things you tell yourself you'll never do, because your parents did it, but I've carried on this tradition in my family. As a result, we do a some "cleaning up" after we hang out with other people every now and then, because maybe a word slips out that we don't like. Then I have to explain to the kids that while WE don't say those words, other families have different rules, etc.

Melody is entering the age where she is getting exposed to more and more bad language, and so we deal with it much more than we used to. She seems fairly accepting of the fact that she can't say certain words. We monitor our own language quite a bit around the house, so we know that if she does pick up a word, that it didn't come from us! However, Gannon isn't always on board with the concept of not saying bad words. He has issues with using what we call "potty words" in daily language. So, if he walks up to you and calls you a "poopy head", please know that we are still working on it! Jamie has tried explaining to me that boys just think that is funny.
Ok, so I'm laughing on the inside. :-)

More to come on WHY DOES A MOVIE THAT'S RATED G OR PG HAVE BAD WORDS IN IT?????

Highlights from the week

2009-02-06T12:27:00.003-06:00

I've decided to start posting my highlights from the week, in an attempt to blog more often and also in an attempt to remind myself weekly of my many blessings.

Highlights:
1. attending a beautiful and FUN wedding. It's so refreshing to see a couple in the "new love" stage, if you know what I mean. I'd SOOO get married again..to Jamie, of course, but I'd love to re-do my wedding. I think my vows would be taken on a much deeper level now that I've been married for nearly 10 years. If you're married, would you change anything about your wedding day?

2. attending a FUN Super Bowl party with our Sunday School Home Group (I'll have to give more details later about what a Home Group is..).

3. a warm afternoon spent playing outdoors and getting spring fever

4. intelligent children who continually amaze me with the things they bring home from school

5. good health (the kids have somehow escaped strep, a stomach virus, and a variety of other nasties which are floating around Hsv right now).

6. reconnecting with old friends...I had lunch this week with a guy I knew when I was in college, and I also lunched with a friend from high school. It was so wonderful just to catch up and realize that, despite not seeing each other for 5-10 years, it was so easy to pick right back up and be buddies again

7. fellowship with girl friends..it seems like every time I've spent some girl time with friends, I come away with a better understanding and appreciation of myself. Strange, but true.

8. playing games (specifically one of our new fave games, MarioKart on the Wii) with the kids and watching them laugh (our other recent favorite is Pass the Pigs...not a Wii game)

9. the willingness of my husband to sit and listen to me talk (sometimes) aimlessly every night after the kids are in bed

10. the prospect of warm weather this weekend, and the anticipation of going for a hike and picnic on the mountain

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Recipe Yumminess--Oreo Truffles

2009-02-02T09:51:00.002-06:00

After I took the picture of these, I realized how un-appetizing they look, but trust me, they are GOOD!!! I can't resist most things chocolate, and these are right up my alley. Oreos, cream cheese and chocolate sauce....YUM-O!

Billy Mays -- Big City Slider

2009-01-28T08:04:00.001-06:00

When I was a kid, I loved to sing commercial jingles. While Gannon hasn't picked up that habit yet, this has become his favorite commercial. Not about dinosaurs, or cars, or trains.....Nope, not my Gannon! Give him a commercial with Billy Mays about a Big City Slider. They air this commercial every day on Nickelodeon before The Backyardigans come on, so he gets to see it almost every day.

My latest read..

2009-01-27T15:37:00.004-06:00

I haven't posted in a while, but life just hasn't been very different lately, so there hasn't been much to report! I did recently finish reading a new book, The Shack. I think it's kind of a recent trendy type of book, and I hadn't really been dying to read it or anything, but I found myself at the bookstore with a gift card, so I went for it. I also bought Tales of the Beetle Bard by J.K. Rowling, which was good.

My first misgiving about reading The Shack was that it confronts my very worst fear--losing a child. Usually when I think about the possibility of losing one of my children in any way, I wind up in the fetal position sucking my thumb for a week. Okay, not quite, but close! I know I'm not the only mother out there who has this as one of the top fears around. I'm pretty comfortable with my own mortality, but I am NOT okay with the thought of losing one of my children. Sooo--this book happens to have a 6 1/2-year-old girl as the victim of a kidnapping and murder...HELLOO?????? My own sweet Melody is 6 1/2. Not a good start to the book. However, I decided to keep going and see if it had anything to offer beyond this tragedy. I'm glad I kept reading, because the book actually opened up my mind to some different ways to view God as the Trinity. I don't know if what the book proposes is even close to true (how are we to know for sure?), but it is quite intriguing to ponder the possibilities. Since reading it, I have been able to tackle certain situations with a lot more calmness and serenity than I would have previously. It's good stuff. The information in The Shack took some of my perceptions of God and the Holy Spirit and trampled them into the ground. I recommend that if you do choose to read it, that you do so with an open mind.

Happy Reading!

Striving for Stewardship

2009-01-09T11:44:00.003-06:00

In an attempt to become better stewards this year, Jamie and I have decided to make some changes in how we approach certain events. Since it is only January 9th, and the kids have already been invited to several birthday parties, we have decided to tackle this head-on. I'm not going to get on my full birthday party soap box, because I do have one. However, I will say that as the kids get invited to more and more birthday parties as they get older (it's inevitable, right?), I have gradually become more mindful of how our money is being spent.

On to our plan for the year: we've decided that in lieu of giving birthday gifts, we are going to donate the money we would have spent on the gift to a charity. This isn't an entirely new concept for us..we asked people for Gannon's first birthday to donate to charity instead of giving gifts..after all, what does a 1-year-old really need besides clean diapers?? Right now there are many organizations that are struggling due to the nation's economic crisis, and there are lots of families suffering as well. I know of a few, but for the most part, most of the families whose birthdays we're invited to are holding steady so far. I feel that a better use of our money could go to those who really need it. Is buying another toy helping anyone? It makes the child temporarily happy, but other than that it more than likely ends up in the pile of toys they already have at home (I'm speaking from personal experience with this one..). I've even found myself lately standing in the toy aisles of Target just trying to find something that the birthday child might not have already! We are surrounded by very blessed people! Jamie and I want to be better stewards of our money (and our time..time spent searching for that perfect gift!), and one way that we think we can do that is by increasing our charitable giving. We also want to be good role models for our children in the area of giving, and we think this might be another step in the never ending process of teaching them how to give. We've been teaching them about tithing at church, but we've never really sat them down and talked about giving to charity. I'm expecting some resistance from Melody, simply due to the fact that she loves to give gifts. I'm not sure she'll see giving to charity in quite the same light as handing over a wrapped toy that she got to pick out for her friend. She is a kid, after all, and she enjoys getting and giving wrapped gifts just like the next kid. I'll let ya know how it goes...

Okay, so our college group of friends has 12 children. That is a minimum of 10 parties, adding other parties from kids at school or church for both kids. Let's say we get 20 party invites this year. If I budget $10-20 per gift that I would usually spend, then that will be around $100-200 each year that will be going to charity instead. Nothing to make a dent in any organizations budget, for sure, but I am trying to stay focused on the aspect of giving rather than the actual dollar amount being sent. I'm probably going to do this for our relatives, too, so add those as well. Not bad!

All in all, I feel very good about our decision, and I hope that our kids can somehow grasp the concept in their concrete thinking brains. I'm sure there will be LOTS of handmade, colored notes from Melody going to the birthday parties this year. We're looking forward to it!

Where have all the home improvement projects gone?

2009-01-07T11:58:00.002-06:00

Okay, so it's the new year, and I'm already bored with it. Isn't that just plain sad? Today I realized that some of my blase attitude is stemming from a lack of a project! I get very bored with the same old, same old routine of just cleaning the house. I need something new and fun! I need a home improvement project. Jamie will be oh so thrilled.

My last couple of projects included de-wallpapering the office, then painting the office. Then I painted Melody's room. That leaves only 2 rooms left to paint: the kitchen and the dining room. Now, the dining room walls have wallpaper, and after tackling the wallpaper in the small office, I declared that I was hiring someone to take down the gross stuff in the dining room. That room is probably twice as big as the office. We don't have a formal dining set, so I'd like to get it done before we purchase anything. You know, less furniture to move.

But I think I need a big project. We need all new interior doors, and our middle floor (we live in a split-level, so the middle floor encompasses the foyer, kitchen, dining room, and office) needs new flooring. It has vinyl flooring that looks like faux hardwoods. Yuck. Although it is fairly new (installed prior to us purchasing the house 2 years ago), it's already starting to peel up and frankly I just don't love it. So, those are the 2 big projects I'd like to tackle, but unfortunately those also require a good bit of money! Ah well, guess we'll start saving..

Okay, so since I'm being so utterly discontent for the moment, I'd also like to say that I've already been thinking about Christmas 2009. You got it. Here it is, January 7th, 2009, and I'm already planning 12 months from now. Jamie and I, for the past several years, have gotten each other one big gift for Christmas. It's usually something big ticket that we both want/need, and that we usually wouldn't just run out and buy. Two years ago it was a will. Yes, you read that right....a Living Will and Testament. Those things aren't cheap, and frankly, it just needed to be done. This past Christmas it was more of a family gift, but we broke down and got a Wii. A little more exciting than a Will, perhaps, if you're looking at it from an entertainment perspective. Anyway, I think for Christmas '09 I want to get a home security system. One that works! Those people that know my deepest, darkest secrets know that I have some residual PTSD as a result of my home intruder encounter from a couple of years ago, so you know where I'm coming from with the home security idea. The good news is that we actually have some sort of system already installed in our home, but it's not activated and I don't even know how long it's been here. Hopefully, it's not as old as our mammoth furnace that took it's first shaky breath when the house was erected 20+ years ago. Then my frugal self would have to break down and buy a whole new system, and I just don't know if I could handle that. But, I have 12 months to figure it out!

Okay, so instead of wondering what everyone's resolutions are: what are some PROJECTS--home or otherwise--that you are undertaking this year?

And lately...

2009-01-05T10:43:00.004-06:00

I just finished reading the book by Kate Gosselin about her life and the life of her family. She's the one with the show on TLC called "Jon and Kate Plus 8". I haven't followed the show very closely until recently, and was interested enough to request the book for Christmas. It was quite short, and therefore a quick read. If you don't know anything about this family, basically the husband/wife, mom/dad are Jon and Kate. They had a set of twins, then became pregnant with sextuplets, bringing their grand total of kids to 8! Pretty amazing. Anyway, they have their own TV reality series detailing their lives and how they handle being the parents of two sets of multiples. Their website is here. I really liked the book, albeit short, because it allowed Kate the opportunity to expand upon how her faith in God helped get her through her difficult pregnancy and then her daily struggles with sextuplets. If you watch the show, she'll mention her faith from time to time, but the TV series doesn't really provide her the chance to really get across the depth of her faith. So, I give it a thumbs up (You know, because I'm suddenly a book critic!).

In other news, school started back today!!! My children were happy to go back, and they seemed to adjust to getting up early again with not very much difficulty. We'll see how wiped they are when they get home this afternoon! I would like to say that I have sat around enjoying the peace and aloneness with bon-bons or something, but instead, I took the opportunity to go get the van washed and vacuumed, ran a few errands, and now I'm home doing dishes and laundry. Fun stuff, huh?? But, I'm doing it all without 1,000 interruptions so I can't complain! We had a GREAT break and I am so thankful we had such a wonderful time together as a family. I love making memories.

Speaking of memories, I took a trip down memory lane this past week when our family went on a hike with my parents up on Monte Sano. We've done this before, and we generally try to limit the hike to no more than 1/2 mile or so, due to Gannon's short legs. However, as we set off on our 1/2 mile hike, my Dad mentioned that if we followed the trail, it would lead us back to the parking lot in a little over a mile. Melody began jumping and begging to go the whole way, and since she was well-outfitted with her new trekking poles, I said sure. So, Jamie, Gannon and my Mom turned around and headed back to the car while my Dad, Melody and I continued on the trail. I have to say, Melody did awesome! She really looked like a natural hiker out there and kept pace almost the entire way. As I was bringing up the rear, as I like to do most often, I was reminded of all the hikes I took with my Dad and Grandpa when I was a kid, probably close to Mel's age and older. It is so easy to connect with nature and family when you're out on a trail with nothing in sight but tall trees and a leaf-strewn trail. I always, always feel God's presence when I'm hiking. I truly desire to be able to pass that on to my kids. I was reminded of this poem by Robert Frost (I had to memorize this when I was a kid...in Sunday School, of all places!).

Here's Melody taking a little break
Once we got back home and we were telling Jamie and Mom about how well Mel had done, Mom said that Gannon hikes just like her: he looks at his feet the whole time, and therefore has a tendency to just wander right off the trail! He apparently ran into several bushes and had a near miss with a tree! Gannon has always loved finding a hiking stick on every hike we go on, so Papa's Christmas gift for the kids this year was perfect--trekking poles! Now we'll just have to work on keeping Gannon on the path, or maybe he will be the traveller in Robert Frost's great poem and always take the road less travelled!

I've always been hit or miss with New Year's Resolutions. The only resolution I made that I actually had success with was my final year of college..I made the resolution to clean up my nasty language. I had a foul mouth (can you believe that???), and so I made a very conscious effort to eliminate some of the horrible things that came from my mouth. This year will bring about many new changes for our country, and so my only resolution is to remain positive. I plan on doing this by remembering the verse from Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Have a blessed New Year!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2008-12-30T17:55:00.002-06:00

I have to admit, this December has been one of the most hectic times of my life. It was non-stop from the start, and so I find myself being extra content and happy now that it is coming to a close. This past week has been wonderful around here! Our family enjoyed a blessed Christmas, and Jamie has been home since last Thursday. He has this entire week off, so we have just been chillin' around the house, mostly. I am typically running around town, carting kids to different places or activities, so not having to do any of that for the past week has been great. We've had plenty to do, but not so much that I get stressed out or in too much of a hurry. Aside from Gannon getting an ear infection and taking a trip to the doc yesterday, we've been lounging in our jammies, playing with Christmas toys, and just taking it easy in general. Today we went to Bridge Street with my Mom so the kids could ride the carousel and see the sights. Melody went home with my Mom after that so that Melody could have an art lesson from my Mom. Tomorrow we're taking a day trip to Chattanooga to the aquarium, and Thursday we're going up to Monte Sano for a hike with my parents. It's just been great! I wish it could last, but alas we must return to the hustle and bustle next week.
I hope that all of you have had a blessed holiday as well. May God continue to bless all of you for the coming year! Happy early 2009!!!

Tree x2

2008-12-15T15:54:00.003-06:00

Jamie and I were discussing Christmas traditions the other night. We both agreed that as far as traditions go, we both had the same one growing up for tree decorating. Our families put all of our cute, dorky, handmade ornaments on the tree. Jamie and I both "inherited" our respective ornaments when we got married. We have about 2-3 boxes of all of the ornaments we made or collected over the years. One year I did end up throwing away all of the tattered ones, or the ones that neither of us could figure out what it was supposed to be anymore! Now that we have our own children, our tree is beginning to fill up with their cute, homemade ornaments. I noticed this year that our tree is becoming overwhelmingly full of ornaments made from foam craft kits, paper, or some other brand of art. I really like the process of decorating the tree. I have memories tied to nearly every single ornament (except for Jamie's, of course), and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to reminisce over each ornament. My favorites have become the few that I made for Jamie during our first years together. After about year three, I became lazy and stopped making them, but I absolutely love the first one I made (we had only been dating a month). It looks like a snowball.

This year I decided that while it's nice to have a tree full of memories, I have been yearning to have a grown-up tree also. NOT a themed tree--I don't think I could pull that off, and I don't even want to--but one that is simply not full of homemade items made by 5-year-olds. Jamie agreed that it would be neat for the kids to have their own tree next year. I was at several houses this holiday season in which the kids playroom had a small tree with all of the cute, sentimental, homemade ornaments on it, and the grown-up, tastefully decorated tree was on display elsewhere. I thought that was a great idea! I know my children would flip over having their very own tree in the playroom, and they could touch all of the ornaments and move them around all they want. Lo and behold, Hobby Lobby is having a 50% off sale on Christmas trees right now, so I found the perfect 4.5 ft tree! Of course, it will be stored in the attic until next year, but I'm already excited about surprising the kids next year with their very own, pint-sized tree!

How about everyone else? How do you balance decorating the tree with sentimental ornaments vs. breakable, decorative items?

Christmas Abbreviations

2008-12-10T11:51:00.002-06:00

I must confess, I'm an abbreviator. I picked it up in college when one's expected to take notes at lightening-fast speed, and I continued my abbreviated habits throughout multiple jobs, where using medical abbreviations was an unspoken requirement. I saw a sign the other day along a road on which I commonly travel, and it had the word Christmas abbreviated to 'XMas'. I remember as a kid learning that one should NEVER use this abbreviation, because it is putting an X on Christ. I don't think this is something that my parents taught me, but rather something I just picked up through friends in the faith community or society in general. Frankly, I can't place blame directly on anyone, it's just there. Anyhow, for some reason this concept has always stuck with me and I rarely use the X to abbreviate the word. However, I find myself sometimes wanting to, simply because it takes extra effort to write the entire word! Something about getting the 'r' to loop into the 'i' is tricky for me at times when I'm in a hurry.

To be perfectly honest (*ahem* true and real), I don't see what all the fuss is about. If I really was intentional about putting an X on Christ, I wouldn't be celebrating Christmas to begin with! I think somebody somewhere had too much time on their hands and decided that they had to find something new with which to infuriate the Christian public. It's always something, right? Back in my day, (because I'm Sooo old), it was using an X to take the Christ out of Christmas. Nowadays, all I hear about is the commercialization of Christmas. Either way, it is somebody deciding that we Christians should create a big uproar every season so we can fight for our holiday. Can I just say, WHATEVER. I can celebrate Christmas with an X on it, and I can certainly celebrate it whether or not the stores decide to sell Christmas in July. I keep Christ in my Christmas because I want to, and because I see Christ's birth as a reason to celebrate.

Therefore, this holiday season, I am choosing to put aside my deeply interwoven beliefs about the Christmas abbreviation. If I need to write a quick 'XMas' then I will, and I will not feel guilty about it. TYVM. :)

Baking, Santa, and Football

2008-12-05T12:09:00.004-06:00

My life has been a whirlwind of this and that for the past week and a half. It's normally pretty busy, but it feels as though someone has pushed the NON-STOP button and I'm on a merry-go-round or something. Last week was crazy because I was trying to get everything done that needed to be done before our annual Thanksmas with my in-law's. Both kids came down with an ear infection right before we left, so when I wasn't in the doctor's office or at the pharmacy, I was frantically doing laundry, wrapping presents (hence the 'mas' in Thanksmas), and packing.

Today, due to poor time management on my part, I've been in a baking frenzy. Our United Methodist Women's circle is having our annual Breakfast with Santa on Sunday, and included in that is a huge bake sale. Lots of women bake for it, and the money goes towards great missions. Anyway, I probably could have prepared some of my baked goods yesterday, but I waited until today for all of it! The good news is that Gannon has been learning how to make bark and brownies. He's a big help. My plan was to stay home all day and bake. However, this morning during breakfast, Melody reminded me in a very sweet way that I had mistakenly forgotten to have lunch with her this week. I was supposed to be parent helper in the lunchroom last week, but due to Gannon's illness on that day, I couldn't go. So I promised her I'd have lunch with her this week. As soon as she reminded me, I had that horrible, guilty Mommy feeling. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? It's a terrible feeling, and so I quickly told her that Gannon and I would certainly come to have lunch with her today. As a result, I might just be up baking until midnight, but it is well worth the smile on her face and the feeling of pride she has when she can show off her family to her classmates. :)

Meanwhile, we've been hyping up the concept of sitting in Santa's lap this year to Gannon. He's refused the past couple of years, as is typical for that age, but this year he says he is going to go for it! Okay, I have to admit that part of this is selfish on my part. We really need a good photo op. I have not had any Christmas photos taken of the kids for a Christmas card this year, and I'm starting to feel the time crunch! Due to budgeting reasons, we try to alternate years of having the pictures professionally done versus taken by us. Last year they were taken professionally, so this year it's up to us. I haven't even attempted to get any good shots! I have to say right now that if we can't get a good one in the next week or so, we are just going to go the route of NO photo in the card. *gasp* I know, we will be balking the recent trend, but that's just what might happen, folks.

I've also started a new job in the midst of all of this. So far it is going well. I now have two part-time jobs that equal less than 10 hours per week, so it's not a bad deal.

On another note, I love (NOT) finding out about last minute Christmas parties that involve me having to run to the store and purchase gifts. The coming week for me looks like this:
Saturday--8 am--set up B'fast with Santa/Bake Sale
-1-2 pm--eat lunch and take Melody to my parents' house (she's going with my Dad to watch my Mom's Christmas concert at the VBC)
-3 pm--go to Harvest to watch the Big Game (Roll Tide!!!!) at a friend's house
-after the game--have our annual group Christmas party (our "group" is all of our college friends and our multitude of children--12 kids total!)
-hopefully get home before my Dad drops off Melody from the concert

Sunday--7 am--arrive at church to kick of the big day of Breakfast, Santa and baked goods--stay there until noon or so
-4:30--take kids to church for choir rehearsal

Monday--Gannon to preschool and I get to deliver a crib to a new mother as part of my new job! Monday night, meet with my care receiver in Stephen's Ministry

Tuesday--PTA meeting

Wednesday--work at night until 7, then go to the UMW party

Thursday--gift wrapping party

Friday--Sunday School party

next Saturday--12-3 pm--Melody at a skate party
4-8 pm--band party

Needless to say, most of it is a lot of fun, but wow it can sure drain me just to think about it all! We'll be partied out by next weekend! And Jamie still has to put up Christmas lights. Hmmm...where can we squeeze that one in? And what about time for Peace, Joy and Goodwill toward men????

Anyway, I hope you have a Merry Christmas and can enjoy the holiday season!!

Playground review

2008-11-20T13:26:00.002-06:00

Today I arrived at Gannon's preschool about 20 minutes early, so I decided that instead of rushing to get him, that I would relax and observe his class on the playground-from the comforts of my car-for a bit. He has a large class; about 20 on average, so I sometimes wonder how much he's really getting out of it. But, that's another topic, so I'll move on... I'm observing/spying on the kids and their teachers, and one little girl caught my eye. I've noticed her before, but I've only ever seen her at her seat or walking in the hall. Today she was swinging. This wouldn't be unusual, except she is missing her entire left arm from the shoulder down. She was the only child playing on the swings, and she was really giving it all she had. I observed her not only climb into the seat by herself, but also begin to swing herself. Can you imagine trying to swing with just one arm??? She had a clumsy system, with swaying her torso and kicking off the ground with one foot, but by golly she was swinging herself. And she did it with no help at all, and she didn't even ask for help! I was simply amazed at her tenacity and perseverance.

Meanwhile, my son is making the rounds for the slide. Up the stairs, through the tunnel, down the slide...repeat. Not nearly as amazing as his little classmate, but he is cute nonetheless. At one point he walked over and tackled another little boy. I was horrified at first, but then the other boy turned around and tackled him right back and they both went about their business ("being lions" as I was later informed). Dynamics between boys is so different than for girls! You can tackle your buddy and still be buddies. If a girl were to tackle another girl, not only would they discontinue their friendship for the next 30 minutes, but they might just go and tell everyone else about it (i.e. gossip).

Gannon comes home every day from school with rocks in his shoes. Yes, the school playground has rocks for the nice, soft padding on which our little babies fall. So not only does Gannon have rocks in his shoes every day, he has also come home with scrapes and cuts from when he falls down. I haven't figured that one out, yet. WHY did they choose rocks instead of mulch, or something softer?? It's beyond me, but today I thought that it would be nice if all the parents had a fundraiser for the preschool to raise money to replace the rocks with a softer surface. I mean, when you have kids age 2-5 playing out there, they are going to fall down! Who wants to fall on rocks?

Okay, I got off on a soapbox there. Isn't it amazing all of the things one's mind can think up during 15 minutes of playground observation?

Deep thoughts from down south

2008-11-15T12:33:00.003-06:00

I've read a couple of blog posts this week by friends of mine, and they were reflecting on their year and what they have learned from the year. I usually try to do this around year's end as well, so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon (nothing wrong with a good bandwagon!) and post my thoughts as well. I'm sure they won't be as introspective and thought-provoking as my fellow bloggers, but this will have to do. They are not in any particular order.

1. Family is good, very good. I'm not just speaking of my husband and children (although they are good, too), but rather the family members I have in mind are those that live farther away. I had the opportunity to visit with several family members this year that I don't generally get to see very often, and I'm always thankful that I have such a great family!

2. Naptime is one of the most precious things in the world.

3. People act out their emotional pain in very strange, confusing, and hurtful ways sometimes.

4. God's provisions are enough. I don't have to have a big house, the perfect car, or the trendiest clothes for God to love me. I just need His love and grace, and I will be provided with everything else I need (and then some!).

5. Introversion sometimes means that you don't always get to participate in fun things. --but those things aren't always necessary anyway (i.e. #4).

6. Don't take good health for granted.

7. As seasons change, so do people and places. Sometimes this is good, and sometimes it is very sad. But all very necessary.

Also, please keep my dear grandfather in your prayers. He has been in and out of the hospital now for several months--he is 90 years old--and it has now been decided that Hospice will be called in for the remainder of his time with us. Please also pray for those making the tough decisions about his care, and those providing the care for him. He is my last living grandparent, and I love him dearly! Thanks in advance for any prayers you can send his way...

I'm a proud Mommy

2008-11-05T11:28:00.003-06:00

Here she is pre-haircut.
Melody has been growing her hair for the past 18 months or so. I think the last time she got it cut was around her 5th birthday, which was last summer. During that time, she also decided to grow out her bangs, so we've been dealing with long, thick hair for a while now! Melody's BFF from preschool donated her long locks to an organization called Locks of Love. So, Melody decided that she'd like to do the same. Let me tell ya, it hasn't been easy to brush out that long hair, nor wash it! But, yesterday since Melody was home from school all day, I decided that it was time to go get it cut! She had finally grown it out the required 10 inches (I think she had 11, actually).

I'm very proud of her for having a giving heart and spirit. She's super-happy with her new hairdo, and I am, too! I love it.

Well-intentioned kindness

2008-11-04T13:49:00.002-06:00

I saw a bumper sticker today that gave me cause to wonder. It said, "Kindness to animals builds a better world for all of us."

Okay, now let me premise this by saying that I love animals. I really do. (You may question this if you know my current love-hate relationship with my dogs.) I do not believe in animal cruelty and my heart breaks whenever I hear stories of animals being abused, etc. HOWEVER, I take issue with this bumper sticker. I don't think it is false to say that kindness to animals can build a better world, but I think it takes a lot more than kindness to animals to have a harmonious world.

Wouldn't it be more prudent to say, perhaps, "Kindness to OTHERS" or "Kindness to ONESELF"? I think that our human interactions is what truly build a better world. The whole pay it forward phenomenon, in my opinion, is capable of bringing about lasting change for a better world. Okay, so that might include being kind to an animal, but you can make a greater impact on a fellow human being. It is all well and good to rescue a homeless animal, but what if we gave the same effort to rescue a homeless person?

In reference to the "kindness to oneself"...there are so many people out there who just exist..they contribute nothing because they don't feel as though they have any self-worth. They have entered into a cycle of behavior that causes them to abuse drugs, abuse others, and abuse themselves. What if they put half of that energy into actually taking care of themselves? That would also build a better world!

I certainly don't want to get into trouble with any animal activists out there, but I personally put more value on a human life than I do on an animal's life. I feel that to truly build a better world, we need to increase the number of times we are kind to others. Sure, throw in some kindness to animals, too!

Yes, I got all that from a silly bumper sticker. Go figure.

Hobby Lobby--good or evil?

2008-10-24T20:32:00.003-05:00

First of all, I luuuurve me some Hobby Lobby. I could spend hours in there every time I go, but I usually have at least one child with me, so I try to limit it to 20 minutes or less. The place is so huge, I generally stick to one side of the store on most visits.

I've noticed something about Hobby Lobby and my children: the big section in the middle of the store (you know, the big area that has all of the breakable stuff) has some type of magnetic field to it, because as soon as we walk in, my kids gravitate straight towards all of the breakable stuff, and their little fingers just can't help but start touching all of it! Now, Hobby Lobby has all of this stuff placed so that it's almost impossible to navigate around it. But the choices for going around include the artificial flowers (can we say ACHOO??), or the holiday/seasonal stuff that my kids also love to touch! Hmmm....do you see my problem here?

Gannon's favorite thing in the breakable section is the display with all of the vintage-looking firetrucks and motorcycles. He could spend hours just looking at them and gently caressing them.. I always have to promise him that we'll come back around to them on our way out of the store, so he can bid them farewell. The last time we were at Hobby Lobby (just the 2 of us), he declared that Hobby Lobby is his favorite store. Get this: we can get in and out of Target--even the toy section most times--without my kids begging me for a toy. But, Hobby Lobby?? They just have to have an art/craft project EVERY TIME! I have to admit that I'm a bit of a closet crafter. I secretly LOVE to do crafts, but I don't feel as though I'm terribly creative, so I don't do crafts very often. I do well with ready-made kits with a picture of the finished product on the front, so I can tell what it's supposed to look like when completed. I secretly love to paint, and glue, and cut things out. Okay, so it's not a secret anymore, but what can I say? The bottom line is, sometimes I indulge the kids so we can all get elbow deep in some fun craft. The GREAT thing about Hobby Lobby is that you can get really neat craft kit things for kids for a very good price.

Tonight the whole family took a trip to Hobby Lobby. I have officially come out of the crafter closet because I finally bought my very own glue gun. Yes, I did. No longer will I suffer with those less-than glues that never quite do the job, and no longer will I have to borrow my Mom's glue gun. You can't really be a true craft-o-holic without one, so there you go. I feel very special now.

So, all in all, I guess it's worth the possibility of that big, pricey something in the middle of the store getting broken in order to explore and let our imaginations go wild with the next great craft project!

Tennis, Anyone?

2008-10-09T13:56:00.003-05:00

I'm a bit late posting this, but my only excuse is that this week has been Fall Break for the kids (no school), so I've had my hands full. No time to blog!!

Jamie's been talking for a while about getting the kids (namely, Melody) out on the tennis court. There's a great club in town that offers lessons for a very reasonable price, but for some reason Jamie had his heart set on buying racquets and going out to play. So that is what he did. We loaded up the kids, their new racquets and balls, and went to our nearby park to the tennis courts. Melody took to it like a fish to water; she did great for her first time! I was simply amazed.

Gannon was interested for about 5 minutes, then in normal Gannon fashion, proceeded to try to collect everyone's racquet for his own pretend game of something-or-other!

Melody also enjoyed learning the fine art of "pocketing" your tennis balls when you don't have pockets!

Now that the weather is just perfect, I'm sure we'll be out on the courts again soon! It was so much fun!
And, this is random, but the kids have also been enjoying the fall by coloring pumpkins! The big guy will be a jack-o-lantern soon, but I'm waiting a couple of weeks so he won't rot. Have a great October, everyone!

Blessings or Curses?

2008-09-26T11:07:00.002-05:00

I had one of those "Aha!" moments during a Bible study yesterday. We are discussing grace and all the meanings behind that word. Anyway, it came up that many times the words we speak to others (namely, our children) can either be blessings or curses. Not that we are actually cursing AT our children (or others), but that what we say can be poison to the soul of a little child, or our words can bless, glorify and lift up. I've thought a lot about this since I became a mother, and particularly since I've been increasingly dealing with sibling rivalry. Oftentimes, (I'll admit) my reaction to my children bickering or fighting is not exactly a blessing. I'm working on getting better at this, but I'm a work in progress, as many of us are.

One of the ladies at our group study mentioned a retreat/conference she attended several years back. She told the story of a young lady (teenager, I believe) who was very helpful and had a smile on her face no matter who she was helping/serving. One woman commented to the mother of the teenager that the girl had such a joyful spirit and seemed very happy and content. The mother stated that the young girl had not always had such a sweet, giving spirit. Apparently she was quite a handful when she was a little child. However, when she was young, the mother and father decided to pick a scripture from the Bible that could be a daily blessing to the girl; something that was opposite how they viewed her grumpy little spirit. They prayed over her every day and gave her the blessing they had chosen. Soon, her attitude and, I'm sure, the attitude of the parents changed!

This, for some reason, really hit home for me. I thought this idea might have some merit, and it might also change how I pray for my children. Last night I prayed for a while, then started searching for a couple of Bible verses that might fit for a blessing for my kids. My intent is to turn them and their spirits over to God everyday with the blessing of their scripture. Melody's is from Proverbs--gotta love Proverbs--and Gannon's is from the Book of Jude (Jude??? I'm not sure I've ever even read a verse from Jude before..).

I'm being a tad selfish in my hope and desire that these blessings I give my children will help me, too; however, I think a happy, peaceful and BLESSED family is worth it!

13.1

2008-09-22T13:28:00.003-05:00

Today I decided to go for a walk during my one free hour. It's a beautiful day, and I could definitely feel the hint of Fall. Very nice indeed, since Fall is my absolute fave time of year. It always reminds me of football, walking across the Quad at UA and watching leaves dancing about from the wind.

While I was on my walk, I was reminded of some of the thoughts I always have when I'm out enjoying a bit of exercise and pretty weather...I tend to always enjoy it so much, that I begin concocting grand plans to make long walks a habit. I start imagining a life filled with long, glorious walks. Not only will I get exercise, but I can immerse myself in God's lovely creation. Then I start thinking that if I go for enough long walks, well then I should just go ahead and train to walk a half marathon! I tend to become a bit grandiose in my thought process, and I can really get carried away. Well today I noticed this beginning to happen, so I decided I would self-analyze a bit and try to figure out why I have a hard time following through on some of my goals. No harm there, right? Heh.

I've participated in 2 half marathons to date, the latest one being in April 2007. I didn't participate this last year, because I just couldn't see myself being able/willing to devote that much time to training. Having two young children makes it challenging to go for LONG walks without incorporating a babysitter. My parents are local, but I feel guilty asking them every Saturday to babysit for hours on end while I go for a walk (they have a life, too). Jamie has joined me in both half marathons, and we really enjoy it. Both walks we did were at the Country Music Marathon/half marathon in Nashville, TN. Neither of us care for country music much, but along the race route they have lots of bands playing, not all of them country. The route leads one through the music district of town, so it's pretty neat going by all of the recording places and such. Anyway, it's a great atmosphere and it really helps the 13.1 go by fast. Today I was thinking back to the last half marathon we did in Nashville, and I remember that around mile 11-12 we saw a woman who had obviously been involved in a tragedy that resulted in the loss of her legs. She had prosthetics on, and she RAN past us. She was in the full marathon! Amazing in and of itself.

So here's how a typical (of the 2 I've done) half marathon walk goes for me: we get up at the crack of dawn to drive to a big stadium so we can stand in line for about 30 minutes. We get aboard a bus that will take us to the start line for the race. We arrive in the vicinity of the starting line (about a mile away), and meander through the throngs of people (I think there are generally around 30,000 in the race, not to mention vendors, family there to cheer on the racers, etc)who are also making their way to the start line. We find our corral (usually in the back b/c we are walkers) and we stand around for approximately one hour for our corral to get to the start line (they start the race in waves at this event). By the time we actually REACH the STARTING line, I've been on my feet for about 2-3 hours already! Then I get to walk 13.1 miles. Okay, so off we go and we're very excited to finally start. Once I get to about mile 1, I'm in my pace and going pretty good. About mile 5 is when the hills start...ouch. By mile 8, I've got a blister. By mile 11, I'm starting to hit my wall, but by the grace of God, my feet just keep moving and it's mostly downhill from there, so I'm about to limp to the finish line. It hurts. Both years, I've commented that I'm so happy I'm only walking the half marathon and not the full!!

Anyhow, this last time, we saw this lady who ran past us, and I remember commenting to Jamie, "If that lady can RUN a FULL marathon, surely I can run a little bit of a half marathon! I'm going to train better next time, and try to run a little." Okay, so there's my goal and I ended up not even participating the next year. I did start to run a little, though. However, I was quickly reminded that I've never actually enjoyed running. It doesn't feel natural to me, and it never has. I much prefer to walk. But, my point was that I could get across the finish line quicker if I alternated running/walking. If a lady with no feet can do it, why can't I?

Well, this morning I realized that maybe she has something that I don't. First of all, she probably has some form of motivation that I've not yet tapped into. Secondly, she has a level of perserverence that I don't have. I've never been faced with the reality that I may never walk again. Therefore, I haven't been forced or even wanted to tap into the part of me that absolutely needs to overcome an obstacle such as not being able to walk. I'm very lucky, but she is also lucky because she has risen above her tragedy and turned it into triumph. Of course, all of this is "assuming and supposing" part of her life, but I'm just putting it out there.

So, instead of feeling guilty and beating myself up for not meeting my goals (even if they were made somewhat flippantly), I'm going to just do what I feel comfortable doing. If that means I get out and walk a few miles every day, every week, or every month, then so be it. I will be okay with this.

I don't know when my next quest for the 13.1 will be, but for now I'll enjoy the few miles I get here and there. :)

Groupthink

2008-09-15T11:20:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking about groups quite a bit lately. I've been on-again, off-again reading Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth" and some of the concepts in his book have led me to think about groups and roles. I think Tolle is leaning more towards the roles we play as individuals, but I really enjoy learning about and studying groups, so his book has been a catalyst for me to examine some of the groups of which I am a part. One of my favorite subjects in undergrad was Social Psychology. I loved it! I think that class was one of the reasons I was led to go into social work, because it is all about learning how people function in social situations, groups, and how they process the world around them.

Okay, so in my processing, I've been thinking about not only the roles I play as an individual, but also the roles I play in groups. I'm a self-proclaimed introvert (and Myers-Briggs agrees with me!!), so groups have always been more challenging for me than not. I've found that once I'm fully enmeshed in a group, I can function quite well. However, it really depends on the group. Groups are typically made up of folks that have the same beliefs, attitudes, and/or values. They have a common purpose. I recall one time I attended an AA group, because it was a requirement of my internship at a drug recovery program. Well, if you've ever been to any type of recovery program, visitors are always noticed, and usually called upon for introductions. It goes something like this:
Leader: "I see we have some visitors today! Please introduce yourselves and let us know why you are here."
Visitor: "Hi, my name is _______. I'm here for _____."

When I attended this group and it came time for me to introduce myself, I simply stated my name and said that I was observing the group as part of my graduate work as a social worker ( in hindsight, I could have handled this much differently!!). Not only was there a stunned silence following my proclamation, but I also noticed immediate tension in the room. I was officially an outsider. The people who had become enmeshed in that group could not see that I might have a single thing in common with them, and therefore I did not Belong. Has this ever happened to you?

Even within groups, there are sub-groups of people that might have their own thoughts about things. It reminds me of my church: we have two services. One is traditional and one is contemporary. While we are all Christian and all Methodist (thereby part of the same "group"), some folks from either service feel as though they are different from the other. I don't know if this thought process leads them to think that the other group does not Belong, but perhaps it comes close.

My thought is this: how can we function in a group with a common purpose if others in the group have their own agenda? This happens in every group, and I think that sometimes it leads to dissolution of the group. In some groups, the leader of the group maintains the general "voice" and this can sometimes drown out the subgroup. I believe it can go either way: either the subgroup can weaken the group and it's purpose, or the subgroup can strengthen the group's purpose. I think it depends on how strong and competent the subgroup (or individual) is, as well as the competency level of the leader on group processes.

All in all, I find it fascinating to observe the multiple groups to which I belong. They are all different, and I learn from each one. They all help me grow in my respective "roles" as an individual, and our world could not function without groups.

What do you think? Have you ever observed a group that did not have some form of sub-group? How effective was the leader of the group? Have you ever been a leader of a group and felt the group losing it's commonality, and what was done about it? Have you ever been part of a group that "evicted" the sub-group or individuals which had their own underlying agenda? And how can we overcome these issues within groups while still maintaining a level of cohesiveness?

Pacifier-free--Day 2.5

2008-08-31T20:40:00.002-05:00

We've officially taken away Gannon's pacifier ("paci"). Since he's 3 years old now, I figured he really didn't need it anymore. The real question is if Mommy & Daddy "need" it!!! We tried to prepare Gannon a few weeks before his birthday. We told him that Swiper the fox (from Dora the Explorer) was going to come take his paci and give it to a baby that needed it. I'm not sure if this was a better route versus just having him throw them away himself, but that's what we did. I'll just have to explain to his therapist later in life that I told him a lie and cut him off cold turkey. Leading up to the paci removal, I kept asking Jamie if he was emotionally ready to give it up, since as parents, we depend on the paci, too! Sometimes the paci is the easy way to calm Gannon down in the car, it is always what helps him go to sleep. What are we to do without it? Jamie wasn't fully ready, and I'm not sure if I was or not. But, Swiper came and snatched the paci during the night Friday. We figured Gannon would wake up a couple hours later and not go back to sleep (assuming the worst). But, he slept until 5:00 and then went back to sleep fairly easily after Jamie told him it was gone. Last night he wasn't able to go to sleep without one of us sitting in his room for a while. He really does depend on it to help him drift off. Naptimes just simply haven't happened. He can't settle down. The good news is that he hasn't asked for it at all during the day! And last night he slept straight through the night without waking up at all---yippee!!

He's definitely and officially a Big Boy now. He's diaper-free, paci-free and ready for college....Not!

My birthday boy!

2008-08-26T12:44:00.003-05:00

I can't believe my little boy is now a big boy...3 years old! Time flies, but he is still a sweet thing. He loves to snuggle in my lap, and he never hesitates to say he loves me. What more could you ask for as a Mom, really? I hope his precious personality stays, because he is such a treasure. He's still small enough to have natural wonder at the larger things, but big enough to let us know what he feels and wants. A perfect combination! Happy Birthday, Gannon!

My Prince

2008-08-24T20:32:00.003-05:00

Gannon says the cutest things sometimes. Today as we were driving, he was looking at a picture of me, and from the back seat, he claimed "when you got married, Daddy was your Prince." How sweet. :)

Rusted Root rules!

2008-08-22T13:49:00.002-05:00

I am a HUGE fan of the 90's band, Rusted Root. I discovered them in college (mid-late 90's), and was able to see them perform live at City Stages in Birmingham one year. I absolutely love their music, because it always cheers me up and makes me boogie. Today I listened to the album "Remember" and I was reminded of how much I love this song. I was priming the walls in our office at home, and I thought I was going to fall of the step stool from dancing so much! I finally gave in and decided to just get off the stool and get all my boogie out before resuming my task. I usually listen to their other album I own, "When I Woke," but for some reason I went with "Remember" today, and I'm so glad I did! Good times.

Really, click on the link and listen. It will make your day happy. ;-)

The land of the new

2008-08-12T12:39:00.002-05:00

I've experienced a few new things lately. Unfortunately, they haven't been good new things, but rather kinda not-so-great new things.

I had an MRI yesterday for the first time. I was quite nervous about this, since I'm a wee bit claustrophobic, but everyone I spoke with who's had one said it's not a big deal. Jamie had one on his knee, and he got to wear headphones and listen to his choice of music. Not a bad deal if you ask me. Well, I had to have a brain MRI, and it was not exactly a pleasant experience. My ENT sent me to the Open MRI place, so I thought that would likely be a good sign. However, when I checked in and the secretary asked if I was claustrophobic, that was a bad sign. I was already nervous about the fact that they would be scanning my brain, and what if they found something in there???? Something that's NOT supposed to be in there, that is (of course I want something to be in there...)?? For those of you who've had an MRI done, I certainly hope your experience was better than mine...I tend to think that I am the exception because I don't really like stuff like this.. However, I was okay laying down on the thing (she gave me a panic button). I was cool with the earplugs instead of headphones since I had already figured out that wouldn't be an option for me. I had decided I would do a little guided imagery to get me through it. The nurse put some kind of cushion-type things beside my ears to hold my head still, then she moved a cage-like thing around my head. Yeeks. Then she rolled me back into the coffin. That's what it felt like. I immediately began to take deep breaths and was able to calm myself down fairly well. I could even handle the loud sounds of the machine. This all lasted about 20 minutes I think. Then she rolled me out and said she had to give me a shot. A shot!!! What?!?! I don't like needles. The first thing I thought was that since it's for my head and all, she had to give me a shot in my head. I know I sounded panicky when I asked her for more details...where, why, how, etc. Once I found out it was just a simple shot in my arm, I settled down a little, but then she had a hard time finding a vein, and then when she injected the shot, it blew out the small vein she had found. If I had still been holding the panic button, I would have hit it. So she moves to the other arm and I inform her that I really am just a big baby with needles. Fortunately that shot took and she rolled me back into the coffin for more imaging. However, I was truly so shaken after the whole shot thing that I swear I was unable to keep my head still. All of my guided imagery was out the window (if there had been one). I just really hope I never, ever have to do that again. Even writing it now I can see what a baby I was, but what it comes down to is that I'm not a fan of the unexpected.

Last week I had another type of test called an eCog. It stands for a long word I can't remember, write, or pronounce. Basically, the technician hooks you up with an electrode on the forehead, puts wires in your ears and you have to lay completely still with eyes shut for 30 minutes while the wires transmit loud, hammering sounds into your ears. It wasn't horrible, since I did get to just lay there somewhat peacefully for half and hour, and there were NO shots involved. It was just different.

I'm being tested for Meniere's Disease. You can read more about it on the link, but I've been having symptoms for a while, and my grandfather has it. I currently have hearing loss in my right ear, and it will progressively get worse if I do have Meniere's. I go back to the ENT today to get my results from both tests and for a definite diagnosis. The good news is that, although it is incurable, usually a low-salt diet is great for symptom management. So, if I do have it, I will likely be starting a new diet soon. Yum.

Anyway, I really respect those in the medical community, not only for being so educated in what they do, but also for putting up with those people like me who don't make their jobs any easier by being pitiful. :) My hats off to all of the doctors and nurses out there!

The goofiest let-down ever

2008-08-07T17:05:00.002-05:00

Otherwise entitled, "finding cruel and unusual forms of punishment in the depths of my closet."

Today I was cleaning/organizing the house. We have lots of stuff just laying around, and I've finally decided to do something about it. So, I was relocating things from the dining room to our upstairs closets. I found some extra space in the waaaaayyyy back of my closet. You know the spot: where you put all of your clothes that are too small, but for some reason you keep them just in case.

Well, once I put the box of stuff in the floor space, I decided to poke around a bit in these forgotten items of clothing. It mainly consists of bridesmaid dresses and/or formal dresses that I wore somewhere back when I went to formal events. I counted a total of 4 bridesmaid dresses and 2 or so formal gowns. Now, what posssessed me to do what I did next is beyond me. Maybe it's because I thought it would be fun; maybe I knew that the kids were occupied elsewhere so I had a few moments of personal indulgence; maybe I was just experiencing complete and total insanity, but I decided to try on some of the dresses. The first one I chose was a dress I only wore once to a formal wedding. The wedding was about 2 months after my own wedding, so I was still lookin' good. It was a size 4. SIZE 4!!! Yes, I do remember those days, though they are long gone. Yeah, well, I put this dress on my size __ body and it did not fit. It barely fit over my hips and I couldn't budge the zipper. On to dress #2: a bridesmaid dress I wore about 2 1/2 years before my own wedding (I've been married a little over 9 years..). The tag said size 3/4. The style of the dress was such that I was able to put it on with no problems, but I couldn't zip it. Not even if I sucked everything in. Dress #3: another bridesmaid dress, worn about 1 year after marriage. This dress rocked--it was a size 8 (did I really grow that much in 1 year of marriage???), and it even had a built-in bra (a necessity back in that day)! So, I got this dress on fairly easily, but due to the largeness of the bra cups--that's what I'm blaming it on anyway--I couldn't zip it all the way. I looked at another bridesmaid dress, also worn about 2 1/2 years before my own wedding, and recalled that when I wore it I could hardly breathe, so I didn't even take it off the hanger to try on today.

Now, part of me was truly laughing throughout this experience, but later on I reflected on the pure insanity of keeping these things in my closet. Do I think that I will EVER wear them again? No. Do I think that any member of my family will ever wear them? No. Will I ever even be a size 4 again??? Not likely. I should probably do what several other former bridesmaids and I have discussed before, and take our "collection" to a nice consignment shop. Seeing as how I've had these dresses in my closet for over 10 years now, we'll see how quickly I get to that... For now, they will hang in their sacred spot of glory in my closet.

Long live the teensy-weensy-crazy-colors-long-forgotten bridesmaid dresses!

Goodwill Hunting Part II

2008-08-07T13:43:00.002-05:00

The last time I went to Goodwill, I got a really great deal. Since it has been a while since I visited other than to make donations, I thought I'd go check out Goodwill again today. I didn't leave disappointed.

Here is what I got:

2 collared shirts for Jamie
a pair of winter boots for me
a pair of shorts for Gannon
a blouse for me
a full-size BRAND NEW backpack for Gannon

All of this for about $18. Can you believe it??? The backpack alone probably retails for $15, the boots for at least $40, the shirts for probably around $40, etc etc. What a great bargain! I'm washing it all now, since it is Goodwill and I'm sure many things come from smoking homes.

I'm still a fan.

Beech Mountain getaway

2008-08-05T13:28:00.003-05:00

My family of in-laws just had a wonderful weekend on Beech Mountain in western North Carolina. I have never been to this particular mountain before, but it was beautiful. The drive up was great once we got off of the interstate, as far as scenic views goes. The road we took went through eastern TN, which is the area where my paternal grandparents used to live. I was fairly familiar with this area, as my grandfather loved to take us driving in the mountains nearby and go hiking. So, as we drove through Johnson City, Elizabethton and then over Roan Mountain, it felt almost close to home. :) Then I saw a sign pointing the way to a Rhododendron Garden, and I had lots of memories from that, including the joke we used to always make about how to spell rhododendron.

Anyway, we proceeded up to Banner Elk and Beech Mountain. We weren't really prepared for Beech Mountain to be so large, or for the rental house we were staying at to be at the top of it (the ski lift was right out the front door!). This is a place that my mother-in-law rented...a 6 bedroom house for all of the family to squeeze into..so we didn't know what to expect. I have to say that the views from the house were lovely, and the temperature was unexpected! I had packed clothes in anticipation of summer weather similar to Huntsville...not 60 and 70 degree temps! It was a pleasant surprise, though, and we all enjoyed the break from the heat, regardless of needing a blanket while sitting in the house sometimes..

Beech Mountain is a quaint little town, and they had a small arts and crafts show while we were there. Jamie, the kids and I took a little excursion to Elk River Falls on Saturday. This included a drive back down the mountain and into the nether-lands of western NC. Quite an experience. It was threatening storms on our drive there, but we pressed on and finally arrived at the parking lot for the trail to the falls. It was packed! There were people everywhere, so we set off down the 1/4 mile trail to the falls. It was pretty steep in several areas and it also began to thunder a bit. We eventually saw the top of the waterfall, and decided to proceed down a very rocky/root-filled trail to the bottom for the view. There were LOTS of youngsters on the outcropping of rocks at the top of the falls, and we heard sounds of apparent jumping off the falls. We reached the bottom and walked out to get a good view of the 60-foot waterfall. There were some really intelligent teenage girls standing at the edge of the falls, looking to jump off into the water below. I took a few pictures, we admired the beauty, and then it began to rain. We decided to head back immediately (along with everyone else), and then the sky opened up and the rains came down! Melody was wearing her brand new dress that her Monna (grandmother) had given her, and we all got drenched. By the time we reached the car, Melody was bawling about getting mud on her dress AND she had to go to the bathroom. Luckily, I had beach towels in the back of the van so we got mostly dried off. By the time we got the kids situated and calm, the sun was out and the rain had stopped---gotta love summer storms! It was a great adventure!

All in all, I thought it was a nice way to end the summer before school begins. Melody and Gannon always have a blast playing with their cousins, and it's good to hang out and play games all weekend. I learned how to play Crazy Canasta, and Balderdash is always a favorite! NOW I am ready for school to begin!

Why do spiders have to be so Spidery??

2008-07-28T11:40:00.002-05:00

This morning we had what I am calling the Great Spider Trauma of 2008. Those that know me well know that I am a long-time member of the spider loathing community. No joke, I hate the things. This loathing probably stems from my own, personal Spider Trauma Event of 1991. However, that's another long story, so I'll save it for another time.

Back to this morning. I took the kids on an errand, and on the way home we decided to swing by my parents house to pick up a movie. Both of my parents work, so I just ran in the house, grabbed the movie, and ran back out to the van and kids (please nobody call DHR, really). Once I jumped in the van and start backing out of the driveway, I hear Melody say in a very calm voice, "Mommy, don't freak out, but there is a spider next to your head." I respond in a very calm voice (which is an amazing feat considering my Trauma of 1991), "there's a spider on my seat next to my head?" Melody once again calmly confirms this fact. Gannon is also quiet and calm in his seat directly behind my seat. So, I finish backing out of the driveway and somewhat calmly pull over in front of the house. I grab a tissue from the Kleenex box, because that's what Jamie does when he's going after small spiders. I get out of the car to open the side door (Gannon's door). I'm still fairly calm at this point, because I'm thinking if Melody isn't freaking out then 1)it must not be a very big spider, and 2)I can't be silly and freak out because I'm supposed to be the brave adult. I'm looking around the headrest of my seat trying to find it and finally I see a very BIG spider crawl around to the front of the headrest. I look at my puny tissue and think, "yeah, right." Well, that was a dumb move because when I looked back up, the Big Spider has disappeared as only spiders can. Now, I've conditioned myself to control my freak-out tendencies when it's a small spider. I've had to learn this because of my children and I don't want to frighten them. But, I know a Big Spider when I see one. Well, now Mr. Big Spider has gone *poof* and I feel the tugs of panic fluttering in my heart. Oh dear. So I continue searching around and can't find him even in the tiny cracks of the seat. Suddenly, Gannon begins to SCREAM. I don't mean a shout or an exclamation of surprise, I mean an all-out-the-fear-is-in-me SCREAM. We tend to have a domino effect in our family when it comes to bugs, so Melody starts to scream, too. Mr. Big Spider has relocated himself to Gannon's seat, more specifically to Gannon's little body. Unfortunately, it took me a few seconds to get a good look at where the spider was because of everybody screaming, but I finally got the spider off of Gannon and onto his seat so I could whack him with a Backyardigans coloring book. Melody was already out of her seatbelt and mostly out of the door by this time and both kids continued the screaming. I tried my best to calm them down, but I have to admit that I was thoroughly freaked out too. It's no good to see Mr. Big Spider crawling on your child. No way.

So, I tell the kids that we'll go by the car wash place to vacuum the van so we can get rid of the yucky spider. This seems to help them some, so off we go. I'm reluctant to rest my head on the headrest (I hate having the willies!) so I just set off at a rather speedy pace to the car wash that's just down the road. All is quiet and peaceful once again when suddenly Gannon starts to scream again. He's screaming that there's a spider on him. Melody tells me that she doesn't see a spider anywhere, so I try to convince poor Gannon that he's just remembering the spider being on him and it's just the willies. He's not convinced, so he cries the rest of the way to the car wash. By the time I get there, Melody has begun crying again, too. I park at a spot to vacuum, and Melody leaps out of the van. Luckily, there were no other cars nearby or else I really would have lost it altogether. Somehow I vacuum the van (and the nasty spider) and everyone is calm once again.

I have a sneaky suspicion that Mr. Big Spider might haunt us for a while..

Summer Adventure!

2008-07-25T14:25:00.004-05:00

The cute class I co-lead

We just had a very busy, very awesome week of VBS (aka Summer Adventure)! I teamed up with Amy to teach the rising 1st graders, so I had Melody in my class. The first day we had 18 kids!!! We leveled off at around 16-17 each day, but I came home pretty exhausted every day. We had an awesome group of very well-behaved children, thankfully! The theme of this year's program was Beach Party, and the kids got to learn a rough version of the Beatitudes from the Bible (where else?). The songs were very catchy and fun.

Here are some shots from the week:
Melody really didn't want her picture taken.. Melody and her friend, Kaitlyn

Fun stuff

2008-07-21T14:12:00.005-05:00

We've been quite busy as of late just doing lots of fun things! We are winding down for summer, or so I'd like to think. We've actually been busier than ever! Jamie's been hard at work building our bookshelves (pictures to come later), today began the first day of Summer Adventure (aka Bible School) at church, and we've been making trips to the public library, the Botanical Garden, and various other fun places! School begins in about 2 weeks, and I still haven't bought supplies, yet! Agh!! But, I thought I'd share some pictures of the fun things we've been doing...

Summer sure is fun! At the beginning of summer, I have to admit I was a bit concerned about spending every day 24/7 with Melody and Gannon. After all, we are all a bit spoiled with having small breaks from one another during the school year. And while I've had my "I'm-losing-my-mind,-please-someone-get-me-out-of-here!" moments, overall it has really been fun to be with my kids so much. I've tried to keep our summer light and fun, and I feel as though this goal has been accomplished!

One last thing, and I have to include it because I'm so super-proud of Gannon.. he's (I think..knock on wood!) figured out the staying dry at night thing! He's gotten naptime down pat, and the past several nights he's kept his bed dry all night as well! He'll be so embarrassed by this photo later in life, but I am the Mommy so I can put it on my blog if I want..

How did potty training go?

2008-07-10T14:39:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I've been meaning to check in with Gannon's progress, since we enrolled him in a 3-day potty training "boot camp" of sorts this past weekend. Okay, really I just bought an online book and we followed the directions found therein.

We started on Saturday and the big moment was Gannon throwing away all and I mean ALL of his diapers. We had a lot that I didn't know about (smaller sizes, but still...) so it was a big deal for him. He did end up asking a few times later on if he could wear his diaper. Although it was cute, it also showed that it was a lot for him to handle all at once. From the moment of throwing away the diapers, he had to put on his Big Boy underwear and he shall never wear a diaper again! To confess, as he was tossing out the diapers, I did tear up. I think it was a combination of factors that did it for me: my little boy is growing up, I'll never have to buy diapers again, and Oh did I mention I'LL NEVER HAVE TO BUY DIAPERS AGAIN????? Sweet.

So, overall it went very well. We had been letting him wear undies from time to time already, so the first couple of days he didn't even have an accident beyond the point of his underwear being damp. Not bad, eh? This was awesome for Jamie and me since we didn't have to clean up any messes off the floor. However, I have to say that staying dry during nap time and all night long has been quite a hurdle that he has not quite mastered as of yet. It's hit and miss. He's had a few dry naps, albeit nothing consistent. He's gotten up every night to go potty, and only one night has he remained dry and we didn't have to change sheets. He's just struggling with that one. I know it will get better, so we continue to encourage him. He'll get there!

I'm positively proud of him and he's proud of himself. We've been out and about every day this week (except Monday, which was Day 3 of boot camp), and he has stayed dry the entire time. He uses public toilets with no hesitation, which is awesome!

I guess this means that I officially don't have babies anymore *sniff sniff*. At least they still snuggle with me!

If a transformer married Ariel..

2008-07-08T14:03:00.003-05:00

Earlier today, Gannon and Melody were playing with a toy castle. Gannon had a transformer and Melody had princess Ariel. Melody being the way she is (all girl!), said this:
"Okay, they're going to get married. Uh oh, Ariel is naked....It's going to be a private wedding!"

She didn't even say it to be funny, but I cracked up. Sometimes the funniest things come out of the mouths of babes, no?

This and that

2008-07-03T13:51:00.002-05:00

Why is it that summer always flies by so fast? It's already July, which means that school starts back in one month. I feel like we've had an amazing summer thus far, but I'm sure I'll be ready for the kiddos to head back to some form of school soon.

This weekend is going to be a crazy one. Jamie is going to continue building some bookshelves for the family room tomorrow, then we'll head to a party with some folks from the bands at church. Should be lots of fun!

Beginning on Saturday morning, we'll be embarking on a 3-day potty training mission for Gannon. A friend of mine, Hillary, was able to accomplish this with her son who is Gannon's age. We've been doing a little bit here and there to potty train, but nothing major. Well, Mr. Gannon has to be trained before he starts at his preschool in August, so I figured a 3-day method was probably warranted. Cross your fingers, say prayers, etc that this will work for us! I'm attempting to mentally prepare myself as I write. :)

With any luck, we'll come out of the weekend unscathed and diaper-free! Next week is a relaxing week, with nothing major planned. I've neglected to take the kids to the Botanical Gardens yet this summer, so we'll likely make a trip there. I hope everyone has a happy and healthy 4th!

Princesses and Fairies

2008-06-27T12:24:00.003-05:00

Today wrapped up the final day of a week long adventure Melody had at Fantasy Playhouse.

They have programs and classes during the school year as well as during the summer. She took a class last Fall that she loved, so when I saw that they were offering a Princess-themed session, I jumped on it! Melody essentially spends most of her days at home pretending to be either a princess or a fairy. So, I thought that a class entitled "Princesses and Fairies" would suit her quite well! She seemed to have lots of fun every day, and she came home with a different craft each day, including a picture she colored and sent to a soldier. After all, princesses have good manners, and are encouraging and kind to others! As a Mom, I really appreciated the teacher emphasizing good morals, and not just letting the girls escape into fairy tale world for an hour. She seemed to achieve a good balance among plenty of fantasy play, crafts, and moral lessons. Today the girls put on a final show for the parents, and they did a performance of "Sleeping Beauty". It was very cute.

The teacher recommended a book entitled "The Princess and the Kiss" to all of us. It's a book for young girls about seeking purity through God. The front of the book looked similar to all the other popular princess books out there, so it seemed as though it would appeal to children Melody's age. I thought it sounded pretty intriguing, so I will likely check it out soon. I guess it's never too soon to start teaching our children, in particular our girls, about these types of issues. Seeing as how Melody came home the first week of Kindergarten last year telling me about her new boyfriend, I think that solid, Godly lessons aimed toward our little princesses will never hurt.

Blasts from the past

2008-06-19T15:11:00.002-05:00

I joined Facebook a few months back and since that time, I've been catching up with people I haven't seen, or honestly even thought about, since high school. It's pretty neat. Who would have thought that I'd be in conversation with someone I knew about 15 years ago? It's a shocker to hear from someone who is now married and has children...when I haven't seen them since they were at least 12, 13 or 14 years old!

A little history on where I grew up:
We moved to Thomasville, AL when I was in 2nd grade..it was about the middle of 2nd grade, so I think I was 8. We had moved several times already, so this move was nothing special. It was, however, the smallest little place we had ever lived! The town's biggest action was at the TG&Y (now I think the best action is at Wal-Mart), and that's really saying something. Thomasville is in the southwest section of Alabama, deep in the heart of the Black Belt. Logging is a big industry down there, and my Dad worked at the paper mill, as did many folks. Anyway, there were only a few churches in town, so most of my friends and teachers went to my church. A lot of my teachers sang in the choir with my Mom, so I didn't do much without my parents finding out about it.
I had a good time growing up in Thomasville, albeit a little bit of a boring and sheltered life. I had easily identified it as "home", though, so it was traumatic for me when my parents broke the news that they were moving. Thankfully, I was in college already and had some friends from Huntsville, so I'm very fortunate that this is where I developed roots after college.

The thing about it, though, is that since I never really returned to T'ville after college (or during), I never saw some people ever again. Therefore, I've frozen time for some people. They are still 10 years old to me. So, it comes as a big shocker when I now see photos of them much older and even with little kids of their own. It really ages me! All in all, though, it's pretty neat to see that people are still doing well and have definitely succeeded in life. Thomasville, AL grew some good ones, and for that I'm very thankful.

Not letting the hum drums take over

2008-06-13T14:18:00.003-05:00

I seem to feel this way on rainy days, I've noticed..but sometimes it's a little too easy to get that hum drum/burn-out feeling. Now, don't get me wrong, I have plenty of daily entertainment between my 2 children, not to mention my husband; however, sometimes I feel boredom trying to sneak its way into my life. Usually it goes something like this:
waking up and thinking, "Okay, today I get to make breakfast, lunch and dinner AGAIN." Yippee! "I get to change at least 5 diapers and redirect several tantrums." Yippee! Once this negative talk begins, it's really hard for me to remember all the hugs and kisses and smiles I will get..By naptime, when I should be getting other hum drum things accomplished, like paying bills (lots of fun there---usually leads to depression!), folding laundry, cleaning the house, etc...I am hitting the procrastination button. I get absolutely nothing done during that 1-2 hour window of peace and quiet. Why? I haven't figured this one out, yet.

Sometimes these feelings take over and by the time Jamie gets home, I'm moping around and begging for some alone time. I call it being a hermit. Usually I end up telling him that I really just want to become a hermit and go live in the woods somewhere desolate and isolated. This is totally unrealistic and Jamie likes to point that out. He does a good job of reminding me of the things I would miss. So, no hermit life for me!

What I try to do to combat these hum drums of life is this: while I'm pouring the umpteenth sippy cup of juice or water, I remind myself that at least I have children and that they are healthy enough to drink from a cup. While I'm preparing another chicken nugget, I remind myself that our family is blessed with plenty of food, and yes my children can be picky because we can choose whatever food we want. We don't have to depend on rice or bread every day to sustain us. As I'm folding more and more clothes, I remind myself that we are blessed to have clothes on our backs. As I grimace at the dust collecting around the house, I remind myself that we are extremely fortunate to have a shelter. Sometimes this is a stretch, but some days it is the only thing that works. I'm a really lucky person, and although it's easy to not find contentment on a daily basis, I am striving for it in my overall life. God is giving me everything I need to be content, and I should (but don't always) give him honor and praise for it. I'm a work in progress. And maybe, just maybe, one day I'll be good at it!

Do you like my new blog design?

2008-06-11T07:28:00.002-05:00

I think it's awesome! Thanks SO MUCH to Hilary for designing it for me! To check her out to do your own scrapblog design, check the box to the right of this post. She's very easy to work with, and she does it all from the love of her heart! :)

Beach fun

2008-06-10T13:32:00.003-05:00

We just got back from our mini-vacation to Orange Beach, AL. We were fortunate to be able to stay at my cousin's condo for a very reasonable price, compared to many other places that charge an arm and a leg this time of year! Melody has been to the beach before (when she was 3 and I was preggers with Gannon) and she loves it! I wasn't sure how Gannon would feel about it, since it was his first time seeing open water, and I was proven correct in my suspicions. He took one look at the waves and balked! He said it was "mean and scary water" and wouldn't go anywhere near it! He was reluctant to put his feet near the water washing up onto shore, so he stayed in his comfort zone--if you can call it that--up on the sand.

Gannon is funny because he's always been very particular about his hands. He doesn't like to have dirty hands. He won't eat a cupcake for this reason--he might get frosting on his hands. So, it was no surprise when he wasn't a fan of getting his hands in the sand. We finally got a bucket of water just for him to wash his hands off. He was simply adorable, if not a little high maintenance. However, it was worth it and fun. Melody is the other end of the sand spectrum. She loves to wallow in it. She had lots of fun filling her buckets up to make sand castles, and walking through the water, letting it soak her. She's still a bit cautious to enter the ocean (thankfully!), but I'm sure she'll get there.

We also took advantage of the pool nearby and the kids loved that. Melody has improved her swimming by leaps and bounds, and Gannon is now a big fan of jumping in either from the steps or the side of the pool, as long as we hold his hands.
All in all, it was a fun trip!

What time is it??? SUMMERTIME!!!

2008-05-30T14:28:00.004-05:00

If you have a young daughter who also happens to be a fan of "High School Musical", then I'm sure you're hearing her sing the above words as much as I've been hearing them the past week! I love summer. My daughter apparently loves summer, too! It's her first "real" summer, because she's officially on a break from school for the first time. I told her on the first day of summer break that the best thing to do during the summer is sleep in!!!! (This is really just a ploy on my part to get to sleep in, too!) So far, it's worked about half of the days..not a bad start.

We started off our summer by taking swimming lessons. Melody and Gannon have joined their friends, Emma and Owen for swimming lessons. They seemed to have lots of fun! When I signed them up, my #1 goal was for Melody to put her head underwater. Well, she did that one the first day and didn't stop there. She now jumps in from the side of the pool, goes underwater, opens her eyes underwater, and can even halfway swim for a few feet! Go Melody! Gannon didn't quite take to the water as easily as our newfound fish Melody, but he did go underwater and learn how to be an alligator on the pool steps.
Here's the group practicing their skills, and playing. Mrs. Martin is such a great teacher! It was a really good way to kick off our summer of fun.

Teachers

2008-05-22T18:52:00.003-05:00

I've had a roller-coaster day with today being the last day of school for both of my children. Melody "graduated" from Kindergarten, which is almost as big as her first day of Kindergarten! She has grown so much and gained an extraordinary amount of knowledge in this short year. She still soaks up new information just as easily as she did when she was 2, and it's just been amazing to watch! She has truly loved her teacher, Mrs. Manguso. She's been a great Kindergarten teacher.

Gannon is now done with his 2-year-old room at preschool. Unfortunately, a decision was made to close his preschool this year, so he won't be returning to that school ever again. He will begin a new Mother's Morning Out program this Fall. He has had the same teacher for the past 2 years, so this will be a big transition for him (and me!). It was extremely bittersweet, and although Gannon was oblivious, his pitiful mother ended up shedding some tears today. I will truly miss walking through the halls of his preschool and seeing all of the familiar and smiling faces. Melody graduated from that preschool program, and I guess I just expected that Gannon would do the same. However, we anticipate wonderful and exciting adventures await us at the new school! Anyway, here's Gannon with Ms. Nicole, and his beloved Ms. Sonja.

God Bless Teachers! Thank you for being so wonderful to my children.

Potty Time!

2008-05-22T10:47:00.002-05:00

It's that time again. Time to train a child to use the potty. I haven't done this in...nearly 3 1/2 years! I have No Clue what I'm doing, to be honest. Does anybody else feel that way when they take on the endeavor to potty train a child? It's a wonder that kids make it to Kindergarten in underwear, because I am not very talented at this whole training business.

Gannon is 2 years and 9 months old, and I have an entire summer to get him to use the potty. When he begins at his "new school" in August, I have been informed that he must be able to use the potty independently. Now, if those aren't words to freak out any parent whose child is not even remotely interested in using the potty, I don't know what is.

I'm a girl. I know how girls use the potty. I know about the anatomy of boys, and I've witnessed boys using the potty, so I know all the technicalities, but as far as TEACHING a boy how to do all that stuff that boys do, I'm dumbfounded. That is why I've asked Jamie to take over with the potty training. It's turned out that we're both on the potty wagon, so hopefully that will help.

This week I've started letting Gannon wear his "big boy underwear." He feels special because he gets to be like Daddy, except he gets to have Spider man on his underwear. I'm not a big fan of Pull-ups, so I tend to skip the middleman and go straight for the real deal. Hey, it worked with Melody, so it should theoretically work with Gannon, right??? Well, he had 2 accidents the first day and no success in the potty. Yesterday he went potty at school, even though he screamed his head off at his poor teacher the whole time. Apparently she placed him facing backwards on the potty (something we've done at home just a few times..not recently, however) and HE wanted to face forward. So he screamed, but he went in the potty. I gave him M&M's when he got home. Later that day, we put him in his underwear and while I was at work he had a small accident and then got the rest in the potty!!! It's actually really cute, because while Gannon sits on his little potty, Melody reads books to him. We have a stack of books next to the potty, and now that Melody can read it works out great! She gets M&M's too, for helping! It's really a great deal. We'll see how long this lasts, and if it works. I'm choosing to remain optimistic!

Rest on the River!

2008-05-20T13:39:00.005-05:00

I had a wonderful, fabulous, and relaxing weekend this past weekend at Christy's "lake house" that is actually on the Elk River. Some other special ladies from my Sunday School class joined me in a weekend retreat...and we did all kinds of relaxing and refreshing things: massages, manicures/pedicures, cucumbers on our eyes, positive affirmations, and even Communion on the boat! It was amazing! I definitely found my rest in Jesus, as was the point of the whole journey.

Saturday morning it was warm enough to have a relaxation session out on the upper deck of the house, so we all (Gina and Angie here) donned tiaras and got to be Princesses. It was such a lovely feeling to know that not only am I a special child of God, but I am a princess for God, too! Melody is constantly dressing up like a princess, so I am often dubbed the Queen in the house when she's in princess mode. But, I had never thought of myself as God's Princess. What a concept! He wants me to feel special all of the time because I am His beloved child. He will always prepare the way for me so I need not ever fear what is ahead...sure does help with that worrying thing!

Our pastor, Sherill,
led us on this amazing mini-getaway. Many thanks to her, as her plate is constantly full of "to-do's", and she still gave up some of that precious time to us women.

Of course, time away highlights the things I have upon my return. I was more than happy to come home to my sweet family, even if the house was a mess!

Par-tay Weekend!

2008-05-12T15:54:00.004-05:00

Here we are, on the other side of one of the busiest weekends of my life! It was great fun! This year for Melody's birthday we decided to give her a surprise slumber party. She's turning 6, and had been asking to have a friend sleep over for a while, so we decided what better way to break ourselves in to the world of sleepovers than to have an all-out slumber party! We secretly invited 3 of her best friends (2 girls from her Kindergarten class and one friend from when she was in preschool) to come over on Friday night. It was SO HARD to keep it a secret, but we managed to pull it off and nobody--not even Gannon--spilled the beans. I baked cupcakes Friday and decorated them like the ocean with dolphins jumping out of the water. Melody had told me she wanted a dolphin theme..back when she thought SHE was planning something for her birthday..so I did the best I could!

Melody and the girls had a great time dressing up and hanging out!

And the best thing of all......getting to play and sleep in a great, big tent!!!

Due to the fairly young age of the girls and the fact that they were sleeping downstairs in a tent, Jamie and I decided it would be best for us to hook up the baby monitor in our bedroom so we could hear if one of the girls woke up during the night. It was a first-time sleepover for all of them (other than at g'parents houses). We woke up around 6:00 the next morning to hear a couple of the girls whispering. I listened closely and heard them saying that they wanted to surprise Melody by cooking her some pancakes and having it on a tray beside her when she woke up. I thought that was the most adorable, and sweetest showmanship of true friendship that I've seen in a long time. :) Shortly thereafter, Melody woke up, but they hadn't had time to bake anything--thankfully!! So, I made purple pancakes for everyone!

During breakfast, my Mom and Dad showed up so Mom and I could resume the 2nd weekend of a garage sale. It rained last weekend, so since everything was already in my garage and priced, we decided to try again! In between crowds of folks coming by to shop and parents arriving to pick up the slumber party girls, it was a very hectic morning! We got everything and everyone situated in time for an afternoon nap, Jamie went and picked up a new couch we bought, and we got ready to go to a party at the Lew's house. We all had lots of fun over there with all of the people from the bands at church, and we came home for some much-needed rest.
The next morning kicked off Mother's Day! The kids were on perfect behavior all day, and we all had a wonderful time together. Jamie got me an iPod Nano and the kids made cards for me and got me a pig WebKinz. What fun! I felt very loved and appreciated, and the best part was getting lots of cuddles and "I love you's" from my family!

I hope if you are a mother, you feel as blessed as I do! Life is good.

Forgiveness and Monkey Bars

2008-04-23T09:44:00.005-05:00

I've noticed a few things as my children are getting older:

1. My kids are excellent teachers (especially Melody, since she's older). I remember when Melody was born, thinking that I had this huge responsibility to teach her life's important lessons, and to instill good values in her. Well, little did I know that as she's gotten older, SHE is very capable of teaching ME sometimes! Case in point: for the past couple of months, as we end our bedtime prayer, Melody always speaks up and says, "We love you so much God and we will never stop loving you!" Well, that's a great prayer with just that one simple sentence! Why do I feel the need to make sure I say everything just right and go on and on and on...you get the idea. Melody is teaching me that simple is sometimes better.

2. My children have a larger capacity to forgive and forget than I do. I've seen this time and time again with my kids. Say, for example, that Gannon hits Melody. Melody is hurt so she cries. I talk to Gannon about how hitting is wrong and it hurts, so we shouldn't do it. We can learn how to express our anger/frustration in more appropriate ways, etc etc. Gannon goes and apologizes to Melody, she says she forgives him, and then they resume playing like nothing happened. Within 5 minutes, neither of them really even remember the incident.

Earlier this week, Melody climbed in the car after school and began telling me about an altercation with a few of her friends. They were on the playground and some of her friends began yelling at her. She skipped over a lot of details, I could tell, but rushed to inform me that "we did all the forgiving under the monkey bars." It was simple for her. She and the other girls resumed their friendship without any major battle scars. I've never seen my children hold much of a grudge. They truly are capable of forgiving and then putting it out of their mind. They are too busy loving and caring for others that they are nearly incapable of holding onto the nasty feelings that sometimes come with having to forgive. Wow!!! What a blessing!

I'm very appreciative for the things my children can teach me. I hope to always be a humble and thankful learner.

The fuzzy, hairy, furry teeth day

2008-04-17T13:35:00.002-05:00

I went to the dentist today. Much like going to that "other" doctor...it's not something I jump up and down to do. Well, today was a little different because I took Melody with me. Now, Melody (she's almost 6 years old) really hates the dentist. And when I say hate, I really mean it. Poor girl.

Melody had a dentist appointment earlier this week. A little over a month ago, she jumped onto the couch, and in doing so, jammed one of her front teeth into her gum. After the last episode of crying, screaming, and having to restrain her in the dentist's chair...just to get her mouth open...Jamie and I tried a new strategy this week in an attempt to help her overcome her fear of the dentist. It's called Positive Reinforcement (aka Bribery).

We started by asking Melody what her specific fears are about the dentist. We didn't get too far with that, so I told her that if she sat in the chair like a big girl and let them peek at her tooth, then she could go with me to my grown-up dentist appointment, which also happened to be this week. Voila!! She readily agreed to cooperate, and she followed through with her promise. She was excellent at her dentist appointment!! I'm hoping her excitement about doing such a great job at the dentist will carry over into August when she goes for her next cleaning (a whole 'nother monster altogether).

So, I checked her out of school this morning and off we went to see my dentist. Of course, I brought Color Wonder to occupy her little hands while I sat in the chair for an hour. Naturally, once we got there, it was completely anti-climactic for her. She could care less what I or the dental hygenist were doing on the other side of the room; she just cared about coloring pretty cards for her teacher and me. On the bright side, nothing happened that scared her even worse!

You know how they save the flouride rinse until the very end? Well, today they had a new flouride treatment, and I was one of the (un)lucky guinea pigs. It's a flouride gel that they brush onto your teeth, and you can't rinse afterwards. Essentially, it's like smearing grainy Vaseline all over your teeth and leaving it there....for 4-6 hours!!! Yes---no brushing your teeth for at least 4 hours! My hygenist puts this nasty stuff in my mouth, and I then have to proceed to check-out, afraid of closing my mouth for fear of swallowing the stuff. Ugh. Then I HAD to close my mouth so I could talk and make my next appointment! Is this stuff safe to swallow? Did the people who invented this stuff do a test on their own teeth? Why 4-6 hours??? At least with the rinse, it's in and out..quick. What is so special about this newfangled junk that I have to leave it in my mouth for most of the day? It really discourages socialization and conversation because I don't want to smile at people; I have white goo on my teeth!

Melody and I proceed to lunch (since by now lunchtime is over at her school). The dentist told me not to eat anything hard or crunchy. As I'm driving to Wendy's (nothing hard or crunchy there except salad, right?), I start telling Melody that my teeth feel furry. I mean, it literally feels like there is hair on my teeth. Kinda like if I forget to brush my teeth in the morning (not that I've ever done that..), and by the time I've had breakfast and lunch my teeth start feeling dirty and hairy. Same feeling, but 10 times worse. Yuck!! We arrive at Wendy's and I asked Melody to look at my teeth and tell me what she sees. She claims she didn't see any hair or fur or fuzz, but I swear it was there!

Ok, once all is said and done...dropping off kid at school, picking up other kid at school...blah blah blah...I come home and immediately brush my teeth. That's right! I'm usurping the dentist's authority AND the 4-6 hour rule and I brushed every bit of that nasty stuff off. So what's the worst that will happen?? The horrid goo was on my teeth for 2 solid hours, so I figure I got half the treatment. Not bad, eh?

Next time I'm "opting" for the fluoride rinse, thank you very much.

The Heritage of Language

2008-04-14T09:51:00.003-05:00

Contrary to what some online quizzes tell me, I know for fact that I have a Southern accent. I mean, come on, I grew up in the Black Belt of south Alabama!! We are talking Deep South here. They still have outhouses down near Thomasville where I spent the majority of my formative years (we had indoor plumbing, thankfully!).

My accent used to be worse than it is now. I remember using words like "confound it" and "doggone it". Once I went to college and became a bit more civilized (ha!), I dropped a lot of those southern words from my vocabulary. I even lost some of my twangy accent. However, I still talk with people from my hometown and they still sound the same! :) I love it!

OK, so case in point: in January, my husband, kids and I went to Lake Lure, NC on vacation. As we were leaving a good, down-home cooking kind of place, my husband SWEARS that I said "Goodness Be!" My response was "WHAT?!?!?!?" I Do Not use that kind of terminology, I have Never in my Life used that term. I say Goodness Gracious or Good Grief quite frequently. But Goodness Be?? Noooo.

My husband said that he has heard me say it before and he always inwardly smirks at my southern-ness. I vehemently disagreed. He said that the next time he heard me say it, he would point it out to me.

A few weeks later, we were visiting with my sister and family, so I asked her if she had ever heard me say Goodness Be. I mean, after all, she DID grow up with me and should know most everything southern that comes out of my mouth!! She agreed with me; no, I do not say Goodness Be. *whew*

Sooooo, about a month ago my hubby and I were at my parents house, sitting on the couch looking at the newspaper or something (I can't remember now to be honest), and my Mom asked me a question (I don't remember the question now, either). I immediately, without thinking first, said "Goodness Be, No!" Jamie's head flew around so suddenly to look at me and my mouth flew open because we both realized that I HAD SAID IT! Jamie started laughing hysterically because he had "won" that disagreement. All I could say was "awwww man."

Well, today I was walking down the stairs with Gannon and out of the blue he says, "Goodness be!" I started laughing and asked him if that's what he had really said. He said it again in confirmation. How cute and funny that he has now got that phrase in his wide array of possible choices for exclamations! I hesitate to tell Jamie about it, though... my son is now a true Southerner..in every sense of the word!

The Dash by Linda Ellis

2008-04-09T14:01:00.002-05:00

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars..the house..the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;
are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down long enough
to consider what's true and real
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile...
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read
with your life's actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent your dash?

This poem speaks to me in many different ways, but I thought it was quite poignant. I'll be teaching about it in my anger management class tonight...wish me luck!!! :)

Go live your dash!

Five Girls Sing National Anthem

2008-03-27T13:31:00.001-05:00

Sorry, this didn't get moved over properly on my previous post. Let's try again!!! :)

Forget American Idol...these girls are awesome!

2008-03-27T09:54:00.003-05:00

I just watched this video and my first thought was that they are much better than some of the contestants on American Idol right now! Wow! I still like David Cook, though.

Oh Nevermind...I forgot!

2008-03-26T13:23:00.002-05:00

When I was driving in the car a little while ago, an 80's song came on the radio. It was by Tiffany and was entitled, "I Think We're Alone Now." I turned it up and sang every word, since (I admit) I was a huge Tiffany fan back in the day. I was shocked that I even remembered the words, seeing as how if you had asked me to sing it without the music I would have been lost (there's a game called Songburst where I encounter the same problem).

So, how come I can remember every word to a song from 2 decades ago, but I can't remember something simple..like what I need to put on my grocery list, even though I could think of all the things I needed when I was in the shower this morning!

I had a class that discussed this phenomenon when I was in my undergraduate psych classes....I just can't remember the scientific answer that made perfect sense when I learned it... Any ideas?

Small Gifts

2008-03-25T11:04:00.003-05:00

I'd like my children to grow up without stress. Wow--wouldn't that be great if I could actually accomplish that ginormous feat? I'd like them to grow up living a carefree, simple life that children should have (up to a certain age). I remember when I was a kid, I lived a slow-paced life. I was able to go for long hikes in the woods with my Dad and Grandpa. I learned to recognize birds by their song or chirp. I learned how to skip rocks on water by first using careful discrimination of which stones were flattest and smoothest. I climbed pecan trees, and would hungrily scarf down as many pecans as I could before having to take the rest of the load inside to my Mom. Windy days remind me of flying kites in the Spring, and blowing, swirling leaves in the Fall. I remember all of this and not having to bother thinking about what I had to do when I got home, or running through my to-do list in my head as I'm enjoying a hike. I remember the luxury of being present in the moment. I hope and pray that I'm able to pass that on to my children, just those few small gifts in life: happiness, peace, and contentment.

That being said, I messed up my pictures. I added some that weren't supposed to be there, and left off some that I intended to include. Ah well...I'll be content with it anyway!

Pictures!

2008-03-24T13:44:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I've been slacking on adding pictures to my blog. To be honest, I'm not so good at navigating around my blog, yet. I know I've had it for a while, but I just haven't taken the time to learn the "ins and outs." Imagine that...not enough time to do something! Most of the blame for that falls directly on ME, but an eensy-weensy part of it is that my son has decided that naptime is overrated, so I haven't had much alone, Mommy-time lately! I'll try to do better! :)

Happy Easter!

2008-03-22T14:33:00.002-05:00

Here's wishing for much joy and love for all of you on Easter this year. Remember, it's not about the bunny or eggs or how much chocolate and peeps we can stuff in our mouth. It's about the hope and grace that is provided through Jesus for every one of us. I pray that this Easter will be full of hope and grace for you!

Goodwill Hunting

2008-03-16T13:26:00.002-05:00

I tried something a few days ago which I never thought I would....I shopped at the local Goodwill store! Now, I don't have anything against Goodwill, I just have never gone inside before. They recently relocated the one in Hsv to the south end, near my son's school. I make donations there a few times a year, but it used to be in a not-so-great part of town, so I never went inside. Well, the other day a friend of mine said that she had found some great stuff in there for her daughter, most of it with the tag from Target still on it (I guess Target donates a lot of extra clothing there). So, I decided to go for it.

Here's what I got:
a brand new pair of shorts for my son
brand new swim trunks for my son
brand new shirt and skirt for my daughter
a pair of barely used dress shoes for my son
a brand name pair of jeans for me

All of that (most of it BRAND NEW) for only $15!!!!

Wow...ok, I'm sold now! :)

Go Goodwill!

Ouch.

2008-03-03T20:47:00.002-06:00

Too bad they don't make Band-Aids for all kinds of hurt. We need a mighty big Band-Aid for our church right now. :(

I guess that is what prayer is for.

Mmmm..Mmmm...Good!

2008-02-27T09:37:00.002-06:00

Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches......I think I'm addicted. I found a box of 20 at Costco yesterday so now I don't have to go the store every 3 days to get a container of six sandwiches...

YUM!!!